Li Chen Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture

09/07/2022

Losing Weight Naturally With TCM (cont'd)

As described last week, maintaining a healthy spleen is vital for weight control, and an unhealthy spleen can result in weight gain. In TCM, it's believed that the liver also has effects on weight, though its effects on the spleen's functionality are different. A healthy spleen needs to be supported by a healthy liver.

The liver filters all the food and stress. An overloaded liver, due to unhealthy diets and/or excessive stress, can lead to liver qi stagnation. The stagnant liver qi disrupts the spleen's ability to transform and transport foods and fluids, leading to the accumulation of wastes and dampness-"fat".

Liver Qi Stagnation Symptoms

- Abdominal distension,

- Hypochondriac pain,

- Irregular menstruation,

- Breast distension or tenderness,

- Belching,

- Reflux,

- Diarrhoea,

- Feeling of a lump in the throat,

- Bitter taste in the mouth,

- Thin white or yellow tongue coating,

- Wiry pulse, etc.

Things that help you reduce liver qi stagnation:

- Spicy foods (turmeric, garlic, ginger, onion, radish, cumin, chives, etc.),

- Vegetables in green colour (celery, cucumber, spinach, etc.), help liver detoxin,

- Peppermint tea, jasmine tea, reducing stress,

- Lemon , lime, green tea, chrysanthemum tea, beetroot, cranberry, and grapefruit, detoxing liver,

- Massage acupuncture point, Tai Chong (see the picture below),

- Exercises, meditation, Tai Chi and Qi Gong,

- Chinese herbal medicine.

02/07/2022

Losing Weight Naturally With TCM

Overweight is one of the health concerns in the modern world. People have made tremendous efforts to try to get rid of the extra weight. However, some people who seem to be doing all the right things (eating healthy and low-calorie while increasing physical activity) just can't get their weight under control. Why?

From the TCM perspective, this may be due to an underlying health condition: spleen qi deficiency. When the spleen functions are compromised, it fails to move and transform waste fluids and foods. Instead, these excess wastes accumulate and transform into dampness, which congeals into phlegm and becomes "fat".

Spleen qi deficiency can result in the following signs and symptoms:

- Increased hunger,

- Sugar craving,

- Bloating,

- Tiredness,

- Sagging skin,

- Menstrual issues,

- Anxiety,

- Heavy limbs,

- Swollen or water retention,

- Diarrhoea or sticky stool,

- Thick greasy tongue coating,

- Pale coloured tongue with the teeth mark on the edge.

Things to strengthen the spleen qi:

- Foods of a sweet flavour and orange or yellow in colour, for example, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, sweet corn, and millet, which are extremely good for nourishing spleen qi.

- Drink warm water and eat cooked vegetables and avoid salads and raw foods,

- Green tea, calming and aiding digestion,

- Wu Long tea, helping the body digest oily and fatty foods,

- Acupuncture,

- Chinese herbal medicine

25/06/2022

Influenza (cont'd)

Acupuncture is one of the TCM methods of treating Cold and Flu. If they are treated with acupuncture early enough, it can be very effective, helping you feel better and sooner, and preventing the onset of severe symptoms.

The primary acupoints, which are applicable to both types of influenza, "Wind-Cold" and "Wind-Heat" (discussed in the last week's post), are:
- LI11 (Qu Chi),
- TB 5 (Wai Guan)
- LI 4 (He Gu)
- LU 5 (Chi Ze).
These acupoints are selected bilaterally.

Then, add additional secondary acupoints, based on symptom presentation. The secondary acupoints are:
- GV 14 (Da Zhui) for high fever,
- Lu 6 (Kong Zui), REN 17 (Shan Zhong) for severe cough,
- Lu 10 (Yu Ji), Lu 11 (Shao Shang) for sore throat,
- GV16 (Feng Fu), GB 20 (Feng Chi) for headache,
- LI 20 (Ying Xiang), ST 40 (Feng Long) for nasal congestion and sinusitis.

You can apply firm but gentle pressure on the abovementioned acupoints for at least 3 minutes each at home. You can use your fingers, thumbs, or a thin and blunt object (like the eraser tip of a pencil). Repeat throughout the day for several days.

All the acupoints are shown in the pictures below.

18/06/2022

Influenza

Winter is the season when Influenza is more prevalent. TCM believes that Influenza can invade our body only when our Defensive Qi (Wei Qi) is weak, relative to the force of external pathogens. The weak Defence Qi (Wei Qi) may result from emotional stress, overwork, poor diet and a host of other health issues.

In TCM, Influenza is classified into two main types, "Wind-Cold" and "Wind-Heat". The symptoms of "Wind-Cold" are severe cold, mild fever, lack of sweating, headache, aching body, sneezing, runny nose with clear or white phlegm, itchy throat, and coughing up clear or white mucus. The symptoms of "Wind-Heat" are high fever, mild chill, thirst, nasal congestion with yellow phlegm, coughing up yellow mucus, sore throat and headache.

Things to do at home to help you prevent/recover from influenza:
- Wear warm clothes and keep your skin and nose protected from the wind. This will help the body to sweat, which is a primary way to expel pathogens.
- Rest and sleep, let the body use most of its energy to fight the pathogens.
- For "Wind-Cold" type influenza, drink warm liquids, and add ginger, cinnamon, shallot and garlic to your foods.
- For the "Wind-Heat" type, drink lots of peppermint or chrysanthemum tea and eat fruits like oranges and other citrus fruits.
- In both cases, avoid dairy, sugar/sweets, and rich or fried foods.

We will further discuss TCM treatments for influenza next week.

11/06/2022

Water Element

Water element, one of the TCM Five Elements, is associated with Kidney and its partner organ, Urinary Bladder.

Water (Kidney) is Mother to Wood (Liver) and Child to Metal (Lungs). Water controls Fire (Heart) and is controlled by Earth (Spleen).

According to TCM, Kidneys store our essence energy (called "Jing" in TCM), which is the source of vitality and longevity. Jing is the prenatal energy that you receive from your parents. After birth, this Jing will be used for growth and reproduction. If there's little Jing to begin with or not nourished by the postnatal energy (from foods), it may lead to faster ageing such as grey hair, wrinkles etc.

In TCM, Kidney is related to the bone, joints, and marrow, and opens out to the ears. If it is imbalanced, you may experience symptoms like rigid joints, weak knees and lower back, tinnitus, and poor hearing.

The functions of the partner origin, Urinary Bladder, which is a "reservoir " to collect the body water, is controlled by the Kidney energy.

The TCM treatments for imbalanced Kidneys involve the following:
- Treating the Kidneys (Water) directly,
- Treating the Mother Element (Lungs/Metal),
- Treating the Controlling Element (Spleen/Earth),
- It is also necessary to strengthen the Heart (Fire) to prevent it from being damaged by the imbalanced Kidneys (Water).

28/05/2022

Metal element, one of the TCM Five Elements, is associated with the lungs and its partner organ, the large intestine.

According to the TCM Five Element Theory, Metal (Lungs) is Mother to Water (Kidneys) and Child to Earth (Spleen). Metal controls Wood (Liver) and is controlled by Fire (Heart).

The Functions of the Lungs:

1. The Lungs are diffusing and spreading qi and body fluids all over the body.

2. The Lungs control inhalation and exhalation.

3. The Lungs rule the skin and the pore's opening and closing.

4. The Lungs are also responsible for immunity through the Wei (or protective) qi.

5. Metal is related to sadness.

When Metal element is out of balance, either excess or deficiency, we may experience allergies, asthma, wheezing, colds, coughing, skin rashes, eczema, diarrhea, constipation, grief, and sadness.

The TCM treatments for imbalanced Metal element involve the following:

- Treating the Lungs (Metal) directly,

- Treating the Mother Element (Spleen/Earth),

- Treating the Controlling Element (Heart/Fire),

- It's also necessary to strengthen the Liver (Wood) to prevent it from being damaged by the imbalanced Lungs (Metal).

21/05/2022

This week, we focus on the Earth element of the TCM Five Element Theory. The Earth element is associated with the Spleen and its partner organ the Stomach.

Earth (Spleen) is Mother to Metal (Lungs) and Child to Fire (Heart). Earth controls Water (Kidneys) and is controlled by Wood (Fire).

The Earth functions:
1. The Earth Element is in charge of digestion. Digestive disorders such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea, IBS are all related to deficient Earth qi.
2. The Earth is responsible for dampness. When Spleen is incapable of transporting and transforming body fluids, it may cause water retention, hard-to-lose weight, sluggishness, brain fog, etc.
3. Spleen keeps blood properly circulating in the vessels. Deficient Spleen qi can cause bleeding.
4. Ascending energy of Spleen can prevent various organs like uterus and bladder from prolapse.
5. Spleen gives us a healthy sense of taste, allowing us to savor all the five tastes.
6. Spleen rules flesh and limbs.

The TCM treatments for imbalanced Spleen/Stomach (Earth) involve the following:
- Treating the Spleen/Stomach (Earth) directly,
- Treating the Mother Element (Heart/Fire),
- Treating the controlling Element (Liver/Wood),
- It is also necessary to strengthen the Kidneys (Water) to prevent them from being damaged by the imbalanced Spleen/Stomach (Earth).

14/05/2022

This week, we talk about the Fire element of the TCM Five Element Theory in more details.

Fire (Heart) is Mother to Earth (Spleen) and Child to Wood (Liver). Fire controls Metal (Lungs) and is controlled by Water (Kidneys).

Fire energy moves upwards, and is the symbol of vigorous life. Fire is considered the main power in the heart, pushing the blood flowing through the body, and governing complexion and the mind (Shen). Hyperactive Heart Fire can cause vexation, insomnia, palptations and dream-disturbed sleep, while deficient Fire energy can result in dull looking skin, low in energy, feeling sad/depressed and cold.

The TCM treatments for imbalanced Heart (Fire) involve the following:
- Treating the Heart (Fire) directly,
- Treating the Mother Element (Liver/Wood)
- Treating the Controlling Element (Kidneys/Water),
- It is also necessary to strengthen the Lungs (Metal) to prevent them from being damaged by the imbalanced Heart Fire.

07/05/2022

30/04/2022

Following our last post on the general description of the TCM Five Element Theory, we will talk about the Wood Element in detail this week.

As described in the last post, each element is mother to one element and child to another. And, each element controls one element and is controlled by another. Wood(Liver) is mother to Fire(Heart) and child to Water(Kidney). Wood(Liver) controls Earth(Spleen) and is controlled by Metal(Lungs).

Wood energy is rising, expanding and is the force of growth and flexibility. As wood in nature, the Liver qi needs to be soothed to ensure the Liver qi and blood flow smoothly in the body; otherwise, resulting in stagnation and sluggish in the Liver channel, which can cause anxiety and anger.

The TCM treatments for imbalanced Liver(Wood) involve the following:
- Treating the Liver(Wood) directly,
- Treating the Mother Element(Kidney/Water),
- Treating the Controlling Element(Lungs/Metal),
- It is also necessary to strengthen the Spleen(Earth) to prevent it from being damaged by the imbalanced Liver.