herb drops

It's really fun when you're young

I married relatively late in life. And before I found my terrifically reliable husband, let’s just say that I had a somewhat colorful dating life, filled mostly with escapees from the Island of Misfit Toys. One boyfriend in particular was an amazingly bad boyfriend, and though I will save the details for my tell-all memoir, I think it’s fair to say you wouldn’t want your daughter dating him. But, he did have two redeeming qualities

• He drove a really cool motorcycle
• He periodically spouted profound and useful life advice

At one point during our relationship he told me, “If you are in a situation that’s not working for you, you can either change the way you react to the situation or you can leave the situation. But you can’t change the situation.” I’m afraid it came as a great shock to him when I took his advice, realized he was the situation that wasn’t working for me, and then left it. Still, it’s excellent life advice with lots of other applications.

In my clinical practice as an acupuncturist, I listen to a lot of patients complain about various aspects of their western medical treatment. (more…)

Share on Facebook

In traditional Chinese medicine, there is no concept of independence between mental health and physical health- instead the two are inextricably linked. Thoughts, emotions, traumas and joys all effect the physical health. And conversely, the physical activities, toxins, disease,  and yes, our favorite, herbs all effect mental health. It is not possible to effect one without effecting the other.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I am privileged to know Ragen Chastain, who does an extraordinary job of having the right attitude (in this case mental) to achieve her goals (you guessed it- physical), and, more importantly, inspires others to do the same. This week I particularly enjoyed her guest post My Feet Hurt

My favorite bit:

I try to live my life out loud and I keep finding that everything I hold back ends up holding me back.

Oh, and Ragen, for those aching feet, we have herbs for that.

Share on Facebook

Is this hanging on your metaphorical tree?

In the summer I find it entirely too hot to run outside, and so confine my training activities to the treadmill at the gym. Lately I have been going in the mornings, and have noticed that one of the many televisions intended to distract me from the unsatisfying pursuit of what is essentially running in place has been consistently showing infomercials for health related products. Some of these I find inspiring- like the set of DVDs that promise I will have Marine worthy abs in only 90 days. Some of these I find intriguing- could making my own juice everyday really change my life or just blow my grocery budget? And some of these I find just plain silly- really, that special devise/ colon cleanse/ air filter will rid my body of 35 years of accumulated toxins in a matter of weeks?

I once had an acupuncture patient, a real estate agent, who came to see me weekly for his nasal allergies. Over the course of treatment, his symptoms were improving- that pesky chronic sinus infection finally cleared up and his daily symptoms were lessened- but they just weren’t completely resolving. One day Real Estate Dude asked me about some special foot patches he had seen on late night TV that were supposed to rid your body of toxins overnight, while you sleep, that would miraculously cure your health complaints. He wanted to know if I had any opinion on this topic.

I told Real Estate Dude quite honestly I suspect that yes, there are lot of things in our daily environment that crud up our bodies- air pollution, water pollution, and so on- and then our bodies don’t function optimally. And probably there is some scientific validity to the idea that those toxins can be encouraged to leave the body through the soles of the feet. After all, the pores on our skin will release all sorts of stuff with sweat and the soles of the feet have tremendous ability to sweat.

But then I went on to suggest that perhaps low-hanging fruit are the way to go. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Don't let the badly translated English fool you- they're serious

When I was in China in 2005, the topic of using endangered species, particularly animals, met with seriousness. The photo here is one that I took of the signage at the herb market in Chengdu. Although some of the more jaded Americans I talked to claimed that such signs were merely for show, I also heard terrifying stories of people being imprisoned for possession of illegal exotic herbs. And from what I could gather, Chinese prison is not a place I would ever want to spend time. Eric Brand’s latest discussion on CITES Listed Herbs in Chinese Medicine leads me to believe that the Chinese government has cracked down even more, stepping up protections for plants as well as animals. Seems to me this is a step in the right direction. It’s not just about saving endangered species, it’s about preserving an endangered medicine tradition.

Share on Facebook

Garlic- it's good for what ails you

The other day a mommy friend of mine called me freaking out. She had received one of those emails that, while inevitable when you send your kid to daycare, still makes that primordial part of your brain go, “Eeeewwww!” The email subject line said simply, “****pinworm alert****”. Basically, one of the other kids at the daycare had been diagnosed and was being treated for pinworms, and toddler hygiene being what it is, the daycare center had taken the appropriate action of alerting the rest of the parents. My friend, whose child was showing no symptoms of pinworms incidentally, wanted to know if there were any good Chinese herbs she could dose her kid with, you know, just in case.

After consulting Chapter 17- Herbs that Expel Parasites of my extremely dog-eared and thoroughly annotated Chinese Herbology Student Study Guide, I found the copious notes I had written on raw garlic. The fabulous anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, and antibiotic properties of this pungent bulb were  detailed, with instructions for use either internally or as an enema. (more…)

Share on Facebook

But look what happened to the cook!

Austin, Texas is currently swept up in the backyard chicken craze. Experts on the practice tout the benefits of fresh eggs and a reduction of table scraps in the land fills. I am told that chickens particularly love watermelon rinds. Even my son’s wonderful pre-school has a flock of egg producing hens and one lone rooster that the children visit as part of their education in animal husbandry. I like the idea of having backyard chickens, but like even better the idea of having someone who has backyard chickens already and wants to repay me some favor in fresh eggs. I do appreciate a really good omelet.

Of great popularity at the moment are a breed known as Ameraucana chickens. They are prized for the blue-grey shells on the eggs they lay. But if you have only ever seen pristine commercially farmed eggs from the grocery store, they can be a little confusing.

My friend recently told me the egg-related story of being at her parent’s home while they were out of town. She wanted to make some eggs, and in the refrigerator she found a dozen of these funny blue-grey eggs. Confused by their color, (more…)

Share on Facebook

Gravity: Just a Theory

As moderator of this blog, I get the privilege of sorting through real comments versus spam comments. The spam filter mostly does a great job, but periodically a few slip through. Usually I can tell immediately what is spam versus what is real because the authors of spam typically link to websites offering me a hot long night with my new laptop so I can work at home and make $12K a month in real estate. But this post comment has me confused enough that I let it through. Specifically, it says,

“Chinese herbs do work because it is time tested.”

If I was a betting women, and those of you who have played poker with me know I am, I would bet this is actually spam. The tells on this comment are:

• It’s a really old blog post and anyone who actually cared to comment did so a long while ago
• It contains a really basic grammar mistake that most native English speakers wouldn’t make
• As comments go, it’s just plain stupid.

So at the risk of offending Alexa Stewart, you’re wrong.

However, Alexa brings to my attention something that I hear more often than I would like, this notion that Chinese herbs “work because they are time tested.” (I’m sorry, I just could not leave that subject-verb agreement mistake alone).

This brings me to Isaac Newton. I know, it’s a jump, but hang in there with me. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Well not just one cup of coffee- he's a pretty cool kid

Quite without intent, it seems I have become a connoisseur of blogs, especially those on the topic of herbs and alternative health care. I guess it goes with the territory.

For most blogs about Traditional Chinese Herbal therapy (TCH) the intended audience are acupuncture and herbal practitioners. I’m not going to sugar coat it here, most of what’s written on these blogs are astoundingly boring. Maybe it’s the nature of the medicine, I don’t know.

So imagine how excited I got when one of the TCH bloggers posted about what is possibly my very favorite beverage in the world, and quite frankly one of the most exciting substances on the planet, coffee. And though well written and chock full of information, the post was still boring- no offence Eric. Let’s see if we can’t punch it up a bit.

Coffee drinking habits in the west being what they are, praise the creator of your choice, have inspired numerous scientific inquiries as to its curative effects. Several modern practitioners of Chinese medicine, in China no less, have spent some time talking about coffee in the language of TCH. (more…)

Share on Facebook

It's not just a fun, summer food anymore!

Standing majestically over all the other traditional Chinese herbs are those that do double duty as both herbs and foods. And emperor among this royal court reigns the benevolent watermelon. Traditionally used to combat summer heat and its effects- significant thirst, dark, scanty urine and dry heaves- it’s no wonder that entire towns have built reputations on growing these green skinned fruits of wonderfulness.

What prompts my love of the watermelon today in particular? As you may remember the Herbalogic team lives in beautiful Austin, Texas. And the rumors are true; summers here are just plain hot. This leaves us residents with two choices: cower inside for 3-5 months waiting for better weather (those of you to the north may be familiar with this strategy) or find ways to keep cool while enjoying our usual outdoor activities. Enter my love of the mighty watermelon.

During my herbal training, I once had an entire 45 minutes of lecture devoted to the watermelon and its two companion summer heat fighting foods, mung beans and lotus leaf. During the break, several of us students were comparing our own experiences with these foods. My friend, Cindy*, told me the following story.

Back before Cindy and her husband each spent 28 days on “vacation”, they used to throw wild pool parties at their home. (more…)

Share on Facebook

Do these shoes seem past their prime?

So many things in this world inspire me to sing their praises from atop the highest peak, or at least say how really great they make life. But the top three are probably

• The utilization of cell phones during airport pickups
• Maps
• Common sense

And truly, how I rank those three depends on my activity at the moment you ask me. Having recently seen an acupuncture patient, common sense is winning at the moment. Though not my most recent common sense moment, this is still my favorite.

An attorney friend came to me for acupuncture treatment for foot and ankle pain. He reported that the pain was much worse whenever he went running. I examined his foot, and inserted some acupuncture needles.

While he was lying on the table, I noticed the shoes he had worn into the office. They were a pair of worn out, misshapen, dilapidated running shoes. (more…)

Share on Facebook