Health WellNews

Most people are familiar with the terms diurnal and nocturnal. Diurnal means active during the daytime, while nocturnal means active during the nighttime. Together the two make up a 24-hour cycle known as a day. But, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, this 24-hour cycle is viewed as much more than just a day in the life. The 24 hours of the day are viewed as increments of time and every two-hour section is associated with a specific energetic meridian that runs through the body. This is known as the Qi clock.

Do you wake up every night or every morning about the same time? Have you ever wondered why? Some people call that an internal clock. In Chinese medicine, this gives a much deeper look into how the body functions though. Chinese medical theory divides the body based upon the 12 energetic meridians. Each of the meridians is assigned a two-hour time slot.  For example, the liver meridian is associated with the hours of 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. If you wake up during this time frame, then there is an issue with your liver meridian. So knowing this information can be very important to an acupuncturist/Chinese medicine practitioner.

During a 24-hour period, your energy or Qi (pronounced “chee”) moves through the organ systems in two-hour intervals. Qi draws inward to help restore the body between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. The liver cleanses the blood and performs other functions, such as getting the blood ready to travel outward into the rest of the body.  Over the next 12 hours, Qi cycles through the organs that assimilate, digest and eliminate food through the body or our diurnal organs. By mid-afternoon, the body begins to slow down again in preparation for the nocturnal phase. The nocturnal phase is all about restoring and maintaining. So when one organ system is at its peak, its counterpart, on the opposite side of the clock is at its lowest point. An example is 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., which are the hours of the stomach. This is when the stomach is at its peak and also why it is recommended to eat a big breakfast. On the opposite side of the clock lies the pericardium, which is associated with the pituitary, hypothalamus and reproductive organs. The pericardium is at its weakest point between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Here’s a brief summary of the 24 hour Qi cycle:

• 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. is Lung time
• 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. is Large Intestine time
• 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. is Stomach time
• 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. is Spleen time
• 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. is Heart time
• 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. is Small Intestine time
• 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. is Urinary Bladder time
• 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. is Kidney time
• 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. is Pericardium time
• 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. is Triple Burner time
             (associated with the thyroid and adrenals)
• 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. is Gall Bladder time
• 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. is Liver time

So if you have recurring problems at the same time every day, then there is a good chance that the organ/meridian associated with that time is in distress. This is why Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners ask so many questions and also why they look at the body as a whole instead of just one particular organ. By understanding that every organ/energetic meridian has a maintenance schedule to keep daily, you can then treat your body properly so you achieve the ultimate health and well-being and acupuncture can help you achieve that goal. Acupuncturists treat the body based on things like your symptomology, your pulses, your tongue and the 24-hour Qi clock indications you exhibit. The goal is to bring the body back into balance and knowing when the meridians are at their peaks and valleys is a great place to begin.

It’s that time of year again…the weather is getting colder, the leaves have fallen off the trees and people are beginning to trickle into the office with autumn colds and allergies. As an acupuncturist, I have to say I rarely get sick. I have lots of tools and tricks in my bag to stay healthy during cold season, and I’m happy to share some of them with you!

You know how your mom always made you wear a scarf when you were a kid, telling you that you’d catch a cold if you didn’t? I used to think she was just saying that, but as it turns out, there was something to it after all! In the world of Chinese medicine, there is an area at the back of the neck which can absorb wind and cold, allowing it to permeate into your system and creating an ideal situation to catch an actual cold. By keeping this area warm and covered, you are putting up a shield between yourself and this invading wind, increasing your chances of avoiding colds.

Since we acupuncturists view cold as an entity that can migrate into your system, adding warm foods into your diet can help to balance out that cold, keeping you healthy or speeding up your recovery once a cold has set in. Eating chicken soup to ward off illness isn’t just a fallacy; the temperature of the soup is helpful, but there are also lots of “warm” ingredients within the soup. Every food has an energetic quality, and warm spicy foods balance out excess cold in the system. Most good chicken soup has garlic, pepper and other spices that are considered “warm” in TCM.

Adding spicy foods into your diet when cold season hits is a way to protect yourself from succumbing to the sniffles. Whenever I begin to feel a cold coming on, I sautée slices of ginger with a little butter or oil, and add it to a tea made with lemon, honey, cinnamon, clove and a dash of cayenne. I let the ginger soften as I drink the tea, and then eat the ginger. This never fails to get me feeling healthy again, if I drink it before the cold settles into my system. It’s also delicious!

Staying warm and eating the right foods are two ways to stay healthy, and another is acupuncture. If you don’t have access to your acupuncturist, the next best thing is to utilize some acupressure points to crank up your immune system. If you slide your finger down the side of your thumb, you will hit a bone just below the wrist crease. Keep sliding down about an inch or so, and press hard while feeling for a tender spot. This is Lung 7, which is a powerful point to build up the energy of the lung, which boosts the immunity. Another great immunity point is Stomach 36. This point is located approximately four fingers down from the bottom of the knee cap, along the outer boundary of the shin bone. This point boosts the energy of the entire body, so massaging it will help to keep your “Wei Qi” up. This Wei Qi is your defensive energy, which creates a barrier between yourself and pathogens that cause harm. In Western terminology, it would be the equivalent of the immune system. Pressing on both of these points will allow you to tap into the positive effects of acupuncture, minus the needles.

Many of us struggle with unpredictable seasonal-allergy symptoms. How does one create a plan of action to reduce the incidence and severity of an illness with such an unpredictable temperament? Luckily, acupuncture is like the duct tape of medical interventions, patching dysfunction and boosting the body’s natural resilience with the creative tenacity of MacGyver.

Acupuncture can often provide a measure of relief spanning several areas at once (stress relief, pain relief and immune system support at the same time). Because acupuncture’s mechanisms of action impact several biochemical pathways that influence seasonal allergies, it is a tool that works in both a preventive and a pain-relieving way. In this case, it treats nearly every stage of the seasonal allergy process (barring emergency medical conditions). continue reading »

We all have stress. Stress at work, stress at home, stress, stress, stress. And most of us know how harmful chronic stress can be to our bodies and minds. Stress can cause us to be fatigued, irritable, sad, restless, anxious and unmotivated. It can also lead to detrimental habits like smoking, drinking, drug usage and overeating.

What if you could combat and alleviate stress in 10 minutes or less? Your body, family, friends and co-workers would probably thank you. So, let’s explore three easy ways to fight off everyday stress. continue reading »

Summer. School is out, vacations with the family are planned, good times are on the horizon, but you’re face to face with an old friend, allergies. You’ve tried Zyrtec, Claritin-D and even Allegra. If it is an allergy medicine on the market, you’ve bought it. But, unfortunately none of the medications seem to be doing the trick. Lucky for you there are many forms of natural remedies, which can give you a quick and easy fix to your allergy issues. Here are three quick fixes you should try this summer.

Apple Cider Vinegar

One of the quickest and easiest allergy fixes in the books. And, this cure has been used for centuries. If something has been used for that long, it’s guaranteed to be good, right? All you have to do is take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and mix it with a cup of water. Easy right? But, there is one very important catch. continue reading »