Vermont Acupuncture

Category: Nutritional information

  • Health in the Year of the Tiger

    Chinese New Year marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Winter is the season of the water element; fear is the emotion associated with the water element and winter.

    Manage fear and anxiety by connecting to the earth and bringing grounding qi into daily life. Flow beyond 5elemnt2-croppedfear. Get outside and walk amongst trees, breathing deeply, leaving the ear buds at home. In the five element cycle, earth controls water.

    Over activity, over use of stimulants, and lack of sleep depletes the kidney qi, which is associated with the water element. Move forward with gusto this yang tiger year, but also in a balanced way, including rest and sleep – and eating well. Rest and sleep are the best way to replenish the kidney qi. As we age, our kidney energy naturally declines. Take naps, ideally lying flat, to give the most energy back to your kidneys.

    Foods that support the water element are bone broth, soups and stews, beef, chicken, eggs, seafood, and root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, squash, shiitake mushrooms, berries and walnuts.

    Spring is associated with the wood element, the liver, and the emotion of anger and frustration.

    Avoid letting your energy stagnate this spring, or frustration can build and one may become irritable and argumentative. Bottling up anger can contribute to physical ailments that are due to qi stagnation such as body pain, headaches, digestive issues, or menstrual/menopausal irregularities.

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  • MegaCidin Throat Spray

     

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    MegaCidin is a combination of potent herbs and immune-boosting probiotic spores that can support your inner defenses in as little as 30 minutes! Plus, MegaCidin comes in a convenient spray bottle that you can keep with you in the car, at school, at work, or while traveling.

    How does it work?

    Just spray MegaCidin 1-3 times in your mouth towards the back of your throat 2-3 times per day, in order to activate your oral immune system.

    The mucosal tissue inside of the mouth is rich with immune cells that can alert the rest of the immune system to invasion.

    Supporting your oral immunity with MegaCidin is like enhancing your inner surveillance team so that your immune system can better identify and respond to foreign invaders.

  • Introducing MegaSporeBiotic

    MegaSporeImmuneSupportMegaSporeBiotic is a 100% spore-based, broad-spectrum probiotic clinically shown to maintain healthy gut barrier function.  It has been shown to clinically reduce leaky gut by 60%.

    This unique all-spore formula effectively RECONDITIONS the gut by promoting microbial diversity and maintaining key health-promoting, commensal gut bacteria. MegaSporeBiotic boasts a 5-year shelf-life, does not require refrigeration, and maintains efficacy during antibiotic therapy.

    MegaSporeBiotic contains Bacillus spores, which are naturally designed to survive digestion. The reason for their inherent survivability comes from their bi-phasic life cycle.

    This means that the Bacillus spores can transition interchangeably from their dormant form to their active form, depending on the environment. In its dormant spore form, Bacillus will surround itself with an endospore, which is a tough, natural outer shell that protects it from light, heat, pressure, acid, lack of oxygen, and other environmental factors. This key feature is what allows MegaSporeBiotic to survive easily through digestion without the need for enteric-coated capsules or refrigeration.

  • Eating Well in the Year of the Ox

    ZxxxJFXdQ6qD4HtziZBcdA_thumb_c1f3The Ox is an Earth animal according to the 5-element cycle of Chinese medicine. The Earth element relates to the Spleen/Stomach and digestion and assimilation of nutrients. In this cycle Earth generates Metal, which relates to the Lung and breathing. Focus on taking care of yourself by eating well and including breathing exercises or relaxed deep breathing in your daily routine.

    Worry and rumination negatively affects the Spleen/Stomach and digestion – don’t get stuck thinking about something endlessly. Put it out of your mind unless you can make a decision – then decide and move forward. This is not always easy to do, but practice and it will get easier. It helps if you are taking care of your Spleen/Stomach energy by eating hearty, warming, nutrition dense foods and avoiding sugar. The relationship between worry and digestion is clear in Chinese medicine; both are related to the Earth element, Spleen/Stomach and damp accumulation.

    How to Eat Well in the Year of the Ox

    Eat warm cooked foods, whole foods, don’t over eat, limit raw, cold and damp foods. Avoid sugar and limit dairy as they contribute to dampness. Too much grain can also lead to damp accumulation. Eat warm hearty meals with plenty of protein, especially bone broth, soups and stews.

    Meat and seafood: Lamb, grass-fed beef, liver, chicken (especially dark meat or breast with the skin), turkey, salmon, trout, sardines, herring, tuna

    Root vegetables: Sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga

    Shiitake mushrooms, green beans, swish chard, cabbage, kale, winter squash

    Pungent vegetables: Garlic, leek, onion, shallots

    Warming spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, clove fennel, anise, star anise, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil

    Fruit: Figs, raspberries, blueberries, pomegranate, cherries, dates, raisins, pear

    Nuts: Walnuts, pistachio

    Butter, ghee, walnut oil

    Oats, rice congee

     

    Chew! Digestion starts in the mouth, so give you digestion a break by chewing well, ideally 30 times.

    Eat warm foods. The process of digestion involves breaking food down into a warm soup in the Stomach, then the Spleen can do its job of extracting nutrients. This is one of the reasons that soup and stew is recommended as the most Spleen/Stomach-supportive meals. In Chinese medicine we advise against chilling the Spleen/Stomach. If you only like iced beverages and cold foods, you may have an excess heat pattern.

    It is still winter, so eating well for the Water Element and Kidney energy is still relevant. Bone broth is key here.

    If you want to want to maximize your nutrition and/or reset your eating habits, try a Nourishing Winter Cleanse.

  • Nourishing Winter Cleanse

    Any time of year can be a great time do a Nourishing Winter Cleanse to nourish your gut, immune system, blood stream and whole body while eating only the cleanest fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, fish and bone broth. These healthful eating tips can be useful even if you are not up for a full cleanse.

    By eating deeply nourishing foods, and not eating foods that cause inflammation and toxic build-up, we can nourish our muscular-skeletal, gastro-intestinal and blood systems, reduce systemic inflammation and bolster our immune system. The immune system starts in the gut. A healthy gut lining means fewer toxins are getting through your gut lining into your blood stream where they can wreak havoc in your joints, arteries, brain, everything!

    A healthy gut can process the food you eat efficiently, assimilating the nutrients our body needs and transforming them into the Qi and blood which is the basis for our defensive Qi, aka immune system.

    The Spleen is one of the main organs of digestion according to Chinese medicine, and is responsible for transformation and transportation of food. The Spleen likes warmth. Too much raw and cold food is too cooling for the Spleen, especially up here in Vermont in the winter! The Nourishing Winter Cleanse is exactly the opposite of a raw food cleanse. So, a cleanse doesn’t necessarily mean juice fast or raw food diet. (more…)

  • Nutrition Resources

    IMG_0539Here are some books and websites that I highly recommend if you would like to learn more about nutrition. I have utilized these resources in the past several years and they have only deepened the knowledge I gained during my undergraduate studies in Nutrition at Bastyr University in Seattle.

    Bad research, politics and crony capitalism has led to a lot of misinformation about what is healthy and what is not. Unfortunately, this information seems to have crept into our subconscious and therefore makes the truth seem illogical. What? Animal fat is good for you? I thought fat was bad…

    The information in these books is not new, really. This is more or less how our ancestors traditionally ate — before there were profits at stake — before Procter and Gamble started making Cisco as an alternative to animal fats in 1911. Since then public has been (mis)educated by marketing.

    That said, in the last ten years  has become more mainstream that animal fats are indeed healthy and fake fats are detrimental to our health. I am so happy that many of my patients and a lot more medical doctors are in-the-know.

    Here is a few of my favorite resources to share with you.

    Death by Food Pyramid by Denise MingerDeath_by_Food_Pyramid_1

    Vegetarianism Explained: Making an Informed Decision by Natasha Campbell-McBride MD

    Gut and Physiology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride MD

    Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride MD

    Put Your Heart in Your Mouth by Natasha Campbell-McBride MD

    Here you can buy the above books by Natasha Campbell-MdBride and the below two books by Sally Fallon and Thomas S Cowan.

    Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

    Fourfold Path to Healing by Thomas S. Cowan MD

    Deep Nutrition by Catherine Shannahan MD and Luke Shanahan

    Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself  and Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger MD

    Weston Price Foundation

    Whole 30

    Paleo diet

  • Phu Cuoc Fish Sauce – the Good Stuff

    225B384F5498D41C2BThe best fish sauce comes from Phu Cuoc Island, in the Gulf of Thailand on the west side of the very southern part of Vietnam. It is closer to Cambodia than it is to Vietnam and indeed it once was part of Cambodia before the French decided in the 1950’s to make it part of Vietnam. The the US imposed a trade embargo for 20 years after the communist take over and Vietnam could not export to the US or Europe. Then there were issues with getting the certificate to ensure proper sanitary conditions. During this time, Thai fish sauce producers supplied most of the fish sauce to the west.

    IMG_0535If you look in the fish sauce isle of any Asian market, you will find lots of bottles of fish sauce with PHU CUOC prominently on the label, but when you look at the fine print you will see product of Thailand. Look at the ingredients – does it have MSG? If so, NOT the good stuff.

    Back when I used to go to Phu Cuoc, we had to scheme way to get the fish sauce on the plane (it was prohibited) back to the mainland of Vietnam. We finally found a place to buy the good stuff in Ho Chi Minh City, but we still had to smuggle it in our luggage for international flights.

    Now you can buy the good stuff in Burlington, Vermont at the Thai Phat Asian Market or City Market.

    Fish sauce is fermented and is beneficial to gut bacteria, and it contains some protein, vitamins and minerals. It also contains enzymes that reduce inflammation and boost the immune system, and other enzymes that act like ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure. There are also amino acids present that are helpful for diabetes because they stimulate insulin production. So feel good about having a little fish sauce any time you want a little salty flavor.

    A little goes a long way, so don’t over do it with fish sauce, but a small amount regularly is like taking an nutritional supplement! Add no more than 1 teaspoon at a time and check that it isn’t getting too salty.

    See how to make fish sauce dipping sauce, check out the Nuoc Mam blog post. It is super easy!

     

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  • Immune System Tip #4 Stop Thinking

    Over-thinking and Digestion

    A lot of people are experiencing stress and anxiety about the Corona virus and its effects on the world. Are you finding yourself worrying, or perhaps having trouble sleeping?

    In Chinese medicine it is clear that anxiety and worry effect our digestive system. Overthinking damages the Spleen, and, conversely, a weak Spleen leads to propensity for overthinking. The Spleen represents the Earth element and the digestive system.

    Eat well to strengthen your Earth energy, your digestion and ultimately your immune system. Foods that benefit the Spleen include hearty stews, roasted root vegetables, and meat. The Spleen likes warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and fennel. Minimize intake of grains, carbohydrates and sugars.

    Reigning in your thoughts can also help your digestion and your immune system. Preoccupation with what-ifs, obsessing over COVID stats, excess worry, rumination, and excess thinking, even studying or working, are not ideal for our health. Guide your own thoughts as best as you can.

    One of my teacher’s teachers put it well, “In life you think or don’t think. If you choose to think, make a decision/take action. If you can’t make decision, don’t think about it. Sometimes it is better to not think.”

    Put down the phone. Put down the media. Keep media in its place, which means not letting it take over your thinking!

  • Soup Basics: How to Make Soup in 6 Easy Steps

    chicken soupIf you know the basics of soup making, you don’t need to follow the recipe word for word, but instead can glean inspiration from recipes and use what you have on hand. With a nice sharp chef knife, a cutting board and a Dutch oven there are endless possibilities. See equipment below.

    Step 1: Soup base –  Mirepoix

    The base of the soup usually starts with sautéing some vegetables, which flavors the oil or fat. Choose a fat that can handle the temperature. Read more about FATS here.

    • Ghee, clarified butter
    • Coconut Oil
    • Lard
    • Bacon Fat
    • Tallow (beef fat)
    • Butter – keep heat fairly low
    • Olive oil – also not recommended to sautéed at high heat

    Warm the oil/fat on medium heat in a thick-bottomed deep soup pan, such as a Dutch oven, and sauté:

    1-2 finely chopped onion, shallot or leek

    then 1-2 carrots, and if I have it, celery, both chopped finely, or medium-fine, about a half inch chunks.

    Sprinkle with sea salt (maybe a ½ teaspoon or so, I dunno exactly, I don’t measure, I add a little as I go along and usually end up needing to add more at the end.)

    Chefs call the classic mixture “mirepoix”, otherwise known as the “holy trinity” in the cooking world.

    Step 2: More vegetables

    If you want to add more vegetables, you can add them to the mirepoix about 5-10 minutes after the carrots and onions.

    What do you have in the fridge? Here are some vegetable ideas:

    • Sweet potatoes, parsnips, celerac, butternut squash
    • Mushrooms – crimini, shiitake
    • Bell peppers – green, red, yellow
    • Kale, any variety (more…)

  • Spring Cleansing

    Every spring for the last 15 years or so, I do a cleanse of some sort. It started with one month of no sugar, and I did that several years in a row. It was such a great reset. I had been finding it hard toIMG_3294 resist all the wonderful sweet treats available everywhere. Quitting sugar for a month was like hitting the reset button and afterwards I definitely found I craved sugar less and was able to resist the sultry temptations. And now to this day, I can walk into Stone Soup and admire the piles of sweet yumminess, pay for my savory selections, and go on with it, without a second thought. Success!

    Since then I have probably done about five different cleanse programs, each one a couple times, including Clean and Restart, and now I am 25 days into what I call a Whole 30-inspired month (the Whole 30 with some modifications – and perhaps I will do it for longer than a month). (more…)