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Healthy Foods for Fall

traditional chinese medicine foods for fall

The season of fall brings cooler weather and shorter days. As with any season, the world adjusts accordingly. Plants begin to go dormant, animals begin scrounging for food to store to get them through the upcoming winter months and humans start winterizing everything.

As fall descends on the land, it reminds us we need to start cutting back on the numerous cooling foods that are consumed during the summer months. Things like raw foods, salads, juices and fruits should be decreased because they can create too much cold in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine. continue reading »

Five Reasons to Get Acupuncture for Low Back Pain

Statistics show eight out of 10 people will experience low back pain at some point during their life. Seeking medical treatment for back pain is very common. Typically back pain is fleeting and can be easily resolved with rest, heat and an occasional anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen. However, once the damage is done, the recurrence of back pain can be as high as 50 percent. Part of this is because as we age, things like muscles and tendons become less flexible and pliable. It is also very well known in the United States, people are too sedentary and this leads to excess weight gain that can create added pressure on the body, especially the low back. continue reading »

Winter Solstice: Seasonal Tune-up

Traditional Chinese Medicine accounts for specific balancing treatments in preparation for each season of the year. In Yellow Empero’s Canon Internal Medicine (tr. by Nelson Liansheng Wu and Andrew Qi Wu, China Science & Technology Press, 1997), Chapter 1 entitled “On Human Preserving Health Energy in Ancient Times”, the Yellow Emperor asked of Qibo, the Taoist Master, “…people in ancient times could all survive to more than one hundred years old…What is the reason?” The Master answered: “Those who knew the way of keeping a good health in ancient times always kept in their behavior in daily life in accordance with the nature….They were able to modulate their daily life in harmony with the way of recuperating the essence and vital energy, thus they could master and practices the way of preserving good health.” This is further discussed in Chapter 2 “On Preserving Health in Accordance with the Four Seasons.” Therefore, each of the four seasons is a preparation for the coming seasonal period. For example, ten days before or after December 21, 2012 would be ideal for patients to receive an acupuncture treatment, in order to balance their vital energy for the fall season. This is especially important for those who were born in Dragon year, Dog year, Ox year and Sheep year. Even if you are feeling very healthy, it is a good practice to routinely maintain your health

Acupuncture Today Breaking: Acupuncture Added As Essential Health Benefit in California

By Brenda Duran, Senior Associate Editor

Acupuncture will be considered an “essential health benefit” in California and will be covered by individual and small group health plans starting in 2014. On Sept. 30, Gov. Jerry Brown signed measures SB 951 and AB 1453, which included acupuncture to be covered under the federal health reform also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The health care law will require all insurance plans to cover a specific set of benefits. The health law includes 10 broad categories that must be included, leaving the specifics to every state. The legislation establishes the minimum health benefits that must be offered to consumers. The two measures included acupuncture as an essential health benefit that the state can begin to offer through federally subsidized plans for individuals and families as well as unsubsidized plans. According to the plan, patients would pay a $30 co-pay for acupuncture services to treat “nausea and chronic pain.” This is the first step to full implementation of the ACA in the state of California. During his term as California governor in the 1970s, Gov. Brown had legalized the practice of acupuncture and strongly supported the rights of chiropractors, osteopaths and lay midwives. During the past year, the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) and many of its national and state partners were actively engaged in the public debate on the definition of Essential Health Benefits (EHB). The AAAOM EHB Task Force had submitted a Summary Report to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in support of acupuncture as a potentially-covered EHB. In that report, the group outlined both the criteria HHS should use to determine specifics of the EHB package and the benefits of including acupuncture in this benefit package. The core of the message was that acupuncture increases patient choice and improves overall cost-effectiveness of American healthcare through prevention and its integration with mainstream medicine. The AAAOM EHB Task Force also worked with the office of Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) to designate acupuncture as a covered as an essential health benefit under PPACA. After running a national letter-writing campaign, the group was able to gather 23,000 letters, which were sent to HHS to comment on the first EHB bulletin.

Read more on this campaign: www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=32458

Anson’s testimonial

 Anson:  I have been seeing Dr. Che for several years now.  Prior to Dr. Che, I was seeing another acupuncturist only when I had my periodic severe allergic reactions that resulted in full body hives for long periods of time.  At the time, I was only seeking immediate relief when I should have also been seeking for the root cause of my condition.

Dr. Che took the time to educate me on the causes of my condition and proceeded to treat me accordingly.  Since I started seeing Dr. Che, I have not had even one occurrence of hives.  In addition, Dr. Che has also been able to help me with my history of back and shoulder pain that was escalated after a severe car accident.  In addition, I always feel a sense of well being and an overall increase in energy whenever I receive treatment.

Dr. Che is extremely knowledgeable and thorough.  She has also always been very encouraging and supportive with me and has made a dramatic positive impact in my health.  I have full trust in Dr. Che and highly recommend her practice.

Enlightenment and Inspiration from an experience with a skin cancer case

By Dr. Che, Xia Lic. Ac. & Dipl.O.M.(NCCAOM)

Published in the Journal of CAMA(California Acupuncture Medical Association) Monthly May, 2010

Introduction: In this case, the patient has had unrelenting severe back and leg pain even after two epidurals within a five month period at Kaiser Permanente Hospital. Referred by his friend, he came to see me in wheelchair accompanied by his family. While treating him for the back and leg pain, an unexpected result occurred regarding his other medical problem of skin cancer which he had been struggling with for over 30 years. In this article, I am documenting the procedure and theoretical background for the treatment of this patient. At the writing of this article, the patient is attending his third 12-visit course of treatment. The first course was three times per week from Jan 22,2010 to Feb.17,2010; the second was two times per week from Feb.24,2010 to April 2,2010. The enlightenment experienced from this case may inspire further research to learn how these ancient theories may benefit more people. This paper includes a small bibliography and keywords for the reader to pursue further understanding of the concepts discussed.

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