Tips for winter health – Chinese style
Winter is hard on us. The long nights tend to make us feel low and we are battered by colds and viruses. It is possible to stay healthy during the winter but we need to look after ourselves.
Chinese medicine is based on observation of the natural world and the idea that your body mirrors many of nature’s patterns. Therefore to stay healthy in winter we have to stay true to nature. Here are a few tips for staying healthy in winter Chinese Medicine style:
- Hibernate! Winter is when nature sleeps. Humans may have stopped hibernating like their ancestral cousins long ago, but our bodies still experience the natural inclination to slow down in winter. Don’t fight it. make sure you get to bed early and sleep until the sun comes up
- Keep warm. This may seem obvious but your body uses precious energy trying to stay warm. Conserve that energy by wearing enough clothes and paying special attention to your core: In Chinese medicine, the abdomen and lower back are considered the storehouse of the body’s energy. Keeping your core warm and protected supports your immune system. If you struggle to keep warm try placing a hot water bottle below your belly button or on the small of your back.
- Eat winter foods: Winter is not a time for salads! Raw foods and cold drinks can be taxing on the digestive system at this time of year. Take inspiration from what is available naturally at this time such as beans, lentils, root vegetables, squashes, nuts, and seeds. Foods such as kale, broccoli, onions, oats and quinoa can warm you up, along with warming spices such as ginger and cinnamon. Eat lots of hearty soups and stews and drink lots of warm drinks.
- Be (moderately) active. It’s that time of year when everyone is starting a strict exercise regime but this isn’t the time of year for overdoing it, our bodies need to conserve some energy. Physical movement is essential to circulate energy and is important for body and mind to be active. However at this time of year gentler exercise such as walking, yoga or tai qi are ideal
- Get some sunshine! Ok there may not be much about, but when it’s there get out in it. Studies show sunshine can help your mood and enhance your sleep, as well as enhancing your immune system. Vitamin D is synthesized in your body through sunlight on your skin, and is vital for our health, so any bit of sunshine helps. Even if you can’t absorb it into your skin you can absorb it into your soul.
- Be positive: It may seem like winter is endless but the days are already getting longer. It was still light at nearly 5 today! So plan some exciting things to look forward to
Ginger Tea
This recipe is good if you are cold and tired. It also helps the digestion
- Put a few of slices of fresh ginger and a stick of cinnamon in a small pan of water
- Boil for 2/3 minutes
- Keep the lid on the pot to prevent vapour from escaping.
- Add a little honey and lemon.
Eleanor Breen 17/01/13
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Happy New Year! Want better health in 2013?
It is the beginning of a new year and, once again, a time to reflect on what changes we can make to improve our lives. If you want to improve your health this year, acupuncture can help you make the changes you need.
Here I will look at how acupuncture can help you with two common resolutions: losing weight and reducing stress
Resolution 1: Lose weight
Losing weight is the most common New Year’s Resolution. Although acupuncture cannot lose the weight for you, it is a powerful tool to support healthy weight loss by:
§ Promoting better digestion,
§ Improving metabolism,
§ Relieving emotional stress and helping address the emotional background to our overeating
§ Relieving pain to increase mobility and enable regular exercise
Acupuncture has been shown to have an effect on the function of the nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, food cravings, and metabolism. All of which can help to energize the body, maximize the absorption of nutrients, regulate elimination, control overeating, suppress the appetite, and reduce anxiety.
Acupuncture is also a natural and effective means of controlling and eliminating pain. If you are immobile or find exercise difficult due to pain, acupuncture has no side effects and can be helpful for all types of pain, regardless of what is causing the pain or where the pain is located. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain before and after acupuncture treatment for pain shows dramatic decreases in activity in the pain centres of the brain of up to 70%.
Resolution 2: Eliminate Stress
Stress reduction is often high on people’s New Year’s resolutions and for a good reason. One in five Britons suffers from stress during the festive season, and the return to work in January provides little rest bite as we realise we have not recharged as well as we hoped.
Stress and anxiety are often the cause of illness and deterioration of health and pressures at this time of year can have a very real impact on our well-being. The most common symptoms of stress are:
§ Anger and frustration
§ Anxiety and panic attacks
§ Insomnia
§ Low immune system and repeated illnesses
§ Tiredness and fatigue
§ Neck and back pain, and headaches
§ Digestive problems
Acupuncture can calm you down and enable you to cope better with situations, reducing stress and anxiety and elevating your mood. It can help you get more, better quality sleep and return good energy levels to your body, boosting your immune system.
The calming nature of acupuncture also helps decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure and improve the circulation of blood throughout the body. This all helps relax muscles, reducing tension and headaches, and improving your digestion
If you would like to feel calmer and healthier this year, contact me to find out more
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, exercise, health, new year, resolutions, stress, weight
Christmas Gift Vouchers
Give someone you love the gift of better health and wellbeing this christmas with a gift voucher for acupuncture treatment
Gift voucher for 1 treatment: £35
Special Offer: 5 treatments for the price of 4. Just £140
Please call or email me to order a voucher or to find out more information
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture. Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, christmas, gift, health, voucher
Christmas gift vouchers – 5 treatments for the price of 4
Maybe someone you love would appreciate the gift of better health and well-being this Christmas
Why not give them a gift voucher for acupuncture treatment
Gift voucher for 1 treatment: £35
Special Offer: buy a gift voucher for a course of 5 treatments for the price of 4. Just £140
Please call or email me to order a voucher or to find out more information
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture. Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, christmas, gift, health, voucher, well being
Acupuncture can improve quality of life for people with Multiple Sclerosis
New research shows electroacupuncture can significantly improve quality of life, including a reduction in pain and depression, for patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis
Electroacupuncture involves running a light current through the acupuncture needles, similar to the way a TENS machine works.
Tags: acupuncture, depression, electroacupuncture, MS, multiple sclerosis, Pain
Welcome to The Bristol Pound!
The Bristol Pound launched last week and I am delighted to be part of this exciting new local currency which will support our local economy and keep Bristol’s fantastic high streets vibrant and prosperous. I will be happy to receive payment for treatments in Bristol Pounds.
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol Pound, Local
Acupuncture for Migraine
This week (2-9 Sept 2012) is Migraine Awareness Week. Migraine is a complex neurological condition that can have an enormous impact on sufferers work, family and social lives.
If you or a family member suffers from migraine it may be worth trying acupuncture. Acupuncture can help alleviate the symptoms of migraine attacks as well as preventing attacks. See details of research here.
BBC journalist and migraine sufferer Jane Elliott, tells of her experience of using acupuncture here.
If you suffer from migraine and would like to know more about acupuncture, please feel free to call me for a chat.
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Chronic pain, headache, migraine, migraine awareness week, Pain
Acupuncture for M.E. and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
This week (6-12 May) is M.E. Awareness Week.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is a chronic, fluctuating illness affecting 250,000 people in the UK. It may be diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS). M.E. symptoms may include persistent exhaustion, muscle and/or joint pain, sleep disturbance, feeling ’flu-like and having problems with memory and concentration.
Acupuncture can help with many of the symptoms of ME or CFS. It can boost energy as well as helping with specific symptoms such as muscle stiffness, insomnia, temperature control, headaches and anxiety
There is further information on how acupuncture can help on various M.E. or CFS support websites such as Beat CFS or Action for ME. The British Acupuncture Council fact sheet gives information on how acupuncture can help as well as providing the evidence
If you would like to find out more please call me for a chat
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, CFS, Chronic Fatigue, M.E., Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Acupuncture and Depression
This week is Depression Awareness Week 2012
This is a great opportunity to explore how depression can be helped by acupuncture treatment. The British Acupuncture Council has published a factsheet with information and evidence.
Just last year new research came out showing that acupuncture is “safe, well-tolerated and effective” for patients suffering from depression
From my experience of treating people with depression, acupuncture can improve sleep, increase energy, as well as enabling them to feel more positive and more able to deal with what each day throws at them.
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, depressed, depression, depression awareness week
16-22 April 2012 is Parkinson’s Awareness Week
http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/support-us/parkinsons-awareness-week.aspx
One person in every 500 has Parkinson’s. That’s about 127,000 people in theUK.
Most people who get Parkinson’s are aged 50 or over but younger people can get it too. One in 20 is under the age of 40.
The main symptoms of Parkinson’s are tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement.
As well as affecting movement, people with Parkinson’s can find that other issues, such as tiredness, pain, depression and constipation, can have an impact on their day-to-day lives.
There’s currently no cure for Parkinson’s but the symptoms, as they progress are controlled with medication and other therapies. Although there are not many studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture for the relief of parkinsons symptoms, anecdotal evidence suggests many people experience significant relief (see details on forums: http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/pdsforum/posts.aspx?forum=treatments&topic=acupunctu-1)
The British Acupuncture council also gives further information on how acupuncture may be beneficial and where to access research on the subject: http://www.acupuncture.org.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1780:what-about-parkinsons-disease-?&Itemid=461
Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol
Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, Parkinson's, parkinson's disease, Parkinson’s Awareness Week