herbs

Acupuncture & Herbs: Herbs For Stress Relief

September 16, 2015 by MWC Staff

Though there is a long list of drugs to handle stress, the list of their side effects is equally long. So everyone is on the look out for natural stress relief techniques which are very effective and at the same time don’t have many side effects. Herbal treatments usually have a significant chunk of followers. Herbs are natural stress relievers with little or no side effects and can be used as a single herb or combination product in stress management therapy. Valerian is said to be the oldest in the herbal treatment of stress while Kava Kava is the latest addition. The following different herbs have medicinal values in the treatment of stress:

Kava Kava
Kava Kava, or simply Kava, is the latest sensation in the stress management therapy. It is a derivative of the pepper family ‘Piper methysticum’. This plant family is indigenous to the Indonesian and the Polynesian group of islands. The herb was initially used in drinks while welcoming dignitaries. Kava can be taken as a whole herb or as extracts of the herb. Kava as a stress relief product that comes in both liquid and pill forms.
Kava, when ingested, gives a sense of well being. The herb contains Kava lactones which help in relaxation. The unique feature of Kava is that it does not affect the memories and the mental alertness. Kava can be used to relieve stress, relax muscles and get a peaceful sleep.

Valerian Root
Valerian is said to be the oldest among the herbal stress relievers. It is mentioned even in Ayurvedic literature. It is akin to the drug ‘Diazepam’ which is used to calm a person. Valerian relaxes the nervous system and induces deep sleep. It also relaxes tensed muscles and is very useful to relieve the muscle cramps of pre- menstrual tension.

Passion Flower
It is used either singly or as a combination product. It contains flavinoids which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances which neutralize the highly damaging oxygen ions. Passion flower also acts as a sedative as it decreases anxiety and can induce a deep sleep.

Scull Cap
This herb is used as a nerve tonic. It stabilizes the mood during periods of stress.

Hops
This is a mild tranquilizer. It pacifies a stressed mind. It is used if there are sleeplessness and irritability.

Catnip
Catnip acts on two systems – the nervous system and the digestive system. It calms down an anxious person by acting on the brain. It is effective in relieving the symptoms of peptic ulcer disease and irritable bowel syndrome which are oftentimes associated with stress.

Chamomile
It boosts immunity which is usually depressed during stress and thus prevents infection. It also acts as a tranquilizer by calming down a person. The gastro- intestinal symptoms and signs of stress are also relieved.

Rhodiola
This acts on the heart. The irregular heartbeat is controlled so that the heart is made to pump at the normal rhythm.

We have created special proprietary tea blends to help with stress and anxiety so if you are interested, please visit www.marlboroughwellnesscenter.com and go to our Natural Store! Order online for ease and find yourself beginning down the path to calm!

Acupuncture and Herbs: “Eat With The Season!”

June 23, 2015 by MWC Staff

I get asked all the time what are the best food to eat during the summer? Healthy eating tips for the summer are a little tricky but my main mantra is “Eat With The Season”!
Since the weather is warm, you need light, cooling foods. Juicy peaches, sweet watermelons, tomatoes hot off the vine… and the right foods are easy to find. One trip through your garden or a walk through a farmer’s market and you’ll have the perfect summer meal.
But since you’re outside exercising and working in the garden, you build up an appetite. You work hard and play hard so you crave calories to keep the fire burning. Are cucumbers the first food you reach for after rototilling the garden? Most of my clients respond “probably not”. Unfortunately, many times craving calories trumps craving fresh food. You satisfy your appetite with a meal of tortilla chips and soda. Or brats and beer. Or hamburgers and ice cream. And afterward you feel full, bloated and hot.

Fortunately there is a solution! It is possible to eat well, have energy, and avoid feeling bloated. The trick is in the timing and with an easy tweak to your natural summer diet, you’ll feel fantastic.

It should come as no surprise that I recommend eating lots of fruits and vegetables in the summer. In fact, I recommend eating fruits and vegetables all year, but in the summer they are especially important. Summer is a yang season and is associated with the fire element. Fire governs the heart and small intestine. When fire is balanced within the body, the heart governs and circulates the blood properly and the intestines properly digest food. Emotionally, you are balanced, sensitive and enthusiastic. There are a few simple guidelines to keep fire balanced:

1. Focus on yin foods. Yin foods are wet and cool. Fruits and vegetables (especially green vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers and watercress) are yin. For protein, eat more fish or seafood than meat. Smoothies and salads are yin and are excellent summer meals.
2. Eat moderately. Avoid huge meals.
3. Eat bitter foods. Bitter foods support the fire element. Coffee, tea and chocolate (without sugar) are all bitter and moderate amounts of them are appropriate for summer health. This is the season you can call your coffee a health food! Asparagus, bitter greens like kale, arugula or escarole, celery and rhubarb are all good foods for the summer.

Eat Big in the Afternoon
If you focus on yin and bitter foods, your diet is cooling and light. But what happens when you need more energy than a slice of watermelon provides? This is when the timing of your meals matters. If you need a heavier meal, eat it mid to late afternoon. “Picnic time” is the best time to fuel up. Avoid eating a big meal early or late in the day. A healthy summer eating plan starts with a breakfast of fruit, smoothies or yogurt. Have a salad for lunch. Eat a heavy meal later in the afternoon and end your day with more fruit.
By eating mostly fresh, light, wet foods and including a heavy meal only in the afternoon, you will help your fire burn bright but not out of control. You’ll feel light, cool and energized. Your heart, circulation and digestion will be strong. You won’t feel bloated or full.

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses nutrition as a tool to maintain health and promote healing. Eating a yin diet with your heavy meal in the late afternoon is good general advice, but your constitution may need a slightly different routine. The proportion of yin food matters and varies from person to person. To get the best summer eating tips, contact me and together we’ll make a plan that’s perfect for you.

Acupuncture and Herbs: PAIN Is What May Bring You In But…

April 2, 2015 by MWC Staff

Recently I was asked a fantastic question: “What is the most common condition you treat?”
My answer was pain. Pain is usually what may bring most clients in the door. neck pain, Low back pain, headache pain, digestive issues, allergy pain…if you can name it’s whereabouts and it causes disruption in your everyday life, it’s pain. But most of the time, the pain is a sign that something more serious is going on. Now, excluding the acute ankle sprain or acute pain conditions that can be treated within a few sessions, most pain conditions are chronic in nature and stem from imbalance in the body. Old injuries should heal on their own (or with surgical help) and should cause minimal disruption to your every day functioning. If they are, imbalance is present in the body and acupuncture and herbs can help correct that so that you can live a pain-free and healthy life!
Think about it this way…your normal everyday pain is not normal!

When are weeds really just weeds?

July 29, 2011 by MWC Staff

So, I found myself at a crossroads recently, deciding to simplify my life. I have done a lot in my life career-wise and felt kind of like a Superwoman for a while. Soon though, as every Superwoman can attest, our capes get dirty, tattered, in need of cleaning and repair. I found mine needing to go to the cleaners in February of 2011. Interesting how when your cape is at the cleaners, you really find yourself lost and little naked. It was in that state that the reality of my ‘Superwoman’ status was obvious…I was losing out on valuable time with my family, my children, my acupuncture business, and most importantly, myself. All for what? Career advancement? Hadn’t I advanced enough with two successful businesses? I had to make a huge decision and let me tell you, it was not an easy one.

It has been a challenging introspective road I have been traveling on the past few months. And man, the CalTrans and MassDOT unions would NEVER consider contracting with my Superwoman state to ‘improve these roads’! They are pretty beat up and missing some major sections in a few areas. But I do have some gorgeous scenery. Those moments in time when you find yourself without a camera but your “mind’s camera” catches the brief picture of happiness, that one split second your child looks at you in a way that is indescribable. You know that moment. Those are the moments that outline the scenery that lines my road right now, reminding me that I am on the right path and that something great is ahead while reminding me of the beauty in the current traveling moment.

Just the other day, I realized that I was not needed and can be replaced. This is a tough place to be in as an owner of something. But as a colleague told me, “If we were all irreplaceable, the world would have ended years ago.” Ah true. That day was uncomfortable and full of emotion. I found myself weeding. Kind of appropo since I am an herbalist after all and an a crazy gardener who’s gardening capabilities have been put on hold due to my kids. I like to play with them instead of gardening sometimes and they like to pick my flowers. I have moved to food and herb-based plants in my garden so they can but the weeds were getting so out of control!

So I started on the sidewalk in front of my house. Funny thing happens when you are in front of your house – neighbors start talking to you. We talk about herbs, exchange a few plants for stuffed quahogs, talk to tween girls about Justin Beeber, and sympathize with the grandfather walking outside on the sidewalk with a newborn baby crying trying to calm and quiet the little one. Meanwhile, my husband is knee deep in compost in the back of the yard, missing this all go on. But I think this was meant for me to experience anyhow.

I just started pulling weeds. I knew some of their names in Pin Yin, some were cooking herbs that got crazy expanding their roots, and some I just wanted to get rid of. They seem to just be everywhere. And as I pulled, I found spiders, ants, burrs, beetles, all sorts of characters! When I was done, there was an emptiness in the beds and cracks, a sense of clean. The fresh dirt was showing and my husband asking behind me, “Where do you want me to put the compost?”

It made me think.

What is my life going to look like after I am done with this chapter? Are the weeds really just weeds? Or are they valuable herbs (lessons) and all I have experienced (the neighbors, the critters, the interactions) while removing them made me a better person? I guess I had to remove the weeds in order to see the richness of the life that surrounded them.

I am going to try to write more on my website about life, herbs, and the interaction of it all. I’m going to call it “Musings of an Herbal Mind” and I hope that my journey helps you on yours…or at least makes you laugh in the moment.