Is your energy still struggling to keep up, even though there is more sunshine? If so, don’t be too worried. Your body is just starting to come out of its hibernation stage from winter, and there weren’t as many quiet snowy evenings for your body to catch up from all of last year’s activities. Take things slower than usual and try not to overdo things. It looks like summer outside, but your body is still adjusting. If you want to kickstart your system, give us a call and come in for some acupuncture.

As we move into spring, we tend to eat more summer foods like salads and sandwiches. Be conscious of making sure you’re eating enough cooked foods as well, though, so your digestion doesn’t have to work too hard just when its strength is coming back. Incorporating broth-based soups, rice (we love basmati!), and fish into your meals now will help your digestive system ease into summer so you can enjoy magnificent garden salads in the months coming up. We’ve been eating fish from Coastal Seafoods and it is delicious!

Ready to shed that winter weight? Now is the perfect time to get some more motivation to look and feel your best. We’ve spent the last few months trying out some new lifestyle support websites and found that we love them when paired with acupuncture to reduce emotional eating, increase metabolism, and get the body back on track. We also came across our new favorite quote:

“A year from now you’ll wish you had started today.”

The most exciting information I found was on the supplement Red Yeast Rice, which is called Hong Qu in Chinese. It is made by fermenting rice with the yeast Monascus purpureus, which then changes its color to red. The study cited in my herbal medicine textbook found that after 8 weeks of taking 600 mg of Red Yeast Rice twice a day, total cholesterol was reduced by 23%, LDL “bad cholesterol” was reduced by 31%, triglycerides were reduced by 34%, and HDL “good cholesterol” was increased by 20%. I’ve seen other studies that found that Red Yeast Rice can lower cholesterol by up to 34%. In contrast to statin drugs that can lower cholesterol by up to 24%, but only work on some people and have side effects, Red Yeast Rice is a good alternative.  Additionally, it lowers blood pressure and is an antioxidant that can help prevent cancer.  The important thing to know about the Red Yeast Rice, though, is that it needs to be fermented properly because otherwise a toxin called citrinin is created that can damage the kidneys. Some products that were found to be high in active ingredients while being free of citrinin are Healthy Origins’ HPF Cholestene, Atrium’s Chole-sterin, and Healthy America. The recommendation is to take 1200 mg twice a day.

Following are some lifestyle recommendations, foods, and supplements that can help with cholesterol. I included doses and amounts when cited in the research as well as the percentage that each affects the cholesterol. There were also 2 supplements called Policosanol and Guggulipid that are commonly used for cholesterol, but the research studies on them did not support any benefits.

Reducing Total Cholesterol (lowered by up to this %)

• Red Yeast Rice – see notes above – 22.7%
• Exercise – modest – 30 mins most days of week (3-9%)
• Raisins – 1 cup daily (9%)
• Pectin – 2 carrots/day (10%) – also in apples and white inside of citrus rinds
• Psyllium fiber – 10-12 g/day (3-14%)
• Flax seed – grind weekly and store in refrigerator – 1-2 T./day
• Garlic – ½-1 clove/day (10%) – chop and let sit for 10-15 minutes before eating
• Onions – quercetin in them lowers cholesterol
• Polyphenols – grapes, wine, blueberries, cranberries, bilberries, black currants, peanuts, green tea, black tea, onions, legumes, parsley – blue, purple, or dark colored grapes or berries

Reducing LDL “bad cholesterol” (lowered by up to this %)

• Red Yeast Rice – see notes above – 22-34%
• Exercise – modest – 30 mins most days of week (14%)
• Nuts – 1 oz. daily for 1 month (29%) – small handful or <1/4 cup – almonds, walnuts, cashews, brazil nuts, macadamias
• Oat bran – 2.6 g/day for 2 months (6-26%)
• Soy – 20-50g/day (10%) – 10 g in 1-2 cups soymilk, 4 oz. tofu
• Sterols & Stanols – avocado, soybeans, olive oil, green leafy vegetables (9-14%)
• Raisins – 1 cup daily (14%)
• Pomegranate Juice – 40 g/day (9%)
• Artichoke Extract – 900 mg twice daily for 6 weeks (23% – one study, not repeated yet)
• Psyllium fiber – 10-12 g/day (5-10%)
• Policosanol – studies in Cuba in 1990s showed benefit, but no studies able to support results since then
• Guggulipid – no research supporting
• Niacin – (5-25%)
• Statin drugs (23.5%)

Raising HDL “good cholesterol” (increased by up to this %)

• Red Yeast Rice – see notes above – 20%
• Quit smoking (5-10% within 30-60 days)
• Exercise – vigorous – increase heart rate above 65% (5-10%)
• Diet – low carb (15%)
• Diet – reduce saturated fats to less than 7% of total calories
• Diet – eliminate trans fats (3%)
• Alcohol – up to 1 drink/day for women and 2 drinks/day for men (5-15%, but less benefit if drink more)
• Soy – 20-50g/day (3%) – 10 g in 1-2 cups soymilk, 4 oz. tofu
• Niacin (15-35%)
• Estrogen (10-15%)
• Statin drugs (7.5%)

Reducing Triglycerides (lowered by up to this %)

• Red Yeast Rice – see notes above – 34%
• Exercise – daily brisk 30 minute walk (20%)
• Diet – low carb (8-21%)
• Soy – 20-50g/day (11%) – 10 g in 1-2 cups soymilk, 4 oz. tofu
• Fish oil – 3-4g/day (30-50%)
• Niacin – 2-3g/day (20-50%)

Reducing C-Reactive Protein (inflammatory mediator)

• Quit smoking
• Diet – high in antioxidants – whole foods, richly colored fruits & veggies, berries, wine, dark chocolate
• Fiber – mixed results
• Some statin drugs

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3065837/?tool=pmcentrez

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3151482/?tool=pmcentrez

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17302963

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11327519

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20636227

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20730532

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20975018

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20886788

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19489487

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18807715

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17650655

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21487493

In general, there are 3 groups of risk factors. The first group has the unchangeable factors that include family history, gender, and age.  Then come the lifestyle factors which include whether the patient is a smoker, diet, exercise, and stress. Finally there is a third group of factors that come with a diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome when 3 factors are present and indicate a greater risk for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. These risk factors are defined differently by the World Health Organization (WHO) than by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) and the American Heart Association (AHA) but I chose the IDF/AHA list because they were updated more recently.

Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors:

• Abdominal obesity – 35” waist or higher for women, 40″ waist or higher for men
• High blood pressure – 130/85 or higher
• Low HDL cholesterol – less than 50 mg/dL for women, less than 40 mg/dL for men
• High triglycerides – 150 mg/dL or higher
• High blood sugar – fasting glucose of 100 mg/dL or higher

While looking at research, I found an online cardiac risk factor calculator. Check it out at

https://www.heart.org/gglRisk/locale/en_US/index.html?gtype=health

In general, acupuncture lowers blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. I have been looking at the medical research out there to determine what the best treatments are to have a more specific effect on each of these risk factors. We can also do specific treatments to help with quitting smoking or losing weight while educating you about diet and exercise habits that will help you lead a healthier lifestyle. So the next time you come in for acupuncture, give us an update on your cardiac risk factors so we can personalize your treatments to address these concerns. We have also been researching foods and supplements that can help reduce your cardiac risk factors, so check back for more info soon!

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/109/3/433.full

http://www.idf.org/metabolic-syndrome

We will be seeing patients on Tuesday, December 20th and Wednesday, December 21st before finishing up our year-end duties behind the scenes. If you’d like to get in one last treatment on our last 2 clinic days of the year, give us a call to get on our busy schedule as soon as possible!

Making baby food starts by cooking the food in the same way that you normally do, with a few important differences. We never use salt because it is hard on the fragile kidneys and we don’t use spices or sugar. We try new foods one at a time, with at least 3 days in between trying the next new food. We try to serve the foods by themselves instead of mixed with sweet fruits because we want the babies to develop a wide range of tastes for healthy foods. Surprisingly, or maybe not that surprisingly, they really love foods like kale, whole milk yogurt, and avocados. This makes me so happy. The hardest part was getting over our own hangups about foods that we think taste good or bad and let the babies show us what they like. So far they will eat everything we give them. We are waiting longer on highly allergenic foods like strawberries, citrus, nuts, and wheat. We also have only used white rice because brown rice is difficult to digest.

We cook most of the foods, including most fruits, even if they are typically eaten raw as adults. This is because the digestive systems of babies and small children are not fully developed (which is called Spleen Qi Deficiency is Traditional Chinese Medicine) and cooking them makes them easier to digest. It also softens the skins and seeds so they puree more smoothly. We also never microwave anything since it kills some of the qi of the food, so everything is done on the stovetop or in the oven. We store the food in small containers in the freezer because our schedules require us to make a few weeks worth of food at a time. Before serving the food, we let it warm on the table until it is close to room temperature instead of feeding it straight out of the refrigerator because cold foods are also hard on the digestive system. The food needs to be eaten within 2 days of thawing and a meal usually consists of a protein, grain, green vegetable, and fruit or sweet vegetable.

At 8 months, these are the baby foods we’ve made:

Protein – yogurt, beef with onions, salmon with parsley

Healthy Fats – avocado, butter, olive oil

Vegetables – kale, cucumber, chard, summer squash, zucchini, butternut squash, kuri squash, sweet potato, green beans, carrots, turnips, rutabaga, potatoes, beets, peas, spinach

Fruit – cantaloupe, watermelon, ambrosia melon, grapes, blueberries, nectarines, black plums, prunes, pears, mango, banana, apples

Grains – white rice, oatmeal

Yesterday my sister and I cooked for 6 hours to make enough food for both babies for about 3 weeks. I washed, chopped, and cooked the food (her husband helped me with the chopping) while she did the grinding. Then we put the food in small containers and froze them for the upcoming 3 weeks of meals.

Before looking at the research studies that have been done on melatonin, let’s look at how the body makes melatonin. We start by eating tryptophan. It is an essential amino acid, which means our bodies cannot produce it so we have to get it from food. The body then takes this amino acid and converts it into 5-hydroxytryptophan (also called 5-HTP). From there, the liver converts the 5-HTP into serotonin. Then, the pineal gland converts the serotonin into melatonin. Melatonin is the neurohormone that helps us sleep. For people with depression who don’t have enough serotonin to make into melatonin, insomnia issues can be present.

This sounds complicated, but what is important is that melatonin is created by the body from the amino acid tryptophan. So eating more tryptophan can help with sleep. Since meats are complete proteins which means they contain a significant amount of all of the essential amino acids, and tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meats are the easiest way to get enough tryptophan. Meats include fish, shellfish, turkey, chicken, duck, pork, beef, and game meats. Additionally, other foods that contain relatively high amounts of tryptophan include dairy (eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese), soy products (soybeans, tofu), dark leafy greens (spinach, spirulina, watercress), and seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower).

After reading so much about tryptophan, it got me to thinking about how Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at food. Generally, insomnia is considered blood deficiency or yin deficiency. And foods that help these conditions? Not surprisingly, foods like meat, dairy, soy products, dark leafy greens, and seeds help with both blood deficiency and yin deficiency. In fact, for those diagnosis patterns, foods with protein are extremely important because they have strong moistening and nourishing effects that are similar to what blood and yin do for the body. An added benefit of foods that contain lots of protein is that they are heavy and help the qi move downward. When a person with insomnia can’t sleep, the qi is oftentimes floating up into their head and causing an inability to turn the mind off and feel restful to get back to sleep. So I often recommend eating a small protein snack to help that qi become grounded for better sleep. I love that the western idea of tryptophan and the eastern idea of yin foods that help with grounding include similar types of food. It explains why a glass of warm milk which is rich in tryptophan and protein and also builds yin can help with insomnia. I love it!

For people who have had insomnia for many years or who do shift work, I sometimes recommend that they take a melatonin supplement. My clinical experience has been that 1 mg works better than a higher dosage. I’ve found that that time release ones work better, since melatonin has a half life of about 20 minutes to 2 hours, which means that it starts losing its effectiveness after that. This is why it’s so important to take a time release formula. Melatonin increases REM sleep, which means that it improves sleep quality as well as quantity. Since my patients are concerned about the safety and effectiveness of melatonin supplements, I looked at research studies. This is what I found:

• Short-term and long-term effectiveness in insomnia patients 18-80 years old, particularly those 55 and older
• Significantly better sleep quality with melatonin supplements
• No tolerance (dosages do not need to increase over time to maintain effectiveness)
• Stopping melatonin does not cause rebound insomnia or withdrawal symptoms (benefits continue to be seen after stopping)
• Beneficial for treating circadian rhythm sleep disorders, including advanced and delayed sleep phase disorders, jet lag and shiftwork disorder
• Safe during pregnancy (melatonin reduces complications in pregnancy and neonatal period)
• Safe for children (doesn’t inhibit development related to sleep quality, puberty, and mental health)
• Melatonin is an antioxidant that protects the neurological system & reduces progression of diseases like Alzheimer’s
• Improves neurotransmission of 5-HTP, dopamine, & norepinephrine, which may reduce declines in memory & movement due to aging

My sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21845053

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21557691

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21358967

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21340475

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21091391

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20082664

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/mel98.cfm