QUIT SMOKING with Acupuncture

CONGRATULATIONS! If you're reading this, you are on your way to kicking the habit and becoming smoke-free and healthier.  Every year, more than 3 million Americans try to quit smoking, but only half of them succeed.  With the help of acupuncture you have a greater chance of success!


How Acupuncture Can Help


Some of the largest stumbling blocks to becoming smoke-free are the stress, anxiety and depression associated with quitting.  Fortunately, acupuncture treatment is quite successful at calming and relaxing the mind, reducing anxiety and alleviating depressive feelings.  Specific acupoints in the ear and wrist are used to accomplish this.  Additional acupoints may be included that help suppress your appetite, simulate repair and healing of organ systems and reduce food and nicotine cravings.


More Than Just Kicking The Habit


Using acupuncture to quit smoking yields enormous benefits.  Aside from taking care of the stumbling blocks that can cause you to resume the habit, acupuncture can help restore your body to a healthy state of balance and well-being.  If you are ready to become smoke-free, acupuncture can provide you with the support you need.


Here are a few tips to guide you through your acupuncture care:

• Drink plenty of filtered water during the process.
• Eat balanced, healthy meals with a variety of vegetables and fruits.
• Refrain from sugar, which can cause further sugar cravings and unwanted weight gain.
• Manage your cravings.  They will actually fade within a few minutes.  When cravings arise, distract yourself.  Before you know it, the craving will have passed.
• Scrub your skin with a dry brush or loofa to facilitate the cleansing process and help blood circulation. Take daily baths or showers.
• Avoid spending time with other smokers so that you are less tempted to smoke.
• Take a walk outside and take deep breaths.  Upon exhale, gently place your teeth together and exhale with the sound "ssssssssssss." This sound stimulates the lungs.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can provide a SAFE, NATURAL, DRUG-FREE and effective way to quit smoking.  The focus is upon achieving a balance of body and mind, and eliminating cravings so you can become smoke-free and healthier.

The Flu, You, and Chinese Medicine

Each year, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized due to complications from the flu virus.  Unfortunately, most of us get the "flu" or "influenza" virus at least once in our lifetime.  The associated symptoms and signs are all-too-common: fever, sore throat, congestion, fatigue, muscle and body aches, runny nose, dry cough, sneezing and watery eyes.


Colds are much less severe than the flu, but like the flu, viruses and germs cause colds.  Colds cause less severe symptoms such as nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, and light headaches.  Though it may make you feel lousy, getting a cold is not always a bad thing.  Instead, it's a sign that the body's resources are strong and vital, working to return you to a state of good health.  However, if you immune system is already compromised, a cold could further weaken your body, leaving you open to a more serious illness.

The Flu, You, And Chinese Medicine
Clinical studies have suggested that using acupuncture as a preventative approach to colds and flu can reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection and shorten the length of illness.  Acupuncture and Chinese medicine work by re-balancing the body's systems, regulating the body's healing energies and enhancing the immune system.


Even though germs, bacteria, and viruses are everywhere - in the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink - according to Chinese medical theory, they do not cause disease.  Illness occurs when certain organ systems are weak and out of balance.  When our bodies are in a weakened and unbalanced state, a hospitable environment is created for germs, bacteria and viruses to thrive, leading to a cold or the flu.


One of the main theories supporting acupuncture and its treatment of colds and the flu is the concept of Wei Qi.


What In The World Is Wei Qi?


The concept of Wei Qi is similar to the Western concept of the immune system.  Wei Qi functions as a barrier protecting and defending the body against foreign substances, which can cause illness and disease.  When Wei Qi is strong and abundant, we remain healthy.  When the supply of Wei Qi becomes inadequate, health is compromised and we become vulnerable to outside invaders.


Throughout our lives, a variety of factors affect our health and well-being.  Although most of the time we recover quickly and regain our health, when these factors are numerous, our internal mechanism becomes compromised and weakened, our Wei Qi becomes depleted, and we get sick.  By the time illness occurs, the body's self-regulating, self-balancing and healing systems have already been affected.


Acupuncture and Chinese medicine support and strengthen the systems of the body that are involved in the production of Wei-Qi, and can help re-balance and support the immune system and stimulate Wei Qi energy.  By building up the supply of Wei Qi, and facilitating the smooth and free flow of it throughout the body, the body's organs and meridian systems become strong, enhancing their ability to effectively fight off illness and disease.


Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are drug free, safe, natural and effective ways to support the body's self-regulating, self-balancing and healing systems.  If illness does occur, acupuncture can help you get back on your feet again, helping to stave off prolonged illness without the use of medication and over-the-counter drugs.


For more information, Contact:
Health For Life
Sylvie Morin, D.O.M. - Acupuncture Physician
402 N. Babcock Street, Suite 101
Melbourne, FL 32935
321.259.0555
www.healthforlifeisgood.com

Acupuncture & Stress

Stress is a natural nonspecific response of the body to the various demands we place upon it.  However, stress is not necessarily negative.  There is a distinction between healthy and unhealthy stress.  Healthy stress includes appropriate physical exercise, good eating habits, positive thinking, adequate rest and a natural response to emergency situations.  These stressors keep us alert and motivated, and support our body's strength and vitality.  Unhealthy stress, such as negative emotions and thinking, overexertions, poor eating habits, lack of sleep and chemical and environmental pollutants and toxins, challenge our health and can trigger physical and mental problems, particularly if they are experienced over a prolonged period of time.


In ancient times, our stress response, also known as our fight or flight response, provided us with the energy to preserve life during difficult situations, such as an attack or threat by a wild animal.  Today, we don't have to look much further than our windows, or computer screens to view various forms of stressors - everything from prime-time news and road rage, to the 40+ hour work week, terrorism talk and cell phones.  All of these combine ti send even the most serene people into a stressful frenzy.


Unfortunately, modern day stress is considerably higher, more frequent and more consistent than what our predecessors experienced.  Over time this excess stress can actually be detrimental to our health.  Our body's natural response to stressful situations is to activate all available resources for survival, and to get us out of a scary situation fast.  However, with the increase in physical, emotional and mental stressors, our stress response gets "locked-in", resulting in the depletion of the body's resources.


Even if the stressors are no longer present, the body continues to keep the stress response active.  This results in the depletion of our nervous system, lymphatic organs (spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes), kidneys and adrenal glands, and can pave the way for a wide variety of symptoms and signs.  Medical studies have shown that with increased and consistent stress, our white blood cells, which defend our body against viruses, decrease.  This decrease results in lower immune resistance, ultimately leading to physical disease and emotional instability.

THERE IS HOPE
Practitioners of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have been helping people cope with stress for thousands of years.  The ancient theories of TCM on how stress affects the organs are similar to those of Western medicine; however, TCM theory and treatment go far beyond treating symptoms and signs.


Along with treating physical and emotional symptoms and signs associated with stress, this ancient medicine addresses the root cause(s) of the problem.  One way the stress affects the body is by causing blockage of Qi, especially that of the kidneys and adrenals.


Qi (pronounced "chee") is the vital energy or power that animates and supports functions of the body.  It flows through specific pathways, called meridians, and provides nourishment for the entire body.  When the Qi becomes "blocked" or the supply is inadequate, the body and organ systems become "stressed out" and our health is then compromised.


With acupuncture and TCM, the practitioner's job is to support and restore the integrity of the various organs affected and depleted by the stress response, along with evaluating the quality and quantity of Qi.


Your acupuncturist may also suggest adjunct therapies to enhance treatment, and speed healing.  Proper eating habits, as well as the use of exercise, stretching, movement and meditation practices, support and promote a balanced and healthy body, mind and spirit.


Acupuncture and TCM can provide a safe, effective and drug-free alternative for the treatment of stress.  Contact us today for a free consultation!

Health For Life

321.259.0555

402 N. Babcock Street, Suite 101

Melbourne, FL 32935

www.healthforlifeisgood.com

Acupuncture & Arthritis

If you live with arthritis, you know what a challenge it can be to find relief from joint pain and other symptoms.  But there are many things you can do to manage and control your arthritis and live a healthy, active life.  Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be powerful additions to any treatment plan, without causing harmful side effects.

Arthritis According to Western Medicine  
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis, affecting more than 21 million Americans.  It occurs when the cartilage between the joints breaks down, usually affecting the hips, hands, knees, lower back or neck.

Some factors can increase your risk, including a joint injury, being overweight, aging and genetics.  Putting stress on a joint through repetitive motion can also increase your risk.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is another common type, affecting 2.1 million people in the United States.  This chronic condition occurs when the lining of the joints become inflamed and can lead to long-term joint damage and even loss of movement.  Women are two to three times more likely to get RA.

RA often starts in the hands or feet, and usually affects the same joints on both sides of the body.  Symptoms include:

• Warm, swollen or tender joints
• Joint stiffness, especially in the morning
• Fatigue
• Flu like symptoms such as fever
• Muscle pain and weakness

Treatment Options

Western treatment generally focuses on relieving pain and preventing further joint damage.   Often this is done through the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and other medications, as well as through self-care and physical therapy.  In some cases, surgery may even be needed.

Acupuncture offers a safe, natural way to control joint pain and other symptoms and maintain overall health.  In fact, a 2004 study showed the patients with OA of the knee experienced a 40% decrease in pain and a 40% increase in function after receiving a series of acupuncture treatments. (reference: Berman BM, Lao L, Langenberg P, Lee WL, Gilpin AMK, Hochber MC, Effectiveness of Acupuncture as Adjunctive Therapy in Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2004: 141 (12):901-910.)

A Whole-Body Approach to Relief

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) take a holistic, or whole-body approach to health.  According to these theories, Qi (pronounced "chee") is the vital energy that animates the body and protects it from illness.  It flows through pathways called meridians, providing nourishment for every cell, tissue, muscle and organ.  When there is an imbalance or blockage in the flow of Qi, physical symptoms may result.

Your practitioner will take a detailed health history and perform a physical exam to determine your body's imbalances.  He or she will create a detailed treatment plan that takes into account your unique symptoms and the effects of your arthritis. 

During treatment, fine, sterile needles will be inserted at specific acupoints along the meridians in order to unblock any obstruction and allow Qi to flow freely.  Your practitioner  may also recommend herbal remedies, massage and stretching.  Be sure to discuss any new medications with your doctor to avoid any potential interactions.

What You Can Do

It's important to remember that there is no "quick fix" for arthritis and it may take time to achieve results.  However, there are lifestyle changes you can make that may help you find relief faster.

• Exercise can help increase your flexibility, strengthen muscles and bones and maintain a healthy weight.
• Diet is another important issue.  Stick to a healthy diet made up of a wide variety of unprocessed, organic foods.  Your acupuncturist may also suggest adding natural anti-inflammatories to your diet. (for natural anti-inflammatory food suggestions go to:http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=122996087761682)
• Stress relief can also help.  By learning to identify your stressors and lowering your stress through techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, Tai Chi or Qi Gong, you can improve your state of mind and your health.
• Maintaining balance in your life is also key.  A balance of rest and relaxation with activity and exercise will keep you feeling your best.

By working closely with your acupuncturist and other treatment providers, you will be taking charge of your arthritis and taking a step toward a healthier life.

For more information or to schedule a consultation, Please Contact:

Health for Life

(321) 259-0555

www.healthforlifeisgood.com

402 N. Babcock Street, Suite 101

Melbourne, FL 32935