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Health
5 Ways to Eat Without Overeating this Holiday Season
Moderation
We’ve always the heard the saying to enjoy everything in moderation, and that is definitely true when it comes to holiday foods. Don’t try to deprive yourself during the holidays, it most likely won’t go over well. Having an extra holiday treat here and there won’t kill you. You’re allowed to indulge a bit, just keep portions small when it comes to holiday desserts and make sure you limit how often you eat them. Going the whole season without any treats is cruel and will most likely end in binging later, so have your guilty pleasures, just keep them in moderation.
Watch the alcohol
The holidays are a time for celebration, which most likely means more alcohol. Not only does alcohol add on empty calories but can also lead you to eating more while drinking. If you are at a gathering, limit yourself to one or two drinks to cut down on the unhealthy cravings you might be feeling afterward.
Focus on the protein
Protein-packed foods are a great way to fill up without adding a lot of sugar and empty carbohydrates. Pack your plate with low-fat meats like turkey and chicken. If you’re vegetarian, eat more of the tofu than the side dishes that are most likely to be sugar and carbohydrate heavy.
Fill up on the water
Don’t forget about water! The holidays are an easy time to drink more sugary beverages than normal. Substitute drinks for water and drink a lot of it. Not only is water essential for your health but drinking a glass before a meal can fill you up more as well, preventing you from overeating.
Take your time
Eating too fast is one of the easiest ways to overeat. When you don’t give your body the chance to digest food and feel full before you stop eating, chances are you’re going to end up eating more than you want. Eat slowly and enjoy each bite to give your body a chance to catch up. This way, you’ll end up getting full faster and eat less.
Most of all don’t forget to enjoy the holidays and the delicious food that comes with it, don’t be afraid to indulge a little!
The Immune System in Traditional Chinese Medicine
A study published by the National Institutes of Health evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture for stimulating or regulating the immune system by comparing the results from several studies that each used different methods of acupuncture. Through the use of electroacupuncture, moxibustion, herbs and acupuncture, the studies concluded Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be helpful for the immune system. The combined studies demonstrated that moxibustion helped repair the gut mucosa of rats suffering from ulcerative colitis, electroacupuncture can increase the number of T cells in the body and that general acupuncture can decrease inflammation, which plays a vital role in the immune system.
Your immune system is what keeps you healthy and helps you ward off pathogens like the flu or a cold. Most of us don’t spend a lot of time worrying about our immune system until we’re sick. Then we reach for the over-the-counter medications to help relieve our symptoms. By looking to TCM instead, we can be proactive about supporting our immune systems in a safe and natural way.
According to TCM, the body is protected by something known as the Wei Qi (pronounced “way chee”). The Wei Qi, or defensive Qi, is comparable to the immune system in conventional medicine. It acts as the first line of defense when the body is under attack from external pathogens. If the Wei Qi is strong, then the body is capable of fighting off bacteria and viruses. Extreme stress, lack of sleep and a poor diet can all play into how strong the body’s Wei Qi is and how well it performs.
There are multiple tools in the TCM practitioner’s tool box that can assist in keeping the immune system strong and healthy, including acupuncture, moxibustion, electroacupuncture, herbs, cupping and nutrition.
Each of these tools has a similar effect on the body. TCM can regulate immune function, while also treating the underlying causes of the disease. This is done by reducing the symptoms, speeding up the healing, decreasing excess phlegm, decreasing inflammation and boosting the immune-mediated cells in the body that help ward off invasions.
Studies show regular acupuncture treatments can actually increase the number of T cells the body produces. T cells destroy harmful bacteria and viruses in the body. Acupuncture needles stimulate the brain into thinking an invader (virus or bacteria) has entered the body. The brain signals the increased release of T cells and white blood cells to fight off the intruder. The amazing part is the increased cellular response lasts for several days after the acupuncture treatment.
RECEIVING REGULAR ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENTS CAN ACTUALLY PREVENT THE BODY FROM GETTING SICK.
Are You an Alchemist? Time to Make Gold!
Alchemists attempt to purify and perfect, historically to transmute base metals into gold, or allegorically, to purify the basic elements of our consciousness into the gold of pure spirit through the process of inner transformation.
True alchemy appreciates that the purity of the process is what determines the purity of the result. Making gold requires precision like baking. It is not simply a creative experiment (like some of us might call our cooking). Recipes, order, structure, measurements, and procedure all take precedence over carefree approaches. Alchemists must honor the details of the ritual, the science of the process.
Alchemists, therefore, embody the metal element in Chinese Medicine. Metal is associated with refinement for the sake of purity. This relates to the season of Autumn in that it is a time of drawing inward to the purity of the core and letting go of the excess. In Autumn, trees draw their sap inward towards the roots, while simultaneously sending impurities upwards towards the leaves that they will shed. It’s also harvest time, when we take the edible essence provided by the earth and discard the husks and stalks that are no longer needed. This is a time to be careful in separating out what is essential from what can be relinquished. This careful precision is the key to the alchemist’s process of extracting order from chaos.
Are you an Alchemist?
Do you keep your living space tidy and organized?
Are you detail oriented?
Have you ever been called a ‘perfectionist’?
Do you follow recipes when you cook?
Is purity a value for you in any area of your life?
Do you pride yourself on your integrity?
Most of us have at least some of the metal element energies within us, in some areas of our lives. They may even be in excess when it comes to certain aspects of our personality. For instance, if we are overly rigid in regards to our own expectations of our education or career, this can lead to stress and lack of joy in the process. Or on the flip side, if we completely drop expectations and make half-hearted efforts in our work or projects, we lack that sense of refinement attributed to the metal element, and allow for sloppy results.
Exaggerated expressions of the metal element are seen in dogmatic, authoritarian strict personalities that prefer control and are bound to routine. Associated health concerns include issues of rigidity and dryness such as stiff joints and muscles, dry skin, poor circulation, restricted breathing, constipation and a reserved, flat affect unable to confer much emotion. While a collapsed version of the metal energy leads to a decay of personal values and a reliance upon external constraints (such as in a fearful adherence to a strict religion or structure) or someone who has given up on structure completely and tends towards disarray and chaos. In the extreme collapse of metal, someone may simply become numb. Health issues due to deficient metal energy manifest as weaknesses like shortness of breath, anemia, loss of body hair, easy perspiration, and stress incontinence.
Autumn, the season of metal, is the perfect time to tap into our inner alchemist, organize our space, bring order where it is needed, clean up the chaos, and use ritual to empower our intentions. As always, we must be aware of the equilibrium of energies and compensate for rationality and self-control with passion and spontaneity. A little dose of “go with the flow” helps to balance things out. A true alchemist will recognize that with any ritual, following a set structure is important, as long as you leave room for the magic.
Let us help you tap into your magic and nurture your inner alchemist in time for the fall season! Call today to schedule your next acupuncture session!