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Family Acupuncture Log
with Kay Madsen, Licensed Acupuncturist
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The Question of Good Eating
What to Eat for Healthy Weight The best way to stay true is simply to avoid processed foods and cook "real whole food." Remember, in Chinese medicine, cooked is better than raw. Raw foods (like fruits, nuts and seeds) should be eaten in conjunction with a meal of mostly cooked warm food. Here are the basics. - rice (especially whole grain)
- oats
- organic free range meats, poultry, fish and eggs
- cooked vegetables - unlimited amounts; go to the produce section and go hog wild
- onions and garlic - cook them into anything and everything that makes sense
- mushrooms (cooked)
- whole fruit, especially berries
- lemon or lime juice
- high quality unrefined oils in small quantities (olive oil, coconut oil, organic butter)
- nuts
- seeds (esp. flax, sesame, chia, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin)
- beans and legumes
- herbs and spices - flavor it up! Healthy food should be yummy.
- stevia or small quantities of maple syrup for sweetening
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Oops! I kind of missed the month of May - at least for purposes of writing my newsletter. Ah yes, sometimes life throws interesting curve balls that gobble too much time. So, unless I was willing to stay up all night to keep on track, I gave myself the month off. As much as my advice in the treatment room focuses on the need for adequate sleep, I would have been quite a hypocrite to do otherwise. The world didn't stop spinning, so I guess it was OK to let it go!
I can scarcely believe it, but we are welcoming summer. My sixth grader is filled with excitement to end the school year and start up our "summer camp at home." That's where her dad and I ensure that she and her friends get to have the kind of summers we remember - before it was unsafe to let your children go off by themselves and enjoy nature's playground. That means an interesting schedule for me, but everyone will be treated and tended as the joyous carefree play of summer unfolds.
Summer brings us thoughts, not only of fun and play, but of looking good while we do it. We would all like less to show when we let it all hang out. In the feature article, I discuss how to go about it with hopefully less angst.
Enjoy!
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Want to Lose Weight? Stop Dieting
At his time of year, patients often bring their concerns about losing weight into the treatment room. The word "diet" gives me hives just to think about it. And honestly, the inquiries as to whether acupuncture works for weight loss make me a little squirmy. Because they usually mean "I had a friend who got 'ear staples' and lost 20 pounds in three weeks." I can't speak to the validity of such claims or promise such results. However, as with all other aspects of health, Chinese medicine does offer us hope and help.
In the broadest of brush strokes, Chinese medicine can be said to work by achieving inner balance. We always start the healing process by correcting what appears out of balance. Weight loss and management is a dicey topic because the underlying issues can be very complex, ranging from emotional issues to potential hormonal imbalances. Treatment begins with a complete differential diagnosis, which accounts for the uniqueness of each person. Hence, my reticence in jumping on the one size fits all lose weight quick band wagon.
All that being said, we can glean some broadly applicable wisdom from Chinese medicine about achieving healthy weight. From this vantage point, we can also better understand why so many of our efforts tend to fail.
Diet Is A Four Letter Word
Our main focus is usually going on the right "diet." Fad diets come and go, but what they tend to have in common is food restriction. We've counted calories, shunned carbs, reduced fat, replaced sugar, eschewed meat, and gorged on grapefruits. Far from being effective long term strategies, we are actually collectively gaining even more weight. What is clear about dieting is that it doesn't work.
Why don't diets work? There are many reasons. One big reason is because they promote the idea that temporary imbalance will yield a permanent state of balance. That's just wrong on its face. Another huge problem is that this focus on an imbalanced diet for the purpose of losing weight requires us to exercise will power to control appetite. That's ill fated and here's why.
From a Chinese medical perspective, appetite is a function of the Stomach Qi complex. In a balanced state, the appetite drives us to consume what we need to be healthy. It is like any of the other deep body functions that organically arise without mental effort. Just imagine if we had to think about making our hearts beat or digesting food. Indeed, we are only aware of these processes when something is wrong. Appetite, in its natural state, is just like that. Instead of being a head game fraught with angst, it simply drives us to eat good nourishing food when we have a truly embodied sense of being hungry and to stop when we've had enough.
On the other hand, if our appetites are exhibiting toddler-esque temper tantrums, it's a clear sign that all is not well in our kingdom of Stomach Qi. Oh, but what to do, what to do?
Stop Dieting and Lose Weight
The answer of course is to restore the Stomach Qi through consuming a properly balanced nourishing diet. The kicker is that this process can NEVER be done through will power. It defies the laws of nature, as perceived by the ancient Chinese. Your appetite will ultimately rebel against dietary fascism, as sure as gravity pulls an apple onto Newton's head.
Now to be clear, I am not advocating that you can follow an out of control appetite and lose weight. There is a certain circular pattern of imbalance that can manifest. Imbalanced Stomach Qi appears as inappropriate appetite, which drives poor eating habits, further degrading the Stomach Qi and distorting the appetite. And on and on that downward spiral goes.
Of course acupuncture treatment is a way out of the self perpetuating cycle of imbalance. With balance restored, the body's deep wisdom (not will power) takes over to run the appetite show, which in turn fuels the production of Qi. What I am suggesting is that lifestyle can also be used to help correct the imbalanced state. The trick is to concentrate first on getting enough of what you should eat (wisdom), as opposed to over focusing on what you shouldn't (will power). See the side bar for some specific suggestions for food choices.
P.S. Get Your ZZZs
Oh yes, and, by the way, in order to obtain and maintain a healthy weight, you have to get enough sleep. You know me, I always get around to this one. Without sufficient sleep, nothing works optimally, even your weight metabolism.
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ABOUT ME
After leaving behind a decade of practicing as an attorney, I received my Masters of Acupuncture in 2002 from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, Maryland. It certainly was an interesting career shift! Every day I am increasingly grateful to do this amazing work. I guess I still use some of my old attorney skills to piece together every patient's experiences to create a new picture of their health concerns from a Chinese medical perspective. From there we fashion a strategy toward healing together. It never gets old to watch a person's sufferings unravel. Sure beats interpreting government regulations for a living!
I keep balance in my own life by sharing my love of outdoor experiences with my husband and daughter. Camping, hiking and critter watching are much loved family activities. It's important to me to see that my daughter learns to attune herself to the movement of the seasons and the many lessons they offer, so that she can appreciate balance from an early age.
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Suite 204
Silver Spring, MD 20906
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Kay Madsen, M.Ac., L.Ac., Dipl.Ac. (NCCAOM)
Licensed Acupuncturist
13415 Connecticut Ave.
Suite 204
Silver Spring, MD 20906
(240) 393-5420
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Copyright � 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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