Back Pain

So I'm carrying my 3-month old most of the time while I'm at home these days, and it has started to wear on me.  I developed some back pain about 5 days ago.  I tried to stretch it out but it kept getting worse.  It went into my butt, knees, and even along my shin.  I know, you are all saying "try acupuncture".  But with two small kids, it has been hard to find the time for my wife to treat me.  Finally, we found a free 20 minutes where she could throw a couple needles into me.  I see most of the pain conditions in our office, so I directed her in what points to use.  She put 10 needles into my hands, feet, and abdomen.   20 minutes later my pain was reduced by 25%.  The next morning I woke up and the pain was down by 75%.  By 2pm that next day, my pain was all gone.

I'm not only a promoter of Oriental Medicine, I'm also a client. 

High Fructose Corn Syrup and violence

Children of the Corn (Syrup)

Wednesday, 26 October 2011 10:05 By Erik Goldman

High school kids who drink more than 5 cans of soft drinks per week are 15% more likely than their non-soda'd counterparts to act violently, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health.
Researchers surveyed 1,878 inner-city Boston public school kids, and found an unequivocal correlation between self-reported soft-drinking and aggression. Among those who drank 14 cans/week—that's roughly one third of the kids---58% had histories of violence toward peers, and an alarming 43% carried guns or knives. For those who drank 1 or less, the numbers were 35% and 23%---still disturbingly high, when you think about it.
"Dose-Dependent" Relationship
Investigator David Hemenway says the correlation between soft drinks and violence was "dose dependent," and similar in magnitude to correlations between teen alcohol use and violence. The data were published earlier this week in the online edition of the British journal, Injury Prevention.
Is it the sugar (corn syrup) or the caffeine? Dr. Hemenway said nobody really knows. He stressed that correlation does not prove causation, though it does raise suspicion.
It also raises the specter of the "Twinkie Defense"—a weird judicial episode in which a killer pleaded—somewhat successfully--that his murderous behavior was triggered by junk food. HPC wonders whether it'll also give the gun lobby some new ammo: "Guns don't kill people, Soft Drinks do!"
Whether or not soda makes kids go ballistic, it'll probably help make 'em fat and sick. Princeton researchers showed that high-fructose corn syrup---the stuff Corn Refiners Association now wants us to call "corn sugar"—is significantly more metabolically detrimental than plain white sugar.
Rats that free-fed on HFCS—a top ingredient in most non-diet sodas and many junk foods—showed a 48% greater weight gain, higher abdominal fat deposition and higher triglycerides than rats free-fed plain sugar water. These effects were independent of overall caloric intake.
"Some people have claimed that HFCS is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true," says neuroscientist Dr. Bart Hoebel, who specializes in appetite, weight and sugar addiction.
"When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this." The study was published in the journal, Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior.
Cane vs. Corn
Predictably, the Corn Refiners Association decried the Hoebel study, claiming "gross errors" in the methodology. In a press release, CRA claims the Princeton investigators "failed to put into perspective the excessive amount (of HFCS) consumed by the rats," amounts they estimate would translate to roughly 3,000 kcal per day in human terms.
The issue has huge economic implications: HFCS is an ingredient in an estimated 40% of all prepared foods and beverages consumed in the US, and the average American consumes nearly 38 pounds of the stuff every year, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. HFCS production requires millions of tons of domestically grown corn, which has bee federally subsidized to the tune of $40 billion since the mid 1990s.
The sweetener has been implicated as a major contributor to the diabetes and obesity epidemics by numerous studies. While none of these studies is definitive, the repeated bad press prompted corn refiners to seek a new image, hence the effort to rename HFCS as "corn sugar."
Earlier in October, Federal District Judge Consuelo Marshall (Central California) ruled in support of a lawsuit brought by US cane sugar farmers against the corn refiners. The suit contends that CRA's $50 million "Sweet Surprise" ad campaign, with it's claim of equivalence between HFCS and plain sugar, constitutes false advertising.
An FDA ruling on whether food manufacturers can legally call HFCS "corn sugar" is pending.

http://www.holisticprimarycare.net/news/1212-children-of-the-corn-syrup posts this important info. 

Another use for acupuncture in comprehensive cancer care

Acupuncture is not "alternative" medicine, it is "complementary".  No where is that more important that in the treatment of cancer.  Chemo, surgery, and radiation are the best tools we have to eliminate cancerous growths, but they come at a price.  Acupuncture can reduce or eliminate all the side effects.  This is my area of expertise.  If you know anyone fighting cancer, please encourage them to get acupuncture in conjunction with their regular treatment.  They will have fewer and milder side effects, greater quality of life, greater survival times and greater survival rates.  The following article reports a study showing acupuncture's ability to help lymph edema (swelling) after breast cancer surgery.   

Recent Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center research demonstrates that acupuncture significantly reduces lymphoedema related arm swelling in women after breast cancer surgery. Lymphoedema is a when there is fluid retention and tissue swelling in the body due to disorders of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system controls the return of interstitial fluid to the bloodstream. After breast cancer surgery, the lymphatic system can be damaged by lymph node surgery or radiation therapy. Symptoms may appear quickly or take several months or years to become apparent. Swelling of the arms and sides of the body is most common after lymphatic system damage due to breast cancer procedures.

The researchers at Sloan-Kettering in New York note that existing conventional treatments for lymphoedema are only “marginally beneficial, rarely reducing arm swelling in any meaningful way.” The new study concludes that acupuncture is safe and that some of the women in the study showed a 30 percent or better reduction of lymphoedema related arm swelling.

Acupuncture Results
In this study, lymphoedema was diagnosed when the affected arm was greater than 2cm in circumference than the unaffected arm. Participants received acupuncture at a rate of 2 times per week for a total of four weeks. Results were tabulated after a six month follow-up. No serious events were reported and the study concludes that “acupuncture appears safe and may reduce lymphoedema associated with breast cancer surgery.”

Reference:
Acupunct Med. doi:10.1136/aim.2011.004069. A safety and efficacy pilot study of acupuncture for the treatment of chronic lymphedema. Barrie R Cassileth, Kimberly J Van Zee, Yi Chan, Marci I Coleton, Clifford A Hudis, Sara Cohen, James Lozada, Andrew J Vickers.

Author Affiliations:
Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Breast Cancer Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
Integrative Medicine Service and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

Jeanie Bussell is Back to Work

Jeanie Bussell, the top fertility acupuncturist in the Midwest, has completed her maternity leave and is again treating patients at A Center for Oriental Medicine in Wilmette.  If you are trying to conceive naturally or with Assisted Reproductive Therapies, Jeanie can help.   And the sooner you start, the more she can help.  Please call 847-251-5225 to set up an appointment. 

Feedback letter about Asian Diet from Belgium

Dear (Dr.) Jason,

Thanks so much for your answers which I greatly appreciate and now I know my new way forward and I am confident that it will work out for me THIS TIME

Yes indeed, I think I have found my diet answers in your book which arrived already. I have made  specially time today to read the whole book

It is indeed A TOTAL DIFFERENT view.....I like the yin/yang principle which I followed for years by doing the Macrobiotic diet but there again I became very sick following it in the very strict level for 2 years.......and had to stop

I have a BETTER understanding now where I went wrong in Macrobiotics, totally Raw and vegan, high meat diets and the McDougal diet to name a few
I just KNEW the answer was out SOMEWHERE there, I just never gave up, even it it took me most of my life to look for it

As I am doing diets 100%, I can better judge it they work or not than people who cheat all the time
In fact they did NOT work for me usual between 1 and 2 years after starting, I always got sick

I like the mostly grains, vegetables idea and a little of everything else approach as it gives me total freedom to include all the many, many wonderful natural foods who are out there and not be so restrictive as the McDougal diet was which I indeed followed to the letter and did not even cheat once in just under two years and then got sick, very sick and it happened suddenly.....!!!!!

Now, I realize why they all did not work....the were to one-sided.....The Asian wisdom prevails!!

Thank you so much. I did your Diet already since 3 days with the Info on the Internet but nothing replaces having the Book in my hands, there is more to it than just eating certain foods.....

I always had a problem with moderation in food and I know I have to work on it to have a more balanced food attitude in general as I am a Black and White person. Bringing in some shades of grey will surely benefit me

So, thanks to your help, I am on my way again and have found Peace that my diet will work out this time

I will re-read your book The Asian Diet many times, will study it and take it from here

I must admit that I already bought white rice as I only at Brown Rice in the past. I could ONLY find white rice that cooks in 15 minutes and none who takes an hour to cook as per your book
I also found that it constipated me terrible and so I went back to include them both.

Thanks so much, thanks for your time and for your great book!!!!

Wishing you well and much happiness

Thanks again,

Theresia

It doesn't usually work like this

A woman who is a teacher and has worked at day-care centers was concerned about one of her twin boys, who we will call twin A.  At 18 months, his speech was delayed, and his motor function was uncoordinated compared to his twin (twin B).  While twin B would play with one toy for a while and then move on to another, twin A would just hold a box next to his face for hours.  He did not let anyone touch him, threw a lot of tantrums, and banged his head against the wall in his sleep.  His eye contact was poor and he was very afraid of strangers.  Mother suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder  Her physician arranged for testing.  Before the testing, mother decided to try acupuncture for her son.

I treat pediatrics in my practice, and most of the time we do not need to insert needles.  Acupuncture is about moving the energy of the patient- and the energy of children is a lot less stuck than that of adults.  Typically we will do a technique called "touch-needling" where we touch the back of the needle to the point for 30-60 seconds and then move on to the next point.  I used this technique on twin A.

A week later, they returned for a follow-up.  Immediately after the treatment, he became more affectionate and would let his parents touch and cuddle with him.  He bagan making the "D" sound and saying words that start with "D" (which he had not done previously).  He stopped throwing tantrums and became more engaging with strangers.  His eye contact improved to normal.  And he stopped clinging to boxes and started playing with toys.   He stopped banging his head at night and slept better. 

Mother took him for the Autism testing and the doctor could see no abnormal behaviors.  She is thrilled and so am I.  It is known in China that early intervention (before age 2 ideally) can remedy developmental problems.  But it usually takes a course of treatment.  Twin A had an amazing response just from one treatment.  I saw him a week later, and now we will wait 10 days before his third session.  I expect that we will graduate him soon. 

important statements about dairy

"Osteoporosis is caused by a number of things, one of the most important being too much dietary protein."  {Science 1986;233, 4763}

  "Consumption of dairy products, particularly at age 20 years, were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures... metabolism of dietary protein causes increased urinary excretion of calcium.
{American Journal of Epidemiology 1994;139}