by urban-acupuncture | May 1, 2022 | Community, Diet
Herbal Medicine Natural Remedies
For several centuries now, countries around the planet have trusted traditional herbal medicines for meeting their healthcare requirements. Although there have been phenomenal advancements in technology and medicines in the modern era, the demand for various herbal treatments worldwide has seen a steady rise.
A few natural remedies can be more accessible and reasonably priced as compared to conventional medicines. Several people are in favor of them as they are in sync with their health ideologies. Having said so, you could be still wondering whether these alternative medicines are effective or not.
The following are some of the popular herbal medicines in the world.
1. Ginseng
It is a medicinal plant with steep roots that can be dried for making a powder or for preparing tea. The plant is often used in traditional medicines of China for boosting immunity, energy levels, brain function, and reducing inflammation
2. Echinacea
Coneflower and Echinacea is a famous herbal remedy and a flowering plant. The plant originates from North America and has been utilized in the practices of Native America for the treatment of various ailments. It is basically consumed as a supplement or tea but can also be applied topically. The plant is mainly used for the prevention or treatment of the common cold, although the science behind it is not quite strong.
3. Elderberry
This ancient herbal medicine is usually prepared from the Sambucus nigra plant’s cooked fruit. The medicine has been used since ancient times to relieve nerve pain, colds, toothaches, headaches, constipation, and viral infections. Today, this herbal medicine is mainly used for treating symptoms related to the common cold and flu.
4. Ginkgo biloba
This herbal medicine is sourced from the maidenhair tree. The leaves and seeds are used for making tinctures and teas. However, a majority of modern applications utilize leaf extract. It is believed to treat an array of ailments, such as dementia, heart disease, sexual dysfunction, and mental difficulties. However, there is no scientific backup by studies for its effectiveness.
Visit Urban Acupuncture Center for any queries related to herbal medicines, acupuncture, or massage!
Contact Urban Acupuncture Center in Columbus, OH For More Information
For more information about how acupuncture, massage therapy and other alternative healing treatments can help you, please contact the Urban Acupuncture Center Board Certified Licensed Acupuncturist’s team at Indianola Ave, Clintonville (614) 725-2488 | Main St, Westerville (614) 426-4406 or click here. Taking new patients in and around greater Columbus, Ohio.
by urban-acupuncture | Jan 1, 2021 | Community, Diet
Autoimmune Protocol
Are you struggling with an autoimmune disease and its associated symptoms, like brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, anxiety, GI issues? You could benefit from the Autoimmune Protocol.
The Autoimmune Protocol, or AIP, is a powerful science-based strategy that uses diet and lifestyle to regulate the immune system while reducing the inflammation and giving the body the opportunity to heal.
Collaborating with UAC’s Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Certified Coach, Alissa Klein, can give you the support you need to go through the process (preparation phase, elimination phase at your own pace, re-introduction phase, etc), troubleshoot if needed and see amazing results.
More than 50 million Americans (20% of the population) is estimated to be affected by autoimmune disease (compared to 12 million with cancer and 25 million with heart disease). Despite that statistic, many people, including the individuals diagnosed with these diseases, struggle to understand the full scope of these conditions.
What is an autoimmune disease?
There are more than one hundred confirmed autoimmune diseases and many more diseases that are suspected of having autoimmune origins.
The root cause of all autoimmune diseases is pretty much the same: our immune system, which is supposed to protect us from invading microorganisms, turns against us and attacks our organs instead. Which organs are attacked determines the autoimmune disease and its symptoms. In Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the thyroid gland is attacked. In Rheumatoid arthritis, the tissues of your joints are attacked. In psoriasis, proteins within the layers of cells that make up your skin are attacked. However, the root cause is the same (genetic predispositions, inflammatory diet, chronic stress, lack of sleep, inadequate exercise).
The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, or AIP, is a science-based powerful strategy that uses diet and lifestyle to regulate the immune system while reducing the inflammation and giving the body the opportunity to heal.
How does someone develop an autoimmune disease?
Autoimmune disease occurs because the body’s natural defenses — the immune system — attack the body’s own healthy tissue. Researchers have several ideas about why this happens.
When the body senses danger from a virus or infection, the immune system kicks into gear and attacks it. This is called an immune response. Sometimes, healthy cells and tissues are caught up in this response, resulting in autoimmune disease.
Many scientists believe this is what causes rheumatoid arthritis, a type of autoimmune disease that attacks the joints. It’s also common that after having strep throat, people develop psoriasis, an autoimmune condition that causes patches of thick, scaly skin.
Other types of autoimmune disease may come from the body trying to fight specifically against cancer cells. Orbai points to scleroderma, a disease that causes thickening of the skin and connective tissues. “The thought is that when the immune system gets rid of the cancer, there is a leftover inflammatory response because of that fight,” she says. Johns Hopkins researchers studied patients who developed both scleroderma and cancer to try to clarify this relationship.
Autoimmune disease symptoms:
The early symptoms of many autoimmune diseases are very similar, such as:
- fatigue
- achy muscles
- swelling and redness
- low-grade fever
- trouble concentrating
- numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
- hair loss
- skin rashes
Individual diseases can also have their own unique symptoms. For example, type 1 diabetes causes extreme thirst, weight loss, and fatigue. IBD causes belly pain, bloating, and diarrhea.
With autoimmune diseases like psoriasis or RA, symptoms may come and go. A period of symptoms is called a flare-up. A period when the symptoms go away is called remission.
What are the prominent root causes of autoimmune diseases?
Doctors don’t know exactly what causes the immune-system misfire. Yet some people are more likely to get an autoimmune disease than others.
According to a 2014 study, women get autoimmune diseases at a rate of about 2 to 1 compared to men — 6.4 percent of women vs. 2.7 percent of men. Often the disease starts during a woman’s childbearing years (ages 15 to 44).
Some autoimmune diseases are more common in certain ethnic groups. For example, lupus affects more African-American and Hispanic people than Caucasians.
Certain autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis and lupus, run in families. Not every family member will necessarily have the same disease, but they inherit a susceptibility to an autoimmune condition.
Because the incidence of autoimmune diseases is rising, researchers suspect environmental factors like infections and exposure to chemicals or solvents might also be involved.
A “Western diet” is another suspected risk factor for developing an autoimmune disease. Eating high-fat, high-sugar, and highly processed foods is thought to be linked to inflammation, which might set off an immune response. However, this hasn’t been proven.
A 2015 study focused on another theory called the hygiene hypothesis. Because of vaccines and antiseptics, children today aren’t exposed to as many germs as they were in the past. The lack of exposure could make their immune system prone to overreact to harmless substances.
Does conventional medicine really treat autoimmune diseases?
Treatments can’t cure autoimmune diseases, but they can control the overactive immune response and bring down inflammation or at least reduce pain and inflammation. Treatments can also help relieve symptoms.
Will a Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet/lifestyle help treat autoimmune disease symptoms?
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is a diet that aims to reduce inflammation, pain, and other symptoms caused by autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Many people who have followed the AIP diet report improvements in the way they feel, as well as reductions in common symptoms of autoimmune disorders, such as fatigue and gut or joint pain. Yet, while research on this diet is promising, it’s also limited.
Contact us to schedule a introduction AIP coaching session and determine how we can work together.
An AIP coach can help clients navigate the autoimmune elimination and reintroduction diet and lifestyle protocol, which allows them to explore the potential root causes of their autoimmune disease(s). The goal of the protocol is to reduce inflammation in the body and promote nutrient density, giving the body the best chance at overcoming autoimmune symptoms.
Alissa is currently the only AIP certified coach in central Ohio. If you or someone you know suffers from an autoimmune condition call to talk to her today.
Contact her at Urban Acupuncture Center in Columbus, OH For More Information
For more information about how acupuncture, massage therapy and other alternative healing treatments can help you, please contact the Urban Acupuncture Center Board Certified Licensed Acupuncturist’s team at Indianola Ave, Clintonville (614) 725-2488 | Main St, Westerville (614) 426-4406 or click here. Taking new patients in and around greater Columbus, Ohio.
by urban-acupuncture | Dec 19, 2017 | Diet
This topic never seems to go away. This week an article by Dr. Melina Jampolis was circulating on Facebook that had some good practical ideas of what contributes to not being able to lose weight. Weight loss is still incredibly challenging for most people, as evidenced by the growing global obesity epidemic. At Urban Acupuncture Center we see people come in seeking help with weight loss, and it is a problem that we can help you with. With acupuncture, we can help you with sugar cravings, stress eating, help stimulate metabolism, and improve digestion. Please contact us if you have any questions about how acupuncture can help you with weight loss. Below are a few points from the article ‘Why Am I Not Losing Weight.’
According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, more than two in three US adults are considered overweight (de?ned as a body-mass index over 25), and of those, 36.5% of US adults fall into the obese category.
According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately half of overweight and obese adults report that they are trying to lose weight.
You have calorie ‘amnesia’ Put simply, people often eat more calories than they realize.
Total calories consumed matters when it comes to weight loss, despite what some popular diets claim. People frequently forget about the little things during or between meals that add up calorically and can interfere signi?cantly with weight loss.
You relax your diet too much on weekends
This is another very common issue that is a bit more challenging to ?x, as weekends are generally much less structured and more social than weekdays. Three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) of more relaxed eating (and in many cases drinking) can easily erase four days of more focused effort.
Your medication is working against you
According to Dr. Caroline Apovian, president of the Obesity Society, frequently prescribed medications that may cause weight gain include Benadryl, Ambien, benzodiazepines, older antidepressant and antipsychotic medications, Paxil, beta-blockers (for high blood pressure), several diabetes medications including insulin, sulfonylureas and thialidazones, and some contraceptive methods, especially Depo-Provera.
You eat too much of a good thing
It is true that recommendations concerning dietary fat have changed in the past decade, and nutrition science has found that unsaturated fat, including nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil, plays an important role in a healthy diet.
Why your diet should include more fat However, you can easily eat too much healthy fat along with other healthy foods, including whole grains. Fat has more than double the calories of carbohydrates or protein, so fat calories, even if they are healthy, add up more quickly. Whole grains have three times the number of carbohydrates as non-starchy vegetables per serving, so again, portion size matters.
Your body is resistant to insulin
Dr. Michael Rothkopf, president of the National Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists, con?rms is an often overlooked reason for weight loss failure. It may also require specialized testing to uncover. According to the CDC, approximately 30% of adults and nearly 70% of overweight adults have metabolic syndrome, a constellation of abnormalities strongly associated with insulin resistance and excess insulin production. Insulin suppresses the release of stored fat and promotes the formation of fat from sugar. The metabolism of a person who has insulin resistance or insulin excess will be shifted away from fat loss and toward fat storage. There are other potential reasons why the scale may not be budging: short sleep duration, excess sedentary behavior, overeating after workouts, stress eating and eating a highly in?ammatory diet ?lled with processed food and inadequate fruits and vegetables. But the above list should get you started ?guring out how to get the scale moving in the right direction.
by urban-acupuncture | Jun 13, 2017 | Diet
What’s an oxymel, you ask? It’s the original energy drink! Used by the Romans as they traveled by foot throughout Europe, it is a healthy combination of (organic, unfiltered, unpasteurized) apple cider vinegar and (raw, local, organic) honey. We infuse our oxymels with herbs for medicinal and nutritive value.
This Summer Cooler Oxymel is our seasonal summer tonic for 2017. It is infused with optimum cooling herbs that offer wonderful nutrition like Dandelion Greens, Chickweed, and Purslane.
How do you use an oxymel? We’re so glad you asked! They are so flexible- take a shot in the morning, add to shrubs (vinegar based sodas), smoothies, or cocktails, or use as the base of a salad dressing. Oxymels are delicious AND nutritious! (We like to think of you enjoying a cooling cocktail on your porch.)
Our Summer Cooler Oxymel comes in a 4 ounce bottle.
Ingredients: Apple Cider Vinegar*, Raw Local Honey*, Chickweed*, Purslane*, Dandelion* (*organic)
General Contraindications & Warnings:
Like all herbal medicine, our products work best when combined with a lifestyle that includes clean water, whole foods, gentle exercise, and plenty of self-love.
You could be allergic to a plant, a plant family, honey, or another ingredient in a formula just like you could be allergic to a food. Use standard commonsense precautions when trying new things. If any adverse reactions happen that coincide with the taking of this product, discontinue use and consult your herbalist, naturopath, or doctor.
Standard required disclaimer for the USA:
The statements made here have not been approved by the FDA. These statements are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or replace advice from a health practitioner.
This notice is required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for herbalists and people like me but not big pharma, who is in bed with the FDA. After umpteen million product recalls, birth defects and deaths, big pharma still doesn’t have to label like this- even though the ingredients in this product has been used safely for much longer than any pharmaceutical preparation has. Just sayin’.
Standard required disclaimer for Canada:
If condition worsens or persists, consult a health practitioner.
How to Take Herbal Supplements
Herbal remedies, supplements, and tonics are fundamentally different from pharmaceuticals (and we like it that way). They are designed to restore your body and its systems to homestasis gently- working with your body.
We print basic dosage guidelines on each package, but keep in mind if you have more body mass or a faster metabolism than the average bear, you may need to take a larger dose than indicated. If there are hard-and-fast limitations on how often you can take the product, it will be listed on the package. Most can be used up to six times daily without problems (but we doubt that you would need to do that).
Remember, there are no “magic bullets” in life, and any product (herbal, pharmaceutical, or otherwise) claiming 100% success without knowing you, your constitution, and your lifestyle is lying and trying to get into your wallet. Often, herbalists (and MDs) need to try several products before we find the one that works for your unique biochemistry.
Feel free to email us if the product didn’t quite do the job, we can recommend another that could do the trick. We are blessed with many plants that have the same action in the body- and often it’s just a matter of finding the right one for you.
by urban-acupuncture | Jun 13, 2017 | Diet
(Serves 4)
Watercress and daikon make this salad super cleansing and heart-healthy, and their bitter flavors and crisp textures are balanced perfectly by the smooth richness of avocado and mustard.
Ingredients:
1 large bunch watercress, chopped
1 large daikon, peeled and julienned
1 avocado, peeled and diced
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Dressing:
1 T yellow mustard seeds
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp light miso
1 T brown rice syrup
1 T prepared mustard of choice
2 T extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Combine watercress, daikon, avocado and pumpkin seeds in mixing bowl.
Over medium heat, roast mustard seeds in dry pan until they start to pop. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
In separate bowl, combine lemon juice, miso, rice syrup, prepared mustard and olive oil. Stir in mustard seeds, pour over vegetables and fold gently to coat evenly. Serve at room temperature.
Note: if you prefer salad chilled, place vegetables and dressing in refrigerator separately and toss together just before serving.
Recommend by Amy:
About Amy…
As a Transformational & Holistic Health Coach, Amy helps women feel and look great in their bodies so they can live a life full of vitality, confidence, and purpose. More specifically, she helps busy, stressed-out, on-the-go, super-hero women, moms and corporate professionals get off the diet roller-coaster once and for all. She works with her clients to boost their metabolism, shed the weight, double their energy in a way that is easy, fun, sustainable AND free from denial and deprivation. Amy coaches her clients to live “high vibe” in all areas of their life: relationships, career, exercise, nutrition and spirituality.
She offers In-Person and Phone Private Coaching, Cooking Classes, Health Food Store Tours, Women’s Wellness Parties, Women’s Coaching Group Programs and Corporate Wellness Lectures.
Contact Amy at:
email: amarzluff@yahoo.com | cell: 614.560.7497 |
websites: www.CravingYourPotential.com and www.FlyKakao.com
by urban-acupuncture | Jun 13, 2017 | Diet
[Serves 2]
INGREDIENTS
1 bunch thin asparagus, rough ends trimmed off
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
½ bunch parsley, chopped
1 15oz can of Adzuki Beans, drained and rinsed (Eden Organics is great)
2 cups baby arugula
salt and pepper
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch asparagus for 5-8 minutes until tender. Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels. Chop into 1-inch pieces. Whisk the olive oil, lemon and parsley together.
In a bowl add the beans, asparagus and arugula. Toss with the dressing and season with salt and pepper.
Recommend by Amy:
About Amy…
As a Transformational & Holistic Health Coach, Amy helps women feel and look great in their bodies so they can live a life full of vitality, confidence, and purpose. More specifically, she helps busy, stressed-out, on-the-go, super-hero women, moms and corporate professionals get off the diet roller-coaster once and for all. She works with her clients to boost their metabolism, shed the weight, double their energy in a way that is easy, fun, sustainable AND free from denial and deprivation. Amy coaches her clients to live “high vibe” in all areas of their life: relationships, career, exercise, nutrition and spirituality.
She offers In-Person and Phone Private Coaching, Cooking Classes, Health Food Store Tours, Women’s Wellness Parties, Women’s Coaching Group Programs and Corporate Wellness Lectures.
Contact Amy at:
email: amarzluff@yahoo.com | cell: 614.560.7497 |
websites: www.CravingYourPotential.com and www.FlyKakao.com
