Acupuncture Studies
Three Naturally Probiotic Foods that You May Not Know About
Three Probiotic Foods
Eating or drinking probiotic food as soon as possible after having diarrhea can help prevent future cases of diarrhea by introducing healthy bacteria back into the digestive system. It can also help prevent adverse reactions to antibiotics should you need to take them.
Probiotics will help with IBD, IBS, GERD, leaky gut, and other digestive disorders.
The root cause of many digestive problems is a lack of healthy gut bacteria, enzymes, or stomach acid.
The initial cause could be antibiotic use, poor diet, infection from a virus, bacteria, fungi, yeast, or candida. If you are beginning the intake of probiotics or probiotic foods begin slowly. You may feel adverse healing reactions from the die-off of bacteria, virus, yeast, and fungi, and other toxins released into your blood stream. These toxins must be expelled via sweat, breathing, urine, or the stool.
That is why rice congees, and green veggie smoothies are so helpful. They help promote toxin release as well as probiotic growth.
There are five foods you may not know about that are naturally probiotic. You may want to integrate them into your diet.
- Kefir. This is a milk-based food. However, like real butter, it does not have lactose. Studies indicate that it even helps people improve their digestion of lactose because kefir contains at least 3 times more live bacteria than yogurt. It is the bacteria, and digestive enzymes that help your body break down lactose sugars. Everyone reacts differently to kefir, so play around with your serving amounts to see what works for you. Begin slowly with 5-10 oz. Slowly increasing daily amount to include 1-2 8 oz. servings. Of course, if you have a milk allergy you would avoid drinking kefir and all milk products.
- Parmesan cheese. Yes, I said that right! Hard-aged cheeses are naturally rich in healthy gut bacteria. So sprinkle some on your food, and enjoy.
- Sauerkraut. Eat only the raw, organic kind. You can make your own, or purchase from your local health foods store. I believe Trader Joe’s, and Costco have good quality sauerkraut. It should be crunchy, and fresh tasting. You should drink the juice as well. Don’t let any of it go to waste. Like kefir, begin slowly with small amounts until your body gets used to digesting it. If you don’t eat a particular type of food group, you won’t have the enzymes necessary to break it down. That is why traveling, and eating new foods can sometimes cause stomach upset. Sauerkraut makes a great appetizer, or side-dish.
Here is one recipe you can try. If you do, please tell me what you think?
Probiotic Raspberry Drink
- 1 Cups plain kefir or sauerkraut juice
- 1 mangos, skin and pit removed
- 1/2 Cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1.5 Cups kale, stems removed and chopped roughly
- Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth about 2 minutes.
- Drink and enjoy!
This post is an excerpt from Dr. Michele Arnold-Pirtle’s book, It’s All About Your Gut!
Buy your copy from www.lulu.com/shop enter in the title and purchase.
I appreciate comments, questions, and testimonials! Please like and share this post.
Dr. Michele Arnold, Doctor of Acupuncture Medicine.
Acupuncture reduces frequency and severity of migraine headaches
Do you suffer from migraine headaches? Did you know that acupuncture can help?
Yes, that’s right! Researchers conclude that acupuncture can help reduce severity and frequency of migraine headaches.
The usual care involves pharmaceuticals, and these have unwanted side-effects. Acupuncture on the other hand stimulates your own body to heal itself without side-effects.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies provide data supporting a direct link between acupuncture points and specific brain activity.
Currently, acupuncture is considered to be a safe, helpful, and available alternative option for patients.
You can read the research review, “Acupuncture and Its Role in the Treatment of Migraine Headaches“, by Urits, I., Patel, M., et. Al, October 10, 2020. One study they say, “The authors concluded that acupuncture is more effective than no treatment, sham treatment, or medication in treating and preventing migraines and that it is also associated with a greater enhancement in quality of life compared to medication.”
Interestingly, they cite a comparison between acupuncture and Botox injections. “A 2017 RCT compared the efficacy of botulinum toxin-A, another treatment modality approved for the treatment of migraines, with acupuncture and sodium valproate (as a control) in treating chronic migraines. The authors found that the visual analog scale (VAS) score was significantly reduced from baseline to 3-months post-treatment in all of the groups studied (p = 0.0001). Of the three groups, the acupuncture group reported the greatest reduction in pain severity at the end of the 3-month study (p = 0.0001). Additionally, the trial showed that the number of days per month with migraine, absence from work, and the need for medication significantly decreased from pre-treatment to post-treatment at all of the time intervals in all of the three groups. Furthermore, the acupuncture group experienced fewer side effects than the group that received botulinum toxin-A (p = 0.021). The authors therefore concluded that while botulinum toxin-A, acupuncture, and pharmacological methods demonstrate some efficacy in treating chronic migraines, acupuncture demonstrates more effectiveness and is associated with fewer adverse events”.
In my practice I have often found the root cause to be from the jaw, the neck, hormonal, or emotional. Addressing the root causative factors along with the migraine can greatly enhance results. Sticking with the treatment plan makes a difference as well. If you read studies about acupuncture and successful treatment of migraines it generally takes 16-24 weeks of care. For many this is a short amount of time considering a life-time of suffering.
Schedule your appointment to begin your life free from migraine headaches.
Urits, I., Patel, M., Putz, M.E. et al. Acupuncture and Its Role in the Treatment of Migraine Headaches. Neurol Ther 9, 375–394 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40120-020-00216-1
shoulder pain relieved by acupuncture
Shoulder pain and acupuncture Blog Banner by Michele Arnold
“Acupuncture relieves shoulder pain, inflammation, and range of motion impingement. Researchers from the Yuxi Hospital of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) investigated the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of acute shoulder periarthritis. Commonly known as frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis, this condition is an inflammatory disorder of the rotator cuff and surrounding tissues that leads to pain and immobility of the shoulder. The investigation reveals that acupuncture has a total effective rate exceeding 90%.”
It is of no surprise to me to read about positive findings in studies of acupuncture and shoulder pain. The following was posted from Health CMI, where I frequently receive some news and updates.
Acupuncture for TMJ
Acupuncture for tmj by Michele Arnold