Chinese Medicine
Wonderful Things About Sweet Potatoes
I love sweet potatoes made any which way. My favorite is to bake them in the oven, and slice open and season with salt, pepper, parsley, and a little real butter.
Did you know about the wonderful health benefits of a sweet potato?
Yes, they are a starchy root vegetable. Starchy veggies have been given a bad wrap lately, which has impacted our health in general by not eating these types of foods in our regular diet.
Anyone suffering from inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel disease should pay attention here!
Starchy veggies have soluble fiber, which soothes and regulates the digestive tract, stabilizes the intestinal contractions, and normalizes bowel function from either extreme. So, soluble fiber prevents and relieves both diarrhea and constipation while also preventing the violent and irregular spasms that result in the lower abdominal cramping pain that cripples so many people with IBD, or IBS.
A Balanced meal includes both insoluble fiber like whole grains, broccoli, fruit with skin, seeds along with soluble fiber foods like a sweet potato.
Nutrition of a Sweet Potato:
- Rich in Beta-carotene-helps reduce risk of stroke or heart attack by 20-40%.
- Low in calories-130 calories per medium sweet potato
- Fat free
- Vitamin C-half of your day’s RDA value
- Vitamin A-necessary for healthy nerve function
- Potassium-great for blood pressure
- Natural detoxifying by helping your body expel excess heavy metals and toxins.
- Great in a detoxifying rice congee (porridge).
- My recipe you can find in my book, “Ancient Healing for Modern People, Food, Herbs, & Essential Oils“.
- Anticancer, anti-obesity, and antiaging!
So, eat your sweet Potatoes to enjoy all of the wonderful things!
Dr. Michele Arnold
Happy Thanksgiving 2020 acupressure to relieve sadness promote gratitude
“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.” — Tecumseh
When it comes to Thanksgiving, a lot of emphasis gets put on the food. For me it is the nostalgia of the smell of turkey cooking in the oven. I love all of the traditional fixings that go along with it. Every family may have their own traditions that bring them together. That is the most important part after all. Giving thanks for each other, being together, even when far apart. Many people will be apart from their loved ones this Thanksgiving. I suggest cooking up a small Thanksgiving. When you’re ready to dine, give a ring, Facetime, or Zoom your friends and family, and give a cheers! Pray for a better year, and then dig in!
Don’t let yourself feel sad or lonely. Rejoice in your memories, be thankful you have them. Gratitude will replace the bad feelings so you can focus on the future.
If you need a little boost in this department give acupressure a try. Acupressure helps you see a different perspective, and to look beyond ourselves.
- Spleen #4 is called, “The Prince’s Grand Son”. It is located on the instep just below the first metatarsal bone of the big toe on the border of the red and white skin. Press for one minute each side. You can do this a few times a day. This point helps you realize the certainty of continuity. It is like entrusting your legacy to your favorite grandson.
- Lung #7 called, “Narrow Defile”. It is located on the radial styloid process of the wrist. You can find it by sliding your index finger of one hand between the web of your thumb and index finger of the other wrist. Where your index finger lands is the point. Massage gently for one minute each side. You can do this a few times per day. This point helps relieve sadness and worry. It gives you the capacity to receive the wonderful gifts of life that are abundant all around you. Sometimes we get lost, and we forget to take stock of what we have. Breath in, breath out, give thanks.
I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Patience is a Virtue Acupuncture can Help
On Sunday mornings sometimes I like to watch “The Sunday Morning Show” on CBS.
This morning the opening piece was about patience and its affect on our health.
Dr. Amit Sood was interviewed by Berry Peterson about his research on impatience at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
“Impatience is not simply the opposite of patience, Sood explained. Rather, the absence of patience brings anxiety, illness, injury, loneliness — and even death.”
It’s negative affects can cause…
- Elevated Blood pressure
- Anger and stress levels
- Aging and Chromosomal DNA abnormalities
- Heart Attack
- Feeling of no control
“If you choose to be patient, you are helping yourself. You’re living longer and happier. And you’re helping your loved ones. Being patient is a choice,” Dr. Sood said.
And, I love this one. Another word Sood said would help us through the pandemic: Resilience.
Acupuncture can help you choose to be more patient. It is about establishing a new healthier outlook.
Many acupuncture points help people gain insight, and a new perspective.
To develop a more patient and resilient disposition you can try acupressure. Press, tap or rub each of these points one minute each twice daily. Here are a few example points to use.
Du-Governor 20: One Hundred Meetings
Gives perspective of what life is about as an individual and humankind, what is the right way. Moves a person forward to a different level of understanding. Clears mind and lifts spirit.
Location: at the crown top of head. Found by drawing an imaginary line from the tips of your ears to the center of your head, and center line from the tip of your nose.
Yintang: Hall of impression It is often called the “third eye” as it is also the sixth Chakra or Brow Chakra.
This point can help bring about a sense of clarity. It promotes wisdom, intuition, mental facilities and intellect. As it governs the brain, neurological system, eyes, ears, nose and pituitary glands,
Location: Midway between the medial end of the eyebrows on your forehead.
Gallbladder 21: Shoulder Well.
This is a great point to relax the tension held in the shoulders. It can often stimulate the relaxation of the diaphragm, and relaxed slower breathing. It helps bring stuck Qi-energy from the head, shoulders, and neck down relieving headache, shoulder and neck pain.
Location: at the highest point of shoulder midway between the lower border of spineous process of 7th Cervical vertebra 1 and the acromion. Just pinch the upper trapezius muscle with your thumb and middle finger.
*This point is contraindicated during pregnancy. It is often used to help stimulate labor.
Liver 13: Chapter Gate. This is an awesome point also known as the gate of hope. It is useful in helping someone move forward in different chapters of their life. It is regulating in that the gate is open allowing movement forward, but with appropriate patience. This means not speeding ahead before it’s time. Plans are not always clear, and we don’t have control. We can learn that this is alright, and we can let go of the need to always be right, and to always have control. All will be well. This point gives us hope that the flow of life is moving as nature intended.
Location: lies at the tip of the 11th rib, or just inferior and anterior to it. Just feel for the bottom of your rib cage on the anterior lateral aspect.
To experience Emotional-Spiritual Acupuncture for feelings of impatience schedule your appointment today.
Call Dr. Michele at (858) 613-0792 or schedule online.
View the segment on the Sunday Morning Show
Fall is the season of the lungs keep them healthy
Fall is my favorite time of year! However, it’s the time of year when people are easily affected by environmental influences. Great changes are taking place in the weather and plant life around us. Some people refer to it as the “flu season.” The lungs are easily influenced by environmental changes in the fall season. Acupuncture and herbal remedies can help keep your lungs healthy. Don’t wait until you’re sick, our methods have traditionally been used to help people stay balanced and healthy. Call us today at (858) 613-0792.
Welcome Autumn Instagram Post by Michele Arnold
Acupuncture documentary of how it works
