Good Healthy Habits

Everyone wishes to be healthy without sickness. Here are some general suggestions.

Acupuncture and Herbs for the Four Seasons

We all know that there are four seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter. We also know summer is hot and winter is cold. Breezy wind is in the spring. Fall is dry. We can prepare our health before seasons change. For example, we can get an acupuncture treatment to make a cool body before summer. Even though summer is hot, we are able to confront hotness more easily. We can get a treatment to make our body warm before winter, so it’s easier when we encounter the cold winter.  Here are my suggestions to prepare for the changing seasons.

Acupuncture treatments before each change of seasons

Everyone should get four treatments a year minimum before each change of seasons. This applies until your forties. When you get into your fifties, you should get five treatments a year. In your sixties, get acupuncture treatments six times a year. Now you have the idea. The reason is when we get older, our metabolism gets slower, so more treatments are needed.

Oriental Herbs to support your body

Our body and mind work as the result of the intersection of certain vital substances, which are Qi, blood, body fluids and essence. This theory sounds very complicated to someone who has not studied Oriental Medicine, so I will try to make it easy to understand.

• Qi is an energy which manifests simultaneously on the physical and spiritual level. This is the result of Qi of heaven and earth. What exists between heaven and earth? The answer is air. Air is absolutely necessary for human body. Therefore my interpretation is the ability to breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide in our body.

• Blood is a pretty similar concept with western medicine.

• Body fluids are tears, snivel, saliva and etc.

• Essence is hormone and bone marrow.

Taking herbs is a good way to supply all these necessary ingredients. We suggest taking herbs once a year until your forties and two times a year from your fifties on. You can read about Oriental herbal medicine for more details.

If you follow our suggestions, you will live healthily and look young. You will also maintain better health than a person who never heard of these ideas.
 

Any food eaten on the same date must be out on the following date.

Some eat 2 meals a day or 3 meals a day. Some eat small amounts but 5 to 6 times a day. It might be a good idea to know the relationship between times and organs. There are many ideas how often we go to the bathroom for stools. Some claims depending on how many meals a day. This theory says 3 meals per day means 3 times of bathroom. Understandable theory, but feels too often and too much.

It might be desirable to go to the bathroom between 5:00 and 7:00 in the morning every day as the most active time of large intestine is between 5:00 and 7:00 in the morning. Whatever we eat today, we must excrete next morning. Let us figure out how long it takes food digestion to a stool. After foods are taken from the mouth, food moves to the stomach and stays there for 3-4 hours. From stomach to small intestine to large intestine and to the rectum. This procedure takes about 12 hours. Let us assume to eat dinner at 6 pm and finish it at 6:30 pm. All food taken as a dinner will be ready for excretion at 6:30 in the morning. If you go to the bathroom at 8:00 in the morning, you must finish dinner before 8:00 in the evening. After dinner, we don’t eat any food. 

This is normal and it must be in this way. When excreting all stools from the body, all toxics are removed. We don’t have to carry all toxics to the next day. Do you have any good reasons to carry stool for next day? If anyone excretes every other day or longer, it might be constipation and should be taken care of.

I believe the body needs all tastes

Tongues are able to taste sour, bitter, sweet, pungent or spicy, and salty. Why? I believe body needs all tastes. However we choose what we like and try to avoid bitter taste, for instance. Let me give you one example. Bile is absolutely necessary to take care of fatty food. Without bile, fat will be absorbed into body and accumulated in the body causing over weight.

Where does bile come from? My point of view is for bile is made from bitter taste foods and accumulated at gallbladder. When foods are digested and move to duodenum, bile excretes and mixes with food from stomach. Bile looks green and very bitter. Without eating bitter taste foods, how can our body produce bile? Therefore we must eat well balanced foods with a mixture of all 5 tastes mentioned above. Depending on personal conditions and seasons, these amounts might be changed. You should consult with a knowledgeable acupuncturist.
 

Exercise

Exercise for a continuous 40 minutes a day every day. It is not 4 times of 10 minutes. I don’t agree that you should exercise at least 5 times per week. It must be every day. If you don’t exercise, your body is supposed to be achey. Then you have to exercise. And you are all set to be healthy. I don’t recommend excessive exercise, but enough to sweat a little bit. Sweating a little bit means Qi and blood are circulating whole body already. Many people say that they know exercise is good, but have no time to do it. This is my suggestion and also what I do. Everyone, rich or poor, young or old has only 24 hours a day. I do exercise while I watch news or daily drama, catching two birds with one stone.

What went wrong?

Some people see doctors when they feel something is wrong, such as no energy, fatigue or exhaustion. Doctors administer tests one after the other to eliminate one possible cause or another. Sometimes all the medical tests are negative and the patient is told nothing is wrong. But they know there is something wrong in their body. Are medical tests wrong or are patients lying? I think medical tests are right and that patients are telling the truth. Then, what went wrong?
 

Understanding the nerve system

Nerves on the skin are well developed, so any pain is recognized by us very well and quickly. Most inner organs like liver, kidney, heart, pancreas and lungs don’t have a lot of nerves, according to western science. By the time we notice any pain in the inner organs, disease may be well progressed and the organs may be very damaged.

Western science has found that the inner organs work fine until they are 70% damaged. Patients urinate well until the kidney filtering systems are 70% blocked. Heart function works well until blood vessels are 70% blocked. The liver functions well until 70% of its function is lost. Most patients don’t notice any major differences in their breathing until 70% of their lung function is gone. When they notice some blood or phlegm, by that time they might be diagnosed with the first or second stage of lung cancer.

Some patients claim they have never been sick and never catch cold. Then, all of sudden, they become sick. How often do we hear about this kind of story? Do you think it is possible? The only answer is the patient has not noticed the body change.

How can we explain it when all medical tests are negative, and patients still complain something is wrong? I don’t believe that patients go to doctors unless they have discomforts, pains or diseases.

Most medical tests are very effective after 70% of the function of the inner organs is damaged. Present tests may be not effective before 70% damage has occurred. Test can measure substances very well, but they don’t measure human energy well and most tests can’t catch the movement of energy. Energy can’t be measured yet as energy is not a substance. Someday this kind of machine may be invented, but not yet at this moment.
 

Should we suffer because tests are negative?

A wise person may decide easily to seek another kind of medical treatment, either traditional or alternative. One Chinese wise man said that it does not matter if a cat is white or black as long as the cat catches mice. Does this idea make sense to you?

Acupuncture is a great tool for this kind of situation. Any pain means there is less nutrition and oxygen on certain spots. All cells are crying for more nutrition and oxygen. As soon as more nutrition and oxygen is provided, pain stops right away. Acupuncture can send more blood into the specific place or spot that needs it. 

Let us say here is a small stream. Water flows slowly, but steadily, but even sand can’t be moved when the amount of water is small. Imagine building a high dam and capturing and holding all the water in the dam. When water is enough inside of dam, it breaks the dam at a stroke. High speed water pours out and washes away sand and moves pebbles and large rocks.

Let us apply this idea to the human body. Let us assume there is a blockage in the arm. You press a certain point and hold it for a while. You may experience numbed fingers by this. If the spot is pressed too long, some blood may bypass to other sides. When we release the pressure, this may remove the small blockage by a sudden flow of blood. This idea is used in massage, for instance.

Acupuncture is one of the best ways to send blood to a specific point by adjusting nerves. We call this acupuncture points. Even though we recommend exercise, exercise alone can’t send the blood into a specific area. Only acupuncture can. That’s why acupuncture is the best tool to remove the blockage causing pains and discomforts, in my opinion.

So, all medical tests are negative and you don’t feel normal. What can you do? Waiting until you have70% blockage and the tests can tell you what is wrong is not a good alternative. Acupuncture should be your first choice because acupuncture is very effective at removing blockages and is less expensive. Please note that I don’t look at the cost of each session only. I look at total costs from the beginning to end. Some people look for the least expensive treatment on the assumption that all acupuncturists are the same. This assumption is wrong. If one clinic charges $40 per session and requires 20 sessions, the total cost is $800. If another clinic charges $80 per session and only three sessions are required, the total cost is $240. What makes this difference?

1. Selection of exact points is very important, as the point is related with the specific nerve.
    
2. Once the point is selected, we have to find the bull’s eye from the target board (selected point). Many believe that acupuncture points always remain the same. Most text books don’t tell that all acupuncture points may move around one inch diameter, depending on the time of day or night and patient conditions. Finding the exact point each time is the art of acupuncture technique. If the needle hits on 10 points of bull’s eye, healing time will be faster than on hitting on 3 points. These two ideas make a big difference in how fast the patient heals.

My business philosophy is very simple. I give better or best service with the least expense and fast results for any undetected symptoms, pains, discomforts, diseases and even hopeless or incurable cases.

Which Foods Should I Eat?

Is drinking cola good or bad?

My answer is both, good and bad. I am not going to explain the good part here. I want to hear your opinion. What is bad, then? Many will mention that soft drinks contain sugar and caffeine. This is only half true in my opinion. I have to bring up primary school education before my answer. We learned as follows.

When we breathe air, we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Oxygen is good for our body and carbon dioxide is the product after exchanging waste materials with oxygen. Cola is made of carbonated water. What is the carbonated water? It is water containing carbon dioxide. When you drink cola, there will be more carbon dioxide in the body. All cells have to work harder to get rid of this unnecessary gas, especially the lung. Why do you spend money to have your body work harder?

This kind of information is very basic for better health. Most of us are interested in more advanced and updated knowledge. In my opinion we must have a good foundation, otherwise we are building on sand. 

Some think that taking all kinds of foods is the best way. Many believe this. Most of us don’t follow this either, even though this could help us. However I don’t fully agree with this theory. The reason is this may apply to only 50% of population. There are certain body constitutions that benefit from taking all kinds of foods, but not all body constitutions benefit.
 

Humans belong to yang, vegetables and fruits belong to yin

Moving is yang and fixed is yin. Human beings are moveable, so belong to yang. Fruits and vegetables are fixed, so belong to yin. Human beings breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Trees and vegetables breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. If we take more vegetables and fruits, what a good combination of yin and yang!
 

Yin and Yang body types

One Indian born in Alaska used to hunt whales, bears and some wild animals while he was young. He used to eat these animals. He studied about nutrition and became a nutritionist. He advised his clients to take more vegetables and fruits. They were happy about his advice and became better. He himself also took more vegetables and fruits by textbooks.

Unfortunately he became sick. While he was in the hospital bed, he wondered why he became sick, even though he ate foods by the book. He couldn’t get the answer. He recalled his childhood of hunting and eating wild animals. He was healthy and had full of energy when he was young. He missed his childhood eating on the hospital bed, so he began to eat more meats and recovered from his sickness. Eating more vegetables is not always the answer.

Most of you who read this might understand western nutrition theory better than eastern theory. I am not an expert on western theory, but I have my opinion on eastern theory. We must understand both eastern and western theories and practice both. The whole concept of eastern nutrition is based on yin and yang. Making a balance of yin and yang is the best choice. 

I assume this Indian was born in the cold weather of Alaska weather. If so, his body condition is closer to yin. Yin is cold and yang is warm. Look at wild animals. They belong to yang. We watch bears playing on the top of ice or snow. If bears are a cold type animal, they may not survive in cold conditions. This means bears belong to yang type. Whales also belong to yang. Most vegetables belong to yin. When the man with the yin body took yang foods, he was healthy when he was young. When yin body takes more yin foods (vegetables) in adulthood, this makes his body unbalanced and made him sick. I believe this makes sense to you by now. In addition, if he took more yang type vegetables as discussed below, I think he might prevent his sickness.
 

There is no full yin and no full yang

Now you may have a question whether all fruits and vegetables belong to yin and all animals belong to yang. The answer is not so. All in nature consists of yin and yang. There is no full yin and no full yang, meaning there is no absolute in yin and yang theory.  We can say now that some fruits and vegetables belong to yang and some animals belong to yin. For example, pork is a cold food. As pigs are so cold, they have so much fat on their outer skin to protect their body against cold. If a yin type person over-consumes pork, do you think this person becomes healthy? What about yang type person consume more yang type foods?

Here is another example. Let us discuss aloe vera. This grows in the desert which is dry and hot. The only plants which can survive in this condition must be wet and cold. So aloe vera is cold type. If yang type person uses aloe vera, this is wonderful. If yin type uses aloe vera, this will make his condition worse.

Americans consume lots of breads. Breads are made of wheat most of times. Is wheat yin or yang? Unless you understand this well, you may not become healthy. What about sugar or salt, that everybody talks about?
 

Body Types and Food Types

• Find what types of body I belong to, yin or yang.
• Find which foods belong to yin or yang

When we know our body type and food type, we can choose something right for us.

There are four different body types according to famous Korean scholar Lee, JaeMa.  These are Tai yang, Shao yang, Tai yin and Shao yin.

This theory is every person belongs to one of four groups. There are also certain foods to help better health for each group. One day consists of morning, afternoon, evening and night. For example, some prefer to study in the morning and others prefer at night. Everyone has their own preference as they have different body types. One year consists of spring, summer, fall and winter. Some people like summer and others like winter. This is also due to different body types. We apply this theory to our body to have better health.

Basic characteristics of the Four Constitutions

The Four Constitutions are based on the size and strength of functioning of different organs.

• Taiyang: large lung and small liver. The function of lung is strong and function of liver is weak.
• Shaoyang: large spleen and small kidney. The function of spleen is strong and function of kidney is weak.
• Taiyin: large liver and small lung. The function of liver is strong and function of lung is weak.
• Shaoyin: large kidney and small spleen. The function of kidney is strong and function of spleen is weak.

This size difference determines personal character and pathology.

Foods for each constitutional type

Taiyang

• Good foods: grape, kiwi, cherry, Chinese quince, buckwheat, buckwheat jelly, fruit of Actinida arguta, shellfish, crucian carp, cuttlefish, crab, shrimp, sea slug, pine needle tea, non-glutinous rice,  Chinese cabbage, carp, octopus,  wild grapes,  orange juice,
• Bad foods: beef, sugar, radish, yellow corbina (croaker)

Shaoyang

• Good foods: melon, apple, strawberry, water melon, tomato, grape, red bean, hulled millet, mung bean, sesame, potato, lettuce, egg, dropwart, cucumber, eggplant,  pumpkin, Korean cabbage, sea slug, abalone, snapping turtle, swellfish, sweetfish, snakehead, oyster, crab, shrimp, pork, duck
• Bad foods: milk, taffy, honey, peanut

Taiyin

• Good foods: walnut, persimmon, apricot, plum, pear, ginkgo nut, peach, pine nut, Japanese apricot, watermelon, glutinous rice, Job’s tear, beans, millet, perilla, radish, eggplant, taro, mushroom, platycodon, sweet potato, bracken, condonopsis lanceolate, spinach, lotus root, bean sprout, bean curd,  carp, herring, sardine, brown seaweed, laver, cuttlefish, sea tangle, brown sugar, beef
• Bad foods:  Chinese cabbage, apple, coffee, pork

Shaoyin

• Good foods: jujube, orange, apple, peach, non-glutinous rice, barley, ginger, garlic, carrot, spinach, shepherd’s purse, cabbage, leek, crown daisy, green onion, mustard, goat, pheasant, sesame, rabbit, roe deer, chicken, dover, anchovy, shrimp, croaker, globefish, yellow corbina, whitebait, eel, flatfish, sea bass, gray mullet, mandarin fish, hard shelled mussel, mudfish, taffy, honey, ginseng, cinnamon, beer
• Bad foods: red bean, mung bean, buckwheat noodle, beef, milk, pork, pear, water melon, cucumber

Now it is you who have to take an action to find your own body type and take better care for your body.

There are lots of foods which are not listed here. When you visit our clinic, we will advise you how to find better or bad foods on your own.

How much meat should I eat?

The ratio of canine teeth (4) and molar teeth (grinding teeth) and front teeth (24) is 1:6 excluding wisdom teeth. The canine tooth are good for meat food and molars are good for vegetables. We may apply this information to eat more vegetable in our diet than meat. I suggest eating meat once a week based on the ratio of 1:6.

Should we eat raw or cooked food?

Some believe that eating raw food is only way to be healthy. The reason is that all important nutritional values can be kept without being destroyed while cooking. It is true that many vitamins lose values or destroyed while cooking.

What about cooked food? Is this bad? The answer is good and bad, too. Why? Cooked food is better for digestion than raw food. And there is another reason, but I’ll discuss that in another article.

Should I drink water while eating?

Some believe it’s better not to drink water while eating so we don’t dilute the digestive fluids. This theory doesn’t consider different bodily constitutions.

Korean 4 Needle Acupuncture combined with the right treatment and the right foods for your personal constitution can give excellent results.

As I mentioned before, there is no absolute that applies to everyone. There are many theories in the market. All these confuse many consumers who don’t understand the whole picture. When you come to visit me at my clinic, we will give you advice on which one is better for you, what type of constitution you belong to.