Self-Care
Treatment for Loss of Voice
As we approach an exciting Yankees first World Series appearance in 15 years, Halloween, and an even scarier Election Day, there’s a good chance a lot of people will be losing their voices, as a result of screaming and shouting, hopefully for joy. Couple that with the dry autumn season, which corresponds with Chinese medicine’s lung channel, and many will be more prone to hoarseness and/or dry, hacking coughs.
Aphonia, or loss of voice, can happen for one of two reasons in Chinese medicine:
- The adrenals that secrete hormones, such as estrogen are weak and/or weak in reserves and there just isn’t enough fluid to lubricate the throat. For this, the best self-care recommendations are eating good quality pork and beefs and getting plenty of rest, with early bedtimes. Herbal medicine is preferable to acupuncture, namely formulas that help strengthen the kidneys and generate systemic fluids.
- Dryness exists more around the pancreas and stomach organs, subtly impairing digestion and giving rise to dry, inflammatory heat that tends to flare up into the chest and throat, then drying out the fluids up top and creating a vicious cycle. Labeled a “Shao Yang” pathology, this is common in singers and teachers, and can be treated with acupuncture and/or herbal medicine. Best self-care recommendations are possibly a bit more exercise, white rice, and/or congee and sweet potatoes, red date tea, and again, early bedtimes.
Of course, there are other causes, other etiologies and contributing factors, such as being on one’s menses, which dries out the internal blood, which in turn dries out either the kidneys or digestive organs, exemplifying these patterns as primary suspects to target in treatment.
Peppermint tea with honey is another fine option to treat, although if you are prone to bloating, loose stool, or lack of appetite, honey might not be the best thing for you.
On the other hand, ginger tea is likely to aggravate this situation due to its drying nature. While potentially very healthy, ginger has earned itself an undeserving reputation as unconditionally so, especially when treating people suffering from anemia or any chronic dryness.
When navigating any form of soreness or dryness from the chest up it is advisable to avoid hot sauce or spicy foods, as they can obviously aggravate the inflammation. Ironically, it is equally advisable to avoid iced cold drinks, which constrict vasculature around the throat and further impede the arrival of healthy systemic fluids to lubricate the region
Wishing everyone a lubricated throat and organs in these highly anticipated events!
I’m predicting Yankees in 7.
I’m predicting Kamala.
And in a group family effort, I will be Olaf from Frozen for Halloween. Pics to come!
Which Sparkling Waters are Safe?
I don’t know many adults who don’t love sparkling water. I don’t know whether bubbles are having a generational popularity surge, or I’ve just reached that age where friends are enjoying it as a preferable vice in lieu of soda, beer, or other intoxicants we’ve all but ditched for better health. I’m pretty sure it’s both factors, and especially ever since the quieter life of parenthood and middle age, my wife and I both anticipate with great pleasure, our respective “sparklings” once our toddler is finally asleep for the night.
First, the obvious: Is sparkling water healthy?
Yes and no. My teacher, Dr. Suzanne Robidoux, suggests that people who gravitate incessantly to sparkling water probably suffer with a great deal of dampness in their stomachs. The carbonation causes gases to move, which helps to temporarily dissolve the dampness, and beyond being delicious, they feel better. Take note of what you’re eating when you have a strong craving for these gases—it is probably a damp-causing food. Conversely, people who feel bloated or uncomfortable in drinking the bubbles probably suffer with a “dry stomach,” one that is lacking in healthy fluids and/or digestive acids, and can’t handle the gases as well.
This informs us that (the gases in) sparkling water has a drying effect, which is not the worst thing if taken in moderation, but if over-indulged in over time, can have deleterious effects. Let’s be honest: Nobody actually believes these often flavored, commercial sparkling waters could possibly be as clean and neutral for our organs as plain, room temperature water, right? My opinion is as long as we limit ourselves to 1-2/day and are additionally giving to our bodies plenty of plain, clear water, we should be fine.
With that said, there are recent reports that many sparkling waters are laden with PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are manmade chemicals that have been around only since the 1940’s. Nicknamed, “forever chemicals,” they are thought to not break down in the human body and accumulate over time, potentially causing a wide array of serious diseases. These chemicals are found on non-stick pans as well as pizza boxes, as if the white bread, mozzarella, and inorganic (nightshade) tomato sauce wasn’t inflammatory enough.
Knowledge is power, and fortunately these same recent reports have informed us of which major companies’ waters tested positive for such chemicals, and which tested negative. Apparently, brands to avoid include Perrier, La Croix, Poland Spring, Bubly, Polar, and Topo Chico, once topping the charts with levels of 9.76! So, if you go to a Mexican restaurant, you’re probably better off with tequila than a fresh bottle of Topo Chico water.
Safe brands include Spindrift (which uses real fruit to flavor!), Mountain Valley (which has previously been ranked the cleanest water in the country, bubbles or not), Pellegrino (the classic!), Waterloo, and Sound.
I would post a link to some of the articles I referenced to get this information, but there are so many that are so easy to search online. I recommend doing so if you love your daily bubbles and wish to read more. Hope all are enjoying the summer!
These Longest Days of the Year
Welcome to the Tai Yang time of year. Say that three times fast, and maybe add “Thank You,” to complete the trifecta, TYTYTY! “Tai Yang” means the most yang, as we enter the longest days of the year, leading up to the summer solstice next week, at which time days will begin to very gradually, grow shorter.
Until that time we might be more vulnerable to “yang pathogens,” exemplified by inflammatory heat and/or “external invasions,” which is probably why we see a minor uptick in Covid cases around this time each year, despite the warm weather which should mitigate such spread. More common are the former, symptoms of “heat rising,” a la insomnia, anxiety, palpitations, acid reflux, constipation, headaches, and ANGER!!! If you’ve noticed an exacerbation in any such signs within yourself, rest assured, it is normal for the time of year and relatively wane after June 21st. If it doesn’t, see a doctor, and/or myself.
Some of the things we can do to cool excessive yang rising include green tea in the mornings (after breakfast), then peppermint or chrysanthemum teas at night, snacking on watermelon, cucumbers, and celery, and minimizing spicy foods and alcohol. Most importantly, sweat!
In Chinese medicine we treat most “Tai Yang disease,” or viral pathogens through moderate sweating—underscore moderate for you high intensity athletes—and as the weather now is increasingly humid to begin with, it is important to sweat, just a bit every day.
The Tai Yang time of day is mid-day, around noon, which makes that window optimum for exercise—although as I often advise my busy patients, the truly best time to exercise is whenever you have time. ‘Tis better to do imperfectly than not do at all.
Although I am admittedly a slave to air conditioning for sleep, it is obviously manmade, unnatural, and ultimately not physiologically (or environmentally) beneficial. In the humid climate of summer, the contrived cold air traps pathogenic fluids at the exterior, or “Tai Yang layer” of the body, thereby exacerbating local inflammation, often inducing skin/joint conditions, and compromising immune function. I recommend using it as minimally as possible and/or wearing a scarf or long-sleeves while in offices or public transportation that insist on killing us slowly. And spend as much time outdoors as possible. We are all too deprived of it these days.
Happy Father’s Day!
Chinese Medicine on Fainting, Dizziness
A friend of mine recently expressed having experienced great bouts of dizziness and fainting during the third trimester of her last pregnancy, which was in the dead of summer and was thus not surprising. I felt bad to hear of her struggles, but grateful that it inspired an idea for a new entry, on how Chinese medicine views fainting and dizziness, whether in pregnancy or not, and how we can treat or prevent it.
As with any Chinese medical diagnosis, the specifics get complicated, but we can still relatively easy to simplify into a couple of broad strokes. With any manifestation of dizziness, whether orthostatic, vertigo, passing out, or anything else, we are considering patterns of either blood deficiency, dampness, or a combination of the two, the latter of which obviously being the most difficult to treat. The final one is where your toddler at home forces you to “dance” with her around the house by spinning endlessly, for which there is no cure.
Blood Deficiency: More common in vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians (most likely descending order), more common in women (especially while pregnant), the elderly, or anyone on long-term medications, which compromise the body’s absorption and capacity to produce blood. There is either a lack of cerebrovascular fluid or its flow and the head becomes faint.
Recommended treatment is herbs and moxibustion (acupuncture not as effective here), red meat or eggs, and earlier bedtimes.
Dampness: More common with obesity, more common in men, and/or people who consume a lot of alcohol, sugar, dairy, or raw foods. The microbiome grows congested with fluid retention, so the pathway by which our cellular energy carries healthy fluids to the brain is obstructed. “The clear yang qi cannot rise,” as we say, and our clarity or stability suffer.
Recommended treatment is minimizing all of the aforementioned foods, herbal medicine for 1-3 weeks to purge fluid retention, and acupuncture, especially along the vertigo line along the scalp located directly above the top of the ears. Note, this point will not be as effective on blood deficiency patterns, who are suffering a pattern of “deficiency,” not “excessive damp,” which responds better to aggressive manual treatment. As for self-care, drink hot ginger tea and black teas until symptoms subside.
Combination Blood Deficiency/Dampness: This is most common in pregnant women and very difficult to treat, because to nourish blood we must generate fluids, but to resolve dampness we must purge it. Not to mention the fact that we must be careful with purging fluid retention in pregnant women, since the fetus is ultimately a form of fluid retention—albeit an adorably magical one.
Dizziness and vertigo are serious conditions, not generally life threatening, although potentially dangerous when leading to the physical risks that accompany fainting. As always, Chinese Medicine can have much to offer in the way of hands-on treatment, internal medicine, and recommended self-care.
When in doubt: red meat, eggs, ginger tea, good rest, and steamed vegetables for the dampness.
Spring is “Shao Yang” Season!
As I made my way this Monday through my ten-block, 2 ½ avenue walk from Penn Station to the office, the 41-degree winds whipping into my face, masquerading as 30 degrees, that lovely sweatshirt-only, spring day of the previous weekend felt like ancient history, only to return like an overdue hug on Tuesday.
Even on these open-air, warm days, I’m cynically aware of what they ares. A tease, a mere foreshadowing of the still relatively distant future, a glimpse into a climate we may or may not experience each year, and for the next several weeks one that will rear its head only sporadically, thereby confusing our wardrobes and forcing us to check the weather app daily.
Spring corresponds with the wood element in Chinese medicine, which corresponds with the gallbladder meridian, or shao yang layer of health and disease.
At their root, “shao yang pathologies,” which can be anything from gastrointestinal to neurological, emotional, autoimmune, or otherwise, are said to be caused by “dry,” or weak guts. Vulnerability in metabolism leads to inflammation that flares upwards, commonly manifesting in symptoms such as chest tightness, throat dryness, eye dryness, most dryness, headaches, etc.
“Heat above, Cold below,” as we call it, which really just means the “cold” or weak microbiome has caused substances that should have descended as stool or urine to rise in the form of inflammation and harass upper portions of the body. One of the most signature symptoms of a shao yang pathology is the experience some have of alternating heat and cold sensations. So, while we can probably blame much of spring’s recently more chaotic, unpredictable nature on global warming, there is systemic logic to it. We might even acknowledge that in spite of our ongoing environmental crisis, spring is still the only season that consistently behaves so erratically. And erratic… is shao yang. Even the “shao yang pulse,” is signified by being ever-changing. One minute it feels wiry and rapid under the clinician’s finger—the next it’s like a slippery little ball. As my teacher would say: “This person is ‘shao yang’.”
How to temper our internal and external shao yang challenges? Simple and same as always really: Warm, easily digestible foods, and early bedtimes.
Soups and stews, congees, eggs, and steamed vegetables are light on the gut. They should generate healthy metabolic fluids and are less likely to create inflammation. This will address the “cold below.” As for the “heat above,” early bedtimes will modulate neurotransmitters and maximize the kind of organ recovery that can be attained only through a good night’s sleep (and/or Chinese herbs).
Err on wardrobe for the calendar more than the forecast, obviously within reason. Our bodies are still considered “cold” from the half year of cold, so all the youthful “heat pathologies” walking around outside in cut-off belly shirts cut low again on top will be more vulnerable to viruses.
Exercise should be consistent, but moderate. Regular enough to quell the heat above, but mindful to not sweat so much as to weaken the cold below. If you’re aiming to have the beach body ready for summer, the best way is by avoiding gluten, dairy, sugar, and raw foods, along with mild core workouts.
Finally, the wood element of spring is most supported by the sour flavor, so this is a good time of year to add foods like lemon and vinegar to your daily intake. Although they are uncooked, pickled foods, such as sauerkraut or kimchi are good to have alongside your warm meal, as they help to prevent the “shao yang stomach.”
Happy Shao Yang Season, everyone!
