Winter Survival Guide for Psoriasis
Many people look forward to the cooler months of autumn and winter, with their crisp, cool air bringing relief from summer’s heat and humidity. However, those who suffer from psoriasis may not be so happy...
Category: Chinese Medicine
Staying Healthy with the Seasons: Winter
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), having been around for more than 3,000 years, is rooted in the philosophy that people should live in harmony with their environment. Winter is a time for hibernation, and as...
Meet Dr. Merry Li
An interview with Dr. Merry Li, OMD, L.Ac. TD: Thank you very much for speaking with me today. Can you please tell us how long you have been in practice? Dr. Li: I graduated...
Your Skin – A Hard-Working Protector for your Body
Your skin is your largest organ. Besides your digestive system, it is the main interface between you and the outside world. Being one of your chief defense systems, it is also where a large...
Spring is the Best Time to Renew and Detoxify Your Body
This year, Chinese New Year falls on Friday, February 16. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, New Year’s Day is also officially the start of Spring. Springtime is a time of expansion, new life,...
How to Stay Cool in the Summertime with Traditional Chinese Food Therapy
The ultimate goal of Traditional Chinese Medicine is to bring the body, mind, and spirit back into balance and harmony. There are 2 main concepts in Chinese medicine that help to explain how we...
Happy Spring – Flowers, Sunshine….. and Allergies!
Springtime is a time to enjoy new growth after a long winter – flowers blooming, tender leaves sprouting in the trees. Unfortunately for some, Spring can also bring on miserable allergy symptoms. Allergies are...
Management of Dermatitis from a Chinese Medicine Perspective
What is dermatitis? In medical terms, ‘derm’ refers to the skin, and ‘-itis’ simply means that something is inflamed. So dermatitis is literally ‘inflammation of the skin.’ This is a very broad term that...
The Year of the Fire Rooster – Chinese New Year 2017
How do you say Happy New Year in Chinese? There are many languages spoken in China, but the two most common are Mandarin (mainland China) and Cantonese (Hong Kong). Here is how to say...
Why Chinese Herbal Medicine is Better than Topical Steroids for Children’s Eczema
According to the National Eczema Association, the prevalence of eczema in children in the U.S. is 10.7%. So, that’s basically 1 in 10 kids who have eczema – that’s a lot of kids, and...
Flower Essences – The Subtle Healing Power of Nature
The healing power of plants is undeniable. Flowers uplift our mood, promote health and well-being, and nurture us on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. But besides what we can experience with our senses...
Common Acupressure Points for Self Care
Acupressure, a type of massage, is one of the many types of treatments commonly employed in the Traditional Chinese Medicine healing system. Other types of therapies include acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, exercise, dietary therapy, and more....
How Does Acupuncture Work?
What is acupuncture? According to a definition on Google: Acupuncture is “a system of complementary medicine that involves pricking the skin or tissues with needles, used to alleviate pain and to treat various physical,...
The Elusive, Difficult-but-Easy-to-Define Concept of Qi
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are 4 vital substances of life: Qi (pronounced “chee”), Blood, Body Fluids, and Essence. This article will focus on the first one: Qi. So, what is Qi? Qi...
How to Avoid a Heart Attack (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)
The heart – arguably one of the most hard-working organs of the body. The heart is a muscle that works non-stop from the time you are in the womb until the day you die. The...
The Benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a vast and comprehensive medical system that was first developed in ancient China more than 3,000 years ago. There are several different therapies that comprise this complex and beautiful system....
Treating Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) with Chinese Medicine
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a group of emotional and physical symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle. PMS symptoms occur one to two weeks before a menstrual period starts. The most common symptoms include depression, mood...
Treating Menstrual Cramps (Dysmenorrhea) with Chinese Medicine
In an ideal situation, menstruation should be painless and accompanied by minimal pre- and post-menstrual signs and symptoms. However, for many women, the monthly period can be very uncomfortable. This pain can manifest itself...
Treating Menopause and Perimenopause with Chinese Medicine
One of the great strengths of Chinese herbal medicine is in being able to balance women’s hormones. Both menopause and pmenopause are treated very effectively using Chinese herbal medicine. What is the difference between menopause...
Treating Heavy Menstrual Bleeding with Chinese Medicine
Menorrhagia is the medical term for menstrual periods with abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding. Menstrual periods are considered heavy when a woman’s menstrual flow soaks a sanitary pad or tampon every hour for several consecutive...
Treating Absent Periods (Amenorrhea) with Chinese Medicine
Absent periods (amenorrhea) are referred to as Bi Jing in Chinese. Jing means menstruation, and bi means ‘shut’ or ‘closed’. There are different types of amenorrhea: Primary Amenorrhea – when a woman has not...
The 5 Elements of Chinese Medicine – Earth
This is the final segment of the 5 Elements series – Earth. Unlike the other 4 elements of Chinese medicine (Wood, Fire, Metal and Water), the Earth element does not have its own unique...
The 5 Elements of Chinese Medicine – Fire
This is the 4th article on the 5 Elements of Chinese medicine – Fire. Since it is almost Winter, hopefully you are nice and warm sitting in front of a fireplace right now. Actually, the...
The 5 Elements of Chinese Medicine – Wood
The next element in our 5 Elements series is Wood. Although we are currently approaching Wintertime, this post will give you something to look forward to. Wood is the element associated with Springtime! In the Wintertime, life...
The 5 Elements of Chinese Medicine – Water
The second installment in our Elements of Chinese Medicine series is Water. The season of the year associated with Water is Wintertime. Winter is the time when things in nature are contracted, dormant, and...
The 5 Elements of Chinese Medicine – Metal
Continuing from the previous blog article on Yin-Yang and the 5 elements, we will now delve deeper into each of the 5 elements, to see what they are all about. Are you Ready? Let’s do...
Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine – Yin-Yang and the 5 Elements
Traditional Chinese medicine has a rich history that is more than 3,000 years old. According to this ancient philosophy, health is a result of the person being in balance with nature, and disease is...
Inflammation, Cortisol, and Stress: the Mind-Body Connection
Inflammation has received a lot of press in recent years, and for good reason. It is defined as a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful,...
Gut Feeling: A Few Interesting Facts About Bacteria and Gut Health
In recent years, there has been a lot of talk in the health spheres regarding the connection between the health of your gut and overall health. The term ‘gut’ refers to your entire digestive...
Telomeres: The Fountain of Youth?
For all of us, aging is inevitable. As the years go by, we are all affected differently, some of us appearing to age much faster than others. We are the sum of our life...
The Amazing Healing Power of Manuka Honey
Manuka honey is produced only in New Zealand. It gets its name from the tree that the bees pollinate – the Leptospermum scoparium tree, commonly known as manuka or tea tree. This is different...
Acupuncture: What It Does and How It Can Help You
Acupuncture is a medical procedure which uses hair-thin needles that are inserted in various parts of the body in order to treat various types of medical conditions. It was first developed in China thousands...
Chinese New Year
How do you say Happy New Year in Chinese? There are many languages spoken in China, but the two most common are Mandarin (mainland China) and Cantonese (Hong Kong). Here is how to say...
Tea: Health for Mind, Body, and Spirit
According to legend, tea was discovered by the emperor Shen Nong about 5,000 years ago in China. Shen Nong is credited with developing the practices of agriculture and herbal medicine in ancient China. It...
Herbal Spotlight: Psoralea (bu gu zhi) – A Treatment for Vitiligo
Herbal Spotlight: Psoralea (bu gu zhi) – A Treatment for Vitiligo What is vitiligo? Vitiligo (pronounced vit-ill-EYE-go) is a skin disorder that causes the loss of normal skin color in spots or patches. It...
Dietary Therapy: An Introduction to Chinese Food Energetics
There is a well-known quote by the ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” The ancient Chinese doctors were well aware of this concept, even before Hippocrates....
Wind – What It Means in Chinese Medicine
There are many differences between Chinese and Western medicine. One of the ways they are different is in how they describe illness. What Western medicine would describe in concrete, scientific terms, Chinese medicine would...
