The Mooqi.com Health Blog

I have always been extremely interested in health and nutrition and this has only compounded since I have been going to school.  During my first term, I was able to go to a nutritional seminar by speaker Dr. Bruce Bond DC, DACBN.

Dr. Bond talked a lot about health and nutrition, but one thing really stuck in my mind.  According to a study conducted by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in 2002, a list of prerequisites were created where if followed would RESULT IN THAT PERSON BECOMING DIABETIC!

You are considered “Pre-Diabetic” if you have at least 3 of the following:

• Waist larger than 40 inches for men and 35 for women
• BMI > 25
• Triglycerides > 150 mg/dl
• HDL level < 40 mg/dl for men and < 50 mg/dl for women
• Blood pressure > 130/85 and/or the need to use blood pressure medicine
• Fasting glucose levels > 110 mg/dl

The one thing that I didn’t like about this study is that it does not say how long it would take for diabetes to set in.  Obviously it would be impossible to predict given every individual’s circumstances, so it makes sense that you WILL get diabetes if you have at least 3 of these symptoms.  Heck, it’s likely that given enough time, you WILL get diabetes if you have only 2 of these symptoms, maybe even 1.  So let’s work on being healthy everyone!  Diabetes is a death wish (type 2 that is) and once you get it, it is hard to live your life the way you used to.

A while back during when I was in class, I overheard that CNN had visited our campus to find out more about acupuncture.  It was pretty interesting because they were not coming specifically for info about my school, but for info about oriental medicine and acupuncture in general.  They surveyed our clinic and interviewed the AOM professors and several students.  Both of my professors had actual air time on the video.  You can check out the clip here:

http://www.twcsocalnews.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=26&id=178

I think that it’s great that CNN came to our campus on their own accord (instead of us approaching them).  It to me tells me just how much public interest acupuncture, oriental medicine, and alternative types of health is generating.  Here’s to the future and your health!

For those of you who might be curious, these are the ingredients from the 2 pills that I was prescribed from my acupuncturist.  Try and see how many ingredients you can recognize!

Yín qiáo sǎn (銀翹散) - “honeysuckle and forsynthia powder”

• Honeysuckle flower
• Forsynthia fruit
• Balloon flower root
• Field mint
• Great burdock fruit
• Prepared soybean
• Reed rhizome
• Licorice root
• Bamboo leaves
• Schizonepeta stem

Pǔ jì xiāo dú yǐn (普濟消毒飲) - “universal benefit decoction to eliminate”

• Baical skullcap root
• Coptis rhizome
• Indigowoad root
• Fruiting body of puffball
• Silkworm
• Ningpo figwort root
• Hare’s ear root
• Bugbane rhizome
• Tangerine peel

*I took out the duplicate ingredients from the second pill*

You may notice that some of these ingredients, if you even recognize them, aren’t exactly what you may think of is an “herb.”  This is because in Chinese medicine, almost anything can be an herb, from flowers and plants, to shells, rocks, and animals.  In fact this is why you may hear that the private part of a tiger is a greatly desired “herb” for male potency.  Good thing for the tiger, it is now an internationally protected animal…
 

As you know from my last post, I had a pretty serious bout with the flu this month.  Luckily for me, there is a nice clinic on campus that treats students and the community with acupuncture and chiropractic treatments.

My first acupuncture treatment was not exactly what I expected.  I don’t know what I was thinking, but I guess I thought I would just be stuck with a lot of needles.  Instead the intern looking after me took my heart beat with a stethoscope, took my blood pressure with the standard pumping device, and asked me normal “Western” questions.  In fact, the whole beginning seemed identical to seeing my regular doctor.

There were differences after the initial consultation though.  First the intern asked to look at my tongue, not like how Western doctors put a stick in your mouth and tell you to say “ahhhh”, but to actually stick my tongue out like I was making a funny face.  He then took my pulse on both wrists and jotted things down.  I’m learning this now, but Eastern doctors mainly diagnose all their patients mainly on the feelings of their pulses and the look of their tongues.  Apparently the tongue acts as a map for the entire body, and anything that looks out of the ordinary indicates that something is wrong with its respective organ.  The pulse can also give away signs that something is wrong.  Examples may include a pulse that is not consistent, too fast, weak, or slow.

Finally, after all the initial stuff, it was time to insert the needles.  I got 9 stuck in me, 1 on the top of my head, 3 on each arm, and 1 on each foot.  The BEST part was that after the needles were inserted, I got to sleep for a good 20 minutes.  Heat lamps were included and I had a blissful power nap. 

Sometimes I feel that those 20 minutes is where most people heal the most as you can finally take some time out of your busy day to get some rest.  Some of the needles hurt, like a small pinch, while others I didn’t feel at all.  I’m not sure if this is because my skin was very sensitive due to the flu or not.  To top it off, I did receive some medicine, but it was all natural in the form of herbs.  The herbs were all ground up and enclosed in a translucent capsule just like regular medicine.

I left the clinic feeling somewhat better and very excited for what I was doing.  It was strange how similar, yet how different this type of treatment was compared to a medical doctor visit.  I have met many people who swear by acupuncture, as well as chiropractic, and it is very exciting.  All in all, I think I had a good first experience and I’ll keep going back and hopefully my patients will return to the clinic as well when I’m interning there.

So winter is in full force, it’s cold and freezing and gosh darn it seems that everyone is coughing up a lung!  Some people instead call winter the flu season and they couldn’t be closer to the truth.

Scientists in New York have recently discovered that the flu virus, also known as influenza, actually thrives in cold, dry conditions.  This theory is not exactly brand new.  Infact, the word influenza came from the Italian phrase influenza di freddo in the 18th century, which translates into “influence of the cold.”

The question is not whether or not the flu predominates during the winter, but actually why.  There have been many theories in the past, many of which you are probably familiar with, but here are the results that the NY researches found when testing the virus on guinea pigs:

• Transmission was excellent at 41 degrees
• Transmission declined as temperature rose until it was non existent at 86 degrees
• Transmission was great at low humidity levels (around 20%)
• Transmission was non existent at 80% humidity and higher

Unlike the common cold, the flu is passed on through the air, where as the common cold is passed on more through direct human touch and interaction.  When the air is cold, the flu virus is more stable, but when the air is humid, the virus particles tend to stick to the moisture in the air and fall to the ground.  This might also explain why catching the flu is very rare in the tropics.

Coming from Hawaii I guess it’s true that I did not get the flu very often.  Granted, the common cold was passed along at almost any time given the heat and humidity, but at least it wasn’t the flu.  Now, living in Southern California, it’s really cold (comparatively speaking)!  It also seems that I get a really BAD bug around January or February.  This year, I caught it in January and am still trying to get over it.  What’s the best way to get over the flu?  Doctors are still recommending taking the flu shot.  I for one don’t like getting shots, but if I could have avoided this most recent illness, I would have opted for the needle…that being said, as being a future acupuncturist, I guess I’ll be opting for many needles for many different cases.

Two months after my severe ankle sprain (and a diagnosed anterior talo-fibular ligament tear), I’m back on the bike and training at full blast. Over the last four weeks, I’ve had six physical therapy sessions to help me get where I am. My first week off the crutches was incredibly difficult, and I was walking slower than a turtle. I’m pretty sure my great-grandmother could have beat me in a race to the kitchen. Fortunately, my determination and motivation to heal quickly prompted a good combination of the right attitude, proper guidance, and proper healing. Many people believe that it is unnecessary to see a doctor or physical therapist after a sprain because the [insert injured body part here] will heal itself over time.

 This statement holds some truth to it, but I absolutely attribute my speedy recovery to the therapy sessions that I’ve done - both in and out of the physical therapist’s office. My physical therapist told me after our second session that I was probably one of the fastest healing patients she’s worked with. My response, “I’m probably also the most dedicated to healing fast.” Just like coaches and personal trainers, a physical therapist can only do so much to help a patient. The rest is really up to him/her. I spent a great deal of my time actively strengthening my ankle. I did all of the exercises that she prescribed and so much more. I walked 200-300 yards forward, backwards, side to side, doing heal-toe raises, lunges, and much more each day in the pool. Water therapy was something I learned when I was in school and recovering from my knee injury a few years back. The impact is low on the joints, and the benefits are high for the injured. In addition to these exercises, I continued to ice my ankle to keep the inflammation down. I worked on balance and ankle strengthening exercises in the gym, and I listen to body when it tells me I need to stop.

 Even after all this time, I am still unable to run at all. I tried running home to shield myself from the rain, but quickly realized that I’m in no shape to do such a thing. The healing process is long, but just like it is for exercising and any other activity or skill in which you wish to excel, you have to be consistent.

Mooqi.com readers, I have exciting news that I am going back to school!  Come January, I will be enrolled at the Southern California University of Health Sciences(SCUHS) where I will be studying to become a chiropractor and acupuncturist.  The program itself is very rigorous and takes about 3.5-4 years (I hope I can handle it…).  The great news is that I will be further immersed in all the latest health and nutrition news.  I will also include more information about both chiropractic and acupuncture, as well as other alternative types of medicine.  If any of you are interested in anything particular, please let me know and I’ll try my best to get you answers!

Hi loyal Mooqi.com readers, we greatly appreciate your attention!  I’m sorry that I haven’t written in a while, as one of my excuses can be attributed to getting caught up in the Christmas chaos.  In the meantime, here’s a list of further healthy substitutions gathered from the RevolutionHealth.com website that can be used to help with the holiday love handles when you’re cooking for the family Christmas party.  Don’t forget that many of these tips can be combined with the original health substitutions list from our Thanksgiving articles.  You’re almost there to the New Years!  Don’t let all the extra holiday food weigh you down!

Fat and cholesterol

Sodium

Sugar

Other nutrients

Everyone tells you not to accrue credit card debt, but almost no one tells you not to accrue sleep debt.  Sleep debt, do you even know what that is?

The recommended amount of sleep for the average person is about 7-8 hours.  The fact of the matter is that with larger work demands, longer commute hours, and just wanting to do more, most Americans are not falling into the recommended bracket.  For every hour your body gets deprived of sleep, it tries to make it up in the following day.  If deprived for 2 days, it will try to make it up in the third, and so on, racking up your debt like a Saturday night at the bar.  Recent studies are now showing however that while the body can easily make up sleep debt here and there, the body loses its ability to do so when sleep loss occurs too often.

Humans and animals that have chronic sleep deprivation might reach a point at which the very ability to catch up on lost sleep is damaged - Fred Turek of Northwestern University

The body attempts to make up lost sleep by entering the deep sleep phase (also known as sleep phase 3 and 4) quicker than normal.  During the deep sleep phase, blood flow to the brain declines and is instead redirected to your muscles, helping them to recuperate and your body to get stronger.  The brain with less blood, is not as active and in a way goes to sleep itself.  The effects of the lack of deep sleep have the strongest repercussions.

What scientists have found is that when chronic sleep loss occurs, the body can only fall into the deep sleep phase so quickly.  More so, it seems that there is a limit to the amount of deep sleep the body will fall into even if one has the extra time to sleep.  In an experiment by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, covering chronic sleep deprived individuals, after several weeks of lack of sleep, many of the people got used to their sleep levels and claimed that they weren’t tired and or alert.  When given simple tests however, the sleep deprived people had a harder time paying attention, developed impairments to their memory, and had slower reaction times compared to the individuals that had ample sleep.  This is one of the reasons why lack of sleep is very dangerous as it is the culprit behind over 100,000 auto accidents annually.

This study does not mention what happens if you get too much sleep, which also isn’t good for you, but it probably is not as bad as getting too little.

The average American gains 7-10 pounds from Thanksgiving until New Years.  In a previous post, I wrote that the average Thanksgiving dinner is 3,000 calories, made up of 229 grams of fat.  I have no problem handling my self at a buffet, but this was a little hard for me to swallow, no pun intended.  As we were shopping for Thanksgiving dinner at the local Ralphs, I decided to do a break down Thanksgiving dinner and this is what I came up with:

1,570 calories and counting, and this is if you just stick to a serving size.  I find it hard to believe however, that many people will be able to eat only 4 oz of turkey, 1/2 cup of stuffing, or 8 fl oz of drink…

At least at 67 grams of fat, this planned Thanksgiving dinner is way under the 229 grams of fat reported, but it still makes up about 100% of the recommended fat intake.  However, 24.5 grams of this fat is saturated fat, which makes up 120% of your daily saturated fat intake! 

While I’m not sure if you’ll eat double portions to get to the 3,000 calorie average, there are many things that can be done to lower the caloric and fat intake.  For starters, finding a lower fat stuffing, such as Kraft’s Stovetop Turkey Stuffing will cut calories in half and fat by about 75%.  Choosing a vinaigrette salad dressing over ranch will cut calories and fat by over 60%.  Making your own mashed potatoes or any of the other dishes for that matter will allow you to have more control over what goes into your food so you can leave out the butter and other fattening ingredients.  Finally, buying an organic turkey from Trader Joes will be better over all for you as Trader Joe’s turkeys have no additional hormones or additives.  If you haven’t noticed, many of the turkeys you see in the store have been treated or injected with chicken broth and other ingredients to enhance flavor (this is also done often in the chicken you buy and it’s usually noted on the bottom of the package).  While this might not increase the fat or caloric numbers, it greatly increases the amount of sodium you’ll be eating, which was not considered when counting the calories, but something that should definitely be observed.

For more ways to reduce fat for your Thanksgiving meal, feel free to check out our healthy Thanksgiving dinner recipes and the top 10 fat substitutes.  Happy healthy eating!