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Boosting your immune system with herbs can aid in keeping your body in optimal condition to combat bacteria, infections and viruses. Today there is an increasing emphasis on strengthening the immune system through disease prevention rather than by treating existing illness.
Traditional Chinese medicine recognizes that illness is caused by a weakened immune system. Herbal remedies can enhance the body’s natural defense mechanisms. Herbs can also allow your body to resist infectious agents without the adverse side effects of conventional medications.
The immune system has two defense mechanisms: Natural, which utilizes white blood cells to protect from disease, and acquired, [...] Continue Reading…
As the health care debate continues, the current edition of America’s Health Rankings has identified trends that support the need to ensure disease prevention is part of the health care reform.
Based on two decades of consistent tracking, the rankings survey calls for the nation to change unhealthy behaviors that are contributing to preventable, chronic diseases. Trends cite smoking as the greatest health challenge of the past 20 years and warn obesity is likely to be the next national health concern.
The health care system has become adept at treating illnesses and disease, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. [...] Continue Reading…
Each year, hundreds of people attempt to stop smoking with hypnosis, nicotine replacement and prescription medications. Acupuncture is a drug-free way to stop smoking and stay nicotine free.
Acupuncture stimulates natural endorphin release, which reduces nicotine cravings and detoxifies the body. Acupuncture treats many of the symptoms people experience when quitting smoking, including:
• irritability
• sleep disturbances
• concentration difficulties
• restlessness
• headaches
• fatigue
• increased appetite
• weight gain
When combined with acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine can aid in the smoking cessation process. Often herbs are recommended to control cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Your acupuncture physician will interview you to learn more about your smoking habits in [...] Continue Reading…
In Traditional Chinese medicine lifestyle is very important in determining overall health.
Treatment of a wide range of health conditions and common ailments includes the five pillars of Chinese medicine: Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Tui Na massage, qigong exercises, and lifestyle recommendations.
Lifestyle recommendations include:
• Adequate sleep. Being sleep deprived can weaken constitution and eventually cause illness.
• Daily exercise, which strengthens qi circulation.
• Stress reduction through yoga, qigong, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or pilates can prevent illness.
Acupuncture can also be used as an adjunct therapy to improve lifestyle habits with treatment for smoking cessation, stress reduction and weight loss.
Traditional Chinese [...] Continue Reading…
Female veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are less likely to complain about painful health conditions than male veterans, according to a new study.
Findings of the study of more than 91,000 veterans indicate that 43 percent of veterans reported some type of health complaint over one year. Of those, 44 percent of men reported experiencing pain, compared with 38 percent of women. Of those evaluated for persistent pain, 21 percent of men reported symptoms compared with 18 percent of women.
Study data contrasts with painful health conditions experienced among the general population, where women often have higher [...] Continue Reading…
The holiday season can be the most challenging time of year to stick to a diet, lose weight or maintain healthy eating habits.
Balance between overindulgence and deprivation during the holidays with these tips:
• Have a light snack before heading to holiday parties. Arriving hungry often results in overeating, and consuming foods that are high in saturated fat and calories.
• Offer to bring a healthy choice dish when attending a party to ensure that you have some healthy food options.
• Situate yourself far from the food table. Close proximity to food makes it more difficult to resist.
• Using a [...] Continue Reading…
College students are particularly prone to psychological distress caused by academic pressures, financial strains and uncertain futures. Transcendental meditation can aid in significantly improving students’ mental health.
Benefits of transcendental meditation include:
• Purposeful, flexible thinking
• Energy and vitality
• Strong immune functioning
• Balanced physiology
• Fit cardiovascular system
Transcendental meditation may also reduce blood pressure, anxiety and depression among at-risk college students, according to a new study by researchers at the American University and the Maharishi University of Management, which appears in the December American Journal of Hypertension.
“The standard transcendental meditation program to reduce stress showed significant decreases in blood pressure and improved mental health in young [...] Continue Reading…
The path from enrollment to graduation can be extremely challenging for college students diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Students with ADHD may have difficulties with assignments, reading comprehension, note-taking, tests, and time management, which can result in poor organization, academic underachievement and procrastination. Students with ADHD may also experience distractibility and difficulty focusing.
Teen and adult students with ADHD often have to work harder in the less structured college setting. They may want to take steps, including:
• Joining study groups
• Developing tailored learning plans
• Taking a smaller course load
• Setting and maintaining academic goals
• Scheduling regular meetings with faculty
Academic services are often available to [...] Continue Reading…
Acupuncture can be more effective than medication in reducing the severity and frequency of chronic headaches, according to a new study conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers.
“We combed through the literature and conducted the most comprehensive review of available data done to date,” says Tong Joo Gan, M.D., a Duke anesthesiologist who led the analysis. Researchers analyzed data from trials evaluating acupuncture for adults with chronic headaches.
“Acupuncture is becoming a favorable option for a variety of health conditions because people experience significantly fewer side effects and it can be less expensive than other options,” Gan says. “This [...] Continue Reading…
Yoga combines physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation to increase relaxation and balance the mind, body and spirit. Heart rate variability, a sign of a healthy heart, has been shown to be higher in yoga practitioners than in non-practitioners, according to a recent study.
Yoga for heart health can regulate the heart via the autonomic nervous system, through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. While the former causes a rise in heart rate, the latter slows it. When these two systems are in balance, the heart rate is steady.
The ongoing variation of heart rate is known as heart [...] Continue Reading…
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