I've been learning a lot about Eastern and holistic medicine and practices lately. Melvin thinks I'm absolutely nuts; however, a lot of the beliefs and ways just "make sense". Also, Eastern Medicine is at least 2,000 years old, so I don't think we Westerners have a right to judge if it's been working for that long already...
Vancouver is busting at the seams with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic clinics, as well as Naturopathic Doctors. We've been to a couple of places and here are some things I've noticed and learned.
- The practitioner always makes it a point to learn about not just you, but your parents, your grandparents, your history, what you eat, what you poop, lifestyle, etc. They treat you as a whole, not just the stuffy nose you came in with on that day. This is HUGE, from my point of view. It means they are trying to get to the root of the problem and not just giving you antibiotics for your "symptom".
- Your body's energy and emotional stability affects your organs and health in more ways than you think. Stress is a major killer, which we all know, right? However, from what I've learned recently, it's worse than we could have ever imagined. This is why acupuncture and acupressure is so good for you as it releases blocked energy (qi) within your body.
- Cupping is a wonderful method to release "knots" in your neck, shoulders or wherever. It also releases stagnant blood.
- 90% of your health is a reflection of your colon's health. Notice how pediatricians ask how a baby poops? They are concerned about the consistency, color, frequency, etc. Well, as an adult, when was the last time a doctor asked about your poop? Guess what? It is just, if not more, important now!!
- 80% of our body's energy is spent on digestion. Again, goes back to the colon...if our colon is clean and healthy, this energy can be used by our brains, blood flow, glands, etc. and our energy will be better distributed. When a baby or child is sick, don't force them to eat!! This is what my parents, grandparents, etc would always do, but it makes things worse! Their little bodies need all the energy they can get to HEAL - lots of fluids and don't force solids on them!
- Vitamin D deficiency is a MAJOR problem these days, especially during cloudy winters in places like Vancouver. Make sure you are getting at least 1000-2000 IUs of Vitamin D daily. To give you an example, baby supplements are usually only 400 IUs, which is not enough, especially for breastfed babies. Vitamin D can help boost immune systems (making bodies stronger against allergies) and create good bone structure. I recently discovered Julian is bow legged and our Naturopath is boosting his Vitamin D to help with this. We are also going to get it checked out structurally today, but hopefully it helps!
- I wondered why it was quite hard to find a naturopathic doctor in NY and apparently there are all these licensing laws that make it way too hard to open a clinic there, which is a shame. 300 naturopathic doctors graduate in British Columbia alone each year.
- I would add more but I think Julian is about to run over his little sister right now!!!
Conclusion: Get your colons cleaned! Yes, I have my 4th colonic irrigation appointment tomorrow night. I will blog about the benefits of this and my experience later, but all joking aside, it is totally important for your body to have a clean colon. Food for thought...
