Radiant Health the Iyashi Wellness Way

Blood Test Results

2011-11-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

I attended a fascinating class recently on reading blood test results. It was an intensive, 16 hour, continuing education weekend course.

Conventionally speaking, when you get a blood test done and you get the results, the lab ranges provided on the results are based on a pathological state. It is based on the thousands of blood test samples taken at labs throughout the region. Because conventional healthcare system addresses a person only when they are sick, most blood samples tend to be heavily weighing on an already diseased state. What that means is that if your number falls in that lab range, you are already in a diseased state.

There is very little conventional medicine can do during the often slow stages of someone becoming sick, i.e. some becoming pathological. Based on the top 5 drugs prescribed in America, the most commonly addressed health concerns are cholesterol, pain, hypothyroidism, bacterial infections, and high blood pressure. These conditions are often indicators of deeper, organic malfunction. For example, high cholesterol is not just about cardiovascular health. It also indicates the state of the liver detoxification system and gastrointestinal function. Same thing with hypo- and hyperthyroidism. It is not just about the dysfunction of the thyroid organ per se, but has also a lot to do with blood glucose levels, liver function, gut health, and so forth.

I have a patient who has been coming to me for a few months because she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. She came to me specifically because she wanted to try and prevent it from getting worse because her doctor told her, "There's nothing we can do until you get worse. At that point, all we can do is give you drugs." So this patient came to me, and since our treatments, her symptoms have markedly improved - she now has regular periods, decreased PMS and pain during menses, decreased swelling in her face and throat, lost weight, hair has stopped falling out, sleeping well and through the night, and has regular bowel movements, more energy, decreased skin rashes, just to name a few. I educated her about the importance of a clean, healthy diet, to forego exercise at the expense of exhaustion, and to get more sleep every night. (People underestimate the importance of consistent good night's sleep and its impact on good health.) It has helped tremendously that she is on a gluten-free diet and is very compliant with office visits and intake of her herbs. But it is this cooperation and education between patient and I that is a win-win situation towards prevention and re-establishing of better, optimal health for my patients. And this is something most conventional doctors cannot provide because of their lack of education in preventative medicine and the constraints health insurances place on doctors' time with patients.

Anyway, I digressed. Back to what I learned in the weekend course.

What this particular class taught us instead was to learn how to read lab findings based on lab ranges that are pre-pathological. Based on those findings, we can asses potential dysfunctional health patterns and thereby address it before it becomes an actual diagnosable diseased state or condition. So if you came to me with a recent blood test result, I can read your results and tell you based on them whether you are en route to a certain dysfunction. I will confirm those findings doing a thorough intake of your present and past medical history. Your symptoms or signs - however subtle or meaningless to a conventional doctor but meaningful and indicative to a licensed acupuncturist like myself trained in the art of prevention - will help to confirm those lab findings. These dysfunctions, if not addressed properly, can - and often will - turn into a full blown diagnosed condition, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gallstones, tumors, etc. Based on your findings, we can together come up with a customized prevention plan using acupuncture, herbs, nutritional supplements, dietary changes and exercise program. Talk about prevention! That's the real strength of complementary medicine - prevention.

So if you:

haven't had a blood test done in a long time
have been concerned about certain symptoms or signs that conventional doctors can't or haven't been able to address
want to know your current health status
have certain conditions that run in your family, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc. and want to know where you stand
want a reality check

Come see me! I can help!

How Organic is your Organic Milk?

2010-05-06T14:34:00.001-07:00

Where do the more commonly available (at least in Los Angeles) organic milk brands of Trader Joe's, Horizon, Whole Foods (365 Organics), Costco, and even Ben and Jerry's stand in terms of integrity in an independent survey? See for yourself!

A friend of mine hooked me on to a very useful site that rates organic milks. The scorecard was created by Cornucopia.org and they have a full report on the state of organic milk farms, industrialized milk farming, USDA enforcement, and consumer guidance on organic milk-buying, among other issues. The ratings alone can be found here but to fully understand their ratings I recommend you read the report.

As for me, I think I'll begin supporting 365 Organics and Straus more.

Acupressure Face Lift and Recipe to Beautify Yourself

2010-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who want to beautify naturally, here are couple tips from this month's Iyashi Wellness Newsletter.

To sign up for this free monthly e-newsletter, go to my website, Iyashiwellness.com.

Past newsletter subjects have included:

Smoking Cessation

Heart Health

Acupuncture and Headaches

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Acupuncture

Enjoy!

The 5-Minute Acupressure Face Lift

Here is a 5-Minute Acupressure Face Lift to smooth wrinkles and firm up the face.

To draining the lymph system and smooth the skin

• Begin at the center of the forehead using the thumbs, and stroke across the eyebrows. Repeat 3 times.

• With the pads of the thumb, move from the outside edge of the eyebrows to the hollow in front of the ear (Fig 1).

• Using 3 inner fingers of both hands to massage the back of the neck from middle towards outside for 30 seconds with circular motion.

To lift and tone the face, chin and neck

• Stroke upward in lines from the eyebrows into the hairline. Repeat 3 to 5 times (Fig 2).

• Press on DU20 (the point on the very top of the head) to bring energy upward. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

• Using the pads of the thumbs, stroke in a circular motion from the eyebrow to temple to jawline and to the points below the eye. Repeat 9 to 12 times (See Fig 3).

• For neck wrinkles: Stroke upward from the collar bone to the jawline. Repeat 3–5 times (See Fig 4).

Recipe for Nourishing Beauty - Sweet Rice Congee

Sweet black rice, when cooked with longan berries (euphoria longana) and Chinese dates, becomes a congee that nourishes blood and Qi.

In the Oriental medicine system of food cures, these three foods work together to enhance beauty and longevity.

• The sweet rice promotes the flow of liver Qi, which helps keep angry feelings at bay and leads to calmness.

• The Chinese dates (different from the Mediterranean variety) nourish blood and spleen, promoting restful sleep and mental clarity.

• Longan fruit, a blood enhancer, was used by the ancients to add luster to the skin. From a Western perspective, we know that longans contain large amounts of Vitamin C and phenolic compounds, which may help to detoxify and protect the liver.

Sweet Rice Congee
(Taken from Ancient Healing for Modern Women, by Dr. Xiolan Zhao, C.M.D.)

Ingredients:

6 cups water
1 cup black sweet rice (wash before using)
½ cup dried longan fruit
10 Chinese dates
2 tablespoons raw sugar
½ inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

Instructions:

In a large heavy saucepan, add 6 cups of water, black sweet rice, longan fruit, dates, and raw sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Garnish with ginger. Makes four servings.

Note: All ingredients are available at most Asian grocery stores.

Author: Elizabeth G. Lynch

Rate hikes withdrawn!

2010-04-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

Great news to insurance holders of Anthem Blue Cross!

In February, I blogged about Anthem's request to raise their rates (to read, click here and here), but now, they have decided to withdraw their proposed rate hikes of up to 39%. According to Los Angeles Times reports, state regulators said the plan was "seriously flawed" with numerous errors in its rate filings. Anthem is still planning to propose new rate hikes in May, but they declined to comment when and how much. But it looks like for now, insurance holders have won!

To read the full report, click here.

Career Day at Beverly Hills High School

2010-04-29T12:58:00.001-07:00

Last week, I participated in a fantastic Career Day event at Beverly Hills High School. I was invited by my colleage Dr. Jonathon Herbert, D.C., to join him in explaining the ins and outs of our careers. We were in a classroom with students interested in learning about our careers. We each gave about a 15 min talk plus Q&A of what it takes to be - and what it's like to be - a Doctor of Chiropractic and Physician of Chinese Medicine. The students asked many interesting questions. It was a nice reminder for me to see how far I've come in my private practice to be able to mentor these students about my career, and in a more large scale, to see how far I've come as an adult! Sometimes, it just feels like yesterday that I was a teenager, completely lost and trying to find my place in this world!!

Beverly Hills High School (BHHS) has been organizing this event for 15 years now, and each year, it grows. They have keynote speakers each year to motivate students in finding their path (I unfortunately missed the keynote speaker's speech). The organizing committee is made up of both administration and students and the BHHS Career Center, and the planning takes a year, culminating in a fabulous event once a year with individuals from all industries and professions. In addition to myself and Dr. Herbert, there were other medical professionals, law enforcement individuals, people from the military, actors, musicians, artists, marketing executives, lawyers, culinary pofessionals, engineers, professors, bankers, and the list goes on. It says a lot about this event that of the 152 confirmed participants, 151 showed up to the event.

As a token of appreciation from BHHS, we were provided a delicious lunch prepared by the BHHS students enrolled in the culinary program. Delicious, healthy food!

I really enjoyed speaking to the students and helping them see a possibility in a medical career. This was a superbly organized event and the BHHS students are truly lucky to have such an amazing resource available to them to prepare them for the future. Go BHHS students!

Acupuncture for dental work

2010-03-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

An article just came out on LA Times that talks about the calming effects of acupuncture for patients having to go through dental work. The study found that within 5 minutes of a few needle insertion in the head, the anxiety scale of patients dropped more than 50 percent! This is true in my non-dental clinical experience because day in and day out I see stressed, anxious, or wound-up patients coming in, and within minutes of my needle insertion, most of my patients' anxious energy levels drop significantly. One minute they are engaged in a lively conversation, then the next, their eyes are shut and they are profoundly relaxed. So if you have never tried acupuncture before and suffer from anxiety, insomnia, not being able to shut off your mind, or stress-related disorders like IBS (irritable bowel disorders), PMS and more, try it! You'll be amazed how peaceful you'll feel lying on the treatment table with needles in you.

Since acupuncture has been shown to improve immune function, it is also very effective in pre- and post-surgery care (both dental and otherwise). It prepares the body before surgery to be in the best possible shape given its circumstances so that there will be minimal surgical complications and requirement for pain killers. And by doing acupuncture post surgery, healing time, scar therapy and infection rates can be reduced significantly.

And the author of the article is correct in guessing that acupuncturists require extensive training to become licensed in the US, particularly in the state of California. Unlike dentists who use acupuncture and require only a minimum of 80 total hours of acupuncture training (50 hours in didactic instructions and 30 hours in clinical training) Licensed Acupuncturists in the state of California require a minimum of almost 4000 total hours of training (minimum 3000 hours in didactic instructions and 800 hours in clinical training) plus passing the country's most rigorous licensing exam conducted by the state's acupuncture board. So rest assured, when you're getting care by a Licensed Acupuncturist in the state of California, you are seeing one of the finest in the nation.

Happy Hour Hiatus

2010-02-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

I have had numerous people ask me about the status of my Acupuncture Happy Hours that I was holding weekly on Wednesdays at Casa de Tree during the latter 6 months of 2009. I was going to resume in late February/early March of this year once the days became slightly longer, allowing for more light in the cafe which tended to have a darker mood lighting at night. Unfortunately, I found out that Casa de Tree has shut down operations as the owners are returning to Japan this year.

So for now, I'm sorry fans, my Acupuncture Happy Hour is going to be on indefinite hiatus until I can find a new location. Come back periodically to the Iyashi Wellness website for updates on this.

Good insurance news - for now

2010-02-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

A moment of reprieve for Anthem Blue Cross insurance holders here in California. The State Insurance Commissioner has been able to secure a delay in the spike of premium increases until May 1st. This will allow outside health-insurance actuarial experts to investigate whether Anthem has violated any California law with its implementation of increases rates.

Let's hope the Commission can come to a long term agreement based on this analysis to minimize future insurance rate increases.

39% insurance premium increase

2010-02-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

Several news agencies have written about premium increases being placed on policyholders of Anthem Blue Cross here in California. The purported increase can be as high as 39% for some holders, even with Blue Cross' parent company, Well Point, seeing profits soaring at $2.7 billion just in the last quarter of 2009. Nonetheless, the company is citing increases in health care costs as their reason for rate increases. (An ironic note made by my colleage Dr. Kevin McNamee: Even with all these profits, Blue Cross has paid the same out of network rates to healthcare providers since the 1990s.)

Unfortunately, there's not much we as insurance holders can do, because it was Congress who in the early 1990s allowed health insurance providers to become For Profit. So even though the Obama administration is looking into this, until Congress and the Senate require insurance providers to become not for profit, there's very little we policy holders can do about these insurance hikes.

I encourage you, especially if you are an Anthem Blue Cross member, to speak to your insurance broker to see if moving to a different insurance company would be a smarter choice. Also, speak to your Congressional representative and Senator to require insurance companies to become non-profit again. Power in numbers

Foods You Should Be Eating

2010-01-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

There was recently a wonderful article in Well, a New York Times Healthblog. It talks about 11 foods people should be eating but most likely aren't. Luckily, all of the listed foods are easy to find at your local markets, and especially farmers markets.

Since the article already lists what the foods are good for and how to prepare it, I decided to do a twist on those foods from a Chinese Medicine perspective. So here it goes:

Beets: these pee-staining (and you know what I mean if you've eaten them!!) roots nourish the blood, strengthen the heart, calm the mind, lubricate the intestines and cleanse the liver. What does that mean? It's excellent for anemia, restlessness, constipation and for liver intoxification from drugs or alcohol. I like to eat it by boiling the beets in water until tender, peel skin and then eat as is with no seasoning. It comes out so sweet, you don't need any seasoning! I also like to cook the beet greens in a sauté, whether stir fried, or water fried with other hardy greens. Caution when consuming it raw. I one time drank a cup of raw beet juice with nothing else, and I immediately threw it up! Its detoxing abilities are so strong, you have to consume it mixed with other fruits and veggies juices.

Cabbage: it's excellent in clearing heat, lubricating the intestines and stopping cough. When we say clearing heat in Chinese Medicine, it means heat symptoms present in the body, from constipation (you're all dried up, right?), thirst, fever, acne (it's usually red like fire, right?), body odor (fetid food has smell, right? so if you're consuming heat-producing foods, you're more likely to have B.O. than not), hypertension, hot flashes, to anger (that's a form of emotion rising up onto the surface, exploding, like a volcano, right?), and so forth. I like to eat it by julienning it and then sprinkling a little bit of vinegar and salt to it. I then mix it really well until it become a little like pickles. In Japan, there was a craze for a while of the Cabbage Diet. All people ate was cabbage to help them lose weight because of it's high fiber content and aid in promoting bowel movements.

Swiss Chard: Like all dark green leafy vegetables, it has a cooling ability, so like the cabbage, and similar to spinach, it can clear heat. It also nourishes the blood. So it's excellent for anemia, blood disorders, constipation and detoxing. I like to water-fry it with a little bit of garlic and salt, or mix it into some quinoa with kale and salt. Simple but delicious!

Cinnamon: Cinnamon, or rou gui, is used extensively as a medicinal herb in Chinese herbology. It is a warming herb, so we use it for conditions like the common cold, abdominal pain that gets better if you put warmth to it, PMS cramping and low back pain. Think about it, when do you usually use cinnamon in your cooking? During the Fall and Winter right, for that yummy pumpkin pie, in soups, in hot cocoa or hot coffee. Why? Because it's warming, and for Americans, it reminds them of feeling all cozy on a cold winter day. I like to throw a whole cinnamon twig into the boiling water that I use to prepare steel cut oatmeal. Not only does it make it fragrant, but it sure adds that punch of core-warming heat to my oatmeal. For PMS cramping or stomach pain, drink cinnamon tea.

Pomegranate Juice: pomegranates promote urination, reduce inflammation (especially of the throat, mouth and urinary tract), and is mildly nourishing to the blood. It's good for urinary tract infections, like cranberry juice, because its sour and cooling, and like aforementioned, promotes urination and reduces inflammation in the urinary tract. I like to drink pomegranate juice, but like with any fruit juices, because of its high sugar content, I usually dilute it with water. It's best, like with any juices, to eat the real fruit, so if you can find it in your market, buy the real fruit. It's time consuming to get to the seeds, but well worth the effort. Just be careful staining your clothes.

Dried Plums: ok, I don't eat dried fruits, again, because like fruit juices, they are high in sugar content. So if I'm going to eat dried plums, I'm going to choose the real fruit. They are the yummiest during the summer. It's excellent at supporting the healthy functioning of the liver, and helps to keep the qi ("energy source" in Chinese medicine) flowing smoothly throughout your body. Some expressions of stuck qi is irritability, moodiness, PMS, easy to anger, and menstrual problems. Plums are also a digestive aid and relieves thirst.

Pumpkin seeds: it's an anti-parasitic and diuretic, so it's excellent for intestinal worms, diabetes and prostate problems. The raw seeds are excellent at calming nausea and bloatingduring pregnancy.

Sardines: like with fruit juices and dried fruit, I like my fish fresh. In Japan, we eat sardines all the time, broiled. Because it can be quite bitter, we like to eat it with some grated daikon and soy sauce to cut the bitterness. Sardines are wonderful qi tonics and yin tonics. What is yin?, you might ask. It encompasses the notion of body fluids, cooling energy, female energy, night, sleep, calmness and so forth (as opposed to yang energy, which is aggressive, explosive, muscles, male energy, and day). It also nourishes the tendons and bones. So sardines are great for menopause, thirst, bone fractures, osteoporosis, tendonitis.

Tumeric: like cinnamon, this is an herb we use extensively in Chinese herbology. Known as jiang huang, we primarily use it for menstrual disorders like amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, cramps, and for arthritic conditions.

Frozen Blueberries: ok, frozen fruits and vegetables are my exceptions. I do keep frozen blueberries in my freezer to use in my smoothies or oatmeal -- if I can't get access to fresh ones, or if it's not summer. Blueberries nourish the blood and tonify the qi, so it's good for anemic conditions, amenorrhea, and fatigue. Like with cranberries, it also aids in relieving urinary tract infections. I love to eat fresh, sweet blueberries also with some home-made whipped cream! Mmmm!

If you want to learn more about food from a Chinese Medicine perspective, a wonderful book to own is called The Tao of Nutrition by Maoshing Ni and Cathy McNease. Much of the information in this particular post came from this book.

And one last thing I'd like to say about eating these and other foods is to choose organic, locally grown foods as much as possible.

Enjoy healthy eating!!

Overuse of CT scans will lead to new cancer deaths, a study shows -- latimes.com

2009-12-15T09:20:00.001-08:00

I just read this article in the Los Angeles Times and wanted to share with my readers.

Overuse of CT scans will lead to new cancer deaths, a study shows -- latimes.com

The overuse of CT scans, like the overprescription of antibiotics, is I believe emblematic of a medical system that is under increasing pressure to perform, and perform fast and effectively, with less and less infrastructure to support the healthcare providers to provide the best care to their patients. HMOs are requiring doctors to see more and more patients an hour, cutting down the quality time both doctors and patients want to give and receive. Patients want results right away. Doctors want results right away. Insurance companies want patients in and out of hospitals as quickly as possible yet be making lucrative money.

It is also the scare - the fear - that patients have. As the article says, many patients get the CT scans, even if they seem perfectly healthy, because they are afraid of some lurking tumor or disease in them. And it really is the irony that by exposing themselves to these unnecessary levels of radiation that may ultimate cause the cancer they were hoping to prevent.

While our healthcare system is currently going through major upheavals, the one thing patients have in their control is to be completely aware and educated about every test and procedure that are going to be done to them and for what reason. If it's invasive, find possible less invasive or non-invasive alternatives. I believe the more educated, empowered and in control patients are of their health and healthcare, the better they can prevent diseases, and should they need to receive medical services, that it would allow them optimal, effective healthcare.

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My experience in the Dominican Republic - 4

2009-12-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

(To read Parts 1, 2, and 3 of this trip, click here)

Day 6 - YASICA

This location was the farthest we would go from our hotel, about a 50 minute ride up into the mountains, passing Camú. As became the case in every location we visited, I saw mostly adults and senior citizens, but because our mission today was inside a school, I had more school-aged children and teenagers. It was great, they all came in still with their uniforms during what I imagine was their class times.

(Simon, John the photographer and Tomoko, prepared to face the rain to walk back to the school after our lunch break.) This was also the very first day that we had rain while in DR. And rain it rained! As the day progressed, the clouds started to take cover, and all of a sudden, around 1pm, we started getting pouring thunderous rain. It rained for a good hour or so. It then stopped completely. Typical tropical storm, I was told. Later in the evening, it started to rain again, and the rain came down pouring by the time we arrived to the hotel.

We got to enjoy fresh sugar cane! Delicioso!

Dusk before the next thunderstorm

By the way, acupuncture is not known in Puerto Plata, the third largest city in DR, so it was the first time for every patient to get acupuncture from me. (Acupuncture is known in other parts of DR. For example, in Santiago, the second largest city in DR, and from where Omar and Mirla the sibling assistants are from, acupuncture is very well known.) Even though they had never had acup. before, most Dominicans who were complaining of some sort of pain in their body (headache, back ache, knee pain, shoulder pain, etc), colds, allergies, fatigue, high blood pressure, anemia, and/or diabetes readily agreed to be treated by me.

The wise and experienced crewmember, Jae, who was our traffic controller of patients within the medical dept, always directed any patient whose registration form indicated any of the aforementioned conditions and complaints. Sure, some patients were afraid and nervous, asking the ubiquitous question, “Do the needles hurt?,” but for the most part, most patients just let me treat them without any questions. There were surprisingly very few people who flat out rejected my treatments. Once they started feeling their pains going away with my treatment, they were impressed and quietly sat in their chairs for about 20 minutes. Not that it was quiet. There was always a long line of people as well as children and infants waiting inside and outside to be treated by us three doctors, and curious people just watching, so there was always a lot of chaos and noise and people milling around. Jae and the other aides were always trying to keep order and some semblance of peace in our stations.

Because I know my students and fellow acupuncturists are reading this, I want to write a little more on the clinical aspect of what I saw. So I will write this part primarily addressed to this group, making the following few paragraphs layreader-unfriendly. I apologize in advance.

As I wrote earlier, the bulk of the conditions I treated were fatigue, pain, allergies, colds, anemia, diabetes, and high blood pressure. From a TCM perspective, there was a lot of Bi syndrome, Spleen Qi xu + Damp, and Qi and Blood xu conditions.

Of the hundreds and hundreds of patients that I saw, I can literally count, in my fingers, maybe 4 or 5 patients who had wiry, forceful, strong pulses. Most of the patients had slippery but thin, feeble, weak, deep pulses. Some rapid, but mostly not. This was a big difference from many of the patients I treat privately. Most of my private patients have excess pulses, often wiry or surging and rapid. The majority of the tongues I observed in DR were wide, flabby, scalloped, pale with slight or significant yellow coating. Very few thin, red, yin xu tongues or dusky or red stagnation/excess heat tongues. Physically, most were overweight, though there was a fare share of healthy weight individuals. (There was one young, slender mother who came in complaining of how she had no appetite. She looked at me and said “See, look how skinny I am!” in a complaining tone. If you saw this same woman here in Los Angeles, everyone would be envious of how skinny she was! Hearing her complaint was such a refreshing change!)

So, without being able to do a full intake or even a 15-minute consultation which is the minimum I’d do with my private first-consult patients, based just on the tongue and pulse, I can say from this experience that the majority of underprivileged Dominicans I treated suffer from deficient conditions most likely due to their suboptimal diet. Weather plays a key role here as well, with constant hot tropical weather (i.e. high humidity/rain fall) engendering mass damp-bi conditions.

In terms of needling, I used no more than 10 needles, making it easy to track how many I was using per patient. I combined primarily the 5 transporting points, Master Tung points, and ear points. If I was treating only pain, I often needed only 2 or 3 points, and to that I might have added couple supporting points to address the root of the problem, but often times just those 2 or 3 points were all that was needed to significantly reduce the pain or resolve it all together. It was fascinating to watch how quickly the treatments took effect.

Day 7 - CANTABRIA

What with all that work, heat, and sweating, it finally all got to me. By Day 7, I was so exhausted, I could barely eat breakfast nor sit up. My back was starting to give out. I knew if I didn’t rest that morning, I wouldn’t be able to make it on the flight the next morning to Los Angeles, so I decided to rest-in that morning. I felt guilty letting my teammates down, but I’m glad I did so nonetheless. I slept an extra couple hours and that helped tremendously, b/c by the time the crew came back to eat lunch at the hotel, I was feeling a lot better, ate lunch with them, and joined them in the afternoon medical mission. But acupuncture was not to be given.

It turned out that the location did not have enough space for me to set up my acupuncture station, so I ended up helping to translate for Dr. Karen, as she spoke no Spanish. It worked to my advantage, as I was able to stay seated the whole afternoon, which helped to prevent my back from getting worse. If I had to do my acupuncture treatments, there would’ve been a lot of sitting, getting up, bending over and moving from patient to patient, which would’ve definitely regressed my weak back to a worse state.

My vantage point as I helped Dr. Karen with translation

OK taking a breather from her pharmacist duties

Dr. Tomoko palpating a patient

This community was different from the other 4 communities we treated in that there was a significant number of Haitians residing there. Because of the dire economic state in Haiti, many Haitians emigrate next door to DR to try and eek out a living. Their native language is Creole and French. As a result, often through the consultation that day, we'd have a Haitian translator who spoke Creole and Spanish who would translate for the Creole-only speaking Haitian, and then I'd translate the Spanish to English for Dr. Karen. Three languages going on at one time was fascinating to watch.

I heard from Omar and Mirla that there is a lot of discrimination from Dominicans against Haitians, but in this community, from what I could observe, people seemed to coexist respectfully and harmoniously.

In addition to the usual ministry work and handing out of photographs, we finished our last mission that night by providing free sandwiches and drinks to all the community members. We hired a local lady to make the sandwiches and punch. She made over 300 sandwiches and they went fast!

DAY 8 - LAST DAY

On our last day, we had the morning off, so couple of us crew members went to the beach to read, swim and relax. It was a beautiful morning. After finishing lunch, we convened with all of our luggage at the hotel lobby, and like when we came 8 days ago, Pastor Aaron and Omar helped put all of the luggage back on our Little Truck That Could and took us back to the airport. As happy as I was to go back home because I was exhausted, I definitely got wistful realizing that this intense experience and the resulting comraderie that came about with everyone was slowly coming to an end.

The beautiful beach the morning of our departure

The Little Truck That Could. We were always packed to the rim wherever we travelled in this truck.

Dr. Lee goofing off, "I'll be back!" a la Terminator

The local crew members

I met really nice local people, young men and women willing to help and always ready with a smile. Dominicans are very hard working. They are also a deeply religious people, and like in most latin countries, their faith keeps them going through all obstacles. It was inspiring to watch this, realizing they have so much less than most of us (at least the majority who's reading my blog), and yet they keep their chin up, smile and don't complain much. When one has less, one really doesn't take things for granted.

I am really happy I was able to experience this. I made new friends both in the DR and with the Korean church crew. Having experienced what I experienced, I'd like to begin volunteering my services in Los Angeles helping the underserved community. Now that I know I can see 100 patients a day and know how to set up the logistics, it’s easy peasy Japanesey! ☺ Instead of going far and getting exhausted from an intense mission trip, I can just look in my backyard and help people in need.

I’d like to give a special shout out here to Torrance First Presbyterian Church for organizing and funding this mission, as well as to K.S. Choi (GoAcuzone.com) for providing the acupuncture supplies at a discount to the mission. I know there were also several people at the church who did all the behind-the-scenes planning that made this mission possible. I’d also like to thank Pastor Aaron, Omar and Mirla for taking such good care of us and working so hard to bring basic medical and dental care to hundreds of needy Dominicans. I'd like to give another special shout out to Laraine Crampton, L.Ac., for being such an invaluable resource and help in preparing me for the trip. And lastly, I’d like to thank the 10 crew members for letting me come on board this mission and giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.

Our "official" portrait

My experience in the Dominican Republic - 3

2009-11-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

(To read Part 1 & 2 of this journey, click here.)

Day 4 - CAMU

On this day, we visited Camú, an area inland, with small houses dotted along a single mountainous road. It was about a 30-minute ride from the hotel. Like in Playa Oeste, initially there were very few people waiting, but within 20 minutes or so, there was a crowd of people eagerly waiting to receive free medical care from us.

We all quickly went about setting up our designated stations. Having devised a new set-up for the acupuncture station, I was armed and ready to treat another 100 patients today! My station was the first to be set up, as would always be the case the rest of the week -- in about 10 minutes -- because all I needed were a few chairs, a table, my needles, sharps container, alcohol swabs and cotton. General medicine - and our newcomers, the Dental team - would take about 30 minutes because of the slew of drugs (for the pharmacy) and tools and equipment required (for dentistry). The paraphanelia required to do dental work was mind boggling. Thank goodness these two departments had extra local assistants helping.

In terms of doing acupuncture, I can now see why acupuncturists were called Barefoot Doctors in China and why this medicine grew out of China, a country with a population of well over 1 billion. Once armed with the proper training, all an acupuncturist fundamentally needs are needles. (Plus of course the sharps container, cotton, and alcohol swabs for safety and sanitary reason.) Just with needles, we can effectively treat a multitude of people and conditions. Imagine had I brought my other tools found in Traditional Chinese Medicine, such as moxa, cups, e-stim, and herbs, the greater degree of relief I could've provided the Dominicans!

The acupuncture station before the chaos

Dental tools

Local assistants Stephanie, Amelfi, and two Korean national assistants, Penelope and Eunju

Other scenes from Camú:

Tragedy had befallen this woman, and our staff was praying for her.

(This little girl was so cute. All through this consultation, she sat on her mother's? grandmother's? lap, quietly, sucking her pacifier, intently watching every move that Dr. Tomoko made.)

(This little boy was also adorable. While his mother got treated with acupuncture, the boy sat quietly the whole time next to his sister, and was constantly mindful of having his hand on his mother's body. He would get distracted by all the commotion, and then realize that his hand wasn't touching his mother, and would quickly go back to touching her belly or arm, or somewhere, as long as he was touching his mother.)

I don’t know which was more tiring – the huge numbers of people I was treating, or the heat and humidity without any air-conditioning. I had constant trickles of sweat dripping down my face, neck and back every day. I was basically bathing myself in my own sweat every day. By the second day of doing these intense medical missions, I got a heat rash on my abdomen. It was so darn hot and humid!! (But I came back with beautiful, supple skin from all that moisture! LOL!) Mirla and the other aides had to frequently change the wet, cold towel around my neck to try and keep me cool.

I couldn't live without these towels!

Day 5 - LOS RIELES DE SAN MARCOS

This was another location about 20 minutes from the hotel. We conducted our work inside a local church. Acupuncture was stationed up by what I suppose was the altar as it was elevated from the rest. Boy was it hot in there. We had fans going, but it was just blowing the hot air over and over. At one point, the electricity went dead because so much electricity was being used by the dental department, haircutting department, fans and printer. Thank goodness for our reliable generator, which allowed Dr. Lee the dentist to keep working!

Scenes from San Marcos:

That's the acupuncture station, in the back. Dentistry to the left, and general medicine to the right.

I think the recirculating hot, humid air plus being elevated from others (making the air even hotter) got to me that day because I started to get dizzy part way through my morning stint. I had to stop about 2 hours into it. I had to step outside and rest in our little truck for a while until I could feel normal again. After a good lunch, I was thankfully back to working.

Patients resting as they got their acupuncture treatment.

This family (the girl on the left was a friend) was so adorable. The mother was very shy and soft spoken but very sweet and loving to her daughters. The children were very well behaved all throughout the day. Later in the evening, while Christian work was going on, the little girl in the light blue dress was meandering around the crowd and came upon Assistant Eunju and I. When we asked her for a kiss, she readily and without hesitation came up to us and planted both of us a cute, sweet kiss on our cheeks!! I just melted there! All the hard work was so worth this little kiss :-)

Pharmacy busily dispensing medication

Dr Karen trying to cool off

These boys were great, always eager to talk to us in their limited English. They came up to me to say hello in English, and introduced themselves. I introduced myself, but realized one English etiquette was missing in our dialogue: I taught them to say "Nice to meet you" which is "un placer conocerte" in Spanish. When they learned what "nice to meet you" meant, they scurried back to the other English staff they had introduced themselves to earlier and finished their introductions properly. Later in the evening, couple of the boys came back to ask me again how to say "un placer conocerte" in English. When we were leaving for the night, the boy in the black pants came by our truck and thanked me in Spanish for the English lesson and our work. Again, all the hard work was so worth it with these kinds of exchanges.

Doc, how does my new teeth look?

Children doing song and dance along to the Christian missionary work

This day was also John the photographer's birthday. We were able to celebrate with cake and serenading. Fun times.

The last of these chronicles coming real soon...

My experience in the Dominican Republic - 2

2009-11-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

(To read Part 1 of this journey, click here.)

Before I continue with the rest of my week-long experience, the following is a quick overview of what became our daily schedule:

Our days started early. 7:00am breakfast call (the Koreans had bible study at 6:30am!), loaded and ready to go on our little truck by 8:30am-9:00am, and to our location by 9-9:30am. Except for Sunday, which was a day off b/c the crew went to church, everyday from Saturday to Thursday we worked from about 10am to about 6:30pm, with about a 1-hour lunch break in between. From 6:30 to about 8pm we had set down, packing and Pastor Aaron and his assistant Omar would share their Christian faith with the people we treated earlier in the day with songs, puppet show and slide shows. We’d then head back to the hotel and have dinner around 8:30pm, and I tried to be in bed and sleeping by 10:30pm every night. I had a hard time sleeping the first few nights from all the excitement and nerves but by the third night both from exhaustion and getting the swing of things, I was in a routine and sleeping pretty much through the night.

Day 2 - PLAYA OESTE
Oh talk about being nervous and excited! I could barely eat my breakfast that morning, as it was going to be my very first of 5 medical visits to the surrounding neighborhoods in the week to come. I knew to expect a huge line of people and chaos, but I still didn’t really know what to expect, so my poor stomach was all in knots.

We arrived to Playa Oeste, an area about 20 minutes from the hotel. We were to be housed in a small 4-room school. There weren’t too many people when we first arrived, which surprised me, but it let me sigh a sigh of relief. I jumped the gun, though. After about 30 minutes, there was all of a sudden a long line of people waiting outside! The school became quickly filled with Dominicans eagerly waiting for our services. General medicine and I (acupuncture) quickly set up our stations, and after people went through registration, having their name, age, blood pressure and chief complaints recorded, they were directed to the appropriate departments.

I was given the wonderful support of a daily local assistant, hard working and sweet Mirla, who helped with removing needles and keeping the flow of patients coming and going. I asked her to keep a tally of how many patients I was seeing, and according to her records, I saw 93 on this day! (And as the days went on, I was averaging about 100 patients a day.) Holy cow, I didn’t think I had it in me! Thank god for my energy bars and protein shakes I brought from home. They helped so much in between meals. As the days progressed, I remembered to take frequent short breaks, drink tons of water (with electrolytes in it), take my herbs, and pace myself, too.

That's my awesome assistant, Mirla

People waiting in line to get acupuncture

As part of our mission, the crew had also brought a supply of canes for the visually-impaired. The president and vice president (I believe) of the local blind organization came to the school that day to receive the supply from us. Both general medicine and I were able to provide care for them as well for their non-vision related health concerns. At the end of our day, before we headed back to the hotel, the crew formally presented the two representatives with the supply of canes. It was gratifying to hear that these canes would help the visually-impaired to gain a little more independence, as those with handicaps in the DR are not yet given much social or governmental support.

Pastor Aaron and Mirla speaking to the two visually-impaired representatives

I learned a lot from my day at Playa Oeste. First and foremost: Pace Yourself! That day, I had about 5 patients at a time sitting in chairs, randomly placed in the room, and I would go from patient to patient, taking a quick look at their registration form, asking them couple questions, then taking their pulse and looking at their tongue to make a quick diagnosis. I would then begin inserting the needles in the limbs and ears of the patients, requiring me to bend over, kneel down, get up and overall get a real work out on my back and knees. I quickly realized this would not help me last for the next 6 days.

Later on during dinner, I mentioned this fact to Jae, and ever the smart woman that she is, she came up with the brilliant idea of having a 4-patient acupuncture station with patients sitting, with their legs up on chairs, all side by side. In between patients, we were to put single chairs so that I could sit between patients and do my care by just turning around in my chair. This allowed minimal getting up and out of chairs by me as well as not having to get on my knees. This was to help me tremendously in the days to come. ...And of course, the frequent snack, water, and breather breaks.

DAY 3 - DAY OFF

Because this was Sunday, we were given the day off. The Koreans went to church in the morning, I slept in, had breakfast and hung out by the beach with my friend Tomoko until it was time for lunch. We all joined together for lunch, then went on a little excursion of Puerto Plata.

Pastor Aaron and Omar took us on a furnicular ride up one of the highest peaks in Puerto Plata to enjoy the wonderful panoramic view of this beach town. DR is so lush and verdant! And it was so cool up at the peak. There was a nice botanical garden we could meander through. There was also a little bit of Rio de Janeiro going on up there, too, with a huge Jesus Christ statue.

Puerto Plata

One of the rare group shots

Rio in Puerto Plata

After the furnicular ride, we went to a local supermarket to purchase water for the next several days. We also indulged in refreshing sherbets made with local fruits.

Being tropical, there was an abundance of fruits in DR, here frozen to make a sherbet.

This was also the day that the husband-and-wife team, Drs. Lee and Karen, and the dental assistant John arrived from Los Angeles.

I ended the evening with a nice stroll on the beach, before heading to the hotel restaurant for dinner. This would be the last time I would see this beautiful beach sunset b/c after this, every night, we were too busy, away on site, or tired to stroll for a leisurely walk.

To read Part 3, click here

My Experience in the Dominican Republic

2009-10-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

I got back to Los Angeles on Friday night 23^rd close to 11pm. The church people were there first to greet our crew with pretty flowers. My husband came minutes later, also with flowers waiting for me (in the car) :-) I was so happy to be back home. The flight was exhausting because I didn't get to sleep at all nor eat, and my day started early at 4 am Los Angeles time. Needless to say, all I did all weekend long was sleep, rest, eat, and recuperate. Thank god there’s not too much of a time difference b/n DR and CA.

The trip was an experience of a lifetime.

...But before I get into that, allow me to introduce the colorful characters that made this experience possible and unforgettable for me.

Nine of 11 people of the team were the Korean church members, and they were the nicest, sweetest, funniest people on earth. Always saying jokes and laughing, even from early morning. (Oh how I wished I could understand Korean!) And the Korean men were so gentlemen-ly, always helping us ladies getting up and down our little truck, carrying all the heavy luggage and supplies and just looking out for us female crew members. I really enjoyed everyone's company, really a nice bunch of people.

Here is a quick snapshot of the 11 members of the mission.

THE CAST

General Medicine:

Dr. Tomoko, the general medicine doctor. (She’s my friend and the one who invited me to join this mission.)

Dr. Karen, the other general medicine doctor.

In addition to the two doctors, we had Okja (“OK” as she was called by non-Koreans), who is a nurse and played the pharmacist during the mission.

Dentistry:

Dr. Lee. He was non-stop cleaning teeth and fixing cavities and doing other dental work.

John, the hardworking assistant.

Acupuncture:

Yours truly

“Traffic Controller” and mother hen:

Jae

In non-medicine related activities, we had --

Haircutters:

Senghi ("seng-hee") and Sue, cutting boy’s and men’s hair. They were quite in demand.

Resident photographer:

John. He was busy taking pictures of families and individuals and printing them out to give it back to those photographed. (I found out getting a photograph of yourself or your family is hard to come by in underserved populations in developing nations. We take it for granted here!)

Team Leader:

Simon - he helped wherever he was needed.

To put names to faces, here are their photos:

That's Tomoko on the left and myself, both of us exhausted after our last day of medical work

Sue, the camera shy haircutter

Dr. Karen, Senghi and Dr. Lee

The two Johns, the dental assistant and the photographer respectively

Simon and OK

Jae and John

Thank goodness everyone in the team knew what was expected of them and of the mission, so for the most part, things ran smoothly, albeit running behind time most of the time. I guess we were on island time.

THE TRIP

Day 1 LAX – MIA – PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

It started Thursday 13^th at 11pm when we took a red-eye flight to Miami Int’l Airport. By the way, we had 16 extra huge luggage all filled with medical supplies, this in addition to each of our own single carry-on suitcase. Checking in took some time.

We arrived to MIA at dawn on Friday 14^th and had almost 7 hours to kill before we boarded our flight to the Dominican Republic in the early afternoon. Some of us tried to sleep on the airport floor (like myself) to make up for lost sleep, but mostly we read, ate, walked around and just killed time until our flight.

We arrived to the coastal northern town of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic 2 hours after departing MIA. One of the first lessons in mission work and humility happened at the DR customs.

Given that we had such a large amount of luggage in our possession, not surprisingly, the DR customs stopped to check us. I was told by the crew that depending on the country they visit, if they have an active working relationship, their customs usually lets them through without a problem, but given DR was the first time for this group, we were stopped and methodically checked for our contents.

What turned out was that about 1/5 of the medications we had brought with us were expired (but only by a couple months). Now, don’t be shocked by this. Expired medication actually is effective by up to 6 months after the expiration date, and purchasing expired medication is cheaper than non-expired medicine. Given that these medications were going to be dispensed and consumed within a two-week’s time, it was a cost-effective decision to purchase some expired medicine.

Upon seeing this, the DR customs began removing these medications from our possession for disposal. Because we spoke fluent Spanish, my friend Tomoko and I ended up trying to negotiate and explain to customs what we were about and what the medications were for. As they began removing these expired medicines, I pleaded that we get to keep them because we had brought them to help needy Dominicans. Customs was adamant and did not allow us to keep any of the expired medication. I was so disappointed, but the customs official told me he was just following the law.

After we finally finished going through this time-consuming ordeal, I turned around to Jae and lamented the waste. Ever the wise and experienced missionary that she is, Jae simply says to me, “Customs was doing their job, here to protect their people. The Dominican Republic did not ask us to come and provide humanitarian aid.” Wow. Talk about humility! And here I was thinking, “Why aren’t these customs official jumping for joy for what we were trying to do for their country?? We’re here to help their people!” Not! Even though the expired medicine would not have done any harm if ingested, it is the customs duty to indeed protect their people and their environment, and the truth is, we did bring in expired medicine. We can’t just go to foreign countries waving our “we are here to help you” superiority wand and think their customs is going to lay a red carpet for us to walk on. Humility Lesson #1.

The local Korean pastor, Pastor Aaron, and his dedicated Dominican assistant, Omar, greeted us at the airport and took our crew to our hotel.

(That's Omar on the left and Pastor Aaron on the right)

Usually in other missions, this church group stays in some local's house and they cook and clean up after themselves everyday. Not so this time. We stayed in a huge high-end hotel with beach-front property, pools, dance club, internet cafe, restaurant, air-conditioned rooms with bath and shower, and so forth. Because Tomoko and I were joining this mission - basically two non-church-related individuals - the group decided to stay in a hotel to help make our experience less stressful. Talk about being spoiled!

We checked in, unpacked, and by that time, it was time for dinner, so we all had our first – of almost every meal during the trip – at the hotel buffet. We convened for a meeting after dinner to go over our schedule for the next 5 days. Now, here is where it got fun. Pastor Aaron speaks Korean and pretty good Spanish. His assistants speak only either Spanish or Korean and Spanish. Our crew speaks Korean and English, and Tomoko and I speak English and Spanish (and Japanese). What was the common language amongst our entire group? None!! There was this constant translation going from Korean - English - Spanish and between these three languages. I’m surprised we didn’t have chaos ensue during the entire trip! We somehow all managed to understand what was going on – for the most part, although I’m sure quite was lost in translation. It was comical to observe this daily negotiation of languages.

Stay tuned for more...

To read Part Two of this journey, click here

Iyashi Wellness to go on a medical mission to the Caribbean!

2009-10-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce that in two weeks, I will be joining a joint Eastern/Western medical team to the Dominican Republic for a one-week medical mission! We will be gone 10/16 - 10/23. This is my very first mission, and needless to say, I am excited!

This mission is organized and funded by a Korean church from Los Angeles, and they are being very generous with the travel expenses (a rarity in missions) and all the medical supplies we will be bringing to the D.R, including acupuncture supplies. We will also be bringing clothes, canes for the blind, supplies and printers to print photos taken on-site, and other materials - all supplied or donated by the church. Our crew will be taking over 20 cases of medical supplies and other materials on this trip!

I went to the orientation meeting yesterday, and had a chance to meet everyone. The team consists of a Western medical doctor (who is my friend), couple dentists, a nurse, a psychiatrist, couple hairstylists, a photographer, couple aides and myself. Lovely people committed to the well being of our fellow brothers and sisters of the world. I am super relieved to learn that most people joining this team are mission-veterans, having gone to numerous parts of the world to provide humanitarian aid. I know I will be part of a team that will not only help me in the first few days as I get a crash course in aid work, but once we get a flow of things, we will all be working as a tight team to help each other out.

Between the Western doctor and myself, we will be seeing approximately 200 people a day, and treating primarily cases of respiratory infections, hypertension, yeast infections, and skin rashes/skin disorders. I alone will most likely be seeing about 50 patients in a 6-hour time span, for 6 days. Talk about being quick on your feet and needing stamina!

As I prepare myself physically and mentally, I ask all my friends and colleagues to say a little prayer for our team, to have us in your thoughts during the week we will be gone, that we will be guided by the Powers That Be, that we will be safe and protected, and that we would've been able to complete the mission with what we went to accomplish: to provide relief and a sense of hope to many who are not as fortunate us. And given that this is my first mission, can you also add a little something extra in your prayers for me? :-) That I can say centered and effective in the midst of chaos -- or something like that? It is my intention to provide medical care and relief, of course, but underlying all of that, to also be centered at all times so that I can be effective and present with each and every patient I will see. Thanks!

I can't wait to share with you all my experience when I get back.

Oh, so needless to say, there will be no Acupuncture Happy Hour on 10/21. The clinic will be closed from 10/16 - 10/24. Clinic hours will resume Tuesday October 27th. Thank you.

No Acupuncture Happy Hour Today 9/30 and "Smart Choices" foods

2009-09-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Please note, there will be no Acupuncture Happy Hour today. Will resume next week 10/7.

In the meantime, I wanted to share an article that came out today in the LA Times that warns consumers of the marketing ploy food companies are now employing to have consumers purchase "Smart Choices" labeled foods.

Many of my patients come in confused as to what pertains a healthy diet. What with the conflicting information and marketing ploys out there to get consumers to purchase healthy foods - including this "Smart Choice" labels, no wonder! What I always tell my patients is to eat foods that come from the earth and that has been barely processed. But don't all foods come from the earth at one point? they ask. Sure, but from eating a tomato or an apple or a lean cut of meat, compared to eating Froot Loops, Twinkies, and fast food burgers, which one do you think has the lesser amount of work done on the food? Which one requires just washing, cutting and eating (or in the case of meats, cooked, then eaten)? The first three foods. The latter three foods came from a natural food source, sure, but then they were processed using all kinds of chemicals, additives, flavorings, colorings and god knows what else, to be sold to the consumer. It's a far cry from what it originally looked like when it came from the earth. Eat foods your grandmother would recognize, instead. And unless you have a digestive disease like Celiac disease or diabetes, I always like to tell my patients to eat anything - but everything in moderation. Focus on a variety of vegetables, but meats are good for the body, fish keeps the blood smooth and flowing, and carbohydrates of the complex kind (like whole wheat, quinoa, amaranth, etc.) provide the burst of energy we need. The rest - alcohol, caffeine, sugar/desserts, dairy - those are fine as long as it's occasional. I tell my patients, If you've been eating a really good, clean, healthy diet, reward yourself one night with a gorgeous red wine or a sumptuous chocolate cake! Eating shouldn't be about punishment, calorie-counting, or starvation. Eating is nourishment for the body and soul, and we want to eat foods that promote longevity, vitality and stamina.

So to use Michael Polan's mantra, Eat Food, Mostly Plants, Not Too Much.

If you are interested in improving your dietary habits and/or wanting to see how well your organs and body systems are functioning, I provide nutrition counseling and assessment at Iyashi Wellness. In addition to filling out a questionnaire, during the assessment, I take my patients through several quick tests to evaluate what nutrients their organs and body systems may be lacking. Based on this assessment, I prescribe whole-food based nutritional supplements from Standard Process. Because Standard Process' supplements are high quality, whole-food based using mostly organic ingredients, the body is able to better absorb the supplements nourish the body as opposed to the synthetically created supplements that are commonly available in the market. Please contact me if you are interested in a consultation or nutrition assessment at info@iyashiwellness.com or 310.770.9560.

How safe is your cellphone?

2009-09-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share with you all a great website on consumer protection: Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org). There is a particular section on cellphones and cellphone radiation. They have a list of all the cellphones and radiation exposure levels of each phone.

Check it out and see how safe your cellphone is:

http://www.ewg.org/cellphone-radiation

Swine Flu season - what to do about vaccines

2009-09-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Swine flu season is coming upon us. There is a lot of fear out there for this particular flu, much of it being hyped by the media. I am attaching two views on flu vaccines, one pro vaccine, the other opposing the vaccine. The possible problem with this vaccine is that the vaccine may not even being available when the flu is expected to hits its peak - mid to late October.

Because this is your body, I always tell my patients to make an informed decision - thus my two articles. But my view, and that of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is that if you are healthy with a strong immune system, you can a) prevent getting infected and b) even if you do get the swine flu (or regular flu), your symptoms will be milder because your immune system is strong enough to fight off the flu from getting worse. So the bottom line is to start now to prevent getting sick, i.e. start taking care of yourself and your family to be as healthy as possible. The 5 following steps can help you stay ahead of the flu bug:

Eat a well balanced diet, but particularly load up on vegetables and vary it everyday. Make it a goal to have 50% of your plate be vegetables at least once a day, ideally twice a day. Vegetables keep the blood healthy and circulating well throughout the body, which improves the bacterial and viral fighting agents in your body to swarm throughout your body to protect from invasion. Easy on starches, carbs and sugars, as well as deep fried and greasy foods. Easy on alcohol and caffeine as they mask how you're really feeling.
Get a good night sleep every night . A good night's sleep is still one of the best weapons we have to keep our mind and body healthy. When you're rested, it not only means you have the energy and mental stamina to be productive throughout the day with balanced emotions, but it also means your body went through all its repairs during the night so that you're starting at a positive balance - instead of a minus. When good sleep is not had, you're working from a deficit. Your energy is down and so is your immune, which will make you susceptible to catching infections.
Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time. Exercising allows our bodies to sweat, which is not only a temperature-lowering mechanism as our bodies heat up while exercising, but also a detoxifying mechanism. If we can keep expelling build ups and toxins throughout the week, we are less likely to catch the flu bug. It will also help you sleep better through the night, which emphasizes Point 2.
Wash your hands frequently and keep your hands away from your nose, mouth, and eyes. And if you sneeze, as a general rule - please - sneeze into a tissue or your elbow to prevent spreading any pathogens!
Come in for regular acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture helps to improve circulation, relax the mind and body and activate the innate healing mechanism of your body. When the body is relaxed and healthy, it is better able to focus on any external attacks coming its way - in this case the flu, instead of working to repair imbalanced organ systems, overworked nerves, or reducing inflammatory responses coming from stress and pain. If coming in for a full acupuncture treatment is too time consuming, doesn't work with your schedule, or costly, consider the Iyashi Wellness Happy Hour ocurring every Wednesday nights in Culver City. It's quick, easy and blissful - and most importantly, can help prevent you from catching the bug by keeping your body well balanced.

If you decide to get vaccinated - or your children vaccinated, it is still important to consider daily prevention as the most important step to staying healthy. So following the five steps are still a good idea. Consider having both - the power of modern medicine and holistic medicine - in addition to daily prevention habits, as your flu fighting defense.

New Acupuncture Happy Hour hours!

2009-08-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce, due to popular demand, Iyashi Wellness' Acupuncture Happy Hour hours are changing!!

Starting September, the Happy Hour hours will change to 5:00pm-7:00pm.

It's still every Wednesday at Casa de Tree (3741 Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034)

(for one last Wednesday, tomorrow the 26th, it will run from 3:30pm-6:30pm)

Those of you who said you wanted to come but couldn't because of the original, earlier hours, you now can!

Some of the experiences people have shared with me after trying my Happy Hour:

Immediate pain relief for a wife with severe low back pain and her husband from a headache. The wife had this to say:
"My back pain was gone once I got home, and I had to lift a TV (yes we are in the process of moving) and the pain came back! BUT nothing like before. I have been fine since then, Thank you so much for your help. I felt great afterward too. So much more energy too! My mum is coming in about a month and I would like to bring her to HH, I am sure she will love it too. I am sure you will see us soon... After the move I am sure we will need your magic!" - F.F.
A young woman feeling "ecstasy" after trying ear acupuncture.
Women who usually suffer from cold hands and feet feel an immediate sense of gentle warmth wash over their entire body.
Anxious customers feeling calm and serene.
Tired, overworked customers feeling energized and alert.

These are just some of the experiences people have had trying ear acupuncture and ear acupressure. What will be yours?

When: Every Wednesday

Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm (starting Sept 2)

Where: Casa de Tree (3741 Motor Avenue, LA, CA 90034)
Why: Because you deserve a break - and the food at Casa de Tree is delicious to boot!

Hope to see you one of these Wednesdays

Summer eating and reading

2009-08-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

We had a wedding to go up north to this past weekend, and we took advantage of the trip by splurging in restaurants that use local, seasonal, high quality ingredients: Manresa in Los Gatos, CA and Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. Chez Panisse chef Alice Waters started the whole trend of cooking using seasonal, local, fresh ingredients, and as the originator of this wonderful trend, their food was indeed delicious. I had a beet with avocado salad and for my entree, albacore tuna with fingerling potatoes, artichokes, and spinach. The avocado was so creamy, rich and ripe! The moment I bit into a fingerling potato, it transported me back to Colombia, where part of my family is from. The potatoes in South America are a whole 'nother level of deliciousness one rarely finds here in the US. Potatoes originated in South America, and accordingly, there are hundreds and hundreds of varieties found only in the southern continent. But I digress here. Both the avocado and potato were so good, it didn't need any condiments. The essence of the vegetable was so pronounced, the flavor so alive, I just sat there enjoying each bite of the avocado and potato, not wanting it to end. The same went for the food we ate in Manresa.

When a vegetable is grown according to the season, organically, and locally, the taste, texture, color, and aroma is 100 times more delicious and intoxicating than a conventionally grown, genetically modified, agro-business manufacturing process. Organic, seasonal produce grows in accordance with the cyclical rhythms of nature, optimizing the essence of the produce grown during each season. It doesn't fight with nature, but works with nature. Or better put, nature supports seasonal produce with all of its Mother-Earth goodness to be the best, most delicious produce it can be.

I would like to encourage people to start shopping, if they haven't already, at their local farmer's markets for multiple reasons:

The organic produce is infinitely tastier than those found in chain markets.
The meats and fish found in farmers market are also infinitely tastier than those found in chain markets. They are also usually grass-fed, wild-caught and local.
We are supporting the "green" nature of shopping at a farmer's market. The farmers are local, requiring much less travelling to get to the markets than produce grown in a foreign country and shipped or aired across oceans to reach us. The carbon footprint of local produce is much smaller, thereby we would be supporting the reduction in global warming. By practicing organic, earth-gentle and -respectful farming methods, we would be supporting the health and longevity of our ecosystem.
We are supporting local businesses, i.e. farmers that toil the land in our backyard, so to speak. And living in a state where our deficit stands in the billions, we could spend our money more effectively by supporting local businesses.
Shopping in farmers markets fosters building of communities, getting to know your neighbors and local farmers. In the high-paced, high-tech world that we live in today, we often forget to interact with one another in a more human level, alienating us more and more from one another. And without human interaction, we are more prone to depression. Want to learn a sure fire way to beat the blues? Go to a farmers market under a big blue sky and see all the lively produce, people, cooked foods and entertainment!! You will leave the market feeling infinitely better!
It's good for you. Because I am a healthcare provider, I have to of course talk about the health benefits of eating a produce-heavy diet, and especially the benefits of organic produce. We are what we eat. By eating organic produce, we are ingesting food that actually nourishes us, not poisons us. Most Americans eat a carb-heavy diet, and if not, a protein-heavy diet with vegetable-heavy diet being the least of choice for many people. When we shift from a carb- or protein-heavy diet to a vegetable-heavy diet, the symptoms people were experiencing: discomforts, aches and pains, fatigue, bloating, constipation, headaches, PMS, high cholesterol, etc. begin to lessen or all together disappear. People also begin to notice becoming gradually averse to junk/unhealthy food as the shift to a healthier lifestyle takes hold. Imagine feeling physically, emotionally and mentally lighter, balanced and sharp, sleeping better, having regular bowel movements, skin clearing up, improved libido, and overall more energy?

So check out your farmers market and take advantage of mother nature's bounty! The fruits and produce in season right now are:

watermelon
cantaloupe
grapes
squashes
zucchinis
egg plants
bell peppers

A book I highly recommend that talks about eating with the seasons, choosing a vegetable-heavy diet, and how to find organic resources in and around your home and nationally is called "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto." Written by Michael Pollan, he explains in details why it behooves us to eat like our grandparents, tips on how to shop healthily at local chain markets, and how to perceive eating and food from an empowered, liberated state = eating with joy and to enjoy, not calorie counting and with guilt.

Viva eating!!

Satisfied Acupuncture Happy Hour customers

2009-07-31T19:30:00.001-07:00

Some photos from this week's Acupuncture Happy Hour.

The Beauty of Chinese Medicine

2009-07-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Chinese medicine is so powerful and beautiful. It's very effective for acute (rapid onset, short term) conditions, like sprains, strains, stomachaches, headaches, colds, and inflammatory conditions like bee stings and conjunctivitis (a.k.a pink eye). This is because acupuncture causes an immediate reaction in the body to increase microcirculation into the affected area, that is to say, improve circulation of life-nourishing, oxygen-rich blood to the area, thereby improving the body's ability to reduce inflammation, attack bacteria and viruses, and improve self-regulating functions. The use of acupuncture also triggers the release of endorphins ("feel-good" hormones) in the body, thereby relaxing the mind and body and elevating the sense of well-being. Ever felt much better after seeing loved ones or a funny movie? This sense of well-being is analogous to the effects of an acupuncture-induced state of well-being.

But the real beauty of Chinese medicine lies in the ability to effectively treat chronic, long term problems, like irritable bowel syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, infertility, menstrual problems, eczema, allergies, asthma, recurring body pains like migraines and backaches, and so forth. This is the real strength of Chinese medicine and a much necessary component in the conventional healthcare system. Because our medicine is still relatively new in the United States and due to the limitations placed by regulatory agencies, we Chinese medicine practitioners cannot practice many of the advanced treatments and protocols regularly practiced in Asia, like acupuncture anasthesia for surgery, high-potent herbal injections, bone-setting, cancer treatments, hepatitis treatments, etc. To compensate and until more acceptance is had by society and the larger conventional medical community, we practice what is really the strength - and tenet - of Chinese medicine: prevention and reigniting the self-healing mechanisms of the body.

Just after about a month or two of regular treatments, my patients begin to realize they are no longer having to be heavily dependent on their western medications.... some of them even all together forgetting to take their meds b/c their symptoms become manageable and reduced. This is because with continued "reminders" of improved microcirculation, release of endorphins, and other mechanisms science is only beginning to understand, the body begins to remember how to operate properly and optimally, as opposed to incorrectly and sub-optimally. It took the body months and years to become sick, so it will take time for the body to heal again, but with patience, commitment, and continued gentle reminders with Chinese medicine, it is now on its path to recovery and eventually optimal health - all done naturally.

After the patients are stabilized and well on their own two feet, it's my goal not to have my patients come back -- except for check ups or tune ups, should they wish. That's the beauty of the medicine that I practice: it heals from within, helping patients regain their self-healing ability!!

Women Rock!!

2009-07-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

The PACE Awards night on June 25th was truly inspirational. All these women, more than 50 of them, who are small business entrepreneurs, working hard to make their dreams come true. There were over 25 exhibition booths set up at the Music Center, with the women exhibiting their services, products, and ideas -- floral designers, organic juice producers, solar energy contractors, jewelry and clothes designers, hair care suppliers, photographers, scrapbooking services, personal trainers, and the list goes on.

The highlight of the evening came when the five of us were called to the stage to get recognized for our hard-working efforts. What was really neat was that the prior-year recipients of the Awards came on stage to introduce this year's top three prize winners. The MC introduced these prior-year awardees and updated the audience with their accomplishments since receiving the awards. The top winner from last year was Hakika Keith, the owner of Gorilla Life, Inc., the company that produces the namesake chlorophyll health drink, sold, among other places, at Whole Foods. Gorilla Life came to fruition thanks to PACE's support and guidance. Wow!

This year's first prize went to Deborah Stern, who runs her own organic, hand-made tamales business, La Guera Tamalera. She learned to make the tamales from scratch from a family in Mexico. With the money she received from PACE Women & Co. Microenterprise Boost Equity Awards, she hired additional help and can now pay for a commercial kitchen, which'll allow her to distribute her tamales wholesale. Since receiving the award, she has secured five new wholesale accounts. Go Guera!

Second prize went to two recipients. One recipient, Karen Marcus, is an artist and prints and sells original artwork and greeting cards made from her original artwork. The award money gave Karen the opportunity to have an office space where she can focus on creating her artwork as well as to store her cards. Gotta love her business name: You're Not the Boss of Me! The second recipient, Shannon Bizzy, is the owner of Bizzy Bee's Landscape Maintenance. The award money allowed her to purchase more equipment for her full service landscaping company as well as to hire additional crew members.

Myself and the fifth awardee received the "Entrepreneur Spirit Awards." You know what I do. :-) With my award money, I have been able to create more marketing materials to help me with visibility, like rack cards, update my website, and am currently in the process of creating new, custom business cards.

The fifth awardee, Rossana Ruey, runs her own electronic waste recycling company, e-Recycling Stewards, Inc. With her award money, she plans to take her company to the next level by creating a website and corporate identity.

Listening to all of these women's struggles, challenges and accomplishments made my heart burst with pride and also humbled me at what we women can achieve when we set our minds to do something. We just need a little help from time to time to stay on track. We small business entrepreneurs are so vital to the American economy. As Ms. Kim Tachiki-Chin (Senior Advisor, Office of Congrresswomen Roybal-Allard, U.S. House of Representatives, 34th District) aptly remarked during the ceremony: "I'm sorry to corporate executives in the room, but it is the small businesses that are backbone of the American economy." Amen.

On the left is my super-awesome business advisor, Jackie Jones, from PACE. The woman on the right, Vivienne Lee, is from Citibank, the main sponsor of the Women & Co. Boost Equity Awards.

Luriko Ozeki, L.Ac. being recognized at the PACE Women Business Center

2009-06-24T15:44:00.001-07:00

I am proud to announce that I was one of 5 recipients to receive an award money from the PACE Women's Business Center (WBC). The award money was distributed to 5 underserved female business entrepreneurs.

To celebrate, PACE WBC will be hosting an awards ceremony - Celebrating Women in Business - at the Music Center, tomorrow, June 25th from 5:30p - 8:30p.

As part of the celebration, there will also be about 50 business booths of women-run enterprises. Iyashi Wellness will be there. Appetizers and foods will also be provided by PACE WBC.

So come join the festivities and network with dynamic female entrepreneurs, community members, local community politicians, and bankers.

To read about more about this award and the five recipients, click here

Iyashi Wellness Happy Hour

2009-06-24T15:42:00.001-07:00

Today's Happy Hour has been cancelled. I will resume july 1st.

The July 8th Happy Hour will also be cancelled due to the host restaurant, Casa de Tree, being closed for a week.

Regular scheduling will resume Wed. July 15th.

Thank you!

Iyashi Wellness Happy Hour

2009-05-27T15:53:00.001-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be doing Happy Hour every Wednesday afternoons starting in June! I'm doing this in collaboration with a wonderful, family-owned cafe in Culver City called Casa De Tree. I'll be doing 20-minute ear acupuncture - or for those uncomfortable with the idea of acupuncture - ear acupressure as well at the cafe. While you feel the balancing effects of the session, you can also enjoy Casa de Tree's delicious organic, vegan foods and teas.

It's a great way to relieve stress during the middle of the week, as well as to recharge for the rest of the week.

Please come by and experience the balancing effects of ear acupuncture/acupressure in a welcoming environment with delicious food! No reservations are required. Just show up.

· Where: Casa De Tree – 3741 Motor Avenue, L.A., CA 90034 (just north of Venice)

· When: Every Wednesdays starting June ‘09

· Time: 3:30pm - 5:30pm

· Price: $20 for 20-min session (food and drinks additional)

· Who should come: anyone feeling stressed out and wants to relax naturally

and become part of a friendly community of like-minded people

· For more info, please call 310.770.9560

Iyashi Vacation

2009-05-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

My husband and I recently came back from a 10-day trip to Northeastern Spain. What a beautiful country. So vibrant, rich with history, and a gastronomic tour de force.

One thing that really struck me about the Spaniards and their culture - and this is often noted by Europeans and Americans alike - was that the Spaniards (and the rest of Europe) have a real passion for the joie de vivre. It was very palpable. From the 2 hour lunches and 3 hour dinners, to meals enjoyed in large groups of friends and family, to the resistance to forego siesta time in order to join the rest of the modern world. I observed people sitting out in the cafes, drinking their coffees and thick chocolate drinks, engrossed in deep conversation with one another, not having a care that time was ticking away. And this wasn't relegated just to the young. Senior citizens, both men and women, donning their polished suits, would join their fellow friends to enjoy one another's company in local cafes and bars. Kids would also accompany their parents and grandparents, but they never made scenes. They were happily interacting with their parents and adult friends. When do you see these examples in the United States? Rarely.

At first, I have to be honest, I was annoyed that so many places were shut down during siesta time. How am I supposed to enjoy my trip if so much is closed down, I thought frustratedly. But as the days passed and I started to shed the American stressed mentality, I actually began to enjoy the quiet time that came about when many things shut down. My husband and I would ourselves go to cafes to have a break, snack, and people watch, or go back to our hotel room to just rest.

And that's when it occurred to me. Americans work practically 24-7, especially now that so much can be done on the computer and from home. We just work work work , sacrificing quality of life. And yet our economy is at its worst since the Great Depression. All that working for what? The Spanish economy is in the pits, too, but at least they aren't working themselves to the bones like us Americans. Instead, they are still enjoying life. They see the big picture. It's about Family. Friends. Relaxing. Eating. Drinking. Laughing. Being part of a community.

I left Spain iyashi'd and very importantly, committed anew to living a Wellness life. Watching so many Spaniards bike around for their daily errands, I'm now bicycling to my teaching job or to the market. That way I get my exercise in and get my errands done in one swoop. I'm also incorporating public transportation as part of my commute. I'm now also more conscientious about enjoying what I eat even when I'm alone, chewing everything slowly - and not multitasking while I eat. Spain really left an impression on me. That's what I love about travels - both local and abroad - because it brings new life into your crotchety old mind. It changes you.

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Soaring Dramatically

2009-04-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

The need for Wellness-focused medicine is growing! The interest in and use of acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM), as well as other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) systems grew by 50% in 2007 since 2002. How exciting! Read the article to learn how - and why - Americans across the country are using AOM and CAM - and join the new revolution for Wellness healthcare!!

AOM Integrates Wellness in Capitol Hill

2009-04-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

I really hope our president will get a Wellness health care system under way. Check out the interview (click on the title) on the state of wellness health care here in the States. Please support alternative medicine by getting to know your local acupuncturist, chiropractor, naturopath, etc., and let your support be known to your local congressperson.

What is iyashi?

2009-03-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

IYASHI ("ee-yuh-she")

Iyashi 癒し(noun) or iyasu 癒す (verb) in Japanese means:

To heal, as in "to heal a cut."

There is also another kanji character in Japanese used to mean "heal" and this character is 医.　Why two characters to mean the same thing? What's the difference you ask?

The two characters actually express very different meanings of "to heal." The character 医　is used specifically in the context of healing in the medical, physiological sense. It is also used for the word "medicine." The character 癒, on the other hand, is a refined diction that means "to heal," but also "to alleviate" (as in "to alleviate boredom") "to quench" (as in "to quench a thirst"), and "to satisfy" (as in "to satisfy a yearning for").

It also has a connotation of "comfort," "soothing," and "solace," implying that healing occurs beyond just the physical realm- but in the mental and spiritual realm as well. So the word iyashi has the implied meaning of:

Receiving healing or becoming healed in the connection between Mind-Body-Spirit, while being in an environment of soothing comfort

Quite different from just "to heal a cut," ain't it?

So for the Japanese, one of the concepts of good health is to seek iyashi. Japanese seek iyashi by listening to soothing music, going to a hot springs surrounded by mountains or an ocean view, eating easy-to-digest comfort foods (usually stews, soups and porridges that tend to be organic and/or vegan in nature), sipping a relaxing cup of tea in a beautiful garden or calming cafe, getting massages and beauty work, visiting friends and family, partaking in community activity, staying at ryokans (like a B&B) in scenic rural areas of Japan where the pace of life is considerably slower than urban cities, picking up a new hobby (or revisiting an old one), and so forth, all in the name of replenishing one's soul and mind with serenity, clarity and joy.

It is a concept that acknowledges when one becomes tired and over-stressed, then a place of solace is required - either physically, in one's mind, or with others - to regain a sense of centeredness, stamina, and wellbeing.

Americans, on the other hand, primarily consider diet and exercise for maintaining good health. While important, a cultural notion or social vocabulary for seeking solace - in taking a step back, or really honoring the Mind-Body-Spirit connection for the sake of maintaining good health - tends to be lacking.

In these times of much stress and duress, is it perhaps time for you to seek iyashi?