Inflammation—What Food Choices Fuel It and What Helps Quell it

One autumn in a burst of nostalgia, I prepared a casserole of stuffed bell peppers.  It evoked my family of origin.  We had always grown the peppers in our gardens and had enjoyed the baked form as the weather cooled.  Then, when my 50+ year old shoulder joints shortly thereafter began to seriously ache as never before, I realized that I was indeed sensitive to this form of nightshade plant!  It was a powerful, if uninvited, lesson.

If you suffer from arthritis, a cardiovascular disorder, cancer, an autoimmune disorder or any other of the numerous diseases that result from inflammation, consider what you eat.  Take more control of your health.  You will feel better when you make informed food choices. 

In a nutshell, what many of us are accustomed to eating aggravates inflammation.   This includes fast and highly processed foods as well as “home-cooked” items that involve unhealthy fats and oils.  It also covers low-fat diets that can have large amounts of refined carbohydrates.

Here’s a table summary of general dietary influences on inflammation.

It is based upon the work of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD
in Anticancer:  A New Way of Life.

Aggravates Inflammation	Reduces Inflammation
Chemical food additives:  sulfites, benzoic acid, parabens, antioxidants (e.g., BHA or BHT), NutraSweet, Splenda, Sweet One, MSG, food coloring, and nitrites	Whole foods only—no preservatives or other chemicals
Refined sugars, including alcohol (especially hard liquor & more than 10 oz./day of red wine with a meal),  and white flour	Organic whole grains, for example, brown rice, quinoa or millet
Red meat from industrially raised animals	Legumes or high omega-3 fish as protein sources.  At most 3x/week:  organic red meat from animals fed grass or flax meal
Oils rich in omega-6 (corn, sunflower, safflower, & soy), margarines and trans fats.	Olive oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil
Dairy products from industrially raised livestock	Organic dairy products from animals fed grass or flax meal
Eggs from industrially raised hens fed corn & soybeans	Organic eggs from hens raised with extended time outdoors

Here are more details of an anti-inflammatory diet, taken from Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D.’s suggestions:

• Vegetables—minimum of 4-5/day, raw and cooked, of all colors. Artichokes, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, parsley and zucchini are especially good anti-inflammatory vegetables.
• Fruits—3-4/day, fresh in season or frozen.Eat brightly colored fruits like cherries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries.
• Beans and other Legumes—1-2/day
• Healthy Fats—This includes extra virgin olive oil, nuts (especially walnuts), avocados, and seeds (including hemp and freshly ground flax). The amount of fat varies according to preference and health needs.
• Fish and Seafood that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids—2-6/week, for example, mackerel, rainbow trout, salmon, sardines
• Soy foods—no more than 1/day. This includes tofu, tempeh and soymilk.  Tempeh has the advantage of being fermented.
• Cooked Asian Mushrooms—no more than 1 serving/day
• Healthy Herbs and Spices—raw ginger, garlic, turmeric, and cinnamon in unlimited amounts.
• Tea—1-4 cups per day of green, white or oolong
• Plain dark chocolate—sparingly and without dairy, which cancels cocoa’s benefits. Rather than add sugar, an inflammatory substance, to some organic cocoa, try stevia as a sweetener.
• Red Wine—optional and no more than 1-2 glasses/day

Some people can also handle:

• Grains—1-2/day, only unground—Consider wheat- and gluten-free, such as whole grain brown rice, quinoa and millet.
• Pasta (al dente)—2-3/week—Consider wheat- and gluten-free.

Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist and author of the best-selling book, Wheat Belly, talks about these drawbacks of modern wheat:

• It includes a protein that stimulates appetite and thereby contributes to obesity. 
• Modern wheat germ is very different from ancient strains.  It is largely responsible for many of the pervasive, and difficult-to-diagnose, ill effects of wheat.  It is most highly concentrated in whole wheat, including sprouted wheat.

Whenever possible, eat organic foods and not genetically modified food, for example, any soy or corn that is not organic.  You want to avoid herbicides and insecticides.
These days, many people are sensitive to the following foods and benefit from avoiding them:

• Soy that is not organic
• Corn
• Gluten—It is found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale.  This includes malts and malt vinegars.  See http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gluten-free-diet/my01140 for more information.
• Dairy
• Eggs

Try avoiding all of these for at least two weeks and observe how your body reacts.  If you like, gradually re-introduce one of them at a time.  Wait at least one week between each re-introduction to you see how you feel with each specific change.

If you have rheumatoid symptoms, also try eliminating nightshade vegetables.  These are white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers except black pepper, and eggplant.  Tobacco is also a nightshade.  Commercial curry powders have hot pepper in them; make your own without hot peppers if you want curry.

Consider the vitamin D complex to reduce inflammation and enhance bone health. It has much more than an isolated vitamin D2 or D3, with hundreds of variations that work in a synergistic manner. 

The omega oils with odd numbers are a family of inflammation-cooling and heart-protecting oils.  They include:

• DHA omega-3, found in fatty fish like salmon and ocean trout or in high quality cod liver oil (CLO).  One of the few sources of fermented CLO appears to be Green Pasture’s Blue Ice. 
• ALA omega-3, found in walnuts, avocado, flaxseed, canola oil and chia seeds
• Omega-5, found in pomegranate seeds
• Omega-7, found in macadamia nuts
• Omega-9, found in olive oil

Cook with stainless steel, glass or cast iron containers. Do not use aluminum pots and pans.  Flaking Teflon-covered pots and pans are suspect.

Do not consume foods or liquids that have been in contact with hot plastics, for example, microwave plastic bowls or plastic mugs. 

If we consider what we eat, how it is prepared, and how these two aspects affect our overall well-being, we can better appreciate and enjoy healthy food.  This is the real way to think about “Comfort Food” when making food choices.

Janet Lee Cook

 Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Prescriptions

  512-826-1164 

janetcookwellness@gmail.com

 janetcookwellness.com

Some Inflammatory Words

Often, I treat patients with medical conditions that relate to inflammation.  If you see “-itis” in a diagnosis, it means inflammation is a player.  Examples include arthritis, tendonitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, colitis, hepatitis, cystitis, gastritis, and appendicitis. 

Like many things in life, inflammation is neither “bad” nor “good” in itself.  It is a basic part of the normal healing process, helping us deal in the short-term with most infections and wounds. 

Chronic inflammation, however, sets the stage for challenging health problems.  It comes about in response to consistent exposure to dietary or environmental triggers, malignant tumors, or chronic infections, as well as the dysfunctional immune response seen in autoimmune disease.

Chronic high inflammation is a major factor in these diseases:

• Osteoarthritis and rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
• Cardiovascular (high cholesterol, high blood pressure)
• Neurological (depression) and neuro-degenerative (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disorder)
• Pulmonary (asthma, allergies)
• Metabolic (diabetes/obesity, low thyroid hormone)
• Neoplastic (cancer)

It’s common for someone with a painful, inflammatory condition to reach for a bottle of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).  These include aspirin and ibuprofen.  However, NSAIDS can have unpleasant side effects such as nausea or diarrhea as well as toxic, life-threatening ones, especially if used long-term.  At any time and without warning symptoms, fatal stomach and intestinal reactions can occur during their use.  Elderly people are more at risk. 
 

If your inflammatory condition has led to use of a corticosteroid, for example, cortisone, hydrocortisone and prednisone, there are even more things to worry about.  Orally-taken corticosteroids are most likely to cause significant side effects.  This could be increased pressure in the eyes (glaucoma), fluid retention that causes lower legs to swell, high blood pressure, mood swings, weight gain, cloudy vision (cataracts), high blood sugar that can trigger or worsen diabetes, increased risk of infections and slower wound healing, thinning of the bones (osteoporosis) and fractures, thin skin that bruises easily, and suppressed adrenal gland hormone production.  In other words, you pay a price for the “easy” fix! 

Thankfully, acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas can definitely help decrease inflammation, and without nasty side effects.

You can also empower yourself by implementing some important, evidence-based strategies.  At the same time, they also address some common root causes of inflammation:

1) Manage stress:

• Practice “belly” breathing.   Basically, you stick your stomach out when you inhale and pull it in when you exhale.  It signals your body to relax. 

• Practice mindfulness as you breathe and go about your day.  If you stay in the present, your body is more likely to relax. 

• Practice qigong, a gentle yet profound therapy that combines breath, movement and visualization.  Qigong switches the nervous system from the stress-related “fight or flight” mode to the restorative healing mode of the parasympathetic branch.  I recommend Lee Holden’s DVDs, for example, Qigong for Stress, Qigong for Deep Sleep or Qigong for Upper Back and Neck Pain.   Go to www.ExercisetoHeal.com to access these. 

• Make more connections with friends. 

• Free yourself from feelings of powerlessness.

• Learn to accept your emotions, including fear, sadness, despair and anger, but address ongoing feelings of helplessness.
• Find someone with whom you can process your emotions, for example, a peer counselor or a psychotherapist.
• Resolve past traumas via therapy.

• Make choices, for example, in relationships, to help avoid undue stress. 

• Seek happiness.  A fascinating study shows that it can lead to anti-inflammatory changes in your DNA, but only when that happiness comes from a pursuit of a “noble” purpose (for example, volunteering or participating in community projects) versus a hedonistic pursuit (for example, eating a great meal or buying a new car).  

2) Get at least six hours of sleep each night.

3) Exercise.  This could be a 30-minute walk, six times a week.  Less than 20 minutes of physical activity per day contributes to inflammation.

4) Create clean environments.

• Stay away from cigarette smoke.  If you are addicted, use acupuncture to help stop. 

• Avoid products that contain industrial and domestic chemicals.  These include pesticides, insecticides, chemical cleaning products, skin contact with aluminum, parabens and phthalates in cosmetic products, and foods and liquids that have been in contact with hot plastics (e.g., microwave plastic bowls, plastic mugs).  Air dry-cleaned clothing. 

• Work with others to stop atmospheric pollution.  Meanwhile, you may benefit from a good room air filter. 

5) Look at your relationship with alcohol.  The experts say that an occasional glass and no more than 10 ounces per day of red wine are OK if you want to decrease inflammation.  Anything beyond that, as well as hard liquor, raises inflammatory levels.

6) Maintain a healthy weight.  Being overweight, especially with too much abdominal fat, feeds inflammation.

7) Choose foods and prepare them in ways that actively fight inflammation.  By far, the most important way to control inflammation via diet is to minimize unhealthy dietary fats.    Steer clear of refined carbohydrate and high-glycemic-index foods.  More on diet later in an upcoming article. 

Finally, give yourself credit whenever you make a move toward better health by choosing any of these habits.

Janet Lee Cook

Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Prescriptions

512-826-1164

janetcookwellness@gmail.com

www.janetcookwellness.com

Not So Fast, Maybe!

Here we are in the midst of springtime!  In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is the Wood phase with lots of planning and structure that has burst out from winter’s relative stillness and murkiness.  Plants rapidly shoot from the ground; many of us seem to be equally busy.

In TCM, we associate this phase with the Liver and Gall Bladder organ/meridian systems, sinews, ligaments, eyes, green colors, sour tastes, rancid or greasy odors, angry emotions, depressive temperament, and windy climates.

During this season, many patients ask me about a dietary fast as a way to internally cleanse.  Maybe it’s related to the old urge to do Spring housecleaning.  Fasting can rid the body of the heavy, fatty, and salty foods of winter and prepare it for summer.
 
Almost all modern, affluent people need to fast from a lifestyle of three meals a day plus in-between snacks.  However, the type of fast should be very much related to one’s constitution.  Otherwise, there may be no benefits and may even be harm.

When I recommend a fast, here are some considerations I make (with thanks to Paul Pitchford in Healing with Whole Foods, my basic TCM text for nutrition):

• What type of food residues need to be eliminated?  They most often are from the acid-forming, high-fat, and/or mucus-forming categories.  Examples are meats, fish, poultry, eggs, most dairy, most grains and legumes, refined sugars, drugs and chemicals.

• At what pace should one fast?  A quick, intense fast might involve only water or juices.  A more moderate fast on vegetables, fruits or grains can bring impressive results for those leading stress-filled lives.  Fasting with selected whole foods fosters a consciousness of patience and a faith in the wisdom of living with gentler cycles.

• What is the patient’s overall constitution, as assessed by interview, observations, tongue and pulse readings?

• If one has Heat signs (for example, feels too hot, dislikes heat, drinks copious amounts of cool beverages, has a red complexion) or Excess signs (for example, robustness, overweight, strong voice, and/or with allergies, Diabetes II, hypertension, high cholesterol or joint pain, the best fast uses raw vegetables, fruits or their juices.

• If one has Cold signs (for example, chills, pallor, aversion to cold), the most appropriate fast might be cooked vegetables and grains that are augmented with warming herbal teas. 

• Those with clear signs of Deficiency (for example, weak, thin, pale, nervous, anemic and/or with a weakened immune system) should not fast.

• What are the goals of the fast? To improve mental focus, a whole-grain fast can benefit someone with a fairly balanced constitution. Someone with blood sugar imbalances and sugar cravings can benefit from a micro-algae fast, with or without cooked grains and vegetables, according to one's constitution.

From information gathered from these areas, an appropriate fast, or maybe just some simple dietary recommendations, is designed for each person.

For effective fasting, here are some tips:

• Remove all non-foods such as alcohol, sugar and caffeine.

• Use pure water and organic foods.  Freshly pressed juices are preferable to other juices.

• Chew food thoroughly before swallowing.

• Try to eat no more than twice a day unless very hungry.

• Stay warm.

• Exercise lightly.

• Meditate at least five minutes each day.

• Get adequate mental and physical rest.

• Headaches during fasting can be due to stagnant intestines.  Enemas can be a speedy remedy.

• Fast no longer than seven days on fluids or fourteen days on specific solid foods.  Otherwise, the discharge of toxins could be more than the organs of elimination can handle.  One-day or half-day fasts can be very helpful if done weekly.

If you have any serious medical condition, fast or cleanse only under direct supervision of a health care practitioner.

After a fast or cleanse, slowly re-introduce other foods.  Notice how your body reacts to each additional food.

Finally, plan a fast that maximizes your probability of meeting your goals.  Behaviorally, this often means to start with a small, achievable goal.  For many of us, a half-day fast once a week may be the way to go at first.  When there is success with this and you want to build on it, try a longer fast.  Be gentle with yourself and celebrate the season.

Janet Lee Cook

Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Prescriptions

512-826-1164

janetcookwellness@gmail.com

www.janetcookwellness.com

Escape Fire is a weird and intriguing name for a wonderful documentary that I recently saw via Netflix.  The quickly explained title has to do with a forest fire-fighting technique that can save lives.  The metaphor is used to discuss the state of the U.S. health care system.  More importantly, Escape Fire significantly adds to any conversation about our collective wellness and I highly recommend it.  It’s music to the ears of anyone who believes in Traditional Chinese Medicine’s emphasis on lifestyle factors and belief in the innate healing power within each person.

The first section of Escape Fire is rather grim as it details weaknesses of the current system.  We live in a medical system that doesn’t address root problems and over-medicates with pharmaceutical drugs.  Expensive technological approaches are extremely important when there is a medical crisis, e.g., a broken leg, but often don’t provide long-term solutions to a health issue.  This is illustrated with cardiovascular stents that typically take away pain in the moment but will not lengthen one’s lifespan or protect from a heart attack.

The second half of Escape Fire inspires with present-day examples of low-tech, cost-effective strategies and methods for preventive health care as well as treatment of existing conditions.  There’s a long section about the U.S. military’s effective use of acupuncture for pain management.  

Physician proponents of integrated medicine such as Andrew Weil, Dean Ornish and others are extensively interviewed.  Key to anyone’s health is diet, exercise, stress management, and a regular support system.   Lifestyle changes even affect gene expression; for anyone concerned about serious diseases like cancer, this is important.

Imagine a health care system that promotes healthy behavior.  It is much more cost-effective, as Escape Fire documents.  Obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure all decreased when one company implemented such a program.

Currently, where can a patient go to get something more than a short visit by a busy physician who is locked into the existing system?  As always, one can typically rely upon a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine to get valuable lifestyle information that is tailored to the individual.  Acupuncture and an herbal prescription are just a piece of the package.  

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year to you and best wishes for your Year of the Horse!

Janet Lee Cook

Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Prescriptions

512-826-1164

janetcookwellness@gmail.com

www.janetcookwellness.com

Roots, Branches, Watery Depths and Pollen Bursts

 

Happy Wintertime to you!  Metaphorically speaking, in Chinese medicine’s Five Element Theory, this season is the phase of relative stillness and the ”underground” unknown.  It’s like the murky bottom of the ocean.  Indeed, water is the associated element and blue is the associated color.  The kidney and bladder organ/meridian systems are related to this phase.

Often, being with the unknown, observing without evaluating, to see what emerges is the hardest phase to experience.  There may be an urge to skip it.   Before fully understanding the wisdom to be revealed in this phase, one may prematurely jump into planning and structuring the next step rather than simply being with the unknown.

The challenging emotion of the Water phase is fear.  Sometimes the feeling is unwarranted and comes from an imbalance in the kidney and/or bladder organ/meridians systems.  In wintertime in Central Texas, however, there’s often a very clear and real fear of impending Cedar Fever.  For the uninitiated, this is the allergic rhinitis or sinusitis from which many begin to suffer.  It directly relates to the plentiful cedar trees that have begun to bloom and disperse their pollen.

In Chinese medicine, it’s important to treat cedar fever on two levels.  There are the acute-stage symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, itchy ears, and itchy, red and/or burning eyes.  All of these can leave a person exhausted.   This is the branch aspect of the imbalance.  Acupuncture and individually-tailored Chinese herbal formulas provide relief and often help someone smoothly sail through the season.

For lasting relief, a person’s constitutional level or pattern also must be assessed and balanced.  This is the root level of the disorder.   One patient may have a lot of clear mucus drainage, often feel cold, get up several times at night to urinate and have a history of shortness of breath, fatigue and asthma.  Another patient may have thick yellow or green nasal mucus, a flushed red face, strong thirst, and constipation as well as be overweight.   A third patient may simply get a runny nose and itchy eyes during Cedar Fever season.   Each person’s allergies will be addressed quite differently in Chinese medicine. 

If the root level is not addressed, the branch-level symptoms will continue to manifest during Cedar Fever season.  Although the best time to address constitutional imbalances is months before full-bloom allergy symptoms, they can be addressed at any time. 

As Bob Flaws points out, there are also three free therapies that are crucial for getting rid of these allergies: 

•  Diet

Strong digestive Qi, or Life Force, is important to fend off the allergic responses.  What one eats and does not eat directly affect these dynamics.  For example, although a completely raw foods diet has been popular and some raw veggies are valuable, too much of them requires too much digestive Qi and drains it.  Eating plenty of veggies is very important but a general rule of thumb is to have the raw ones be no more than 20% of the diet.   It’s better for veggies to generally be lightly steamed.

Chilled food and drinks are also harmful.  Think of them in terms of the energy they drain from the body when they have to be warmed to body temperature.  Sugars, including alcohol and sweets, also damage digestive Qi.  The more oily and greasy a food is, the more it creates “Damp.”  This clogs our system and contributes to allergy symptoms.  All dairy and refined-flour products are Damp-producing.

• Exercise

Regular and adequate exercise greatly helps Qi move in a healthy way and not be stuck.  It also strengthens digestive Qi.  Those with a history of asthma are included but need no more than 20 minutes of aerobic exercise that is done in a way that does not induce an attack.  An important first step for this population is to clean up one’s diet before starting an exercise program.

• Relaxation 

Rare is the person who early-on did not learn maladaptive coping responses to frustrations, irritations and anger. When we feel stressed, most of us tense muscles in our upper back and shoulders, neck, and/or jaws. It’s also common to hold the breath. These responses only make respiratory issues worse. Therefore, deep relaxation practices need to involve the body and be more than mental experiences . My personal favorites are Qigong practices on DVDs by Lee Holden. His website is www.ExercisetoHeal.com

Besides these three important therapies, one can also do home remedies such as Chinese self-massage at strategic points, seven star hammering, Chinese medicinal porridges, moxibustion, and Chinese medicinal teas.  Talk with your licensed practitioner of Chinese medicine or get a copy of Bob Flaw’s book, Curing Hay Fever Naturally at Blue Poppy Press for more specifics on these techniques as well as the three free therapies.

Janet Lee Cook

Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Prescriptions

512-826-1164

janetcookwellness@gmail.com

www.janetcookwellness.com

Colds, Flu and other Seasonal Infections

Greetings on a chilly day! 

What follow are some important        
strategies to help you smoothly sail
through cold and flu season.  
Some are universal precautions. 
Others are pure Chinese medicine,
a gift that helps avoid the snags
of antibiotics and anti-viral
medications.                   

Strategies for Prevention:

• Cleanse your hands often.  If you wash your hands, do so for 15-20 seconds (the length of time to sing the Happy Birthday song).   Scrub all contours of the surface – not just the palms.  Rinse well and dry hands with air or disposable paper towels.
• Keep your fingers away from your nose and mouth unless you’ve just cleaned your fingers.  Many forms of colds and viruses live up to two hours on surfaces such as tabletops, doorknobs and telephone receivers.  If you’ve touched a surface with a live "bug", all that is needed to become infected is to touch your eyes, nose or mouth before you’ve properly cleansed your hands.
• Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough.  Disposable tissue use is best.  Throw it away right away and wash your hands.  If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into the upper part of your sleeve near your shoulder.  Other people are far less likely to have contact with your upper sleeve than with your hands.  In fact, sneezing or coughing into your hands is one of the worst options since they touch more surfaces in the environment than any other part of our bodies.  Hands will spread germs almost as readily as sneezing or coughing without covering your mouth.
• Teach others in your home to observe germ-prevention habits.  Most of the details can be understood by children as young as two years old with proper instruction, repetition and supervision.
• Drink plenty of water.  Stay away from iced water because it unnecessarily taxes digestive energy.
• Minimize dairy products.  They clog the respiratory system and create phlegm.
• Avoid simple sugars and alcohol.  They depress the immune system and also create phlegm.  Get your sweets from a serving of fruit.  If you react to modern wheat’s high gluten content, avoid this source of congestion.  This includes whole wheat.
• Eat plenty of fresh vegetables.
• If you eat meat or eggs, choose organic.  A second-best choice is free-range.  Animals raised in feed lots or other confinement facilities are shot full of antibiotics and other chemicals.  The residual is in their meat or eggs.  This affects your immune system.
• Get plenty of rest and minimize stress – often easier said than done, but important.
• Stay physically active.  Qigong is one of my favorites; it’s also a great way to deal with stress.
• Use Chinese herbs and acupuncture to keep your immune system strong and prevent infection.  People who receive regular acupuncture treatment and/or use Chinese herbs get sick less often.  The medicine balances and strengthens your immune system.
• Address your allergies.  There are wonderful Chinese herbal formulas that can be tailored to your specific situation.  The herbs work synergistically to deal with root causes of allergies and to strengthen your body.  The best time to use them is before your allergy season but they can also be a huge help when it’s full-blown allergy season.

Uh-oh.  I’ve got a bug and am starting to feel sick:

• Avoid alcohol, tobacco and phlegm-producing foods such as sweets and dairy products.
• Drink plenty of water and rest.
• If you’re taking an herbal formula that strengthens your body constitution, stop using it.  It also strengthens the pathogen. 
• Consult with your practitioner for an herbal formula that is tailored to you and the specific phase of your illness.

There are many Chinese herbal formulas to clear infections more quickly and thoroughly.  At the same time, they actually help your immune system.   A formula can be targeted to specific parts of your body:  head, sinuses, throat, neck, upper lung, deeper lung, stomach, etc.  There are no yucky side effects that cause other disorders. 

For over two thousand years, Chinese herbal medicine has been very effective against viral infections, even new strains.  For example, during the huge and frightening SARS outbreak a decade ago, infected patients in China were successfully treated with Chinese herbs.  Herbs also protected the health care professionals from contracting the virus.  

• If you have sinus congestion and/or infection, try these measures:
• Remove congested substances with a saline (salt water) rinse.  A neti-pot is great for this.  Alternatively, use a sinus spray filled with saline.
• Put hot compresses on your head several times a day to help ease the pain.
• Bring a pot of water to simmer.  Put a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil into the water, place your head over the pot, drape a towel around your head, and inhale the vapor.
• Consider eating horseradish or wasabi to loosen and help expel phlegm.  For those who tolerate nightshades, salsa is another option.
• For help getting rid of nausea or stomach ache, brew a tea made from a few quarter-sized slices of fresh ginger.
  

What about pharmaceutical anti-viral medications?

They can diminish heat signs and sometimes slow down the progression of a viral disease.  The virus isn’t killed, just less active.  More often than not, however, they wind up prolonging the illness.  Complete recovery can take an extra two or three weeks if an anti-viral medication is given at a full-blown stage of influenza.

What about antibiotics?

• They don’t treat viral infections. 
• They destroy beneficial bacteria in your digestive system, making you more vulnerable to future infections.  The destroyed gut flora also puts you at risk for a host of other disorders like leaky gut syndrome and auto-immune disorders.
• They leave you more at risk for future antibiotic resistance. 

What about the flu vaccine?

The track record is about 40% for flu vaccine manufacturers guessing which strains will be active.  There are over 200 viruses that can cause the common cold.  Influenza viruses mutate one to two times a year.   Therefore, there’s a good chance a vaccine won’t prevent a cold or flu.  Furthermore, there are many documented cases of serious illnesses following a flu vaccination.  This includes neurological disorders, auto-immune diseases, and exacerbation or onset of respiratory disorders like asthma.   Significantly, there is a fairly high percentage of doctors and nurses who skip yearly flu shots.

Janet Lee Cook

Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Prescriptions

512-826-1164

janetcookwellness@gmail.com

www.janetcookwellness.com