Hello Readers!-

In the last text I wrote about the reasons why certain situations harm our immunity. Now is the time to write a text about how we can improve our immunity with the resources that Chinese Medicine offers us:

Acupuncture Points – World Acupuncture Federation Guidelines
The World Federation of Acupuncture, at the beginning of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) crises, issued a statement to acupuncturists talking about the effectiveness of some acupuncture points that collaborate in improving the immune system, given their functions described below. The following were cited: LI-4, PC-6, SP-6, ST-36, VC-6 and CV-4.

• LI-4: has action to regulate Wei Qi (defense energy)
• PC-6: moves chest Qi
• SP-6: strengthens the Spleen (organ responsible for Gu Qi, which is the raw material for defense Qi)
• ST-36: regulates Wei Qi, expels the wind
• CV-6: strengthens the original Qi (which circulates in the meridians)
• CV-4: roots the mind (shen), nourishes the blood

These points must be done at least once a week with needles. If not possible, it is recommended that they are stimulated with moxa at least once a week. If the patient has more time available, he can use it every other day.

It is important that in this moment of crisis, the therapist can teach patients how to self-apply moxa, thus, they will be collaborating not only to improve the immunity of the patient himself, but also of his family members.

About therapeutic food, we already talked about in the last post, but it is worth remembering that neutral foods from the Earth, Metal and Water tables are good allies in strengthening immunity. The tables can be found at the link:

https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

Auriculotherapy can also be an ally in improving immunity. Ping Chuan points are particularly important in caring for the immune system. One is located inside the triangular fossa and the other in the antitrago region. In addition to Ping Chuan, it is considered important to place Shenmen, Kidney, Sympathetic, Spleen, Lung and the Anxiety point in case the patient is feeling particularly tense.

Using 10 drops of propolis dissolved in a glass of water once a day and consuming a small portion of royal jelly (the size of a soy bean under your tongue) every day for at least a month will keep your immunity strong.

We need to understand that often, the best way to attack is to defend ourselves.

I hope the text was helpful.

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning Readers

In times of pandemic, there is an urgent discussion on how we can improve our immunity to prevent the spread of opportunistic diseases. Everyone knows that maintaining a good diet, sleeping well, avoiding emotional stress and engaging in moderate physical activity are Western Medicine recommendations.

Chinese medicine basically follows the same recommendations and has precise explanations for each one, in addition to offering the possibility of treatment for each of the situations, as we will see below:

1. Good nutrition
   In Chinese Medicine the main organs related to immunity are: Spleen, Lung and Kidney:
   – Spleen: produces Gu Qi, that is, the essence of food. The Spleen receives the food digested by the Stomach and transforms it into the energetic part of the food that will serve as raw material in the formation of the defense energy, known as immunity, in Oriental Medicine.

– Lung: receives Gu Qi from the Spleen and Qi from the air. With the sum of these two energies, it transforms into Wei Qi (Defense Qi). When the defense Qi is good, the patient’s immunity is good. If the Lung lacks energy to transform Wei Qi or the Spleen to form Gu Qi, the patient will suffer from low immunity.

– Kidney: it is the basis of vital energy. Distributes energy to all organs and viscera. Low Kidney energy may reflect low energy for all organs, that is, decrease the production of food and defense energies, mentioned above.

In addition, the Deficiency of Kidney energy, by law of 5 Elements, will consume the energy of the Lung, leaving it weak, preventing the production of Wei Qi.

In this way, foods that strengthen these organs are indicated. Neutral foods are suggested in the therapeutic feeding tables, found at the link:

https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

Choose foods that you like and consume at least one of each table per day.

2. Sleep well

– Sleep, in general, restores the energies of our body. Sleeping well and waking up rested ensures that the kidney preserves our vital energy. When we spend long periods without sleeping well, or being able to sleep, but waking up tired, we have an additional expenditure of the Kidney Yin energy.
When there is Kidney Yin Deficiency, we cause internal heat, with long-term dryness of fluids, especially Lung Yin energy.
-As previously explained, when the Kidney is weak, it consumes the energy of the Lung (Law of the 5 Elements) impairing immunity.
-To sleep better, consider using points: Yintang, PC-6 and SP-6.
-To improve the quality of sleep, black sesame and jasmine teas can be used.
-In auriculotherapy, Anxiety, Tension and Heart points can be used.

3. Avoid emotional stress

-Emotional stress can cause internal imbalance in all organs. In general, Liver is the most affected when we refer to stress itself and also due to irritability, frustration and impatience.
-When the Liver Yang rises, due to the insult cycle of the 5 elements, there is a Lung Deficiency, which will be impaired in the production of Wei Qi.
-Therefore, we must avoid stress, however, when we find ourselves stressed, we must use points LR-2 and LR-3.
-In auriculotherapy, Liver Yang and Emotional Tension are indicated.
-Blackberry leaf tea and lemon water are great for reducing liver heat.

4. Practice moderate physical activities

-Moderate physical activity is one that does not cause extreme tiredness, but it is enough to keep the body warm, the blood vessels dilated and a harmonious flow of Qi and Blood.
-It is suggested that this activity take place for 30 to 40 minutes, 3x a week. It can be walking, Yoga, sit-ups, weight training, that is, any physical activity that pleases the individual.
-By avoiding the stagnation of Qi and Blood, the organs are well nourished and avoid any kind of pathology.
-If you feel very tired doing physical activity, it is suggested that you do it for less time. Massage for 3 minutes, bilateral at points ST-36 and Ki-1 will help with the disposition.
-Ginger and cinnamon teas will help the circulation of Qi and Blood.

Following these tips, we will be in agreement with Western Medicine in terms of preventing the loss of immunity.

We will continue debating this subject in another text on how to increase immunity!

A big hug to everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning Readers!   

Today we are going to talk about extreme anxiety. Of uncontrolled mental agitation.

You may have heard someone say that the world is getting more complicated every day. That people are increasingly anxious. Or worse … are you saying and feeling all this?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why things are going this way?

One of the biggest problems we have today is IMMEDIATISM. Everything is for yesterday. If we receive a message, we want to respond right away. If we have to solve something at work, we go without sleep even though we know that during sleep time that thing would not be resolved. If we post a photo on social media, we return to our page every 5 minutes to see the number of likes and comments. We want to know everything, we read everything, we interpret little and often we do not even check if the information read is true. Macabre legends and stories are created on the internet and become real threats just because they are shared by hundreds of people

The truth is that we have created an URGENCY that is not real. And with that, we become more and more anxious. We believe in everything. We are afraid of everything and we lose our ability to think coherently and we think too much.

This is how hysteria is created: behavior characterized by excessive emotionality or panic terror.

And how does Chinese medicine look at this situation?

In Chinese Medicine, who controls the quality and coherence of thoughts and attitudes, the feeling of mental agitation and discernment is the Heart. It is said that the Heart is the abode of Shen, that is, the Heart is the abode of the mind.

When we deal with a lot of information and get agitated, the Heart is energetically unbalanced, generating heat. Thus, every case of anxiety, mental agitation, difficulty in discernment, incoherence in acting and thinking, restless sleep, involves a Heat in the Heart, which for Chinese Medicine is a Syndrome, and needs to be taken care of.

By removing the Heat of the Heart, it is possible to make the individual become more calm and begin to have more tranquility.

And how can we reduce this agitation by removing the heat from the Heart?

The Acupuncture points: HT-7, HT-8, HT-9, PC-6 and PC-7, belonging to the Heart and Pericardium meridians, are of extreme importance, in addition to the Heart and Yang Liver ear points that are also important to calm down.

Eating foods considered to be cold for the heart, such as melon and watermelon is also an excellent option.

But above all, there is the tip for meditation and breathing exercises and the awareness that we are spending too much energy on things we shouldn’t be doing. We need to stop, breathe, understand and solve problems and never shake our Heart.

And remember. We are always an influence for those close to us

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning readers!

Today the subject is serious and interesting! Let’s talk about stomach reduction surgery, also known as bariatric surgery and how Chinese medicine sees the consequences of this process.

This type of surgery is indicated, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), for patients with BMI above 35 kg / m² who have complications such as sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes, increased blood fats and joint problems, or for patients with a BMI greater than 40 kg / m² who have not been successful in losing weight after two years of clinical treatment (including the use of medications).

In other words, it is not cosmetic surgery, and it is indicated carefully for those who are already having severe damage to health.

In this surgery, part of the stomach is isolated, decreasing its ability to receive food for digestion, causing, consequently, the patient to eat less and become drastically thin.

It is indisputable that the patient who performs this surgery has health benefits, but with less food intake, there is also less absorption of proteins, vitamins, minerals. And so, other health problems can arise, such as anemia, early osteoporosis among others.

But how does Chinese medicine see this process and how can it help people who have undergone bariatric surgery?

In Chinese Medicine, the Stomach is the organ that produces body fluids, the Jin Ye, which fluidize mucous membranes, generate tears, sweat, etc. It is also the main digestive organ, which sends the matured and decomposed food to the Spleen to transform Gu Qi (food energy) and thus the energy transformation chain goes through other organs. In this text, we will focus on the functioning of these two organs after bariatrics.

As the bariatric patient manages to consume only between 10 and 30% of the foods he was able to consume before the surgery, the Stomach will suffer in its functions, as it will no longer have the energy it had previously to function.

Stomach Qi Deficiency causes: dry mouth, dry eyes, dry skin and vagina, hunger without wanting to eat, weakness muscles, reflux, changes in bowel function.

And as the Stomach receives less food, less raw material will also pass for the Spleen to function, which results in Deficient Qi and later Deficient Blood Spleen, which generates symptoms of: muscle weakness, impaired memory (lack of memory , lapses, difficulty in attention), sagging skin and muscles, chronic tiredness, loose stools, ptosis of organs, among other consequences.

With a weak Spleen, the entire energy transformation chain in the body will be compromised, and in the medium / long term, other organs such as the Lung, Kidney, Liver and Heart may be affected. Thus, problems such as decreased breathing capacity on physical exertion, sudden drops in blood pressure, difficulty in digesting fats, hair loss, brittle nails, may also appear.

As bariatric surgery is always indicated for patients who will really benefit their health, greater than the harm caused by it, the acupuncturist who receives a patient who underwent stomach reduction surgery in his office must ALWAYS strengthen the Stomach and the Spleen, trying not only to avoid / improve the symptoms mentioned above, but also to avoid breaking the energy transformation in the body.

They are suggested as points to strengthen the Stomach and Spleen: ST-36, ST-41, BL-21, BL-6, SP-2, SP-3, BL-20, BL-49.

In auriculotherapy, Stomach, Spleen, Pancreas, Metabolism points can be used.

And in therapeutic food, neutral foods from the Earth element should be used.

Chinese herbs should be used when the conventional treatment of acupuncture + therapeutic feeding is not enough.

A dietary re-education accompanied by a nutritionist and hormonal monitoring by the endocrinologist must always be performed in conjunction with acupuncture.

The treatment with acupuncture in these cases is extensive, and should be performed at least one session per week, for 3 to 6 months after surgery and then the patient is reassessed for discharge.

That’s it, I hope you liked it and that it was a very useful text.

A big hug for everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good Morning Readers!  
Today the text will be about the view of Traditional Chinese Medicine regarding varicose veins.

Varicose veins are dilated and deformed, purple-blue veins that appear along the legs and can cause pain and swelling. Its occurrence is more common in people who need to stand for long periods.

The veins in the legs, which bring blood back to the heart after irrigating the lower limbs, have valves whose purpose is to prevent blood from returning to the feet by the action of gravity. Sometimes, these valves do not work efficiently and blood pools in the veins causing deformation, swelling and changes in skin sensitivity.

For Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are two organs responsible for maintaining blood circulation: the Spleen and the Heart.

The Spleen has the function of keeping the blood vessels strong, preventing blood leaks and bruising. The force of the venous return valves is Spleen responsibility.

When the Spleen is weakened, there is an inability of the valves to propel the blood upwards, thus, it will stagnate in the veins, giving rise to varicose veins.

Factors that weaken the Spleen are:

• Excess milk, dairy products, white sugar and flour products
• Excessive physical activity
• Excessive worry and anxiety.

The Heart, on the other hand, has the function of maintaining the blood flow of the vessels, and when it is weakened, it ends up decreasing the circulation causing the blood to stop inside them. This stagnation of blood is a cause of varicose veins.

Factors that weaken the Heart are:

• Excess of cold food such as melon and watermelon.
• Excessive mental agitation / anxiety
• Emotional shocks
• Large blood losses (such as accidents or surgeries).

In addition to the aforementioned organs related to varicose veins, there is also a genetic factor, which Chinese Medicine associates with an imbalance in the Kidney’s Yin energy.

Knowing the causes of varicose veins in Chinese Medicine, it is possible to suggest treatments that will improve blood circulation and mitigate varicose veins, however, large ones will not be cured by acupuncture.

To strengthen the Spleen, the following points are recommended: SP-2, SP-3, SP-8 and SP-10.

To strengthen the Heart, points are recommended: HT-9, HT-7 and HT-5.

As already known from other texts, roots and dark green vegetables help to strengthen the Spleen and blood circulation. Bitter foods help in strengthening the Heart.

It is recommended that the patient take walks of at least 30 minutes to stimulate blood circulation. Patients who remain standing for many hours should stretch at least 30 seconds 3x a day to relax their muscles and promote a more harmonious flow of blood. In contrast, patients who remain seated for a long time should get up for 5 minutes every 1 or 2 hours to reactivate blood flow.

Massages performed on feet soles and calves also help to improve blood circulation. It is said that in the calf is our “second heart” and that it helps to propel the blood in its venous return. Thus, keeping the calf elongated and at the same time strong, without points of muscle tension, will help in the prevention and improvement of varicose veins.

So that’s it folks. Keeping the Spleen and Heart strong, varicose veins will be softened and prevented from new formations.

A big hug to everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Hello readers,    

Today we are going to talk a little bit about anemia.

Anemia is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the condition in which the hemoglobin content in the blood is below normal as a result of the lack of one or more essential nutrients. In general, it can be defined as any disease where there is a decrease in the amount of red blood cells.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, blood is produced through the normal function of the Spleen and Kidney. It is said that the Kidney produces bone marrow (responsible for the raw material and “plant” for blood production in the body) and the Spleen transforms the raw material produced in the Kidney into blood itself.

The most common syndromic pattern found in patients with anemia is Deficiency of Spleen Blood, which can occur after major surgery, accidents with a lot of blood loss, poor diet or even genetics.

Chinese medicine can help patients with anemia, using kidney and spleen toning points, such as: KI-3,    KI-6, CV-4, BL-23, BL-52 and SP-6, SP-8, SP-10, BL-20. However, just using acupuncture in cases of anemia, of any kind, will not be enough to totally improve the patient.

This is due to the fact that anemia is a Deficiency Syndrome, so the patient’s goal is to nourish the blood, increase its production, a situation in which only acupuncture needles are unable to perform.

For a better result, the therapist should indicate foods that assist in the production of blood in the body, such as dark green vegetables and roots … In this list we can include: kale, spinach, broccoli, green beans, endive, yam, cassava , parsnips, sweet potatoes, etc … Some grains can also help, such as beans, soybeans and lentils.

If we associate therapeutic feeding with acupuncture, the results will be faster and more effective.

In addition, the herbal medicine Gui Pi Tang is indicated to strengthen the blood of the Spleen and is an ally in the treatment, provided that it has in its entirety, indication for the specific case of the patient.

In auriculotherapy, some points can be used, such as Spleen, Pancreas, Kidney, Metabolism and will keep the patient treated from one session to another.

The association between western and eastern medicines is important in the treatment of anemia. Not only in the supplements and medications that the western doctor can pass, but in particular, in the control by blood tests. To find out if the patient is really better, in addition to his feeling on a daily basis, it is extremely important that the blood test findings are in agreement;)

I hope I helped all of you! We continue taking care of our patients!

A big hug to everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Hello guys!

Today we are going to talk about an interesting subject: Envy!

According to the dictionary, envy is the desire to own a good that belongs to the other. It is a feeling of inferiority and disgust at the happiness of the other. It is a feeling of greed for the wealth, brightness and prosperity of others.

For Traditional Chinese Medicine envy is a pathological condition related to the imbalance of the Lung’s energy.

When the Lung is functioning well, it relates to the feeling of sadness when there is a reason for the individual to feel sad. For example, if a person loses a loved one, or if he or she has broken a relationship, if the Lung is unbalanced, that person will feel sad.

However, when the Lung becomes energetically unbalanced, it can generate bad feelings, such as anguish in excess and frustration and envy in deficiency.

What can leave the Lung in deficiency?

• Invasion of Pathogenic Factors: the invasion of cold and dryness leaves the Lungs weak in the long run. When not properly removed, the patient may develop an envious and frustrated behavior. Any pathogenic factor not properly cared for may deepen and cause energetic wear on the Lung.
• Smoking: people who have a habit of smoking, even for a short time, may irreversibly weaken the Lung, and thus suffer from behaviors of frustration and envy.
• Poor Food: the Lung doesn’t react well to excessive consumption of cold food. When the individual has a diet based on raw foods or with cold essence, the Lung can weaken, generating inappropriate behavior of envy and frustration.
• Sadness, Emotional Shock, Grief: these feelings, when maintained for a long time, even if for plausible reasons, will weaken the Lung, generating a person with bitter behavior, and later, frustration and envy.

How can we improve the energy of the Lung and thus remove the feeling of envy?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine we can strengthen the Lung in several ways, namely:

a) Breathing exercises: inhale slowly until the greatest capacity of the Lung and then loosen slightly, repeating this process at least 3x, once a day already helps to strengthen the Lung.

b) Acupuncture: acupuncture points such as LU-7, Lu-9, BL-13, BL-42 are excellent in Lung toning, especially BL-42 which is a point with a psychic indication 🙂

c) Auriculotherapy: Lung Point in auriculotherapy …. self explanatory right? 🙂

d) Therapeutic Food: spicy foods, especially red and black pepper, help to tone the lung, as well as honey, almonds and papaya are also great choices for this function.

We need to understand that not every frustrated and envious person says things with the intention of hurting. Assuming that these problems are associated with an energetic dysfunction of the Lung, we must welcome those in need and help in their improvement and evolution.

I hope you enjoyed!

A big hug to everyone,

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning readers!

In response to several requests, today I am going to write a little about a disease that scares many people: Depression.

For Western Medicine, Depression is a chronic and recurrent psychiatric illness that produces a change in mood characterized by profound and endless sadness associated with feelings of pain, bitterness, disenchantment, hopelessness, low self-esteem and guilt, as well as disorders sleep and appetite.

For Chinese Medicine, the main organ involved in Depression is the Heart.

According to orientals, the Heart is the residence of the mind, known as “Shen”, and Depression is an imbalance of Shen. Furthermore, all feelings, whether good or bad, become the Heart.

According to the theory of the 5 Elements, each organ is affected by a feeling, namely:

Heart – Joy, Happiness

Spleen- Concern

Lung – Sadness

Kidney – Fear (survival instinct)

Liver – Anger

However, it is not the organs that produce these feelings. The Eastern theory assumes that there are “emotional matrices” that are decoded in the Heart. That is, the Heart identifies sadness and sadness affects the Lung or the Heart identifies concern and concern affects the Spleen and so on.

For this reason, Depression is a mixture of emotional matrices, erroneously decoded by the Heart, generating a mix of feelings of all kinds and most of the times, very bad for the patient.

Based on this information, the first step in treating Depression according to Traditional Chinese Medicine is to harmonize the functioning of the Heart.

For this, the points HT-7, HT-5, PC-7 and PC-6 are essential, as they calm the mind and unblock its orifices. Adding these two functions together, the points will not only keep the individual calm, but will also open up the possibility of new thoughts that will help to see the problem of depression as if they were seeing outside of it.

Depressive patients find it difficult to see the problem as it actually presents, so giving the possibility of self-assessment without being in a state of mental confusion is extremely beneficial.

In addition to Systemic Acupuncture points, maintaining auriculotherapy treatment is also of paramount importance. For this, ear points: “Heart”, “Tension” and “Anxiety” have an excellent indication.

Maintaining a good diet, with foods that make the Heart maintain good energy is also part of the treatment. For that, according to the Chinese Therapeutic Food, neutral and warm foods from the Fire element table, such as chamomile, beets and egg yolk, are indicated.

The complete table of therapeutic foods you can find here on the Blog:

https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

There are many types of depression, which affect other organs besides the Heart, for this reason, we will approach this same subject in other opportunities, with different approaches.

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara