a simple and great remedy to remove retained fluid in the body

    Recently I have been meeting lots people with excessive water AKA retained the fluid in their body. It must have something to do with the nature of Buffalo -- windy, cold and wet.


    We all know the body is pretty much made of water and a healthy body keeps a balanced water level. Too much fluid usually cause swollen in arms, legs, ankles and belly.  Some overweighted people try to loose weight but what they don't understand is their weight is not "fat", but fluid instead. But overweight may be the least serious problem caused by fluid, there are many other sever symptoms like joint pain, arthritis, pericardial effusion and even tumor. Fluid in general slows down the flow of Qi (energy and blood), thus cause Qi shortage at certain part of body.


   What I'm saying is extra fluid cause problem, so get rid of them and put your body fluid to the right level.


    So cover yourself well in a cold and windy weather and don't run around in your shorts and thick sweater in a cold and damp day. Plus, Here is the remedy for removing the fluid and maintain good water level, everyone can use it:
                                                              

Pearl Barley 

and red bean.

    Both barley and red bean are very hard, the best way to cook is soak them overnight, then boil them together with enough water in the morning until the soup turns light red. Then you can have it in your water bottle or cup for the day. Don't worry about the proportion, but make sure there is enough water. Drink in room temperature and don't leave them over night. And you don't have to eat the ingredient as the essence is in the soup already, but you can still eat them as a side dish. Put some sugar won't hurt if you like sweet.

    

    One of my client says you can find pearl barley at Tops or Wegman's in Buffalo area. And make sure the red bean is the small red bean, not those big ones you use in your chili, you can find them in many Asian store if not in local super markets.  

The self-healing tips for HANGOVER are finally here!

There are often 2 major kinds of hangover symptom:


1: Headache being the main symptom, with eye swollen or/and echo in the head from talking. This is usually caused by acetaldehyde accumulation. 
2: Bad emotion being the main symptom, with nauseous or vomiting. This is usually caused by acute gastritis. 
If you went hardcore the night before then you may have both. If you have swollen fingers or even losing conscious, then it's probably alcohol intoxication and you better have someone call 911 for you.

To save you from symptom 1, find the following points:
No.1 Bai Hui: midpoint of the line between the two ears, very top point of the head. Method: press.

No.2 Tian Zhu: on the neck, level with C2, in the depression at the lateral border of  trapezius. Method: rub.

No.3 Gan Shu: level with T9, 2 fingers away from the spine. Method: tap, hit or rub (Don't worry if you can't find the exact locations, even you are just working the area it will still work.)

To Save you from symptom 2, simply rub the up, down, left and right, 4 points that are about 3cm from the bellybutton, then press them down, hold about 6 seconds then release. Repeat about 10 times or simply till you feel better.

Hope this helps! (Although I have not yet got a chance to test them myself )

October 23rd, 2010, "Hoar Frost", the last small Autumn season arrives

    "Hoar Frost", the last autumn season, and the 18th season of the year. Meaning, after this season we will be in winter. Just like its name, as it's getting much colder at night, the "cold dew" from last season becomes white frost in the morning. In some area the temperature can reach as low as 0 Celsius.
  
    Being the transition season between autumn and winter, we have noticed the change from "cool" to "cold", and the color of the leaves. As the temperature goes down our blood and energy flow also speeds down with it. Tendons and bones will be affected a lot, thus many of us will experience joint pain, especially on the lower back and knees. Make sure you protect your knees and lower back by adding necessary clothes.


   Besides lungs and large intestine, which we have been talking about for a while, stomach and spleen also need attention as they are active and sensitive during the end of every season. If you had chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer this is the season you need to be careful of as the risk of relapse is high. Being stimulated by the cold air, our autonomic nerve function is affected, so is the normal gastric movement. Our metabolism will increase, more gastric and digesting related "juice" will be released. We may have better appetite and that will give more job to our stomach and spleen. Also if cold air runs into the stomach, it will cause contraction of the blood vessel of the stomach that may lead to lacking of  blood and energy supply in the gastrointestinal mucosa (barrier). These can all  affect the self-repair process of any existing ulcer, or even cause new ulcer. Therefore, make sure take easy on your stomach, don't eat or drink like out of control.


    Food wise, follow the same rule of "Warm, mild, moisturizing" from the past seasons.  Recommended food are pear, apple,olive, onion, white radish, whole grain, lotus, grape, and honey. Avoid hot and spicy food. Drink more water than usual. And of course chrysanthemum tea if you not yet done it.


   And here is a direct and simple way to moisturize the lung. Pour hot water into a cup, like when you drink the tea, and inhale the steam. But after all, the best way of exercise is still the natural way, such as jogging, walking, hiking and  practicing Qi Gong. Plus, believe or not, laughing will also help the lungs.


   Finally, again, keep a good mind, don't be sad seeing everything fading, the universe is simply changing its own look. Enjoy it, and enjoy yourself too!

extra red wine at home? here is a new way to drink it for health

I have read an article recently about a new popular way of drinking red wine in Asia and I think it's worth sharing. To make it simple, I will only list the main benefits of this new way, which includes:
1. Regulating blood pressure ( I think it's more about lowering though, so if you have low blood pressure then this may not be for you) and blood sugar level.
2. help with presbyopia
3. help with those who have to get up many times during sleep for bathroom
4. insomnia or insomniac-like symptoms
5. blur vision caused by overusing the eyes
6. abdominal distension (gassy belly) and constipation
7. cataract
8. knee joint pain
9. even prevent cancer and senile dementia!


Sound great I guess. Well, it's not a "immortal" remedy, but since there is no side effects, it's worth trying. 


How to do it? Simply put onion in it.


One regular bottle (750ml) wine can be mixed with 2-3 onions. It's not that strict, you get the idea.


Chop your onion into pieces (bite size), put them into the red wine, seal the bottle and store it in the fridge for a week.  


Then drink a cup just like you drink the red wine (or about 50ml), once a day. If you don't drink, you can mix the wine with water or, boil it to have the alcohol out. And if you like sweet, a bit of honey won't hurt.


So here is your "New Wine to Health". 


I made some for myself, it was some cheap wine we had from my friend's party and now it taste like onion. You really don't need the greatest wine for it though, but it just taste better with good wine, so it's your choice, and I hope you will be another one who benefit from it.

useful acupoint for treating acute stomach symptom

I'm writing this based on my own experience last night.


Well, last night when I got home after the class, I was very hungry, so I simply had 2 hot dogs, a bowl of baby carrots and a pear.


Within 5 minute I felt the twitching ache in my stomach. I knew it was because I ate too fast so there was too much air went into my stomach with the food and the air was trapped inside. I was not able to let it out.


Then I figured it could be a good chance for me to test one kind of acupoints which are called "Xi Xue",which is usually translated into "Xi Cleft" point. The Xi Cleft points, also called the accumulation points, are where the Qi and Blood of a meridian pool. They are primarily at or near the joints of the body.In treatment they are used primarily for acute conditions, especially pain, that involve their related organs/channels.


I then had 2 needles in the point on each leg then did some simple move, in 5 minutes the air started to rush out of my mouth, I burped like crazy and the ache was simple gone. What made it better was I got hungry again after I was treated and had a big dinner roll.


Anyway, the point is located in the stomach meridian (AKA ST34), With knee flexed, 3 finger width above the superior lateral border of the patella on the line connecting with the ASIS.

Next time if any similar acute symptom happen to you or your family, you can simply press these points. But you need to press them hard as the Xi Cleft points are usually very deep. You can also knock the area with your fists if you have hard time find the exact location of it.

And ultimately, don't eat too fast like I did. Treat your stomach well by chewing your food well and eat slow.

October 8th, 2010, "Cold Dew", the 5th small Autumn season arrives

    "Cold Dew" is the 17th season out of the 24 seasons. Its main characters are just like its name, "cold" and more dew will appear. However, don't be fooled by the name "dew" to think it is going to be a wet season. It is actually the 2nd "dry" fall season among all 6 fall seasons. The main harmful element is still going to be "dry". And the organs are still lungs and large intestines.
  
    However, there will be some good days with clear sky and air. As you are heading outdoor for some activities, don't forget to protect yourself from the nature. When the temperature drops, our Yang energy will withdrawal and the Yin energy is getting ready to grow. So it is the key time for us to store enough Yin energy for what's coming.


    When the temperature drops below about 15 Celsius (59 degree), the "disease-proof" ability of the upper respiratory tract will be weakened. Meanwhile as the "dry" is acting strong, many of us will start to have dry skin,  dry lips, dry mouth, and even dry throat pain.Especially for people whose work involving a lot talking or voice usage.


    Good thing is, the universe doesn't just give us hard time only, it also provide things that we can use to help ourselves. There are so many food we can use and one of the easiest and cheapest is Chrysanthemum tea. This is the season for Chrysanthemum and, see, the universe is fair after all, it provide you with a dry season and something you can use to protect yourself from it. Chrysanthemum tea can be found in many local store, if you like flavor it also goes very well with a bit of rock sugar.


    Other than Chrysanthemum tea, there are many other food you can choose. They are pretty much the same as those for the past season "Autumnal Equinox", so please check my last seasonal article. But here I just want to give you a reminder that spice and hot food is still what we should be avoiding as they harm our Yin energy.


    I mentioned that Autumn is a "sad" season as we will experience sadness and depression from what around us (less sunshine, falling leaving, cold weather, etc.). Therefore, adjust your mood is still very important. Do not hold your emotion inside, if you do have uncomfortable feeling then let it out, but ideally is to maintain a balanced emotion state. Stay optimistic, be happy and watch the "P.E. Emperor" video I posted.


    General speaking, although the temperature continues on dropping, our skin is in the process of transfering from "loose open" to "tight close". It is good to be stimulated by the cold for a little bit. It will prepare us for the colder seasons that are coming up. If you are healthy and strong, don't need to rush on putting too much clothes on, otherwise it may interfere with the constringency of the Yang energy. Especially for young children, who are high in Yang energy, they will sweat if they have too much layers on, thus easier to catch a cold. However don't take this to a extreme as you still need to put on clothes when cold air is attacking, especially near the end of the fall seasons. Elder person, toddlers and people who has chronic issues are not suitable for this method.


    Clinically it has been proven that during cold season, the risk of cerebral thrombosis (brain stroke) is high. That is because people tend to sleep more during cold season. Our blood flows slower during sleep time and this can be the main cause. The ancient people said that "during the fall seasons, go to bed and get up early, follow the rooster's activities". Apparently the rooster part is ancient enough. But to sleep and get up early is still applicable and important  to us these days.

For your pericardium, watch this Surreal Chinese student known as the "P.E. Emperor"

Sometimes I guess we need a good laugh even in the sad Fall season. That made me decide to link this video my friend gave me.


And by the way, for health purposes, the time period of the day when people really need to and should be happy is from 7pm-9pm, when the pericardium meridian is in charge.
The pericardium meridian is pretty much the Thymus or Thymus Gland in west medicine term, which is essential for immune system, and should be very well taken care of.  According to some western anatomic book, fetus has a large "golden thymus". And we know that during the entire growth of a human being, the fastest growing time is before born. A fetus completes a "billion-year long evolution process" in just 10 months. And what makes that happen? How we see it is because of the perfect energy flow in meridians. And what makes  that happen? The answer is, "happiness".  And what this means to us?  It means, life needs to be "happy", happiness makes the meridians perfect. On the other hand, unhappiness clogs the meridians and bring you health problems. 


So watch the video during the pericardium time if possible, or re-watch it during that time. And let's re-grow our "golden Thymus" again.


So here is this guy from unknown school, doing his Tai Chi Michale Jackson Super Chinese Martial Arts Hero type of move. Trust me, it's worth your 6 minutes.



P.S.
After being shocked by the guy above, another "P.E. Emperor" is discovered, this one is a 11th grade named Xu Xin from Yun Nan province (south west area). Notice the students around him will always move away and give him enough room to perform. 
His move is different from the one above. enjoy: