Traditional Chinese Medicine

Posts Tagged ‘circulation’

Traditionally in China, when once people got married, they would immediately get ready for having a baby. That is why symbolic things such as dolls or lotus seeds would be put on the beds of the newly weds on their wedding day so as to bring in the meaning of having a baby as soon as possible.

When once a married woman becomes pregnant, things for the baby will start to be prepared. Prams, cot, baby clothes, etc will be readily prepared to welcome the arrival of the new born. more
From now on, the health of the mother is of utmost importance. Therefore, the mother should reduce her workload, eat healthily, and employ prenatal education. Prenatal education has come into being for over 2000 years in China. It was believed that a good pregnant mother should eat only meat which was cut only in square cubes, sit only on properly built chairs, walk without a sway, talk softly, etc. By doing so, the fetus would be able to learn the most valued virtues. Although in present days the above mentioned practice is no longer common, pregnant women in China still behave very carefully so as not to do anything which affects the fetus. Still now most people believe that the structure of the house or flat should not be changed while a woman in the house is pregnant since it will cause the fetus no good but harm.
Chinese Pregnancy- The first month after giving birth
The first month after giving birth is very important for a mother. She needs the most rest and the best nutrition. Otherwise, her body will not be able to recover and can easily get ill. In this month, she can’t go outdoors, can’t be exposed to wind, can’t wash with cold water, can’t drink cold water, can’t read books etc. However, if a mother really has to wash herself, she should do so by using water boiled with dried ginger skin. In some places in China, a mother must not wash her hair because otherwise she will get a chronic headache.
Compared to the west, western women can leave home after a week of giving birth and can go to work after two weeks. It is unimaginable in China.
In China, after giving birth, a woman should eat plenty of fish soup and pig knuckle soup. The pig knuckle soup is boiled for a long time with ingredients such as a lot ginger, eggs, pig knuckles in plenty of sweet black vinegar. It is believed that this soup can compensate for the loss of calcium and other nutrients needed by the body. It is a tradition to give out and share such soup to friends and relatives but one can only do so twelve days after the baby is born. Chicken is also ideal for meals after giving birth. In order to help a mother to recover from giving birth, it is recommended that she should eat rice cooked with ginger daily since it can enhance all bodily circulation. Apart from the above, it is also a tradition that after the baby has been born for one lunar month, eggs dyed red should be given to friends and relatives. However, anything salty should be avoided since it will hinder the production of breast milk of a mother.
It is only after the baby has weaned then the mother can start considering controlling her body weight.
Some practices may seem quite unimaginable. However, they are still practiced in most places in China. Even in Hong Kong, women would follow the above traditions as long as family expectations are involved.

Surprised aren’t you? Believe it or not but you will find green tea or green tea extract included as an ingredient in some much popular weight loss supplements. Green tea is gaining popularity as a weight loss supplement. It’s being used as a digestive aid for quite sometime but now experts agree that green tea can also induce weight loss, the Chinese have touted its benefits for centuries. But nowadays due to global access to virtually any product, the rest of the world has also discovered about the benefits of green tea with regards weight loss. But have you ever wondered why the supplement makers are so hastily including green tea in their weight loss products? Well there are numerous benefits. more

Benefits of Green Tea Most importantly green tea extract often replaces the caffeine component of the standard ephedrine caffeine -salicin (aspirin) fat burning batch. That makes green tea a great fat burner. That’s not all what green tea does! It also provides additional benefits far and beyond what caffeine does. Firstly it’s a powerful anti-oxidant like vitamin C and beta-carotene. But the researchers suggest that the active ingredient called epigallocatechin gallate may be up to 200 times more powerful than vitamin E as an oxidant.

Increases metabolism and thermogenesis

Green tea’s component catechin polyphenol speeds up fat oxidation and thermogeneis (heat generated when the body burns up the fat). Alabama scientist Christopher Freville specifies that this compound increases the body metabolism and enhances the effects of protein diets and exercise. Traditional green tea contains caffeine but nowadays you can get caffeine free varieties in the market. Reduces Cholesterol Green tea also aids in reducing bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins. Majority of obesity related problems and cardiovascular diseases are caused by this bad cholesterol. LDL can also leave deposits on the arteries, which can interfere with the blood circulation, and this interference causes stroke, heart attacks and other serious health issues. Green tea can also washes out LDL the bad cholesterol and slows down the conversion to the dietary fats into cholesterol.

Regulates Glucose Level

Unused sugar and carbohydrates are stored in the body in the form of fat cells, which appears as excess weight. Green tea prevents this formation by blocking amylase enzyme that helps in breaking down starches to be absorbed by the body. Green tea catechin prevents obesity by regulating the movement of glucose in fat cells. It also prevents the formation of blood clots that is thrombosis that causes heart attack, thus reducing the risk of stroke.

By drinking about 2-4 cups if green tea per day you can shed about some weight. But while preparing green tea do not use boiling water, as this will make the tea bitter as the longer the tea steeps in the more bitter it will taste.

Green tea can be used for weight loss as well as it can be used as another tool towards good health. Most importantly you must carve out a healthy lifestyle which includes balanced died and daily physical activity.

Acupressure is a traditional Chinese technique based on the same principles as acupuncture. Unlike Acupuncture, that uses needles to achieve response, acupressure uses gentle but firm physical pressure exerted by hand, elbow, and foot or with the aid of different devices. Pressure is applied to different acupuncture points found on the human body surface to achieve the desired remedial effect. more Many East Asian martial arts extensively use this technique to incapacitate their opponents. As per the historians acupressure is older than acupuncture, but acupressure lost popularity with the advent of acupuncture. Still it continues to be most effective method for the treatment of tension related ailments and pain. While we talk of acupressure and acupuncture we continuously refer to the traditional Chinese principles of acupressure or acupuncture points. The traditional Chinese principles treat the human body as a whole; it represents various jiaos or levels of the ventral body cavity. Any disease is taken as a loss of balance between the yin and yang energies and treatment of disease is attempted by modifying the activity of one or more systems of function. Chinese principle holds that acupuncture or acupressure works by normalizing the free flow of qi (vital energy), blood and body fluids (jin ye) throughout the body. Pain is treated by correcting the local or systemic upsurge or insufficiency. Pain is considered to indicate blockage or stagnation of the flow of qi, blood and/or fluids, the delicate balance between qi and blood is of primary concern in Chinese principle, hence the saying blood is the mother of qi, and qi is the controller of blood. Both qi and blood work together to move and to nourish the body fluids. Acupressure or acupuncture points are located along several layers of pathways, most commonly the twelve primary pathways or meridians, located throughout the body. Beside that other pathways are the eight unusual Pathways Qi Jing Ba Mai, Luo Vessels, the Divergent and the Sinew Channels. Ten of the primary pathways are named after organs of the body, eleventh pathway is named for the membrane that wraps the heart, the last pathway is the ‘three spaces’ (San Jiao). The twelve primary pathways run vertically, bilaterally, and symmetrically and every channel corresponds to and connects internally with one of the twelve organs. There are six yin and six yang channels in all. Out of these, three yin and three yang channels are present on each arm, and three yin and three yang on each leg. All the acupuncture points of a channel lie on its external pathway. The internal pathways are the deep path of the channel where it enters the body cavities and related organs. The external pathways of the twelve channels depict three complete circuits of the body, chest to hands, hands to head, head to feet, feet to chest, etc. There are some electronic devices now available which will make a noise when the correct acupressure/acupuncture point is pressed. As soon as a point is pressed, the muscle tension give way to the pressure, enabling the muscle fibers to stretch and relax, blood to flow freely, and toxins to be released and eliminated. Increased circulation also brings in more oxygen and other nutrients to the affected area. This increases the body’s resistance to illness and promotes a longer, healthier, more vital life. When the blood and bioelectrical energy circulate properly, we have a greater sense of harmony, health, and well-being. The acupressure expert decides which points to treat by observing and questioning the patient in order to make a diagnosis according to the tradition. There are four diagnostic methods: inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiring, and palpation. The whole process I relatively pain free. After prolonged finger pressure is applied directly on the pressure point; gradual, steady, penetrating pressure for approximately three minutes on the affected point is ideal. A general guideline is that the pressure should be firm enough so that it hurts between pleasant, firm pressure and outright pain. The middle finger is the longest and strongest of the fingers and is best suited for applying acupressure. The thumb is strong, too, but often lacks sensitivity. The knuckles or fist or other tools can be used according to specific requirements. The rule of thumb is to apply slow, firm pressure on the point at a 90 degree angle from the surface of the skin. It’s important to apply and release finger pressure gradually because this allows the tissues time to respond, promoting healing. After repeated acupressure sessions using different degrees of pressure, the patient will begin to feel a pulse at the point. This pulsation is a good sign, it means that circulation has increased in the affected area. Each body and each area of the body requires a different amount of pressure. At present different kinds of acupressure are being practiced. The same age-old pressure points are used in all of them to date. Varying rhythms, pressures and techniques create different styles of acupressure. Shiatsu, for instance, the most well-known style of acupressure, can be quite vigorous, with firm pressure applied to each point for only three to five seconds. Another kind of acupressure gently holds each point for a minute or more. Pressing with an intermittent, fast beat is stimulating; a slower pressure creates a deeply relaxing effect on the body. Slow motion kneading uses the thumbs and fingers along with the heels of the hands to squeeze large muscle groups firmly. This motion is similar to that of kneading a large mass of dough. This relieves general stiffness, shoulder and neck tension, constipation, and spasms in the calf muscles. Brisk rubbing uses friction to stimulate the blood and lymph. The skin is rubbed lightly to relieve chilling, swelling, and numbness by increasing circulation, as well as to benefit the nerves and tone of the skin. Quick tapping with fingertips stimulates muscles on unprotected, tender areas of the body such as the face. For larger areas of the body, such as the back or buttocks, loose fist is used. This can improve the functioning of nerves and sluggish muscles in the area. Acupressure can be very effective in helping relieve headaches, eyestrain, sinus problems, neck pain, backaches, arthritis, muscle aches, and tension due to stress. It also relieves ulcer pain, menstrual cramps, lower back aches, constipation, indigestion, anxiety and helps you get to sleep at night. The best part of acupressure is – there is no side effect as no drugs or medications are being used.