According to the Chinese calendar summer started May 6th this year. Today in Mamaroneck it was actually very warm. Many of the acupuncture clients were complaining about how hot it is outside. So I thought it would be appropriate to write this post since the days are already getting longer and pretty soon it will be hot and muggy in the Northeast. As you have seen in my prior posts drinking cold water is not the best way to cool down in the summer months. Drinking cold water will initially make you feel cooler but it will actually make your body feel hotter because the cold will cause your pores to contract.
After seeing patients for many years I have found one of the most common complaints about digestion that people suffer is constipation. There is an entire industry around helping people have healthy bowel movements. Fiber supplements, laxatives, probiotics, even prescription medications to help with this common complaint. Some find benefit while others do not. The ones that do not find relief often accept the fact they have infrequent bowel movements, irritability, bloating, etc. The ones that do find relief often only find temporary relief because the underlying cause of their constipation was not addressed.continue reading »
Many years ago before I was practicing Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in Mamaroneck I had an office Buffalo, New York. Because of personal reasons I moved from Buffalo to Mamaroneck. Here is an interview about acupuncture and Chinese Medicine that was featured in a local Buffalo newspaper. Below is the original link: http://artvoice.com/issues/v10n2/five_questions.html
Get to know a Buffalonian…
Ira Wahrman licensed acupuncturist in Mamaroneck, New York
Ira Wahrman: Acupuncturist/Eastern Herbalist
With alternative and holistic medical treatments all the rage nowadays, more and more often practitioners are looking to thousands of years of medical history in the Far East for answers to our body’s natural health and spirit. No, Wahrman is not in fact Asian, but he has been studying acupuncture, herbalism, meditation, and Buddhism for six years in both the United States and China. He currently practices Tui Na (body massage treatment) and Qigong (an overall energy philosophy towards health) out of his apartment in Buffalo (702 Elmwood Avenue). For more information, Ira Wahrman can be reached at (716) 882-0825.
Without getting too technical, how does acupuncture work?
There is a network of energetic pathways that circulate around a person’s body. These pathways pass through organs, muscle, bone, tendon, and skin. Through the use of acupuncture needles, herbal medicine, meditation, and Qigong (energetic exercise), these channels are regulated. The regulation of the channel system has effects not only on physical illness but also on mental and emotional problems as well. continue reading »
I often tell my patients to eat less sweet food. When I say sweets I mean cakes, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, soda, twinkies, doughnuts etc. According to Chinese medicine excessive consumption of sweets leads to an impairment of the spleen and stomach system. The sweet taste can strengthen the body in small amounts. In large amounts sweets may cause problems. These problems include fatigue, anxiety, bloating, poor digestion, unstable emotions, clouded thinking, chronic phlegm issues, poor muscle tone, weight gain, wasting and many other problems. As explained in other posts, a strong spleen is the basis for good health. A weak spleen may lead to a wide variety of health issues.
Ira Wahrman L.Ac drinking fresh dou zhi in Beijing.
I usually make a trip to Beijing once a year. I go to visit my wife’s family, to study acupuncture, tuina and to just take it easy. The first thing that I want to eat when I get off the plane is not one of the other famous Beijing dishes like Beijing duck, zha jiang mian, chao gan, etc. All I want are a few bowls of dou zhi. Dou zhi is a Muslim Beijing snack food that is very popular with old Beijing people. When I say old Beijing I mean both the elderly and people that have family roots in Beijing going back a few generations.
Dou zhi is a fermented soup/drink made from mostly mung beans. In the summer it can be drunk raw and in the winter it can be heated. All places that make dou zhi in Beijing keep the recipe a very closely guarded secret. There are definitely mung beans in there but I am not sure what other ingredients. Most restaurants that serve it need to have it brought in because most cooks do not know how to make it.When you walk into a restaurant or a dou zhi place you can smell it as soon as you walk into the door. When I first tried it I thought it smelled and tasted horrible. It smells like sweaty gym socks and tastes sour. It was awful. After two more times of trying it I started to love it. Now I am addicted to it. Local people say after three times you are hooked. Traditionally most people drink dou zhi with jiao chuan and some pickled vegetables. Jiao chuan looks like a thin doughnut but it is crunchy all the way through. continue reading »
