Category: Research

I had WHEAT in France and I felt great!

8/9/2013

About 2 years ago, I decided to check out the gluten free diet, to see what all the fuss was about. I don't have Celiac, I just wanted to experiment. The results surprised me (Read about it here) and I continued on the journey to healthy eating without gluten. Then June 22th this year, my husband and I flew to France for a 3 weeks well deserved holiday! My friends, my patients and my hubby kept asking me how I was going to survive being gluten free in the country of my ancestors. I mean, we're talking croissants, baguette, pastries, all gluten, all the time!

My decision was to enjoy everything, including the food, so I knew I would have to eventually experience lots of bloating, foggy head, headache, bowel issues, cystic acne and fatigue. I kept waiting for these symptoms to occur, but after 4 days, still nothing. After 2 weeks, no acne, no headache, no bloating, no fatigue. Our days consisted of croissants, fruits and coffee for breakfast, baguette and cheese with a salad for lunch, some hiking, walking, biking, kayaking or sitting by the water, and then afternoon pastries. We usually finished the day with a great dinner with bread, wine and more desserts!

www.HungryForChange.TV

What is going on here? Why is it that wheat in France didn't affect me as it does in Canada? I have talked to people about it and started researching the reason behind this mystery. Apparently Europe standards on GMOs and food additives are different than our North Americans. I found many articles like the one below, and finally shed a light on why so many people in north america have food sensitivities.

http://topinfopost.com/2013/07/10/10-american-foods-that-are-banned-in-other-countries

We need to demand better standards for ourselves and for our future generations. Eating organic and a wholesome diet may also help. Avoiding processed food at all cost, buying from local farmer's market, growing our own garden, and cooking our meals may, at least, keep us from some illnesses.
If you have any comments, feel free to share.

Clara Cohen
Registered Acupuncturist in Port Moody
Healing Cedar Wellness

0 Comments

"Red wine is great for me" The research said so!

4/12/2012

2 Comments

"Red wine is great for my health."
Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture

Have you heard? French people have very low occurrence of Cardiovascular diseases and less heart attacks than North Americans. Of course, you've heard. Books, television, and articles basically have been telling us that even though the french diet is heavy in fat, cream and butter, their hearts are in great shape. And all because of red wine. Are you kidding me?

I was born and raised in France and I can tell you, it's true! They don't die of heart attacks. Oh no, they all get liver failure and lung cancer, instead! So much better. The instance of Lung, and throat cancer in France is enormous: my mom smoked 2 packs/day for 60 years (that's an average there). Liver cirrhosis and Liver failure is also very common: I have been around enough drunk people to see the effect of alcohol has on them. Not pretty.
So drink red wine, eat cheese, and butter your white bread, apparently you'll be just fine.

So my point here is when reading about research, take it with a grain of salt. Because it's all relative. When studies come out about acupuncture with percentage of success or failure, I smile. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complex modality and very thorough, but unfortunately it is very difficult to measure its results. Here's why.

TCM looks at the root cause of the problem, not the outcome. Each patient is unique with their own constitution, lifestyle and living environment. If a study looks at the effect of acupuncture or Chinese herbal remedies on insomnia, it would be difficult to get an accurate result, as the study conducted would treat all participants the same way. But everyone is so different how could it work?

Let's look at 2 patients (Sue & Mark) coming for the same reason: Insomnia.
- Solution A: sleeping pills for Sue & Mark. Not my kind of temporary solution, but what the heck, if that's your cup of tea.
- Solution B: natural treatments: herbal teas, melatonin. Temporary natural solution. Helpful.
- Solution C: TCM treatments. Long term results. The practitioner needs to do a full consultation (sometimes lasting over 1 hour to be totally thorough) and establish a treatment plan suitable for each patient. It may take a while for the issue to be resolved depending on how long it's been going on, but it will result in a longer lasting effect.

2 patients, 2 different symptoms, 2 different people:
- Sue: takes 2 to 4 hours to fall asleep each night. She says, she has a million thoughts running through her mind at night, she starts worrying and cannot shut her brain off (Did you recognize yourself there?). She eventually falls asleep but in the morning, she has to drag herself out of bed. She's fatigue all day long. She gets anxious often and worries constantly.

- Mark: goes to bed at 11 pm and falls asleep easily. He wakes up though every night between 2 am and 3 am and he just lays there, feeling restless. He's never tired. He is jumpy, feels stressed due to his job and gets irritable and short tempered with his family.

Those are 2 different types of insomnia. And that just the sleeping part, we need to figure out what else is out of balance in the body, and look for the root cause (In the 2 cases, emotions and stress). So we'll ask about each and every system in your body, from your digestion to your memory. If we treated those 2 patients the same way, it would not work well. Sue looks weak and deficient, so we may strengthen her, and calm her overactive mind. Mark seems strong but too hyper, so we may relax and soothe him in order to calm his mind. Different treatment principles.

TCM is a complex medicine that treats the patient first, not the disease, and looks at the root of the problem for prevention of re-occurrence.
I have been practicing for many years and still get amazed by the great outcome of Acupuncture & TCM treatments. it challenges me every day and I love how specific a practitioner has to be in order to help patients feel their best and reach optimum health.
Give it a try, you too will be amazed.

Clara Cohen
Port Moody & Coquitlam Acupuncturist

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

2 Comments

RSS Feed

Follow Clara

Clara's Blog

"I love my job!
My patients keep me humble daily, and helping them reach their health goals is the best reward of all. And every morning I cannot wait to go teach and inspire students to love Acupuncture as much as I do. If I can make a difference in someone's life on a daily basis, I feel I have reached my own goal."

Give Acupuncture a Try!

"I feel blessed to a have supporting husband, a loyal dog, amazing friends and to live in beautiful Port Moody, BC"

Natural healing

Published Articles:
- Self Growth
- Vitality Link

I had WHEAT in France and I felt great!

"Red wine is great for me" The research said so!

"Red wine is great for my health."
Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture

Clara's Blog

Archives

Categories

I had WHEAT in France and I felt great!

"Red wine is great for me" The research said so!

"Red wine is great for my health." Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture

Clara's Blog

Archives

Categories

"Red wine is great for my health."
Looking deeper at research & Acupuncture