Nourish yourself to improved health

I am incredibly passionate about nutrition and believe it should be the bedrock of any wellness program.  The Chinese Medicine approach to nutrition is part of what attracted me to study Acupuncture.  The model views the body much more like a garden versus a machine and sees the digestive process as much more than a thermodynamic equation, allowing for the ebb and flow within the sphere of health.Nutrition and healthy digestion go hand-in-hand and support each other.  It is difficult to get all the benefits of healthy eating if the digestive system is not functioning well.  Likewise, if we are primarily eating foods that don’t nourish, we will not have a well-functioning digestive system.As an Acupuncturist, I work with Qi, the vital life force. According to Chinese Medicine theory, Qi is the basis for critical body functions such as movement, metabolism, warmth, healing, as well as many physiological processes.  We make Qi from the oxygen we breathe and the food we take in.  Without good healthy Qi, it is difficult for the body to heal itself. In my Acupuncture practice, I’ve observed that without foods that nourish and a well-functioning digestive system, people take longer to heal.For this reason, early on in our relationship patients and I discuss diet, water intake, digestion, bowel movements, and urine output.  Ideally, we should be drinking half our body weight in ounces, eating 4-5 times a day and experiencing digestion without gas or bloating.  We should have at least one bowel movement each morning and our urine output, other than first thing in the morning, should be light in color.I work with every patient where they are, to develop an approach that fits their lifestyle while also assuring the best possible health outcomes.  Each plan may look very different from one person to the next. Then again, every garden has its own needs because often they start with an original soil basis, acquire a different history and are producing unique crops.