And Water is Wet: Doctors aren't the highest paid health professionals
This should come as a surprise to exactly no one. It’s the managers, middle managers, go-betweens, who rake it in. It’s the way our society is structured now, where the big money isn’t from producing or developing expertise, it’s from skimming off those who do. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/sunday-review/doctors-salaries-are-not-the-big-cost.html?_r=1
Read MoreTeen Asthma and Suicide
This article discusses the comorbidity of asthma and suicide in teenagers. I am linking to it because this is easily explained by Chinese Medicine. Asthma is a disorder of the lungs and suicide represents the “spirit” of the lung, which is sadness. This would happen in older folks too, except that they often don’t have…
Read MoreBrain sensitization to external and internal stimuli.
This concept may be important in chronic pain and fibromyalgia. I am starting to wonder if it explains the phenomenon that I sometimes see in the clinic, that patients need less and less stimulation for clinical response. Indeed, sometimes more needling leads to lower HRV and poorer response. A topic for further study for…
Read MoreClimate Change: Bad for Health
Of course, we all could guess that. West Nile virus is increasing, asthma rates soaring, allergy season lengthening. This report lays it all out and makes a strong demand for States to mitigate and plan for the repercussions and disruptions that global warming will cause.
Read MoreYounger Skin Through Exercise
From the NYTimes, a study on exercise and how it can improve skin tone and even reverse the aging process. It seems to affect the skin underlayer. It can’t help sun damage though, unfortunately. (We’ve discussed the positive anti-aging effects of exercise here and here, but not specifically on the skin.) Exercise not only…
Read MoreVitamin D Levels and Health
Two new studies show that lower levels of Vitamin D (the Sunshine Vitamin) are linked to poorer health outcomes. One showed that taking Vitamin D3 supplementation may be helpful. The other one showed no advantage with supplementation. Their recommendation was to get 30 minutes of sunlight twice a week and a diet with Vitamin…
Read MoreAnalogies: Helpful and Flawed
An insightful post at Brilliant Blog urges us to seek analogies to achieve breakthroughs. This is a key part of my “product development.” Finding analogies in nature that can explain needling’s effect on the body and brain, eg pearl formation, parasite invasion (they suppress immune function), a sunburn (stimulating healing) etc etc. Faulty analogies are at…
Read MoreLeptins and HRV
A brief primer on leptins. (I pulled this article because of the connection to HRV. I don’t think I can make any sort of informed connection to acupuncture and weight loss.) To date, only leptin and insulin are known to act as adiposity signals[51] that signify the amount of body fat. In general, Leptin circulates…
Read MoreMigraine and Brain Regions
The reason I’m citing this article is that acupuncture acts on the limbic system. Migraine, preceded by cortical spreading depression, shows increased connectivity in the limbic/viscerosensory network. This may give rationale for acupuncture’s effectiveness in some migraine cases. Cephalalgia. 2013 Nov;33(15):1264-8. doi: 10.1177/0333102413490344. Epub 2013 May 29. The missing link: enhanced functional connectivity between amygdala…
Read MoreHormone Replacement Therapy Decreases Heart Rate Variability
Heart Rate Variability is a measure of the body’s stress levels, and my area of research. In this simple study, they compared women on Hormone Replacement Therapy and those who were not. Heart Rate Variability was better in when women were not taking Hormone Replacement Therapy. Go natural whenever possible!! Clin Auton Res. 2014 Feb…
Read More