Integrative Health Blog

Fall brings harvest time, the beauty of the changing leaves, and less daylight. In Chinese medicine, fall is associated with the element of metal and the lungs. It is a time to slow down, go to bed early, regroup and begin to move and think inward in preparation for winter.

Staying Healthy with Changing Weather

With the change to cooler weather comes your body’s attempt to cope with cold mornings, warm afternoons and even colder evenings.  Wild fluctuations in temperature tend to be giant stressors on the system and as such, this is the time of year when we see many colds and flu.  Is there a way to prevent these seasonal health missteps?  Of course!  Chinese medicine quite literally works on the idea of prevention.  When you come in for an appointment we feel your pulse and see where there are imbalances in the body.  Based on these imbalances, which around this time of year tend to be the lung and large intestine (metal element organs), we can treat to prevent ailments in these organ systems. 

Colds and flu have been written about in classical texts for over 3500 years.  Hence, Chinese medicine  practitioners are good at treating them. 

Health Tips for the Fall Season

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Feeling overwhelmed? Low on energy?

Many of us could benefit from supporting our adrenal glands.

The adrenal glands are two glands that sit on top of the kidneys. They are made up of the adrenal cortex and the adrenal medulla. The cortex is the outer part of the gland which produces hormones that are vital to life, such as cortisol, which helps regulate metabolism and helps your body respond to stress, and aldosterone, which helps control blood pressure. The medulla is the inner part of the gland that produces hormones such as adrenaline, which helps your body react to stress.

Adrenal fatigue is caused by chronic stress. When your adrenal glands cannot keep up with the demands of everyday fight-or-flight arousal, they can’t produce enough of the hormones you need to feel good. Existing blood tests can detect adrenal insufficiency once it’s already been burned out, but your body can detect it much sooner.

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