Mood swings, tender breasts, food cravings, fatigue, irritability, skin problems, bloating and depression….

Many women dread the last week of every cycle because of how irritable and miserable they feel. Chinese medicine has been treating premenstrual symptoms for thousands of years and here at the YinOva Center we have drawn on this traditional wisdom to help modern New Yorkers address their PMS simply and effectively. Many of our patients are surprised and thrilled to find out that PMS can be solved and that they don’t have to put up with feeling moody and uncomfortable every month.

Recently Parents TV came to our center to interview me and talk to one of our patients about using Chinese medicine to treat PMS and below you can see the video

In Chinese medicine uncomfortable symptoms before the period are related to Liver Qi Stagnation and by this we mean that stress and fatigue cause qi and blood to circulate less well and our livers to function sluggishly resulting in hormonal transitions that are not smooth. At the YinOva Center we use a combination of weekly acupuncture to move qi combined with a natural herbal formula to help balance hormones, gently and safely. Your herbs can be specially tailored to suit your particular symptoms so, for instance, if you suffer from breast tenderness we can add qing pi (Tangerine Peel) which can really help. Likewise if  abdominal bloating and gas is a problem we can add mu xiang (Costus Root) to help move qi in your abdomen.

Most of our patients find they need to take the herbs for three months to bring their body back into balance after which we wean them off and, like Suzanne in the interview above, they usually find that their premenstrual symptoms are much more manageable.  Likewise we suggest weekly acupuncture for the first three months followed by a treatment once a month for a further two months and as Suzanne says in the interview this is usually enough to make a permanent change.

There are also plenty of things you can do to help yourself. Here is the advice we give our YinOva patients about tackling their PMS :-

• Get regular exercise. This moves qi and blood and smooths hormonal transitions.
• Eat plenty of vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens.
• Prioritize unsaturated fats such as olive oil and whole grains such as brown rice and oatmeal.
• In the week before your period avoid alcohol, coffee, salt and processed foods.
• If you feel irritable take Vitamin B6 (50 – 100 mg)
• If you suffer from breast tenderness take Vitamin E (400mg).
• If you suffer from bloating take take Magnesium (400mg)
• If you feel weepy take Calcium (1200mg)

Thank you to all who took part in our Help for Haiti Month. Mark is still tallying up the votes but a percentage of each treatment will be given to three great charities.

Doctors without Borders
Care
Friends of the Orphans

A special shout out goes to our YinOva patient Amelia. Amelia, who is 13, has been our patient since she was 5 years old. She heard about our Help for Haiti Month and emailed me and ask if she could join in by holding a bake sale in our office. So last Monday evening she stayed up untill 3am baking an enormous amount of cookies, muffins and cakes. On Tuesday she arrived with her Mom, Joanna, and set out her stall in our waiting room. Many of you met her and bought her cakes, which were delicious. She tended to her stall from 9am until 9pm which was an amazing achievement, especially for someone who had been up so late the night before.

Many of you emailed me to tell me how inspired you were by Amelia’s efforts and on behalf of the whole YinOva community, I’d like to express our appreciation for her hard work and enthusiasm. Way to go, Amelia!

Amelia raised $250 dollars and decided to give the money to Habitat for Humanity a charity that she had researched on the internet and she chose because they had been working in Haiti for over 20 years and so, she felt, they would have the infrastructure in place to be of real benefit to people who were rendered homeless by the earthquake.

One of the many things I love about the YinOva Center is our sense of community. I am thrilled that Amelia felt so at home here that she chose us to host her bake sale and so grateful that you all  supported her, enthusiastically, by buying her cakes and cookies. Thank you.

Gung Hay Fat Choy. A very happy and prosperous Year of the Tiger to all of you.

The Chinese have followed a lunar calendar since 2600 B.C.E. which means that the first day of the year can be anywhere between late January and mid February. This year New Year’s Day happens to fall on Valentine’s Day making this a particularly auspicious occasion for those of us who live in the West.

Chinese New Year marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It is a time when families get together, put aside disagreements, honor their ancestors and thank the gods for their blessings. People rush to pay off debts before the old year ends and wear new clothes to signify a new beginning. The color red features prominently in decorations and clothing because it is thought to bring good luck and happiness.

It is traditional to prepare for New Year by cleaning your home and here at the YinOva Center we have spent the month of January cleaning house in a variety of ways. Many of you joined me on our annual YinOva cleanse as a way of renewing your commitment to your health for the the year ahead. Mark, our YinOva manager, has been busy cleaning out cupboards and rearranging our office and we are marking the passage of time and the changing of seasons by saying goodbye to some of our lovely YinOva acupuncturists and welcome new members of the team into our office. We wish Marie and Liz well as they start out in private practice and welcome Anne and Kymberly to the YinOva Center. Both of them bring experience and considerable new skills and talents to our team and we are thrilled to have them on board and I know they are looking forward to taking care of you as we embark on the Year of the Tiger.

In Chinese astrology each year is assigned an animal and an element. There are 12 animals and 5 elements and that means that a specific sign only comes round once every 60 years. In days gone by this used to be considered the life cycle of a person although with modern medicine combined with the traditional wisdom of Chinese medicine most of us will be fortunate to live well into the next 60-year cycle.

This upcoming year will be a Metal Tiger year and according to the Chinese horoscope it will be tumultuous. Tiger years are said to start with a roar and end with a whimper so we can expect the year to get off to an unpredictable and tempestuous start. It is said that everything, both good and bad, is magnified during a Tiger year so we can expect great highs accompanied by great lows along with big changes.  People can act dramatically and impulsively so a Chinese astrologer would see it as no accident that Watergate happened in a Tiger year. This rashness can threaten friendships and partnerships and lead to discord in our personal lives.  Those of us who follow the Chinese zodiac are preparing our selves for large swings in the financial markets, political unrest domestically and international conflict.

If all this sounds a little scary you should know that Metal Tiger years are considered forceful but not necessarily unlucky. In fact the strength of the metal tiger can be used to get difficult tasks completed and make the impossible happen. Financial markets although volatile should trend upwards and the world’s economies will start to recover. On a personal level this is a good year to finally face up to your most challenging issues and resolve them once and for all. The heat of the Tiger can have a cleansing effect and we could end this year in a way better position than when we started out. This will be particularly true if we are vigilant about this year’s tendency to rash behavior and are careful to keep our own impulses in check.

So what is the key to getting the best out of the Metal Tiger Year? Here is the advice we are giving our YinOva patients.

• Given that this year can lead to arguments and the severing of relationships as well as impulsive behavior, make a conscious effort to think before acting, to pause and breathe before speaking and to cultivate calmness and clarity through meditation and contemplation.
• Use the forceful energy of a Tiger year to make changes in your own life and confront your most difficult issues.
• The power of a Tiger year can be used to turn around any situation or aspect of your life that is no longer working for you.
• Make balance a priority by eating well and getting enough sleep.
• Focus on activities that are yin to balance up the yang energy this year. Take walks in nature, create a water feature in your home or garden, grow food, read books and spend time in peace and solitude.

This year Chinese New Year falls on February 14th when we will be saying goodbye to the Year of the Ox and welcoming in the Year of the Tiger. More next week about what the Year of the Tiger has in store for us, but today I thought I’d celebrate by baking Chinese Almond Cookies. These are said to look like coins and symbolize prosperity and so we bake them at this time to wish our loved ones a prosperous new year.

For my version I swapped butter for almond butter and olive oil and replaced the sugar with maple syrup. So here is my recipe for whole grain, dairy free new year cookies to wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year.

Happy New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Vegan Almond Cookies

I cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup spelt flour

½ cup almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

¾ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp ground cardamom

1 cup almond butter

1 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp almond extract

½ cup slivered almonds

Preheat the 350 degrees

Method: -

Mix the dry ingredients together. This includes the whole wheat flour, spelt flour, almond flour, baking soda, cardamom and salt.

In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients. This includes the almond butter, maple syrup, olive oil and almond extract.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix lightly until just combined.

Put into the refrigerator for half an hour to firm up.

Drop heaping tablespoons full of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet

Press down with a fork to make little ridges

Press the slivered almonds into the cookies to decorate

Bake for 10 minutes being careful not to overcook because without the usual butter and eggs these cookies are much healthier but can get dry.

Parents TV came to the YinOva Center to interview me about using Chinese medicine to treat low libido. You can see the video below.

A few months ago a journalist from Cookie Magazine spent 6 weeks using our methods to increase her sex drive. She wrote a great article that many of my patients really related to.  In it she described what it’s like to still love your husband but to have lost your mojo. Using Chinese medicine she starts to get her desire back….  You can download a PDF of that article here.

Whenever I write about sex drive on the blog I get emails from patients sharing their stories and bemoaning the fact that they used to feel more sexual and wish they could recapture those days. It’s not surprising that busy women with families and jobs find that having sex is low on their list of priorities but making the time to be intimate is a crucial way of bonding with your partner. You can read a previous blog article about this here.

Throughout the month of February the YinOva Center will donate a percentage of each acupuncture or massage treatment to the relief efforts in Haiti. Patients can direct their money to one of the following charities.

Doctors without Borders
Care
Friends of the Orphans

We encourage all current patients to come on in and what’s more we’ll be waving Jill’s waiting list to accommodate new patients straight away. Jill will be working extra hours to make sure we get everyone in.

Come and join us and tell your friends as we pass healing energy from us to you to those in need.