Most of us do, simply because our insurance covers it.

Yet I wanted to touch upon easter medicine with you.

I’ve been curious about healthy alternatives for years. Yes, I guess you could call me WOO WOO, yet it saddens me when people rely only on their doctor’s advice.

Oftentimes traditional medicine is necessary, yet there are other modalities of healing that have been around a lot longer than can be equally effective, without all the scary side effects. 

Chinese Medicine! 

My first experience with Chinese medicine was in my 20s. I went to see a Chinese doctor for the first time. He told me to stick out my tongue and he felt my pulse. Right away, he told me to be careful and not eat too much sugar or I’d become diabetic and to stay away from caffeine. He said, “For you, caffeine is like speed!” Well I’d never tried speed but I understood what he meant.

Fast forward to now, in my 60s. I am super duper sensitive to caffeine and it does feel like speed. My blood sugar is ok but teeters toward high so I’m careful with sugar.

To tell you the truth I’ve had doctors tell me I couldn’t be that sensitive to caffeine and because my blood sugar isn’t at diabetic levels, because I’m not overweight... they tell me not to worry about it. Yet when I get a hot flash from a half a cup of blueberries I know something’s amiss!! 

Western medicine generally treats us after the fact! No preventive measures really, until you’re sick. I’ve had so many women message me about what to do with high cholesterol, of course their doctor wants to put them on meds. It is foreign to them to be told to eat more fiber! Cholesterol binds to fiber! Fiber transports it out of the body instead of letting that cholesterol be absorbed into your bloodstream. Why hasn’t anyone told you that before? It’s why I’m always preaching protein, fiber and healthy fats in your diet!

I’m sharing this story because even if your insurance doesn’t cover it (and some do!) I’d like you to be open to alternative modalities of health and healing. BE OPEN to preventative and proactive health care instead of just reacting once your lab work comes back and scares you!

Personally I love Chinese Medicine. Not for a broken arm or surgery but for pretty much everything else. Nowadays with zoom appointments you can have a doctor’s appointment anywhere. I live in Seattle but my Chinese doctor is in LA!

I send him lab work or share what I’d like to improve and he makes me a powdered tincture to drink after meals. When I’m in Los Angeles I always make an acupuncture appointment. Once the needles are in place, he puts on a relaxing tape in which I visualize my body calm and free of tension. It’s beautiful!!

I couldn’t share my Spring Guide without sharing Dr.Mao and TAOOFWELLNESS.com He’s the 38th generation of Chinese doctors in the family, I think that’s worth something!

Another source is finding a FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE doctor. Their philosophy is to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms. They often use both eastern and western medicine in their protocol. There is a resource where you can find a functional medicine doctor in your area.  https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/