Reminder: Holiday Schedule

Herbal Spotlight

‘Tis the season of tissues and sniffles and sneezes, but we have some herbal solutions for your beleaguered sinuses. It is important to know that Chinese herbs treat the causes of health problems, rather than merely attacking the symptoms that are pointing to the cause. So, using your symptoms as guideposts, select the herbal formula that fits your underlying health patterns:

Nasal/sinus congestion, itchy eyes—have you lost hope of ever breathing through your nose again? If you feel that the box of tissues is taunting you, you will want to solve the deeper issues causing your nasal blockage. Wind, heat, and dampness in the energy channels of your system can cause itchy eyes and sinus congestion that ranges from a mildly stuffy nose to severe congestion. HB clears obstructions in your energy system, leading to clear nasal passages and sinuses.

Runny nose, watery eyes—is your nose red from constant blowing, and sore from a steady drip? If you feel like the kid who tried to plug the hole in the dyke, you need to resolve the source of your sniffles. Wind and cold in the energy channels of your system can cause what the Chinese call wind cold bi: runny nose, sinus headache, and watery eyes. CB dispels those intruders from your energy system and strengthens your protective energy to improve immune function and allow your sinuses to resume healthy function.

Sinus pressure—you may not have a stuffy nose or a runny nose, but maybe you do have a feeling of pain or pressure in the bony areas above or under your eyes? If the upper part of your face is aching, throbbing, or perhaps feeling like an over-inflated balloon, you need to take a sure step on the path back to full health. Wind, heat, and dampness in the Lung and Stomach channels of energy can lead to frontal and sinus congestion and headaches. QT clears the blockages in your energy flow, ultimately resulting in relief from your sinus pressure.

If you’re not sure which herbal formula you need, give us a call and we’ll set up an appointment for Dr. Olson to pin-point the root of your sinus problems and get you on the road to healing! 

"O" Zone

This month I want to offer three simple steps to improve your health. If you want to improve your digestion, absorption, elimination and stress levels, all in only one minute a day, keep reading.

Are you ready?

First Step To Better Health

First thing in the morning as soon as your feet hit the floor, drink one large glass of hot water. Then don't eat or drink anything for the next 15 minutes.

That's it. That's all. Just one large glass of hot water. 

What does it do? It warms your stomach, it begins the digestive process and, as a result, the eliminative process. It gives the body the needed clean water, with no job attached; the body doesn't need to process or digest anything. Some people like their coffee or tea. The problem is that those need to be metabolized and digested. It takes work, and they both give the body a job to do. But the pure water cleanses, purges, gets things flowing and will help you develop a great daily elimination pattern.

Do it, and you will find it to be very helpful in your health-enhancing efforts.

Second Step To Better Health

Here is another item that will be helpful: Stop using ice in your beverages. Ice in your water (or other beverages) partially paralyzes your digestive process. All enzyme reactions in nature are temperature dependent. Just like water has to reach a temperature to boil, or freeze, and wax has to reach a temperature to melt, digestive enzymes need to be at a specific temperature to break down the vital life- and health-giving nutrients in the food you eat. Drinking ice water inhibits that process significantly. Stop putting ice in your beverage, which I hope is water, and you will take another big step ahead in your health.

Third Step To Better Health

Have a sincere sense of gratitude for the life you have. It is rare for better to come, until you find the beauty in what you have in the present. Give thanks in all things and you will have what you want at all times.

The Path To Health Doesn't Have To Be Complicated

Some of the most important things you can do for your health are incredibly simple. Take these three basic steps toward greater health, and watch your quality of life improve!

Have a blessed month,

Dr. Olson

Short and Sweet

Coffee Worsens Hot Flashes: A new Mayo Clinic study suggests that drinking caffeine may worsen the hot flashes and night sweats that affect roughly two-thirds of women as they go through menopause.
http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/caffeine-hot-flashes-menopause/2014/07/24/id/584754#ixzz38RKLAYcG 

Here’s A Shocking Statistic: “The death toll from healthcare screw-ups adds up to at least 500,000 Americans annually,” says renowned pharmacy professor and medical author Joe Graedon.  “When it comes to medical care, you need to realize that you need to take charge…. Don’t suffer in silence and don’t be afraid to ask questions and speak your mind.” http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Headline/medical-errors-malpractice-doctors/2014/08/26/id/590884/#ixzz3BYgsHXGc 

'Food Fraud,' Cheap imitations are filling up grocery store shelves: "One of the ways that happens is by substituting one ingredient for another. It's hard for consumers," said Dr. Mark Stoeckle, a Senior Research Associate in the Program for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University. High cost ingredients are especially susceptible to fraud, says Stoeckle. More expensive products are being replaced with cheaper imposters. http://www.khou.com/news/health/Food-fraud-a-growing-problem-in-grocery-stores-236733491.html

Antibiotics in Livestock Means Antibiotics in Humans: Several health and consumer organizations want the FDA to withdraw approval of using penicillin and tetracycline in animal feed to make cattle and other livestock grow faster. They say the practice has been linked to an increase to human resistance to antibiotics, while industry groups argue the issue needs more study. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/antibiotics-livestock-resistance/2014/07/24/id/584762#ixzz38RJxVd7y 

Want to Avoid Low Back Surgery?: See a Chiropractor for your back pain, first, and your chances of having back surgery are dramatically lower than if you see an M.D. first. A recent study found that Washington state workers with an occupational back injury who visited a surgeon (orthopedic, neuro or general) first were significantly more likely to receive spine surgery within three years (42.7 percent of workers) than workers whose first visit was to a DC (1.5 percent of workers). This association held true even when controlling for injury severity and other measures. http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=56359

Research Shows Hookah Session Can Equal 10-40 Cigarettes: A study funded by the National Institutes of Health reports a single hookah session delivers 1.7 times the nicotine, 6.5 times the carbon monoxide and 46.4 times the tar of a single cigarette. http://www.lung.org/associations/states/florida/news/top-story-in-the-news/smoking-hookah-may-be-worse.html

Firms ordered to pay $9 billion for hiding diabetes medicine cancer risk: Jurors found Takeda and Lilly “failed to adequately warn” about Actos’ bladder-cancer risks and that the drug caused the plaintiff’s disease, according to court filings. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-07/takeda-actos-jury-awards-6-billion-in-punitive-damages.html

The gut-brain connection: Have you ever had a “gut-wrenching” experience? Do certain situations make you “feel nauseous”? Have you ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? We use these expressions for a reason. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-gut-brain-connection