Lamorinda Acupuncture » acupuncture east bay

Understanding Pain (And What To Do About It)

Jason Luban — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:46:37 +0000

When people ask what kinds of conditions we treat in our clinic, my usual response is that most of our patients have tried many other modalities first, before they are ready to try acupuncture. This is especially true of people in chronic pain, who may have already been through western medical procedures, cortisone shots, surgeries, medications, and physical therapy before they arrive in our clinic. For those in pain, there is a lot of research out there on the etiology and pathogenesis of pain-related syndromes and what we can do about them.

A good friend who happens to be a physical therapist recently made me aware of the following 5-minute clip from Australia, which explains not only pain syndromes, but what we can do about them. Check it out–quite creative, and informative:

Understanding Pain (And What To Do About It) is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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U.S. Military Now Using Acupuncture for Concussions in Afghanistan

Jason Luban — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:21:35 +0000

The U.S. military is applying an ancient Chinese healing technique to the top modern battlefield injury for American soldiers, with results that doctors here say are “off the charts.”

U.S. Military Now Using Acupuncture for Concussions in…

U.S. Military Now Using Acupuncture for Concussions in Afghanistan is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

Acupuncture for Hot Flashes and Menopausal Symptoms Traditional Chinese medicine has been used for thousands of years...
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Acupuncture for Hot Flashes and Menopausal Symptoms

Jason Luban — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:03:36 +0000

Traditional Chinese medicine has been used for thousands of years to deal with some of the discomforts of menopause. Now, modern medical studies are finally shedding light on the fact that acupuncture can be used as part of regiment that may provide relief of menopausal symptoms. Click here to read more on this study from Turkey, as reported on ABC News.

Acupuncture for Hot Flashes and Menopausal Symptoms is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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Options for Protection from Radiation Exposure

Jason Luban — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:28:44 +0000

Given what’s been happening in Japan, many people are asking how they can best protect themselves from the potential fallout from Japan’s failing nuclear reactors. What follows are suggestions taken from Hyla Cass, MD, a doctor in southern California. Note that the content provided herein is for informational purposes only and has not been
approved by the U.S. FDA. This information is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained from a medical professional. …

Even as government officials and health experts downplay the health risk to U.S. citizens, pharmacies up and down the West Coast of the United States have been stripped bare of their stock of potassium iodide tablets – a frontline treatment for radiation exposure. Anxious buyers turning to the internet are faced with a similar lack of available supplies. So, what do we do? It’s a growing, ever-changing scenario, and here are my current thoughts, certainly open to modification.

Are we really at risk of exposure from radioactive fallout generated by a nuclear meltdown in Japan? I believe this is a question best left to qualified nuclear scientists and meteorologists. But after serving as a consultant to the Independent Safety Committee for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant from 1990 to 2002, I know firsthand how important it is to be prepared for all possibilities when dealing with nuclear radiation.

One of the greatest dangers following a nuclear accident comes from exposure to gases containing radioactive isotopes of iodine. These highly carcinogenic isotopes are readily taken up by the thyroid gland, resulting in the development of thyroid cancer. Exposure to radioactive iodine calls for immediate treatment with another form of iodine, potassium iodide, to saturate the thyroid and block the absorption of radioactive iodine. This is especially critical for children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers, who are most at risk following a nuclear disaster. A lack of adequate supplies of potassium iodide tablets after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 resulted in thyroid cancer for thousands of untreated children.

Potassium Iodide (KI)
Potassium iodide tablets are commonly stockpiled near nuclear power plants to allow for rapid distribution in case of a radioactive accident. In the absence of tablets, potassium iodide may also be administered as a “saturated solution of potassium iodide” (SSKI) which in the U.S.P. generic formulation contains 1000 mg of KI per ml of solution. Two drops of U.S.P. SSKI solution is equivalent to one 130 mg KI tablet (100 mg iodide).

Recommended Doses
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the following doses of potassium iodide should be taken as a single dose within three hours of exposure, or up to 10 hours after exposure, although this is less effective.

Adults: 130 mg (see below as well for CDC addendum)
Adolescents: 12-18: WHO – adult dose; CDC – children’s dose; if adult size (150 pounds or over) they should take the full adult dose, regardless of their age.
Children: 3-12 years: 65 mg
Infants: 1 month to 3 years: 32. 25 mg (ie half tablet)
Newborns to 1 month: 1/4 capsule

Note: Dosages may be crushed and taken mixed with milk or water. For kids, chocolate milk or raspberry syrup disguise the unpleasant taste.

Precautions
While potassium iodate can be taken by a majority of people without any problems, it should only be used in case of a nuclear emergency. Doses in excess of the single (one time only) daily dose listed above should be taken only upon recommendation by a physician or public health authority. Patients should ask their doctor if taking quinidine, captopril, or enalopril, amiodarone, or if they are sensitive to iodine, or suffer from dermatitis herpetiformis, thyrotoxicosis or kidney problems before taking potassium iodate (or any thyroid blocker).

Prophylaxis
It is best to take iodide prophylactically, prior to exposure. Every family should have a good supply in their homes. At this time we may recommend taking 10-40mg per day. A dose of 30-50mg is the range of dietary intake in Japan and relatively safe to take long term but under practitioner monitoring. Build up gradually: 10mg – 20mg – 30mg – 40mg.

Then, in case there is an official announcement of significantly increased radiation, adults should go to the dose mentioned above: 130mg/day and children to lower doses per body weight, generally 65 mg, age 3-12 years. You can use a loading dose of two drops daily of Lugol’s Iodine, a commonly available pharmaceutical form of potassium iodide, or SSKI, and increase to 130 mg if needed. See the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations. Adults over 40 should not take KI unless public health officials say that contamination with a very large dose of radioactive iodine is expected, since have the lowest risk of developing thyroid cancer or thyroid injury after such contamination. They also have a greater chance of having allergic reactions to KI. Everyone should check with their doctor, in any case.

Other supplements that may be protective are: vitamin D and vitamin K as they support appropriate apoptosis, which is programmed death of cells that accumulate various DNA errors (due to radiation and other causes), and vitamin D also supports DNA repair.

Avoid exposure to rain that may be laden with radiation if we are exposed. You’ll be informed by authorities if that is the case.

Other Radiation Dangers
Besides I-131, there are other toxic radio-isotopes, including cerium 137 and plutonium. Dr. Gabriel Cousens has provided some excellent advice in his book “Conscious Eating.” To protect yourself from cesium poisoning, consume plenty of high potassium foods, as potassium competitively inhibits cesium uptake. Foods high in potassium include avocados, sea vegetables, and leafy green vegetables, and are more effective than taking a potassium supplement.

To protect yourself from plutonium poisoning, eat lots of dulse and consume iron from plant sources, namely sea algaes such as spirulina and chlorella, which provide more iron than red meat. Miso soup has also been shown to have a protective effect. See also Michio Kushi’s well-referenced book, “The Cancer Prevention Diet.” The mineral, zeolite, is being investigated for taking most radioactive materials out of the body.

Additionally, foods and supplements high in antioxidants, will also help the body cope with these higher toxic levels as radioactive materials cause antioxidant depletion and ill health.

Summary
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has admitted it is ‘quite possible’ that fallout from the Japanese reactors could reach America, though levels expected to be so low as to be almost undetectable. Given the unprecedented circumstances of the current crisis, though, it would be prudent to keep some potassium iodide on hand as a precautionary measure.

Stay tuned to news sources for ongoing information, as this story is clearly developing by the minute.

For both those directly affected and those of us who feel the stress of this tragedy, check out some simple trauma-releasing methods, such as EMDR, EFT, or download free EFT audio “Tapping for Japan.”

If I am able to find sources of tablets, I’ll put a note here in comments, and list them on my website, as well. Otherwise, I’d recommend using SSKI which I’ll likely be getting for my patients in the absence of tablets or capsules.

Our prayers are with the people of Japan, those who have lost their lives and those who have survived, and are dealing with trauma, grief and unspeakable loss.

Options for Protection from Radiation Exposure is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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Stanford Study Shows Acupuncture Lessens Depression During Preganancy Up to 14 percent of pregnant women may have major...
Efforts underway in Calif. to make acupuncture covered by healthcare insurance In 1978, California became the first U.S. state to license...

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Efforts underway in Calif. to make acupuncture covered by healthcare insurance

Jason Luban — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:08:14 +0000

In 1978, California became the first U.S. state to license qualified acupuncture practitioners as primary care providers. As of 2004, California has licensed more than 9,000 acupuncturists. Now the figure is estimated to exceed 15,000. California constitutes nearly half of the licensed acupuncturists in the U.S.

However, acupuncture is yet to be covered by healthcare insurances in the United States. Some insurance plans accepted acupuncture, while others would deny it.

Efforts to require healthcare insurance to cover acupuncture started in 2007. In Feb. 2008, the California Acupuncture Bill, AB54, was passed in the California State Assembly.

According to the California State Assembly analysis of the bill, AB54 “requires every health plan contract and health insurance policy sold on a group basis that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or surgical expenses to provide coverage for expenses incurred as a result of treatment by acupuncturists.”

To read more on this, click here…

Efforts underway in Calif. to make acupuncture covered by healthcare insurance is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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Stanford Study Shows Acupuncture Lessens Depression During Preganancy

Jason Luban — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:56:29 +0000

Up to 14 percent of pregnant women may have major depressive disorder, a condition characterized by feelings of dread, gloom and hopelessness, and a loss of interest in normally pleasurable activities. Some women suffer from depression before becoming pregnant, stop taking their medication and then experience a relapse; in other women, pregnancy itself may cause depression. Depression, if left untreated, can pose risks to both mother and baby. The mom-to-be could stop taking care of herself or her fetus, and might even engage in self-destructive behavior. Studies have also linked depression during pregnancy to poor birth outcomes and postpartum depression.

Stanford researchers found that women who received the depression-specific acupuncture experienced a bigger reduction in depression symptoms than the women in the other groups. The response rate — defined as having a 50 percent or greater reduction in symptoms — was 63 percent for the women receiving depression-specific acupuncture, compared with 44 percent for the women in the other two treatment groups combined.

For more on this study, click here to check out much info on the study and its findings.

Stanford Study Shows Acupuncture Lessens Depression During Preganancy is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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Acupuncture for Hepatitis C

Jason Luban — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:43:24 +0000

For those who suffer from a diagnosis of Hepatitis C, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine has a wealth of treatment options to improve quality of life. Jason Luban, one of our practitioners here at Lamorinda Healing Arts, is certified to treat Hepatitis C with Chinese medicine, and has been doing so for years. (For a list of certified practitioners in your area, click here.) His main teacher in this regard is Misha Cohen, an extraordinary doctor of Chinese medicine who is and has always been on the forefront of research into Hepatitis C.

In the video below, from the Caring Ambassadors Program, Dr. Cohen talks about what one can expect from a practitioner of Chinese medicine.

How Can Chinese Medicine Help Me? – A patient consultation with Dr. Misha Cohen from Caring Ambassadors Program on Vimeo.

Acupuncture for Hepatitis C is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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U.S. Government FINALLY Issues Healthy New Dietary Guidelines

Jason Luban — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:39:07 +0000

From the New York Times:

For the first time since it began issuing dietary guidelines, the government offered new recommendations last month that clearly favor the health and well-being of consumers over hard-lobbying farm interests.

The new science-based Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released Jan. 31 by the Departments of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services, are comprehensive, sensible, attainable and, for most people, affordable. They offer a wide variety of dietary options to help you eat better for fewer calorieswithout undue sacrifice of dining pleasure.

Now it’s up to consumers to act on this advice and put the brakes on runaway obesity and the chronic diseases that cost billions of dollars before they kill.

(Read the rest of this article on the New York Times website by clicking here…)

U.S. Government FINALLY Issues Healthy New Dietary Guidelines is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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Fruits and Veggies May Save Your Life

Jason Luban — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:04:13 +0000

A huge study in Europe has found that eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables has a significant positive impact on your health. We knew that already, right? But now we know that eating more than the recommended daily allowance does even more for you! Check it out: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/heart-health-fruits-veggies-life-saving/story?id=12639620

Fruits and Veggies May Save Your Life is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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Studies Show Meditation Reduces Stress and Increases Memory…

Jason Luban — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:24:04 +0000

At least, that’s what this article in the New York Times seems to say. Check it out here (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/how-meditation-may-change-the-brain/?src=me&ref=homepage)…

Studies Show Meditation Reduces Stress and Increases Memory… is a post from: Lamorinda Acupuncture

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