"But Acupuncture Hurts"

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I'm often asked what I do for a living and when I respond that I'm an acupuncture student, I get a lot of reactions about acupuncture being painful. One of the arguments I hear many times over is that acupuncture treats pain by using the distraction method. This method is used to cause pain at a separate area to "distract" the patient from feeling pain at the original site.

This is completely untrue for at least two reasons:
1. Acupuncture doesn't hurt. More appropriately, it shouldn't hurt. Due to this fact, the distraction method already is dis-proven.
2. There is scientific evidence all over the medical community using functional MRIs that prove, not only is acupuncture effective in treating pain, but we are learning exactly how acupuncture is working to treat pain.

If you suffer from pain, see an acupuncturist for a treatment course before turning to pharmaceuticals or surgery.

Vegan Tortilla Soup

This is such a yummy soup! It has a thinner stock than traditional tortilla soup. If you like a thicker base, add two to three tablespoons of flour. You can also blend/puree the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and green chiles to have a thicker stock.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil (coconut oil or palm oil)
1 bell pepper, diced
1 brown or sweet onion, diced
2 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
3 (4 oz) cans chopped green chile peppers
4 (14 oz) cans vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste
1 can whole kernel corn
tortilla chips
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute bell pepper and onion for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, chile peppers and cumin. Pour in the broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add corn to the soup and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips and avocado as a garnish on top.

Dry Needling - Acupuncture or not?

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"Exactly which school of acupuncture are you from?" This is a good question to ask not only of your acupuncturist, but your doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, dentists, etc. Anyone that is assisting you with the care of your body should have attended an accredited school within their field. This doesn't mean that they have to have attended Harvard or some other Ivy League college to be good at what they do, but an accredited school is imperative!

There is an unfortunate phenomenon occurring in many US states right now called "dry needling." This is essentially using a thin, filiform needle without a hollow opening for liquids to be pushed through...this is an acupuncture needle. Dry needling is up for debate in several states right now to determine if it will be made legal for practitioners other than acupuncturists to use acupuncture needles to treat patients with pain. Doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors could be given the opportunity to take a 300-hour (or less) course to use "dry needles" and insert them into painful areas of patient's bodies to give them relief.

There are several issues that strike me in the above scenario. One of the issues is that just putting needles at the painful sites isn't acupuncture. Point location is very specific and putting needles in painful spots isn't always the best way to treat pain, sometimes inserting a needle at the site of pain can cause even more pain than before. An issue that arises from the first issue; if the practitioner had been properly trained, then they would know how to needle properly. This is where the biggest red flag waves: most people would never get surgery from an untrained physical therapist. So why would you get acupuncture from an untrained/under-trained practitioner? Acupuncture, if performed without the proper care and training, can cause minor problems such as bruising to major problems like collapsed lungs, which can be fatal. It is not acupuncture that is to blame for these problems, it is careless or untrained practitioners that cause damage.

Please seek a fully trained, Licensed Acupuncturist (LAc) before getting an acupuncture treatment. Most US states require at least 3,000 hours of training to become licensed, 10+ times as much training as "dry needle" practitioners. You can use www.acufinder.com to search for a acupuncturist near you. Don't hesitate to ask where the practitioner was trained and licensed before making your first appointment.

No Mess Pasta

This is a great tasting recipe, and it is so simple and quick. It's a great go-to dish when you don't have much time, but still want a hearty, plant-based meal.

Ingredients:

16 oz. pasta
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes un-drained
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 garlic cloves, sliced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons basil
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the red pepper flakes, oregano, and basil. Drizzle oil over the top.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer while covered for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated.

Season to taste with salt and pepper stirring several times to distribute the liquid from the bottom of the pot.

Often times, less is more

Most acupuncture points have multiple treatment properties. This means that a point in your shoulder (LI-15 Jian Yu) can treat the pain in your shoulder, but it can also treat pain in your wrist, symptoms from arthritis pain, or treat Tuberculosis of the lymph nodes. A point like Spleen-6 (San Yin Jiao) is great at treating a plethora of symptoms and more importantly it can often fix the root cause that is producing the symptoms in the first place. It is points like Spleen-6, among others, that can be utilized to develop a treatment that will use fewer needles but still get the same great results. Not every practitioner has the same philosophy as me, that less equals more, but if I can put fewer needles in a patient and still see an improvement in their condition, then I feel like it is a winning situation for everyone.