Eat Breakfast.

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? I think so many people eat a large and late dinner, that they actually aren't hungry for breakfast. If I recommend that my patients eat breakfast, I usually hear, but it makes me hungry all day!! There are different opinions, diets, and ideas about how to eat, when to eat, and what to eat. However, it doesn't hurt each of us to test it out for ourselves.

I usually recommend some oatmeal with dates in it. You can get gluten free oatmeal at Vitamin Cottage if you have a gluten sensitivity. This is a fantastic breakfast to moisten and lubricate your entire digestive tract. Dates help to strengthen the digestion and provide natural fruit sugar, so that you don't have to add anything else. If you find it wears off too quickly, add some breakfast sausage or an egg on the side.

If you find you are hungry again in two hours, then eat!! Just pay attention to what you eat. Prepare and bring something. A yogurt. Hummus and apple slices. A sandwich. Eat again at lunch. What about some homemade soup. There are great crockpot recipes that you can put in before bed and throw in a thermos in the morning!

Eating regularly throughout the day will keep your blood sugar in the right range and give you better focus and stamina throughout the day. You may even manage to avoid crashing at 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

Have a lighter dinner and try to eat it earlier in the evening. This should help us all to prevent the rampant GERD and antacid use. Overuse of things that weaken your digestive acids are a real problem. It is so much better to pay attention to your body and to modify your diet, than to go down this route. Eat and enjoy it!

For more advice on diet and to discuss how Chinese medicine view diet and lifestyle changes, please call me at 303-881-1971.

Tina Laue, L.Ac., Dipl. OM (NCCAOM)
Good Needles Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
6650 W. 44th Ave. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
www.goodneedles.com
tinalaue@goodneedles.com

Don't Forget Deep Breathing to Handle Stress

Take a moment and pay attention to your breathing. Often it is very shallow, sometimes because we are slouching in a chair, or because we are stressed. Relax for a moment and shut your eyes. Take anywhere from 5 to 20 deep breaths. Feel your belly fill up as you breathe in, then feel it contract as you breathe out.

Breathing deeply can actually signal to your brain that everything is o.k. It's a great technique to help to control your stress, and by controlling your stress, you have a better chance of controlling all the things that stress makes us reach for (like chocolate, or caffeine, or junk food.)

Lemon Juice for a Quick Fall Cleanse

Health isn't in a fixed state. It is fluctuating all the time. Doing simple things every day can really help you to feel better! Squeeze 1/2 lemon into hot water and drink this first thing in the morning. Try to do it every day for a week to thin mucous and aid elimination. If it upsets your stomach and is therefore too acidic for your system, then I recommend that you eat a green apple each day instead. Extra mucous in our systems is linked to poor digestion in Chinese Medicine.

Want to find out more about your health? Come see me for a free health checkup at my clinic. Call me at 303-881-1971 to schedule your free half hour session where I will go over your history, look at your tongue, and feel your pulse. See your health from a new point of view!

Tina Laue, L.Ac., Dipl OM (NCCAOM)
Good Needles Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
6650 W. 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
www.goodneedles.com
tinalaue@goodneedles.com