Hello SAN Center family!
Alan here!
Over 20 years ago, I began my Master's program in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.
I was nearing my 30's and it was during this time that I truly began to understand the fundamentals of nutrition that I had taken for granted growing up ... for example:
1. The importance of bone broth.
When I was young, I would go to the butcher shop with my grandfather and he would ask them for oxtail. The butcher would give him the weirdest look and even let us take it home for free. He would be so happy!
Stem cell research shows that the most blood nutrients are found at the end of the spinal column (where the tail attaches to the vertebrae, aka: the oxtail).
2. Why ginger is added to so many recipes.
I have a memory of trying to explain to my grandmother why ginger is a powerful nutritive food for the stomach. Her response to me was: "Why do you think it's in all of the food we make?" Haha!
The centuries old "tried and true" dietary methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine began to really make sense to me.
In Chinese Medicine, there's an awareness of the internal temperature of the body and how it relates to the organs. In the principles of Yin & Yang, heat and cold must be balanced in order to maintain vital organ function.
Think about it: If our internal body temperature is 97.8 degrees, what happens when we put a lot of cold food and drinks into our stomach when it's cold outside during the winter months?
Does it make it harder for our body to maintain internal temperature?
Will it affect our ability to digest and absorb our food?
These are all important questions that we can ponder; see what makes sense to you. :)
During the cold Winter months, we often get less sunlight and feel gloomier. This is from less vitamin D being absorbed into our skin, which also affects the balance of the neurotransmitters in our brain.
My grandfather would often make Bone Broth soups in the Fall & Winter.
If you live in a house that uses a lot of central heating, and you experience dryness during the winter from heat in your interior environment, Bittermelon & Beef is very helpful too (also great during Summer to clear heat and strengthen).
Luckily, there are also flower essences like Joy Juice and Inspired Action to pull us through! I also use Sacred Body to protect and support the physical body.
As we move through this winter season, I have so much gratitude for family and friends to surround myself with and hold close.
I feel lucky to have parents in the healing arts that taught me that food is medicine. Medicine is not to pull us back from the abyss of disease, but to give us a strong, internally healthy biological landscape.
In health,
Alan
P.S. I just got back from a trip of a lifetime in Asia & opened up my schedule to start seeing patients regularly again at the SAN Center in Phoenix. If you need support, I'm here! Book an Acupuncture Meets Flower Essences session with me here.
