Laura's Favorite OTC Remedies for Cold Season

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Laura's Favorite OTC Remedies for Cold Season

Let’s face it, in spite of our best efforts we all get sick sometimes. Many of us would prefer a “natural” option to a pharmaceutical one, but the health aisle in the grocery store can be overwhelming. Since the FDA doesn’t regulate herbal medicine, there are a lot of products out there making claims about what they can do. So where you do start? As a trained herbalist, I want to share with you my favorite over-the-counter (OTC) remedies for cold season. Please know that none of these are sponsored, they’re just my personal go-tos

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5 Asian Medicine Diet Tips to Beat Summer’s Heat

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5 Asian Medicine Diet Tips to Beat Summer’s Heat

According to Asian medical theory, each season is associated with an element and summer is the season of the Fire element. Fire is the element of play, adventure, thrill-seeking, social connection, passion, joy, love, and trust. Fire energy also houses the mind. Harmonious Fire energy manifests with clear thinking, healthy relationships, charisma, and compassion.

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Intro to The Five Elements

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Intro to The Five Elements

Along with yin and yang theory, the core of Asian medicine revolves around the five natural elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Within the body, each element exists as a microcosm of its existence in the outside world. Each element is associated with an organ, an acupuncture meridian, a season, a body tissue, a smell, a flavor, and more. The elements interact with one another in predictable manners in nature as well as in the body. Acupuncturists learn how the elements interact and then apply this knowledge to each patient to determine why a particular symptom is present, how best to bring the body back into harmony with the elements to alleviate the symptom, and how to stabilize the elements to prevent future symptoms from arising. Five Element Theory has many layers; this post is meant to serve merely as an introduction to the five elements and one of the many ways they can interact in the body.

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Equinox Cleanse: Reset Your Body for the Season

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Equinox Cleanse: Reset Your Body for the Season

Asian medicine treats the body in alignment with the natural world. When you come to see me for treatment, I not only look at you and your chief concern today, I also look at the weather outside, the season, the time of day, and more. When taking the reins on your own health care, aligning your body with seasonal energetics is a wonderful starting point. The spring and autumn equinoxes are of particular importance as they mark a shift between yin and yang energies, the two energies at the core of Asian medical theory. This makes the start of spring and fall an optimal time to make a shift within your own body. My favorite way to shift? A whole foods-based reset, or cleanse.

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Intro to Yin and Yang Theory

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Intro to Yin and Yang Theory

Yin and Yang are at the core of Asian medical theory. Asian medicine developed from Daoist theory. If you’ve been introduced to Daoism, you are probably aware that the essence of the Dao is that all things have a complementary aspect. That is, nothing exists as one, but as two. Yang and yin are the names for these complementary aspects. Yin does not exist without yang and yang does not exist without yin.

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Boosting Immunity with Elderberry Syrup

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Boosting Immunity with Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry is a wonderful herb to help stabilize the immune system, and can be used to prevent and treat common colds. Elderberries are high in vitamins A and C, and chock-full of an antioxidant called quercitin. They are also anti-inflammatory and, according to herbal theory, possess antiviral properties. Instead of rushing to your favorite health food store to purchase all things elderberry, try this easy recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs to make your own elderberry syrup at home!

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Autumn Energetics: Fall and Your Body

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Autumn Energetics: Fall and Your Body

Chinese medical theory is rooted in the cyclical passage of time and its effect on our bodies. As seasons wax and wane, external shifts in the environment pull our innate energy like the moon pulls the tide. Fall in particular marks a stark time of transition in the body: we move from the expansive energy of summer to the contractile energy of winter.

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