Eat beets for a healthy liver

As the days get a little longer and the sun shines a bit brighter, signs of spring are popping up all around us (well, aside from that pesky snowstorm the other day). Little green shoots of plant-life are peeking up and out from the earth, awakening from their long winter slumber, and starting to stretch their leaves to the sky.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), springtime is ruled by the wood element.

Think of the wood element as new signs of life. The energy of the world is rising up and out, ready for a fresh start – a rebirth if you will. This energy is reflected in all of us this time of year – that undeniable urge to go outside and get your hands dirty in the garden, start a new project, or get the dust-rag out for some spring-cleaning.

While all that rising energy is great when you have a to-do list the length of your arm, it can sometimes rise too quickly and lead to trouble. Typical signs of an over controlling wood element are:

• perpetual irritability or anger

• migraines

• insomnia

• red, painful eyes

On the other hand, if the wood element in a person isn’t strong enough, they might exhibit any of these signs:

• mild dizziness

• blurred vision

• muscle twitches

• light menstrual flow

The wood element is energetically related to the liver. The liver not only rids our body of toxins we ingest and inhale, but according to TCM, the liver also does the heavy lifting of detoxifying our emotions--what a powerhouse! Wanna know one of my favorite ways to balance the wood element and give my liver the help it so truly deserves?

Eating beets!

All foods have different energetic properties that help categorize them into one of the five elements. Have you ever noticed the beautiful pattern of rings in a cut beet? The similarities between the cross-sections of beets and tree trunks are astonishing. Beets are practically shouting their association with the wood element from the rooftop!

To help keep your wood element in balance this spring, Lucia and I are sharing with you three delicious and nutritious recipes using the grandmother of all wood element foods: the mighty beet. The following is a beautiful recipe developed as an easy, simple and refreshing way to incorporate more raw beets into your spring-eating!

Beet carpaccio with grapefruit vinaigrette

(This recipe was originally co-created with Lucia from Essential Omnivore.)

Salad ingredients:
1 medium beet
1 grapefruit
2-3 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1 tablespoon green onions
freshly cracked black or white pepper

Dressing ingredients:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh dill, roughly chopped

Instructions:
After washing and peeling your beet, use a mandolin to very, very thinly slice the beet into delicate wafers. Set aside slices. Now, cut both ends off the grapefruit and sit the grapefruit upright. Using your knife, cut away all the rind and white pith. With care, you will now supreme the grapefruit, cutting along the side of each segment until all have been released from the core. Squeeze the remaining grapefruit innards into a bowl--this will be for your vinaigrette. Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed (this will depend on the sweetness and acidity of your grapefruit). On a large plate, begin arranging your beet slices, topping with the grapefruit segments. Drop dollops of the goat cheese on top, drizzle the vinaigrette and scissor or chop some fresh dill tops and green onions over as well. Finish with a crack or two of fresh black pepper.

Enjoy!

Tips to Know Before Doing A Liver Detox

Acupuncturist Amy here, with some not-so-popular thoughts to share. Want to know what's all the rage again now that spring has sprung? Liver and gallbladder detoxes!

This might be an unpopular opinion - but hey! I'm full of unpopular opinions. So here's my mic drop:

I hate detoxes.

I know that hate is a pretty strong word, but I strongly dislike the trendy idea that our bodies are toxic and need to be starved clean. (Our bodies have some pretty amazing systems in place to make sure we don't become toxic to ourselves.)

I strongly dislike how so many cleanses and detoxes limit food and are purely focused on juicing. (Can you say blood sugar roller-coaster much?!)

I strongly dislike the misconception that our liver is just a dirty filter that needs to be rinsed out. (FYI it's not. The liver doesn't store toxins, it transforms unsafe molecules into safe molecules that can be more easily removed from the body.)

While I'm not the biggest fan of juices cleanses or fasting detoxes, I do understand why focusing on liver health is always so popular during spring: In Chinese medicine, every season is associated with one of the five elements. And every element has a color, sound, taste, emotion, and yes, organ system that is affiliated with it too. Spring's organs? No surprise, the liver and gallbladder.

So, even though I cry a little bit on the inside every time someone I know starts the master cleanse or another green juice fast, I too use the spring season to focus on my liver health.

I tend to re-commit to dietary changes like:

• Increasing my water intake (and add a squeeze of lemon to support bile movement)

• Focusing more on veggies of all types (but especially cruciferous veggies like cauliflower and broccoli) and healthy fats

• Cutting way back on my sugar and alcohol consumption because they both stress the liver

The link between springtime and the liver makes this a great time to focus on eating foods to support detoxification pathways.

Here are three ways to help your liver work more smarter, not harder this spring.

Move Your Qi Using Acupuncture and Exercise

In Chinese medicine, the liver is in charge of the free flow of qi (energy). When your qi doesn't move smoothly, it accumulates in the channels (think of those as the rivers and streams that carry the qi throughout the body). Those accumulations create pain, disease, and emotional stress so it's super important to keep the qi moving smoothly. Acupuncture and exercise are my two favorite ways to keep the qi moving.

Do Some Grounding Meditations

The energy of the liver likes to rise up. Think of all the plant life shooting up from the ground in the springtime, ready to grow tall to the sky. This energy is exciting, new, and exuberant!! But it can also be explosive - leading to symptoms like red, itchy eyes, headaches/migraines, and irritability or anger. Grounding visualizations and meditations can help anchor this energy to the earth - keeping it from blowing it's cool on the way up. If it’s warm enough where you are, you could even spend sometime barefoot on the earth - the ultimate way to ground into the Earth!

Thin Bile Using Food

Bile is created in your liver, stored in the gallbladder, and used to digest fat. When the bile is thick and murky, it creates gallstones and can get stuck in the bile duct. Eating certain foods can thin the bile and help prevent that stagnation of qi I talked about in the last tip.

A couple of my favorite bile thinning foods are lemon and beets. Starting your day off with warm water and lemon is a great way to incorporate more lemon juice into your daily diet. And if you're scared of cooking beets but looking for a great recipe, we’ve got one for you right here.

Not into lemons or beets? Ask us about other Chinese medicine based food therapy recommendations for springtime liver health during your next appointment!

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*The information provided on this site is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.

*Heads up! This post may contain some affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links you won't pay a single cent more, but I'll get a small commission that helps keep the content flowing. P.S. I only recommend products I use in my own daily life!

All About Ayurvedic Bodywork

I love a good massage. Who doesn’t? A great massage allows for a chance to unwind, reset, and heal. As a practicing massage therapist for the past 14 years, I’ve been working to give my patients what their body and mind craves during each and every bodywork session. And I have to admit, it’s been hard work, both physically and emotionally.

So I was intrigued when one of my Ayurvedic teachers shared with me that, “Many massage practitioners tire themselves out instead of letting the oil do the work.” At first I was confused. Let the oil do the work? What does this mean? Aren’t I the one doing the work? How would the oil know what to do?

Well, my recent study of Ayurvedic bodywork has brought me some answers.

Ayurvedic bodywork is different from a “normal” massage. And a lot of that has to do with the oils being used.

Everybody has a constitution that is uniquely their own, along with constantly shifting daily patterns that sway from balanced to imbalanced. Taking this into account, at the beginning of every Ayurvedic bodywork session I choose an oil that is appropriate for you in this moment to bring about balance.

The chosen oils are heated to a comfortable temperature and applied to the body. The heat along with the help of specific massage techniques and marma/acupressure points facilitates the penetration of the oil through the skin, deep into your tissues, with the final destination being every individual cell in your body. So the focus of Ayurvedic bodywork, beyond relaxation and pain relief, is to touch the deepest aspects of ourselves and promote cellular renewal.

You know those people that glow with good health? In Ayurveda it’s said that glow comes from abundant ojas. Ojas has many functions in our body, one being longevity and deeply rooted health. And ojas is sustained, in large part, by using the proper balance of oils and healthy fats in our diet and on our skin.

Ojas is like a savings account; it’s best to replenish it whenever you make a withdrawal.

You lose ojas through:

• Stress

• Illness

• Sexual activity

• Lack of sleep

• Generally pushing your body beyond its limits

If you avoid using fats and oil in cooking or applying oil to your skin, your ojas savings account will drop to a negative balance. This may cause you to become brittle and dry in the body as well as experience anxiety, critical thoughts, or obsessive thinking. Using oil on your body for therapeutic purposes builds your vitality, calms your mind and helps you live a more balanced life.

Interested in trying some new therapies to increase your own ojas? I am now offering two different Ayurvedic bodywork treatments at Constellation Acupuncture and Healing Arts.

Each of these treatments works to:

• Build ojas

• Strengthen the immune system to prevent illness

• Nourish the cells, tissues and energetic channels

• Impart softness, strength and smoothness to the body

• Decrease the effects of aging

• Bestow good vision

• Increase longevity

• Benefit sleep patterns

• Make skin glow

• Strengthen the body’s tolerance to stress

• Stimulate the internal organs of the body, thereby increasing circulation

I hope this has piqued your interest in Ayurvedic bodywork and look forward to supporting you in your health goals at the clinic. You can learn more about each appointment and book an Ayurvedic bodywork appointment on our book-now page.

*The information provided on this site is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.