“I confess, that I am as close to being a Chinese-American as any Caucasian ever could be in his life. I awoke to my Qi Gong practice this morning, Guarding the Eight Treasures, I did some Mook Jong wooden dummy drills in preparation for my black belt grading at the LA Wing Chung Kung Fu Academy, and I then took my, get ready, my herbal formula, and then ate a seasonally appropriate meal. And all before 1:30 PM,”said Downey.

Jokes aside, Downey went on to speak highly of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the difference it made in his life.

“Truth be told, every discipline that I have employed that has its roots in the Chinese tradition has worked, and that’s what I’m really drawn to, it’s the way is the way is the way, and when things work, they are really worth putting your time and energy behind,” Downey said.

“It’s contributed to making me a more tolerable father, and son, husband, co-worker, and according to the title of this award, visionary. ”

See more here.

A French study published in Fertility and Sterility, has followed up couples who have had IVF and has found that some do go on to conceive naturally. 17% of couples who had had a child through IVF went on to get pregnant naturally and 24% of those whom had had an unsuccessful IVF went on to conceive.

Many of the women I see are lacking any hope. They have been told their bodies are ‘too old’. they have visions of their eggs being dried up sultanas! They have been told their partner’s sperm is much too damaged. They have stopped believing that pregnancy is possible. This study is an important reminder that sometimes, things that feel unachievable may just be possible.

Read more here.

Here is an extract from the British Acupuncture Council’s factsheet on allergic rhinitis or hayfever:

Recent randomised controlled trials have found that acupuncture used as an adjunct to routine care for allergic rhinitis has clinically relevant and persistent benefits (Brinkhaus 2008) and is cost effective (Witt 2009). Such trials have also found that acupuncture is effective in the symptomatic treatment of perennial rhinitis (Xue 2007) and that active acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture in decreasing the symptom scores for persistent allergic rhinitis and increasing the symptom-free days (Ng 2004). (see Table below)

In general, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. The resulting biochemical changes influence the body’s homeostatic mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional well-being. Stimulation of certain acupuncture points has been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress (Hui 2010)

Acupuncture may help to relieve pain and congestion in people with allergic rhinitis by:

• regulating levels of IgE and cytokines, mediators of the allergic reaction to extrinsic allergens (Ng 2004; Rao 2006; Roberts 2008)
• stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, which leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors, and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Pomeranz, 1987; Han 2004; Zhao 2008; Cheng 2009);
• reducing inflammation, by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors (Zijlstra 2003; Kavoussi 2007);
• enhancing natural killer cell activities and modulating the number and ratio of immune cell types (Kawakita 2008);
• increasing local microcirculation (Komori 2009), which aids dispersal of  swelling.

See more here

So, if you’re a hayfever sufferer, think about getting some acupuncture now to ward off the symptoms that may be coming.

Read this article from ‘The People’ here on acupuncture and hayfever.