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Newsletter: Aug '08
August 2008
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Balance
Point Acupuncture Newsletter
from BalancePointAustin.com
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| What's
in Season?
 Wander down to your local farmers market and find out! Or, read
it here and then go pick up something fresh. One of my favorites, the great tasting Texas peach, is in season! Also, you can
find berries, melons, figs, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, okra, basil, arugula, onions, garlic,
peas, green beans, mushrooms, potatoes, and more. Visit localharvest.org to find your local farmers market, and head down this weekend to see what other goodies await your palate.
Check
out Greenling.com or join a CSA (community-supported agriculture) for organic, fresh and local food delivered weekly to your door.
Do you grow
your own food? August is a good time to allow your soil to regenerate with clovers, buckwheat or barley grass. If your soil
is fertile and ready to nourish your plants, it is prime time to plant New Zealand* and Malabar* spinach, winter* or summer
squash, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, and wormwood. Now is also the time to plant several types of seeds including okra*,
beans (black-eyed peas), corn, cucumber, garlic, potatoes, shallots, and summer squash. The Natural Gardener has great information on their site for the CenTex gardener.
*plant in early August
| Caffeine
Conversion
Do you ever wonder how much caffine you consume in a day?
Double Espresso
(2oz) 45-100mg
Brewed Coffee (8oz)
60-120mg
Black Tea (8oz)
45mg
Coke/Pepsi
(12oz)
35mg
Green Tea (8oz)
20mg
Dark Chocolate (1oz)
20mg
White Tea (8oz)
15mg
Decaf Coffee (8oz)
1-5mg
Herbal Tea = None
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Dear
Client,
Hot yet? The hottest days may still be yet to come. Read on to learn a little about the summer
season according to Oriental Medicine. You will also find a few sun tea recipes and information on the summer growing season
here in Central Texas.
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Chinese Medicine and the Summer Season
The season filled
with abundant energy, long days and sunshine. This is the most yang time of year. Summer is about expansion, growth,
activity and creativity.
- Element: Fire.
- Color: Red.
- Nature: Yang.
- Organs: Heart, Small Intestine.
- Emotion: Joy.
 The Fire Element
Summer is the season of yang, a time when the body undergoes vigorous metabolic
(body energy) processes. Several thousand years ago, The Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor put forth the principle that
one should cultivate the yang energy in spring and summer, while protecting the yin energy in autumn and winter.
AOM (Accupuncture and Oriental Medicine) teaches us that summer belongs to fire, one of the five elements. Fire is symbolic
of maximum activity or greatest yang, which means that it is a time of heat, outgoingness, and moving outward in nature and
in our lives. In human anatomy, the heart, mind, and spirit are ruled by the fire element. Thus, top priority should be given
to the heart, mind, and spirit for staying healthy in summer.
Live Life to the
Fullest
The heart's main function is to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body. In Chinese medicine,
mental activity is associated with the heart and therefore our memory, thought processes, emotional well-being, and consciousness
are also attributed to the heart and fire element. This is a time to nourish and pacify our spirits, and to realize our life's
greatest potential as we find joy in our hot summer days and warm summer nights.
When the fire element is in
balance, the heart is strong and healthy, the mind is calm and sleep is sound.
When the fire element is unbalanced,
we may either lack joy (depression) or have an excess of joy (mania). Indicators of an imbalance in the fire element include
agitation, nervousness, heartburn, and insomnia.
Tips for Summer Health
To prevent summer ills and remain in harmony with the environment of summer, ancient Chinese physicians advised:
Salad Days: Eating Under the Sun
In summer, indigestion can
easily occur, so a light and less-greasy diet is strongly recommended. It is the perfect season to introduce some cool, yin
foods into your diet.Chinese nutrition classifies food according to its energetic qualities of temperature, taste, and ability
to moisten and strengthen the body. Food with cool and cold properties can clear heat, reduce toxins, and generate body fluids.
In general, cooling foods tend towards the green end of the spectrum - lettuce, cucumbers, and watercress are some
of the coolest. Few vegetables are warming. Fish and seafood are also cooling, while most meats are warming.
Here
are some suggestions to keep you cool and balanced all summer long. These fruits and vegetables will help your body adjust
its temperature and protect you during the long, hot summer days:
Other helpful tips for
the summer season
- Keep a pitcher of water with slices of lemon and cucumber with you and sip it
throughout the day.
- Eat in moderation. Over consumption of any food, especially cooling foods, can lead to indigestion,
sluggishness and possibly diarrhea.
- Do not leave your food out for too long. The hot weather tends to increase food
spoilage.
- Stay away from dairy, heavy, greasy, and fried foods.
Adapted
from:
'Summertime!
Chinese Medicine and the Summer Season' by Diane Joswick, L.Ac.
|  Recipes
Southern
Style Sun Tea
Add 1/2 oz of loose leaf organic black
tea to a half gallon of water, tighten the lid and set in the sun all day.
To make the tea a bit more
"cooling" and refreshing try adding slices of half a lemon and/or a lime to the tea before setting out in the sun. For sweetener (if you need it) add honey, agave nectar or stevia to taste while it is still hot. At the end
of the tea's "sunning" add another 1 to 2 quarts of water (depending on preferred strength). Chill in the fridge
or add a bit of ice...Delicious on a hot day!! To experience
the tea's best flavor, take it out of the fridge in the morning, and let it warm up to just below room temperature.This
is also a great way to break that coffee addiction.
*
Try a green or white tea in place of the Black tea for less caffeine.
** If you're in a hurry for it: boil water,
turn off and steep the tea for 5 minutes, filter and drink or cool it off and drink.
Jana's Earth's Herbal Sun Tea (from to book "How
it all Vegan")
For a great and relaxing herbal
sun tea, add 1 tsp. of each (fresh or dried) to 2 cups of water in a glass jar: - lavender
- peppermint
- rose
- lemon
balm
Set the tea out in the sun in the morning and cap
the lid tightly. Let the tea steep for the entire day, and when the sun gets low in the sky, strain, add a little ice, and serve. If you absolutely must have it sweetened, use a smart sweetener like honey, agave
nectar or stevia.
Want to make more, here's the math:
- 4 cups (1 quart) : 2 tsp. of each
- 8 cups (1/2
gallon) : 4 tsp. of each
- 16 cups (1 gallon) : 8 tsp. of each
For a great source of high quality, organic and sustainably harvested fair trade
herbs and accessories, visit Mountain Rose Herbs.
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"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."
-Sir Edmund Hillary
Sincerely, |
Michael Meuth L.Ac., M.Ac.O.M
Balance Point Acupuncture | | |
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