Peter Kington - Brisbane acupuncturist, fertility & pregnancy support

24/03/2023

A STATEMENT FROM Peter Kington - Brisbane acupuncturist, fertility & pregnancy support

I am writing today to advise current and former clients that I am stepping down from clinical practice. My last day will be Thursday 6 April, 2023.

The purpose of this announcement is to provide referral pathways to you to ensure your ongoing care needs are met.

Key information you need to know:

**I am not selling my practice so your personal information will remain with me.
**Your clinical notes will be stored (paper notes, pre 2017) or archived (digital) for the required time.
**At the bottom of this announcement I will provide a list of trusted colleagues whom I am confident can take care of your needs. If you would like to discuss this further we can do so between now and when I close up on 6 April.
**If you are currently, or recently, receiving treatment from me and would like a summary prepared for your next practitioner, I can do this and ask you request that, in writing via email (info@peterkington.com.au), before Friday 31 March, 2023. Please allow a minimum five business days for this to be prepared. There is no fee for this service.

Why am I closing my practice?
The short answer is after twenty five years of self-employment (twenty in Chinese medicine) I am tired. Self employment is much harder now than it was when I began and the pandemic years have taken their toll on my physical and mental wellbeing.

In addition to this, an opportunity has presented itself for me to continue helping the community in a paid role working for a Queensland Senator. It’s a perfect role for me that allows me to immerse myself in my community and continue to help people live better lives - just in a different way.

Thank you
I have no idea how many individuals I have worked with since I started practising in 2003 as a massage therapist and 2005, as acupuncturist - but it has been in the thousands.

Thank you for the privilege of helping you; thank you for the conversations and thank you for the trust you placed in me to help you.

Some of you reading this are amongst my earliest clients and we have known each other a long time - I feel like we’ve grown older together navigating the ups and downs of life.

I wish you all great abundance in life and immense happiness with everything that lies ahead.

I am currently not accepting new clients and only working with those people who have forward appointments. If you are one of those people and would like to cancel your future appointment please text on 0416 579 096 as I have disabled online bookings and you will not be able to make that change yourself.

If your next appointment is beyond my finish date we will need to bring your appointment forward or cancel it as my end date is final.

Hopefully, I’ll see you over the next couple of weeks.

Peter Kington

Trusted colleagues
Brisbane North
Fertility and Pregnancy
Kirsty Eng Fertility (Herston)
John Taylor - Ginseng Acupuncture & Natural Therapies (Stafford) + general care

General care
Margi Macdonald, AcuBalance Acupuncture Clinic Brisbane (West Chermside)
Nea Ovens, Nurture Studio - within Move Osteopathy (New Farm) + fertility and pregnancy care
Mark Bayley-Chinese Medicine (New Farm) + fertility care

Brisbane South
Fertility and Pregnancy
Jodi Baldry, Moxa Natural Therapies Centre (West End) + general care
Danielle Rush, Yin Wellness Brisbane (Woolloongabba)
Arna Taylor, Greenstone Acupuncture (Mount Gravatt East)

General care
Zlatko ‘Mark’ Markanovik (Stones Corner): 0416 168 595

Brisbane East
Fertility and Pregnancy
Aime Tomlinson, Sakura Acupuncture Clinic Brisbane (Carina)

General Care
Debra Porter, Total Body Wellness (Carina)

Brisbane West
Fertility, Pregnancy and General Care
Stephen Janz, Kenmore Centre For Health (Kenmore)

30/01/2023

The week before last, I wrote a post about eggs and their versatility as a food and their immense nutritional value.

A few followers made some cheeky remarks about the fact I had combined eggs with kale as a breakfast dish and someone else remarked they didn’t know a lot about kale - so here goes today’s kale lesson.

To begin with, I must confess, I didn’t like kale. It seems like it’s a fairly new thing that is stocked in Australian fruit stores and supermarkets once it became known as a ‘superfood’.

The term superfood is one of the world’s great marketing geniuses. First used at the end of WW1 in the United States to promote bananas as a quick and easy source of B & C vitamins, ‘superfood’ it then fell out of favour until about 30 years ago when it was redeployed to extol the benefits of a whole bunch of foods - likely starting with blueberries.

My early mistake with kale was to treat it like a lettuce and eat it raw. Served raw, it deeply offended my palate as I found it bitter, tough and difficult to digest.

From those early encounters kale and I decided not to pursue our relationship, until a few years ago when I was looking for something to fill me up, diminish hunger cravings and give me a good shot of vitamins and minerals. Enter kale….

As a cruciferous plant, kale is related to cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. It is exceptionally low in calories (making it a great food to eat if you’re trying to trim down as it has a lot of fibre in it which bulks up in your belly).

Kale contains high concentrations of Vitamins C (anti oxidant, immune function) & K (blood clotting). Kale also contains substances which help ‘lower’ bad cholesterol entering our blood stream (especially if it’s steamed). Kale also has high levels of beta-carotene (an anti oxidant) which converts into Vitamin A and has lots of lutein and zeaxanthin which are nutrients which support eye health.

The trick with kale is how your prepare it and, personally, I prefer it cooked rather than raw. In addition to this, the other trick is to use the leaves as the stalk is a even more bitter.

To cook kale you can blanch it or steam it (just so the green becomes a little brighter) and then dress is with a olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing with some protein like chicken, tuna/salmon or egg.

My favourite way to prepare kale is with olive oil in a skillet, with garlic, as an accompaniment to eggs for breakfast or lunch. As a treat, a little bit of prosciutto with kale sauteed in olive oil with a zesty dressing is excellent. You can also add raw nuts to sautéed kale for some extra protein.

One final way to use kale is in soups. Cut up handfuls of it, along with spinach, and cook it as part of vegetable or meat and vegetable soup - and those tough, bitter stalks are great when cooked as part of a soup.

Go forth, experiment with kale and share your thoughts in the comments below. Oh, and like everything I publish here, this is general advice and not health advice and if you’re unsure you should consult with your usual registered health provider.

📸:: Peter Kington, sauteed kale with corned meat, fluffy scrambled eggs and shiitake mushrooms - a breakfast staple.

20/01/2023

Being Friday, today’s post has nothing to do with anything health related. Every Friday will be “Places I’ve Been and Things I’ve Seen” day - and you’re invited to join in the fun with your own pics and memories.

This week I’ve been thinking about my trip to Spain and Portugal which was in December-January, 2018 and 2019.

Something I really love about travel is looking at different types of architecture - especially when you first see something and go “WOW” and it takes your breath away.

And so it was in the wonderful port city of Valencia. Famed for its streets lined with orange trees, Valencia has a stunning old city and an adjacent precinct called the City of Arts and Sciences.

Subject to centuries of flooding, there was a decision made to redirect Valencia’s main river (how’s that!!!) and what was left was the river bed which has been turned into a huge inner city park. One part of that park houses the City of Arts and Sciences.

The first building in the City of Arts and Sciences was opened in 1998 and the rest have followed. I loved the futuristic design of these buildings and that these are set against, as a lovely contrast, the centuries’ old buildings in the adjacent old city.

We’ll do this each Friday, so you’ll get lots of chances to play along with different places you’ve been, but I’d love you to like, comment and share your own favourite ”Places I’ve Been and Things I’ve Seen” travel moments.

📸: Peter Kington

18/01/2023

Following on from a post a day or so ago where I shared a pic of my curried egg breakfast, I thought it’s timely for us to have a discussion about eggs.

First, a myth that evolved in the 70s and 80s, was that eggs were bad for you because they contained cholesterol. It’s true, they do; but do we need to worry about it? We’ll come to that later.

But, for now, some interesting stats, specific to Australia:
* each Australian eats approximately 262 eggs each financial year - and that number is increasing each year.
* the average egg weighs 58g which means each person eats 15kg of eggs each year
* Australia produces around 6.6 billion eggs each year and Queensland produces the majority of Australia’s eggs (30%)
* As at June 2022, Australia had just shy of 21 200 000 egg laying hens spread across free range, barn and caged farming systems.

The chicken egg is a rich source of vitamins and minerals which include:
* Vitamin D which supports your body’s absorption of calcium and phosphorus which is essential for bone health, muscle function and your immune system
* Vitamin B12 which is essential for the production of red blood cells and your DNA, tissue repair (after injury) and also the healthy function of your immune and nervous systems
* Choline which is essential for brain development in the unborn and newborns (plus just generally for the rest of us)
* Iron - our body’s fuel as it helps in the transportation of oxygen around our body and forms the basis of our daily energy requirements. Most iron in an egg is found in the yolk.
* Lutein and zeaxanthin are vital carotenoid antioxidants (yellow in colour!!)
* Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) which support cell growth, energy metabolism, development of our red bloods cells and healthy vision. They also support the nervous system and is also an antioxidant
* Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5) which helps our body with its energy needs and to break down fats. B5 also supports red blood cell production and the oxygenation of our body tissues
* Vitamin A for healthy skin, immune function, good vision and supporting reproductive health
* Vitamin E, an antioxidant, that supports healthy cardiovascular function and also immune function
* Phosphorus for healthy bones and teeth, energy, metabolism, muscle growth and tissue repair
* Folate for red blood cells production, DNA formation, healthy immune systems and for pregnant people, folate is an essential nutrient to help prevent conditions like spina bifida
* Iodine for hormone regulation and our metabolic rate and finally…
* Selenium also an antioxidant which supports the immune system, thyroid function and promotes healthy hair and nails…

So back to the cholesterol question…
Eggs are a source of dietary cholesterol. Consumed reasonably, they have minimal impact on our blood cholesterol - and it should be remembered that we need cholesterol for a healthy, functioning endocrine system. Not all cholesterols are bad for us.

The Heart Foundation and CSIRO both recommend the regular consumption of eggs but, like everything, if you are not sure of your own circumstances please do not take this as health advice and always check with your qualified health professional.

To finish off, here is one of my favourite breakfasts including some scrambled eggs (in a little butter, but you can use olive oil as a substitute) nestled on a bed of kale, brocollini, sh*ttake mushroom, garlic and a few other bits and pieces.

Viva la egg!
(Information source: www.australianeggs.org.au)

17/01/2023

23 January 2023, marks the start of my 19th year of practice. That just amazes me as I sit back and reflect on how it felt as a beginning practitioner all those years ago.

There have been countless names and faces, gazillions of health conditions encountered and some sadness and elation for us all, as clients have navigated the ups and downs of life.

But there’s always been one constant…. A January call-to-action to trim down, shed some Christmas kilos and start the new year with a different mindset.

My first tip is to chuck the idea of a ‘diet’ out the window - it can have a negative mindset which shackles itself to us and holds us back.

My second tip is the view your new way of eating as a lifestyle, rather than a routine. Be flexible, be kind to yourself and be realitic.

My third tip is to throw the scales away and track your progress either through how your clothes are feeling on you or by taking measurements - and only check in once/week. Daily checkins are pointless and can undermine the work you’ve done.

Finally, not everyone loves cooking, but if you do, think creatively how you can (re)create (favourite) meals so they are lower in calories/kilojoules but higher in ‘good energy’. Portion size is also important.

Trimming down can be such an effective solution to so many things going wrong in our bodies - lower limb pain will always benefit from shedding a few extra kilos and ovulatory function can be improved with a healthier body weight. Then there is cardiovascular function and even something like reflux can benefit from some weight loss.

Feel free to chat with me about this when next week see each other or DM me or put a question in the comments below.

Here’s a pic of a delicious breakfast I prepared last week… curried eggs on toast with avocado. It’s a great way to start the day!

16/01/2023

Now we are in our fourth year of dealing with COVID 🦠😷(first cases being late 2019), hands up 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️if you’re sick to death of hearing about it?

I know I am, but….

…the reality is it’s all around us and it remains a clever, nimble, adaptive and evasive virus which has killed and wounded many, many more people than a seasonal influenza outbreak ever has.

But, that said, we’re all doing our best to co-exist with it and I, as far as my practice goes, have done my best to support and adopt all the public health measures required of me.

The single risk point in my clinic is that you can’t socially distance during an acupuncture session, BUT, there are some sensible and easy measures we can all adopt to reduce the risk of transmission to each other.

These measures include:
1. Staying home if you know you have COVID (and converting to a TeleHealth consult for herbs);
2. If you’re unsure, contact Peter ahead of your appointment;
3. Always wear a mask to your appointment (as we can’t socially distance during acupuncture); and
4. Feel safe that I have bought a hospital grade HEPA air filter for the treatment room which, when used in conjunction with masks, significantly reduces transmission risk.

Towards the end of last year the state government removed the ‘health directives’ which had governed how we’d lived since early 2020. As a result of that, I had to create my own policy for triaging a client’s state of health and then assessing risk, in terms of transmission of a viral infection like COVID.

I published this document on my website. Here is a link, take a look and if you’ve got any questions, DM me or comment below.

https://www.peterkington.com.au/covid-safe-update-october-2022/

16/01/2023

Welcome to 2023

I think just about everyone who dragged the feet through my door at the end of 2022 was just about done. So I hope you are all rested and relaxed and ready to take 2023 by the horns.

I know I am!

I started back at work last Wednesday and am back to my normal operating schedule now.

Over the break I have made some changes to my appointment schedule which includes:

* more early morning appointments
* ongoing evening appointments
* more appointments across each day
* continuation of TeleHealth for those who can’t come due to illness or whose personal circumstances mean getting to the clinic is difficult (obviously herbal medicine only)

I have also overhauled the online booking platform to make it easier for you to find the type of appointment you wish to book with clearer explanatory notes.

Finally, unlike previous years (!!!), I am genuinely committed to better communicating via this FB page so please make sure you follow and do whatever you need to do to get notifications.

You can make appointments via the website (below) or directly from this page.

See you soon

Save time and book your appointments online with Peter Kington Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

14/09/2022

A couple of days ago, I shared an article about ‘surge capacity’.

Surge capacity is a concept which explains ‘commitment overload’ - the idea that we (over) commit ourselves and then have nothing left to give.

I just read this article about the intrusion that private chat groups can have in our lives. The article presents this idea that, during COVID when we were isolated from each other, we modified our traditional communication strategies by being included in chat groups with family, friends, colleagues in apps like WhatsApp or Messenger.

Naturally, now we are much less isolated, many of these groups have died off, but also many continue and the question is: are they necessary or are they distracting? Another question is: do notifications from these apps excessively disrupt and disturb us?

For mine, I have notifications turned off most apps and I choose when I go and engage.

Circling back to the previous article from two days ago, this is another example of ‘surge capacity’ and the demands on our time. This is a really great, worthwhile read and I’m interested to hear in the comments what your thoughts are.

Oh and if you like this, please like, comment and share to your friends and colleagues.

Group chats were a lifeline during lockdown – but for many, the constant messages have become an oppressive distraction. Leaving, however, is not so simple

12/09/2022

OK… confession time.

I know it’s been a while between updates - largely because, well, my attention sometimes gets spread wide and thin.

I’m sure, like most of you, some days I wish there was at least two of me - one to do life admin and the other to do the rest.

Anyway, with that little mea culpa in mind, I wanted to share this really interesting read about, of all things, spreading yourself too thin. The concept to explain this is your ‘surge capacity’.

During the early days of the pandemic many of us had more time on our hands - we were at home, not commuting, not socialising and so we got ourselves involved in new, time-occupying activities. Mine was to set up a charity - which is a whole other story.

But in doing that we were fulfilling a gap that had suddenly emerged in our lives and rather than just going with the flow, we did things and got involved in things. And that was great, but now that many of our day-to-day tasks have returned to a semblance of normal, we’re finding ourselves at capacity juggling these new things, with our usual things…

… and that’s your surge capacity. This article is all about how to replenish your surge capacity.

Happy reading. Feel free to like, comment and share (and a call out to my colleague Sarah George Acupuncture & Natural Health for sharing this with me).

The coronavirus pandemic – and the response that has been required by leaders in all sectors – is truly one of the most pressing challenges we have faced in our time. Many of us are experiencing serious ‘carers’ load’ and ‘vicarious trauma’ as a result of the challenges presented at wo...

04/10/2021

I hope everyone had a lovely long weekend.

After a visit to my mother this morning, I decided to put my mind to cooking a Sri Lankan curry.

I was very lucky to visit Sri Lanka about ten years ago. It was a lovely country and the food was extraordinary. I ate so many interesting things, but the highlight was learning how to cook a curry from scratch.

Here is today’s effort.

Did you cook anything this weekend? If so, tell us all in the comments what you cooked (and pics are most welcome too).

30/09/2021

MAJOR NEWS…

Following on from recent posts about our little family of Australian wood ducks on Ekibin Creek, yesterday’s big news is a new family has moved in on the creek (but slightly up the road).

And, my, aren’t they a fertile couple with ten ducklings in tow…

So, just as one clutch prepares to fly the coop, another arrives. Stay tuned for loads more cuteness.

28/09/2021

About a month ago I introduced to you the latest clutch of ducklings, brought into this world by our local, famously monogamous couple, Norma & Norm Ekibin (eastern wood ducks).

One month on I thought I’d share that the family remains the same size as it was when they were first born (so no deaths) and I’d reckon the ducklings are pretty close to ‘flying the coop’ as they’re now very large.

It’s always a delight to watch this annual cycle on my local creek and this year, and last, has been especially lovely knowing there’s been such turmoil in the world around us.

Here is my first pic taken a month or so ago and then my most recent.

25/08/2021

Good morning everyone.

I know many of you enjoy little updates about the growth and development of my local family of ducklings, parented by the annually present, Norma and Norm Ekibin (so-named by me for the creek they live on - Norman - and Ekibin Creek, the headwaters).

They are doing well and are out and about now.

It amazes me how quickly they grow. These shots were taken over the last week, since I last posted about them.

Please, if you enjoy this post, give me a ❤️ rather than a 👍 (apparently Facebook prefers this), comment and feel free to share with whomever you think might enjoy it.

Have a great day.

23/08/2021

On Sunday night I cooked a roast chicken and served that with a mushroom, leek and lemon risotto. It was a great Sunday meal but the chook was about a size 95 and I’ve been left with a lot of left over meat.

Cue this morning’s breakfast which I thought I’d share as a relatively quick, tasty and (mostly) healthy way to start the day.

Ingredients
120-150g of cooked chicken meat (breast or whatever you’ve got)*
2-3 stalks of broccolini, sliced
2 spring onions/shallots (depending on where you live and what you call them), thinly sliced
100g of oyster mushroom, sliced
1 - 2 eggs (depending on if cooking for one or two people)*
20-24mls sweet chilli sauce
A chunk of butter*
A slither of lime
White pepper
Salt to season
Water
*. Obviously vegetarians and vegans can remove the chicken and add more vegetables or silken tofu. Vegans can substitute the butter with olive oil and simply remove the eggs and substitute with silken tofu.

Method
1. Place all the cut ingredients into a skillet along with the butter. Sauté
2. Sq**rt the lime juice in and add the sweet chilli sauce while sautéing and season with salt and pepper.
3. Whisk the egg, add a few mls of water to break it up and whisk well. Pour the egg in and turn and fold until firm.
4. Eat!

22/08/2021

Show me your pets!!!

In the foreground is Castro the cocker spaniel. He’s just over 3 years old and very much the top dog.

In the background is our old boy, Reuben, who’s 12.5 years old and very much the submissive dog.

But they’re equally devoted, loving companions.

Tell me about your pets and, please, share a pic.

19/08/2021

I love to cook.

I get a real buzz out of conceptualising something, doing some research, buying the ingredients, fiddling around in the kitchen and then sitting down to savour the end product.

Usually this happens on a Sunday when the chores of the weekend are behind me and there is time to devote to such pleasures.

When I was a kid, my mum used to make chicken chasseur. It was a favourite and I used to beg her to make it - which she would. Her version usually involved a packet mix and several hours in her trusty crockpot (before they were called slow cookers).

Anyway, many years have passed but my love for this delicious, provincial French dish, which literally means ‘hunter’s chicken’, has never waned. I have spent many years experimenting with different formulations of recipes and read countless blogs.

Today I’m sharing with you my version of Chicken Chasseur which is the culmination of all that research and lots of dress rehearsals.

It’s actually really easy to make, takes no more than a couple of hours to cook (depending on the volume you prepare), freezes well and makes a perfect quick meal thereafter.

Enjoy and please share your photos if you give it a go.

What was your favourite childhood dish and have you perfected it as an adult?

Peter’s chicken chasseur recipe

Ingredients
* 6 x skin on, bone in chicken thighs
* Olive oil
* Plain flour
* Cooking salt
* 1 x large leek
* 1 x double eschallot bulb
* 150-200g celery
* 150-200g carrots
* 1 x punnet of button mushrooms
* ½ cup of ‘brown chicken stock’ - chicken stock + ½ cup of beef stock
* 80g or so of butter
* ½ cup of cognac (optional)
* ½ cup of dry white wine (1 cup if foregoing the cognac)
* 3 x sprigs of thyme

Method
1. Place six skin-on-the-bone chicken thighs in a deep baking dish and baste in olive oil; season with cooking salt and a dusting of flour
2. Cut up a large leek and two eschallot bulbs; place on top of the chicken
3. Cook chicken at 180C (fan forced, 200C non fan forced) for 30-40 mins until golden brown. The leeks should caramelise. Turn chicken halfway through and stir the leeks and eschallots
4. While the chicken is cooking dice 120g of celery and 120g of carrots. Place these in a deep-sided saucepan (that has a lid). Wash a punnet of button mushrooms and put them in the saucepan too.
5. When the chicken is cooked, remove pieces and place on a plate. Pour the leeks, eschallots, oil from the baking pan into the saucepan and stir to coat the vegetables.
6. Add a slab of butter to the pan and sauté everything together. Once combined and cooked for a few minutes add ½ a cup of dry white wine and ½ a cup of cognac or something like that (I have also used triple sec). Reduce the alcohol. Add 3 good sprigs of thyme.
7. Add 50g of tomato paste and ‘brown chicken stock’ which is ½ cup of chicken and ½ cup of veal/beef stock. Stir.
8. Add the chicken pieces and reduce to the lowest possible temp and simmer for 90 minutes with the lid on. Stir occasionally. After 90 minutes or when the meat is falling off the bone, remove the lid and reduce down for 30 minutes or so until the sauce is thick and luscious.

Oh and please, give this post a ❤️ rather than a 👍, comment and feel free to share it amongst your family, friends and colleagues.

19/08/2021

I know I’ve been quiet for a while - and for that I apologise. But I’m back on board with all the things I like to share including cooking exploits, recipes, things that tickle my fancy and ducklings.

One of my most popular series of posts in 2020 was when I introduced you all to my local family of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata), whom I have christened Norm and Norma Ekibin (because they live on Norman Creek, which begins its life as Ekibin Creek).

Each year I have lived here since 2009, I have observed the Ekibins resume their place on the Creek in July and shortly thereafter, they introduce their new brood of ducklings to the community.

And this year hasn’t failed to satisfy. I’ve been aware for about ten or so days that Norm and Norma had hatched their ducklings, but they were safely tucked up under mum and dad. But in the last few days, they have made their grand entry to the world around them.

Some facts about Australian Wood Ducks:

* the eat grasses, clover and insects
* they prefer to inhabit shallow, wooded waterways
* they maintain long-term monogamous breeding pairs
* they nest is tree holes, at the water’s edge (this is what Norm and Norma do) and return to the same site each year (they do this as well)
* the duck and drake co-parent the clutch
* each clutch consists of around 8-10 ducklings (not this year)
* they remain in the nest for aroudn 57 days

Stay tuned as we watch this year’s clutch grow and thanks for reading.

Please give this post a ❤️ rather than a 👍, and feel free to share it amongst your friends and colleagues.