To the Point Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

08/03/2022

Coffee aka Anxiety Juice

Coffee is well loved for its ability to “super charge” us, to give us a buzz throughout our day. It is also well recognised in its ability to take our anxiety and ratchet it up a notch, often without our recognising it is happening.
Coffee is often one of the first items to be reduced or eliminated from the diet during “detox” programs. Headaches are a common withdrawal from coffee. The question is often raised in practice, “Do I have to give up coffee? How do I give it up?” The answer is that a life with little to no coffee in it will be a healthier life, and that moderation in all things is a good thing.
Start firstly by noting your coffee intake. When are you most commonly having a coffee, and why? What habits and associations do you have with your daily dose? Start to change up the habit/association. Go for a walk instead, do some exercise, some meditation or … anything different! Then, cut out any coffee post 12 noon, gradually bringing that time earlier in the day. Substitute your coffee with Gen Mai Cha. This is a green tea which has puffed brown rice in it – it is sometimes known as Sencha tea. It is a calmative and actually really good for you. It will also help calm the anxiety beast a little. Next up is to ditch the milk. Once you are down to one coffee per day, then swap the latte out for a single shot espresso. There is actually less caffeine in it than in a long black. You are almost there, now. Then start to “miss” every other day and substitute with your Gen Mai Cha or a herbal tea. In this way you’ll avoid the worst of the headaches and other withdrawals and the anxiety / edginess will be notably down in your day.

17/02/2022

Let’s talk about breakfast!

The old adage “breakfast like a king” … could never be truer. Breakfast is literally that – the breaking of the fast. Your stomach has not received food or fluid for (hopefully) 8 hours. As such, it requires warm and wet food to turn the stomach on for the day. Porridge is one of the most perfect breakfast foods. Made on oats, soaked overnight and rinsed before cooking, they provide the perfect balance of soluble and insoluble fibre. Oats strip fats from our arteries and are beneficial for heart tissue, as well as providing the perfect material for great bowel function. In addition to this, oats also provide a long slow burn of energy, allowing for a more sustained start to our days.

It’s time! Crack out the oats this evening and soak in some water overnight. Tomorrow morning give them a good rinse in a sieve before cooking on the stovetop. Ideally you would not cook them in milk (of any kind) and eat them topped with 2 tablespoons of cooked fruit compote, and perhaps some toasted slivered almonds. Delicious!

06/02/2022

Welcome to the Year of the Tiger.

This is the year of the Water Tiger; a year characterised by a confident and authoritative energy to all. It is a year to be marked by resilience, and strength and a year of challenges to be met. This is a year for us to show courage, to step out of our comfort zones and pursue goals with courage and conviction. This is a year for making big changes, risk taking and adventures. It is a year for finding enthusiasm for ourselves and for others. Water years bring out our emotions, more than other years of other elements. Life is short so this is the time to grab it with both hands!

For those born under the Tiger element, this is your birth year. Traditionally, according to Chinese Astrology the year of your birth sign is believed to be one of the unluckiest years of your life, certainly one of big challenges as you move through the year. Those born in Tiger years are said to be impulsive, ambitious and hasty. These folks dislike rules – unless they are the ones making the rules. Their judgment is not always perfect and are known to be move in a rather liquid manner. They need change and movement. The Tiger fancies himself as a trend setter and an innovator and succeeds best when surrounded by good advisors. Tigers love challenges and competition, hunger for excitement and they crave attention. When life does not flow their way, they can be out spoken, ill-tempered and fractious.

29/01/2021

QOTD: "Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider, is chaos for the fly." -Morticia Addams

28/07/2020

😌☀️

via .official

24/07/2020

"Scientists have recently determined that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain - unless it is done with play, in which case, it takes between 10-20 repetitions."
—Dr. Karyn Purvis

29/05/2020

19/05/2020

16/05/2020

This daily infographic provides a quick view of the current coronavirus ( ) situation in Australia. Visit: www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-at-a-glance

09/05/2020

It seems many people are breathing some relief, and I’m not sure why. An epidemic curve has a relatively predictable upslope and once the peak is reached, the back slope is also predictable. Assuming we have just crested in deaths at 70k, that would mean that if we stay locked down, we lose anothe...

09/05/2020

Cheats Congee ... another fabulous start to the day ...

The easiest way to make congee for breakfast is the night before, whilst you are enjoying dinner.

Take a 2L saucepan or larger. Into the base pour 2-3 tablespoons of sesame oil, over moderate heat. Toss in 1-2 handfuls of white basmati rice (I have never had good results with brown basmati rice) and toss in the oil until well coated but not burning. To this then add hot stock to a depth of 5-10cm. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure that nothing is sticking and that the rice is breaking down into a porridge like (gruel) consistency. Add more stock as needed. The rice shall move through various appearances from raw rice, to cooked rice and then the rice seems to continue to expand and break down until the porridge like consistency is gained. This shall make enough for 2-3 days.

To serve, reheat and then add a variety of toppings. Toppings can include steamed chicken, eggs, spring onions, toasted or black sesame seeds, roasted vegetables, whatever is lurking in the fridge. A favourite at home is leftover roasted sweet potato and pumpkin with fresh black beans, and soy sauce (or tamari). Whilst it doesn’t seem as if it is going to be very tasty, the quality of the stock used will greatly influence the final product. A sweet congee can be made using 1-2 Chinese Red Dates and adding these to the cooking process.

08/05/2020

Tea

Many years ago a study was done into tea drinkers’ health compared to that of coffee drinkers. The results showed that tea drinkers had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease, had lower cholesterol, exercised more, smoked less and were 24% less at risk of non cardiovascular mortality. This is a fabulous drink to incorporate into your day. Tea is filled with antioxidants, has less caffeine than coffee, has been linked to weight loss and has health promoting affects. Tea drinkers live longer and overall have lower stress levels. Tea contains polyphenols which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities.

There are many different types of tea: herbal, green, white, black, oolong, and pu-erh tea. Al, with the exception of herbal teas derive from the camellia sinensis plant. Green tea has a high polyphenol content and its high antioxidant levels help in its ability to impede the growth of many different cancers, reduce the oxidative effect on brains and prevent clogging of the arteries. Green tea is not taken with milk addition. It comes in a variety of forms, the most common being Gen Mai Cha which has the addition of puffed rice. This is an excellent calmative green tea and works wonders for those experiencing anxiety.

Black teas are generally made with fermented leaves and has the highest caffeine content of teas. Whilst it has lower polyphenols than green tea, it still has high levels of antioxidants and has been linked with possibly reducing the risk of stroke and being able to benefit the lungs from smoke.

White teas are uncured and unfermented and have been shown in some studies to have the highest anti cancer properties.

Oolong teas have been shown to address lowering LDL cholesterols in the system.

Pu-erh tea is a black tea that is compressed into cakes made from fermented and aged leaves. It has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol and to assist in weight maintenance and management.

The process of drinking tea takes time. The best outcomes for optimising tea benefits is when the leaves are given time and space to open and have the goodness steeped from the leaves. Drinking tea is a process that allows for taking time, for taking a moment out of the day. Coffee drinkers tend to grab and go, feeding into the adrenal fuelled process of our modern day lifestyle. Taking the time to brew a pot of tea, allowing it to steep, and then taking the time to enjoy the brew allows for a moment in the day to simply stop, breathe and take a break from the day.