In the same vein, they’re thermogenic, meaning they naturally boost your metabolism to help you burn calories. You feel satisfied more easily, so you eat less.  Studies show that consuming certain herbs and spices before each meal can potentially reduce your caloric intake. Due to their nutrient-dense status, they promote your overall wellbeing with antioxidants more potent than many fruits and veggies. Herbs and spices promote health and wellbeing in your entire body, not just in a particular area.

This “whole person” approach is why we believe these spices and herbs can benefit you so greatly.

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At Chen’s Acupuncture, we wish every mother a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend, especially Peishan, Janette and Wendy!

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156 pounds

The average American consumes about 156 pounds of added sugar each year per capita, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s troubling, especially when those statistics are coupled with the results of a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association which says there’s a significant correlation between dietary added sugars and an increased risk for diabetes, heart attack and stroke.

Published this week, this is the first major study to look at sugar and blood fats. It found that added sugar has adverse effects on the level of blood fats and therefore, on the heart. American adults eat about 104 grams of sugar per day, but the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 25 grams per day for women and to 37.5 grams a day for men.

Candy, soft drinks and processed foods a concern

Fruits are a wonderful source for getting natural sugar. The biggestt concern is eating candy, soft drinks, and processed foods that contain 25g of sugar or more in one serving.

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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What is EGCG?

Green tea could raise your energy expenditure, and possibly even help battle obesity, according to a new study. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, was shown to increase fat oxidation by 33 percent. This result comes from one of many studies that have looked at green tea’s potential in weight loss. EGCG has been shown to be a key component in many of these studies. There are a number of ways the EGCG could help aid weight loss:

1) It increases metabolism and fat oxidation

2) It inhibits fat cell development

3) it increases fat excretion.

Other studies indicate that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in particular may also be helpful in preventing and/or treating:

• Dementia

• High blood lipid

• Arteriosclerosis

• Cerebral thrombus

• Pain and inflammation related to rheumatoid arthritis

• Prostate cancer 

Including 1-2 cups of gree tea every morning can be an integral part of your weight loss lifestyle. Acupuncture and natural herbshave also been found to increase digestive energy and absorption, therefore helping in weight loss and maintenance.

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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Unusually strong pollen seasons this year

Some of the same regions of the country that experienced unusually cold temperatures this past winter are now in the middle of one of the worst pollen seasons in several years. The problem has been particularly bad in the Southeast, where allergy sufferers and clean-car lovers are dealing with a constant yellow blanket of near-record pollen. In normal seasons, a pollen count of 120 is considered high. Last week in Atlanta, the pollen count hit 5,733, the second-highest level on record, according to The Weather Channel.

You can track you local pollen count at POLLEN TRACKER.

Natural products

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs has a long history of effectively treating allergies. In general, acupuncture is known for its anti-systemic inflammatory effects and efficacy in calming the nervous system. These are two extremely important systems that correlate with allergic reactions. Herbal formulas are used to balance these two systems as well.  Some of our staff use a natural productevery year to get them through a one-month period of allergies. They get the same results as from medications such as Claritin, without the side-effects.

Talk to us today about how we can help you through this allergy season.

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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 While it is nearly time to enjoy warmer weather, it is also one of the two most susceptible times of the year to catch colds and flu. 

Although your internal body heat is rising toward the surface (like the trees’ sap), the air is still cool and it’s important to remain warmly dressed outdoors. The shining sun and hint of warmth encourage us to shed heavy clothes and act like it’s summer. Yet, this is exactly how those spring colds and flu begin. This is also the windy season and exposed necks invite pathogens to invade the body. Foil that flu bug by wearing a scarf outdoors and keep those layers on.  

Likewise, refrain from eating cold foods and drinks (iced drinks and foods, juices, raw foods, salads, soy milk) until summer arrives. Continue eating cooked foods and protein until your body adjusts to fluctuating temperature changes. Add in a large variety of cooked vegetables, dark leafy greens, some whole grains and cooked fruit and you will stay well through this vulnerable time.

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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For a healthier start in life

For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority — rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.

The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the incidence of insulin resistance — the precursor condition to diabetes. Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal development. Insulin-resistant individuals gradually lose their ability to respond to changing glucose levels in the blood; in pregnant women, the condition, which occurs when hormones produced by the placenta interfere with the proper function of insulin in the body, means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby. (If the condition gets severe, however, it can result in a temporary condition called gestational diabetes in the mother, which is associated with heavier babies and a higher risk of obesity in childhood.)

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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What is interval exercise?

Working out for 20 minutes a day using interval exercise may provide many of the same benefits of much longer workouts done in conventional “long-duration” style.

Many experts “recommend that children and teenagers exercise one hour every day and adults get a weekly minimum of two hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity.”

“This could be activities such as brisk walking, dancing, gardening or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity (jogging, aerobic dancing and jumping rope)” CNN reported.

However, a new study in the Journal of Physiology found that about 20 minutes of high-interval training provided the same benefits as longer exercise sessions that focused on endurance training.

An alternative to endurance training?

As CNN reported, “The study suggested that quick, high-interval training may represent an alternative to endurance training to improve metabolic health and reduce the risk for chronic diseases.”

Interval training is when you break your exercise session into short segments that alternate high intensity with a rest period in-between. It can dramatically improve your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities in a fraction of the time.

Less time, better results!

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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$8.9 billion cost

Nearly 1 million patient-safety incidents occurred among Medicare patients over the years 2006, 2007, and 2008 — the figure remained virtually unchanged in last year’s annual study. In all, the incidents were associated with $8.9 billion in costs.

Some of the most common and most serious indicators even worsened, including decubitus ulcer (bed sores), iatrogenic pneumothorax (collapsed lung), post-operative hip fracture, post-operative physiologic and metabolic derangements, post-operative pulmonary embolism (potentially fatal blood clots forming in the lungs) or deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs), post-operative sepsis, and transfusion reaction.

One in 10 patients — almost 100,000 people all told — experiencing a patient-safety incident died as a result.

Top hospitals make a difference

Patients at hospitals in the top 5 percent experienced 43 percent fewer patient safety incidents, on average. If all hospitals performed at this level, more than 218,000 patient safety incidents and over 22,000 deaths could potentially have been avoided, saving $2 billion over three years.

Scary huh. We can all avoid the hospital by taking care of ourselves and getting preventive treatments.

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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The science is still split

You’ve probably heard this advice many times: Eat smaller meals more frequently to lose weight. Unfortunately, science is still split on this issue. Some studies show a benefit to eating this way, while others find no discernible biological differences whatsoever. So which advice should you follow?

According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, increasing meal frequency from three meals a day to three meals plus three additional snacks did not promote greater weight loss. Both groups consumed an equal amount of calories (2931 kJ/day) and both groups ended up losing a little less than five percent of body weight after eight weeks.

The best confirmed way to really boost your metabolism is exercise. When you exercise you clearly burn more calories, but you can super-charge your calorie burning mechanism even more by building muscle! Why is this? Because muscle demands energy to just “sit” on your body. Fat does not.

Hit the gym and lift some weights!

At Chen’s Acupuncture in Seattle/Bellevue, WA we will be happy to answer any questions you might have about acupuncture and herbal medicine. Just stop by our office, email us at info@chensacupuncture.com or call Peishan, Janette or David at 425 644 2056. Thank you.

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