Not Just Needles: Nutrition

Within the scope of practice of an acupuncturist, I am able to advise patients on various Qi Gong exercises and nutrition based on Chinese Medicine principles. When giving nutritional advice, I do not pay attention to calories or macro/micro nutrients. I consider your Chinese diagnosis and look at how your foods are affecting the elemental balance within your system. Sometimes it is not even about the food, but the environment in which you are eating. A common piece of advice is to eat with your tribe in a way you are enjoying yourselves. Save the conversations about school, work, the house, and the rising cost of gas for another time. You want to be connecting with your loved ones and using that fire to warm your Earth. Otherwise, you are ingesting all of the conflict you’re are stressing about. Another very important nutritional nugget is to eat breakfast like a Queen, lunch like a Princess, and dinner like a Pauper. You want to be eating your largest meal for breakfast when your Earth energy is high so that you can efficiently process your meal to utilize throughout the day. Eating late at night, keeps your body and mind in a Yang state and can affect the quality of your sleep. You want to be entering a Yin phase and allowing your elements to be in harmony with the flow of nature. Other nutritional advise may include adding or removing a certain flavor profile to best support your treatments.