“I Am Awakening” Key Lime Pie for the Holidays
“I AM AWAKENING” KEY LIME PIE Recipe from ‘Sweet Gratitude’ by Matthew Rogers and Tiziana Aplio Tamborra, from Cafe Gratitude. I worked at Cafe Gratitude in Berkeley, CA for 5 years, one year as a baker and the other 4 years managing farmers markets, catering, wedding cakes and a line of products in grocery stores. I would eat these desserts guiltlessly for breakfast. This is a nontraditional item for Thanksgiving but will be a sure hit. I’m drooling just thinking about it. – Treasure De La Cruz EQUIPMENT NEEDED: Food Processor and Blender 9-inch pie pan or spring form pan CRUST: • 1 1/4 cups pecans • 1 1/4 cups macadamias • 1/4 cup finely chopped dates • 1/4 tsp vanilla • 1/8 tsp salt FILLING: • 3/4 cup lime juice • 1 cup avocado • 1/2 cup agave, • 1/4 cup coconut milk • 2 tsp vanilla • 1/8 tsp salt • 2 Tbsp lecithin • 1/2 cup coconut oil + 2Tbsp For the crust, process the ingredients for the crust in a food processor with the “S” blade attachment, until small and crumbly. Press into greased (with coconut oil) 9-inch pie pan or spring form pan. For the filling, in blender- put all ingredients except lecithin and coconut butter and blend until smooth. Add lecithin and coconut butter, blending until well incorporated. Pour into prepared crust. freeze for 1 hour, or until firm. Give it a try and let us know how you liked it! Tao to Wellness Berkeley, Ca 510-883-0383
Chinese New Year Dos and Don’ts!
Chinese New Year Dos and Don’ts! The Year of the Pig It is upon us, February 5th marks the beginning of the Year of the Pig! Get ready ladies and gents! This seems to be the most talked about post we do all year, because who couldn’t use some LUCK! This is my personal New Year and I take (almost) all this to heart, especially whatever you do on New Year’s Day is what you’ll be doing all year, so choose wisely, do something unique or different! A Chinese proverb states that all creations are reborn on New Year’s day. The Chinese New Year is a celebration of change … out with the old and in with the new! By Chinese New Year’s Eve, you should have done the following: Clean the entire home to get rid of all the things that are associated with the old year. Put away all brooms and brushes. Pay debts. Resolve differences with family members, friends, neighbors and business associates. Buy oranges (good health and long life), tangerines (long relationships, fruitful and multiply for having children or persimmons (happiness and wealth). Fresh flowers, if a flower blooms on New Year’s Day this is a sign of prosperity all year. Get together with close family members for the “reunion” dinner. Open every door and window in your home at midnight of New Year’s Eve to let go of the old year. On Chinese New Year’s Day… What you do today is what you’ll be doing ALL year long, choose wisely! Do not lend any money, otherwise you’ll be lending all year. Do not use foul language or unlucky words, like the word ‘four” which is the word for death, do not talk about death or ghosts on this day. Do not reference the past year or things in the past, only speak of the coming year. Wear new clothes or shoes, especially bright red. Eat candy in the morning for luck and also fish and chicken during the day. Do not wash your hair. Do not cry on New Year’s Day or you will cry throughout the whole year. Do not sweep the floor. Bad luck! Do not greet people who are in mourning. Do not drop your chopsticks. Do not use knives or scissors. The first person you meet or first words heard are indicative of the setting of the whole year. And for those most superstitious, before leaving the house to call on others, the Almanac should be consulted to find the best time to leave the home and the direction, which is most auspicious to head out. (Maybe a little overboard!) Happy Chinese New Year! In Prosperity, Christina Martin Tao to Wellness
Tips to having an awesome lymphatic system!
Tips to having an awesome lymphatic system! The lymphatic system, which is a complicated network of fluid filled lymphs, glands, organs and vessels, is rarely talked about, but so important. It’s basically the body’s garbage man or waste management, which in New York is really code word for mafia, but I digress. For patients who experience chronic problems, they might be a little more familiar with this slightly mysterious system. The lymphatic system’s main job is to get rid of toxins (internal and external) and protect the body against invasions. The largest lymphatic tissue in the body is the Spleen and plays a huge part in immune defense and red and white blood cells. One of the interesting things about lymph is, unlike blood, there is no pump, it relies on relaxation and contraction of muscles and joints to move it, so the lymphatic system can get sluggish and easily stagnant. When it becomes overwhelmed, it can lead to impaired immunity, cellulite, edema, chronic pain, fatty deposits, sinusitis and upper respiratory issues. As you can see it’s super important to keep this system moving! Thanks to The Chalkboard, A Guide to Living Well, here’s some easy tips to keeping the garbage men happy! ACUPUNCTURE You knew this was coming, right? Acupuncture is incredible for moving and balancing the lymphatic system, it’s one of the only modalities that can focus directly on the Qi and blood of the Spleen, which is the largest lymphatic organ. We also believe that stress plays a huge part in that potential stagnating energy of the lymphatic system, so acupuncture can also address stress in the whole body and the Qi flow of the liver as well. Remember there is no pump in the lymphatic system, so the body needs free flowing energy of Qi to transport those toxins. Acupuncture is your answer! REBOUNDING Rebounding is one of the easiest ways to pump the lymph. Rebounding is the practice of jumping on a trampoline (yes, remember when we did this for fun!?) for ten to thirty minutes. This passively moves the lymph while stimulating the circulation of blood throughout the body. Numerous studies have proven its efficacy, and have even shown it to improve muscle tone. INVERSION TABLE An inversion table is a padded table that allows one to invert upside down while strapped in by the feet. The inversion process decompresses the joints of the body and stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory system. This brings blood and oxygen to the tissues, which helps to clear the muscles of toxic build-up. By inverting, gravity works with, not against, the body, encouraging the movement of the lymph. It also improves spinal health by rehydrating the discs, reducing pressure on the nerves and relaxing tense muscles. LEMON WATER Lymph is about 95% water, making water essential for its health. Stay hydrated by drinking half your weight in ounces of water a day. Without adequate water, lymphatic fluid cannot flow properly. And one of the most common causes of lymph congestion is dehydration. Water, and only water, can adequately rehydrate the body, but if you want to expedite the process, add lemon to your water. Lemon is an alkaline fruit that helps to mineralize the body and lymph. Try sipping on warm lemon water throughout the day, but don’t forget your straw! This protects the teeth’s enamel from the lemon. ENZYMES Enzymes are produced by the body to break down food substances and to expedite countless metabolic processes. They are also utilized by the body to clear toxic-waste buildup in the lymph and blood, making their supplementation a key way to improve lymphatic health. Using proteolytic enzymes between meals can help to “digest” or breakdown organic debris in the circulatory and lymph systems, increasing lymphatic flow. They also help to ease the burden of allergy-like compounds, freeing the immune fractions traveling in the lymph system for other work. MASSAGE We all love a good massage, and here’s just one more reason why. Lymphatic massage is a special form of massage that specifically targets the flow of lymph in the body. It uses a specific amount of pressure and rhythmic circular movements to stimulate the lymph, encouraging its movement towards the heart for the drainage of fluid and waste. Lymphatic massage has shown in studies to push up to 78 percent of stagnant lymph back into circulation. This mobilizes toxins for clearance, lessening the burden on the lymphatic system. HERBS Many herbs have proven to be effective in improving lymphatic health, whether in their ability to increase lymphatic flow and drainage or in expediting the clearance of toxic substances. Red clover is a popular herb for the lymph, increasing flow, which helps to detoxify the body and reduce inflammation. Cleavers is another herb to try. Also known as clivers or goosegrass, it has been used for centuries and considered one of the best tonics to stimulate and help drain the lymphatic system. Coming from the Ayurvedic tradition is manjistha. Manjistha is an herb that is primarily utilized for its ability to de-stagnate lymph. It does this by detoxifying the tissue and supporting lymph flow. Finally, bupleurum (Chai Hu) and rehmannia (Sheng Di Huang) are herbal tonics known to treat lymphatic conditions in traditional Chinese medicine. We carry both of these at Tao to Wellness. These herbs are famous in Asia for maintaining the cleanliness of the lymphatic system and thus for naturally removing toxins from deep within the body on an on-going basis. DRY BRUSHING Dry skin brushing is a favorite Chinese medicine practice. It’s a technique commonly utilized in Ayurveda for assisting in lymphatic flow and boosting circulation. You simply take a dry brush with coarse bristle and brush the skin towards the heart. This stimulates the sweat glands, opens pores, and gets rid of dead skin cells. It also encourages the movement of lymph and blood in underlying organs and tissues of the body, which helps clear built-up toxins. As a result, it
What’s on the magical Tao to Wellness headphones?
What’s on the magical Tao to Wellness headphones? I wouldn’t have believed the hype, the website alone makes me cringe, you know those never ending websites with the HUGE “Try Us Now” button. It just screams scam to me. Guess what? It’s not a scam. In 2000 I shared an office with crystal healer, Clifton Harrison, he introduced me to these magical tracks and I’ve been throwing noise cancellation headphones on every patient since then. Amazing! The two tracks created by Centerpointe Institute are called Dive and Immersion, they are both 30 minutes each. The Dive helps ‘catch’ your brain as Clifton calls it, and slows it down into a meditative state, Delta to be exact. It then continues to take you deeper and deeper into The Matrix with Neo and Trinity, just kidding, just deeper into Delta states. Immersion follows and as the name implies brings you even deeper, however during an acupuncture treatment it actually brings you out of Delta and back to current space and time. I don’t have a solid answer as to why this happens, but I believe it’s a combination of the two working together. Acupuncture works with the Qi or energy of the body. It takes 23 minutes for the Qi to cycle through each organ, so it makes sense to me that in about 35 minutes or so the patient ‘returns’ since it takes most patients 10 minutes to drop into a quiet state initially. Almost every patient loves these tracks! And then every once in awhile, I would get a patient who felt irritated by them or a patient that couldn’t ‘drop down’. Maybe they hated the Bells (Dive) or they preferred the Rain only (Immersion). I came to find that these patients needed a little extra time in the initial stage, their brainwaves were moving much, much faster than others. So, I threw the headphones on and then I came back in 5 minutes, quietly entered the room and hit rewind to the beginning of the track, and then I did it again in another 5 minutes. It worked! After my 2 rewinds, patients were able to relax and go deeper like everyone else. Even more interesting is I usually only needed to do this for about 3 treatments, after that patients took to the Delta states much easier. To give you an idea of what all this feels like for a patient, here’s some quotes: I’m kind of here in the room, but not really here. I felt like I was levitating. It’s better than drugs! (my personal favorite) I felt like I was in another universe. That was an out of body experience. Christina Martin, L.Ac. Tao to Wellness Berkeley, California 510.883.0383
Fertility Boosting Foods!
Fertility Boosting Foods! At Tao to Wellness we’ve mastered the science behind baby making through acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and nutritional support. Foods have properties just like herbal medicine. When a patient eats certain foods at certain times of their cycle, there is an impact… sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Since we want to give patients the best case scenario when they are under our care, we compiled a list of what foods support the two main phases of the cycle. Below you’ll find foods broken down into Follicular, which is from the end of the period until ovulation, this is a building phase for the lining and the nourishing phase of Yin. And Luteal, which is from ovulation until the period happens. The temperature warms, there can be a possibility of implantation and this is a time of Yang. An * is a food that is extremely strong and highly recommended for this time of the cycle. FOLLICULAR phase of your cycle: Fruits Apples, Apricots, Banana, Blueberry, Fig, Grape, Mango, Pear, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Watercress Vegetables Asparagus, Beets, Dandelion, Kelp, Leafy greens*- including kale, spinach (best with a splash of citrus), Lemon, Microalgae, Millet, Mulberry, Nettle*, Parsley, Pea, Seaweed, Spinach, String Bean, Sweet potato Grains Barley, Millet, Sweet rice Meats: Beef*, Bone Marrow- Bone Broth*, Cheese, Duck, Liver, Oxtail*, Pork, Sardines Other: Black sesame*, Honey, Royal Jelly* LUTEAL phase of your cycle: Fruits Citrus Vegetables Cabbage, Kale, Onion, Leek, Chive, Parsnip, Parsley, Mustard Greens, Winter Squash Grains Lentils, Quinoa Meats Anchovy, Lamb, Trout, Salmon (check with Seafoodwatch.org for sources) Nuts Chestnut, Pecan, Pistachio Spices Aniseed, Basil, Caraway, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Cumin, Dill Seed, Fennel Seed, Garlic, Ginger*, Nutmeg, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Star Anise, Thyme To enjoy ANYTIME throughout your cycle! Avocado, Pineapple, Beans (Aduki, Black, Kidney), Cashews, Cherry, Dates, Eggs* and Walnuts Keep in mind Organic when possible Fruits and veggies that are in season In Health, Christina Martin, L.Ac. Tao to Wellness Acupuncture Berkeley, California 510.883.0383
paleo vs vegan
Paleo vs Vegan What’s a girl to do? There are so many diets out there and I’m not referring to fad diets necessarily. Just different ways of eating that work for different body types. How to choose… I personally have been on every single diet known to man (or woman) including the fad ones. Here’s what I came up with; eat what makes you feel good, eat what makes you feel alive and energetic. Case in point, I did Whole30 a few years ago (basically paleo, no dairy, alcohol, sugar, grains) and by day 25 I looked like I was ready for a coffin, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. Finally our acupuncturist, Nikole Maxey looked at me and said, “Why don’t you have just a little bit of rice?” What a brilliant idea, I was so hell bent on doing it right, and I obviously wasn’t thinking straight. I ate rice and my energy perked up immediately. So, Whole30 as wonderful as it is, is not for me. I also gained weight during those 25 days which again is not the norm for that particular diet. Paleo Diet or Vegetarian Diet? I’ve seen many patients over the years with exactly this profile, vegetarians/vegans with severe fatigue and high cholesterol. To be clear, I’m not a proponent either way of paleo or vegetarianism, I’m just more interested in a diet creating health and optimum balance for that patient. People think that high cholesterol is a marker showing too much red meat and rich foods, it can be, but it’s not the only way to get high cholesterol. From a functional medicine perspective, it can also be from too many carbs, not enough protein, so the body is deprived of amino acids for balanced brain chemistry, the thyroid isn’t regulated, the detoxification of the body is off and so on and so on, hence the body creates too much cholesterol. The fix I found; is Eggs. Eggs always seem to the harmless first step for vegetarians and vegans since so many choose that diet for moral reasons as well. I’ve also seen vegetarian patients eventually go Paleo all the way and they are feeling great. As the Dalia Lama says, “If you can, vegetarianism is the best way to go from a spiritual standpoint, but if protein is what your body needs, that’s fine too.” The Dalai Lama does eat meat now due to the urging of his Ayurvedic physician. I’ve also had a patient who was on a fad shake diet, shakes for breakfast and lunch and then a sensible dinner, doesn’t sound too horrible, right? The kicker was it had to be absolutely NO FAT, none at all, zero, nada, zilch. What do you think might have happened? She lost weight quickly, over a hundred pounds actually, but as the months went on her system grew dry. What that means, is achy joints, muscle pain everywhere, restless legs at night, arthritis type symptoms when she woke in the morning and even worse because she wasn’t getting any fats her brain was suffering and so was her sleep. We got her off that diet and got her on some good fats like olive oil, coconut oil and rice bran oil. And although some of the weight has returned she is feeling great now! So, what to choose? The answer: What feels good! Obviously, all diets (fad or not) will agree fast food, white flour, cookies, pastries, fried, etc are not good for you. Start by omitting those and see what makes you feel good otherwise! It takes a fair bit of awareness, but I think when you take some of the ‘crap’ out, you’re able to get a clearer picture of what’s working and what’s not. Some people thrive on Paleo, some Veganism while others do a modified version of the two, no two bodies are alike. In Health, Christina Martin Tao to Wellness Acupuncture in Berkeley www.taotowellness.com
The summer season is upon us…
The summer season is upon us… Even though the Bay area doesn’t quite have summer like the rest of the country, the energy and properties of summer still apply! Summer is a yang season and is associated with the Heart, Pericardium (“the Heart wrapper”), Small Intestine and the Triple Burner (a Chinese organ that closely resembles the 2nd, 3rd and 4th chakras). Summer is a period of luxurious growth. To be in harmony with the atmosphere of summer, awaken early in the morning and reach to the sun for nourishment. Summer offers abundant variety and the diet should reflect this. Minerals and oils are sweated out of the body, and their loss can cause weakness if they are not replaced by a varied diet. To be more comfortable, drink hot liquids and take warm showers to induce sudden sweating and to cool the body. Summer heat combined with too much cold food (Ex. salads and raw fruits, remember moderation!) can weaken the digestive organs, coldness causes contraction and interferes with digestion. Iced drinks and ice cream actually contract the stomach and stop digestion. Use plenty of brightly colored summer fruits and vegetables. Cook lightly and regularly, add a LITTLE spicy, pungent, or even fiery flavor, but not too much! When sautéing, use high heat for a very short time and keep in mind, olive oil is an unstable oil and under high heat can cause free radicals, try some new stable oils, like coconut (great for the thyroid and detoxifying the blood), canola and rice bran oil. Also, steam and simmer foods as quickly as possible. Use little salt and more water. Cooling fresh foods for summer are salads, sprouts (mung, soy and alfalfa), fruit, cucumber, tofu (not too much if you have estrogen dominance!), flower and leaf teas (mint, chrysanthemum and chamomile), watermelon, lemons and limes. The hot flavored spices are also considered appropriate in the warmest weather, at first their effect is to bring warmth, but ultimately they bring body heat out to the surface to be dispersed. With heat on the surface, one’s body mirrors the summer climate and therefore will be less affected by it. Red and green hot peppers, cayenne red pepper, fresh ginger, horseradish, black pepper are all ideal for this purpose, but if you are allergic to nightshades, do not use peppers. However, if too many dispersing foods are taken, then weakness and loss of yang will result, and the ability to stay warm and vital in the cooler seasons is lost. CALMING AND FOCUSING THE MIND… The Fire element rules the Heart in Chinese Medicine. This, not only, includes the organ itself but also the concept of the Heart as a mental/emotional center. Those with healthy hearts are friendly and humble. Clarity is a central attribute, they seem to see effortlessly through problems to arrive at brilliant solutions. Symptoms of a heart imbalance are: scattered and confused mind, excess or no laughter, confused speech, depression, loss of memory, poor circulation, insomnia, headache, irritability, palpitations/irregular heartbeat or excessive dreams. We of the ‘information age’ tend to have mental hyperactivity. Energy from excessive thought and worry races through the head while the heart is impoverished. A simple diet with occasional light fasting goes a long way. Avoid VERY spicy foods, refined sugar, alcohol, coffee, late night eating and large evening meals. The following reduce nervousness, treat insomnia and improve mental focus: Oyster Shell (Oyster shell calcium), whole wheat, brown rice, oats, mushrooms (esp. Reishi), oatstraw tea, cucumber, celery, lettuce, quality cow and goat milk, ghee (clarified butter), mulberries, lemons, Chia seeds, dill, basil, chamomile, catnip, skullcap and valerian. Of course, for insomnia, the classic remedy…drinking a cup of milk warm before bed works wonders. Stay cool, Christina Martin, L.Ac. Tao to Wellness Berkeley, CA 510.883.0383
