Author: Erin Wood
Acupuncturist and Herbalist in the San Lorenzo Valley, California
Order Supplements on Wellevate!
I now have an herbal pharmacy online!
https://wellevate.me/#/
If you’d like an invitation to order high quality supplements at affordable prices, email me at erinlisewood@gmail.com.
Opal Street Holiday Faire, Saturday November 12th 4-7pm
HENNA PAINTING, ELIXIR TASTINGS, MINI REIKI
TREATMENTS, SELF-CARE DEMOS, SNACKS, and best of all:
potions, gifts and goodies from local herbalists, makers & healers
Saturday, November 12, 4-7 pm
3947 Opal Street, Oakland
We are:
ERIN WOOD, L.AC.
SAGE STAGGS, L.AC., HANDMADE HERBAL REMEDIES
ANGELICA & PEONY
RADIANT NATURAL HEALTH AND BEAUTY
LINDA KIM, L.AC.
HANDMADE HERBAL REMEDIES FOR COMMON AILMENTS
SUMMER SEQUOIA TALLOW
HANDCRAFTED ORGANIC TALLOW BALMS
TAPROOT MEDICINE
MEDICINAL HERBAL SYRUPS, INFUSED HONEYS, AND CREAM
SADIE RAY~ JEWELRY FOR BAD ASS WITCHES!
JESS WHATCOTT- HANDMADE HANKIES
RAIA KOGAN, MARISSA SPEER
CORDIALS BY MANY FLOWERS MEDICINE
www.etsy.com/shop/ManyFlowersMedicine
EYE OF CROW HERBS BY LIZANNE DELIZ
TASTY OXYMELS, LUSTY ELIXIRS, SALVES FOR PAIN, AND MORE
MITCH THE GARDENER, HOLIDAY WREATHS WITH
DRIED HERBS AND SUCCULENTS
BE REALBODY
THE CANDY
PATE DEFRUITS, MARSHMALLOWS, CARAMEL CORN,
TORRONE,BUTTERMINTS
ELENI GEKAS, HENNA PAINTING
GOLDEN GODDESS BOTANICALS & FABRIC ARTS
https://www.facebook.com/events/198346337265056/
COME ON BY!!!!
Water is Life!!!
GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF PURE WATER!!!
Finally Get a Water Filtration System from Multipure.
Drink more delicious water, feel better, protect yourself and your family from harmful contaminants such as MTBE, chlorination byproducts, PCBs, chloramine, VOCs, and heavy metals. Did you know that lead in the soil often seeps into your drinking water through cracks in the pipes?…..scary.
Lifetime guarantee!!!
My favorite filter is the Aquaversa, which is $430. You install it below your sink and just change the filter each year, which is $70. There’s also the Aquamini, which costs $170, is easy to install at the countertop and has the same type of solid carbon block filter to give you the cleanest water.
They also have shower filters for those with skin issues. Imagine how your pores open up in a hot shower, making it easier for chlorine and other contaminants to sink into your skin…..Protect yourself, you’ll be glad you did.
Clean, Delicious Water!
Have you ever wanted a water filter in your kitchen, but didn’t know which one to invest in? Multipure has been used by most every healthcare practitioner I’ve ever worked with, and I am so happy with mine. You can buy one through this link:
http://www.multipureusa.com/ewood/index2.html
Spring Vacation
I’ll be out of the office until June 7th, contact Amy Lee for Kaiser patients at 510.486.1988 or Linda Kim at the Opal Street Center at 510.290.1014. You’ll be in good hands! Salud!
Resolve Dampness
Dampness represents a condition existing within the body that is a reflection of dampness as it occurs in nature. Dampness can be due to a problem arising from the inability of the digestive system to transport and transport fluids, or from the body being overwhelmed by external damp from the environment, (damp weather, damp living conditions, damp-producing foods). It can also arise from as a response to an illness, or from the overuse of medication that promotes dampness, such as certain antibiotics. Phlegm is seen as a thicker, stickier, condensed form of dampness. Dampness can show up in your body as edema, swelling, loose stools, a sticky tongue coating, nausea, and a foggy feeling in the head. Phlegm is seen as a thicker, stickier, condensed form of dampness. We can see phlegm when we have a bad cold with a productive cough.
Foods to resolve dampness include:
| Grains | Corn, barley, basmati rice |
| Vegetables | Alfalfa sprout, button mushroom, capers, corn, pumpkin, radish, turnip |
| Fruit | Papaya, lemon |
| Beans | Aduki, lentils |
| Fish | Eel, tuna |
| Herbs&Spices | Aniseed, garlic, horseradish, marjoram, nettle, parsley, white pepper |
| Beverages | Green tea, raspberry leaf tea, jasmine tea |
Foods that are useful to resolve damp combining with heat:
| Vegetables | Asparagus, celery, Chinese cabbage |
| Fruit | Blueberry, cranberry, tamarind |
| Beans | Kidney |
Foods that are useful to resolve phlegm in general:
| Vegetables | Button mushroom, watercress | |
| Nuts | Almonds, walnuts | |
| Fish | Lobster | |
| Herbs&Spices | Caraway, cardamon, garlic, horseradish, marjoram, mustard seed, thyme, white pepper | |
Foods that are useful to resolve phlegm with heat:
| Vegetables | Seaweed, radish, water chestnut |
| Fruit | Apple peel, grapefruit, lemon peel, pear, persimmon, tangerine peel |
| Herbs | Licorice |
| Beverages | Elderflower tea, peppermint tea |
Foods that are useful to resolve phlegm with cold:
| Vegetables | Mustard leaf, onion, scallion |
| Herbs&Spices | Basil, black pepper, cinnamon bark, fennel, fresh ginger, onion, rosemary |
| Beverages | Jasmine tea, freshly grated ginger tea |
Foods especially useful to resolve damp heat in the Bladder
- Cranberry: this is best taken in tablet form as the juices often contain sugar.
- Barley: barley water can be made by pouring 1 quart (4 cups) of water over 30 grams of barley grains. Simmer until the liquid has reduced to half. Add lemon juice, strain, and drink at least four cups per day.
Foods especially useful for phlegm congesting the Lungs
Phlegm in General
- Thyme: this makes a useful herbal bath to help resolve phlegm and reduce coughing (especially at night). Simply take a handful of fresh garden thyme, crush slightly between your hands and steep in a liter of water that has just boiled while you run a warm bath. Close all the windows and doors, add the thyme water into the bath and take a bath for at least 20 minutes. You can also make thyme tea with lemon and honey for a cough.
Phlegm cold
- Ginger tea: grate some fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb nail) into a cup, steep in boiling water for five minutes, add a little brown sugar or honey to taste, drink warm.
- Onion: a simple cough mixture, safe to use in pregnancy, can be made by chopping up one onion and covering this with 1 tablespoon honey. Leave overnight or for several hours before taking the juice 2 –3 teaspoons at a time, as needed.
Phlegm heat
- Grapefruit juice: two to three glasses per day
- Pear juice: two to three glasses per day.
Foods to avoid in cases of dampness
For those prone to dampness, limit or avoid the following:
- Dairy products: this includes milk, cheese, ice cream and all foods that contain high amounts of dairy. Yogurt is perhaps the exception to the dairy food rule, as it has good bacteria that aid digestion. Sheep and goat products, such as goat milk, goat yogurt, sheep or goat cheeses are regarded as less prone to causing dampness.
- Pork and rich, fatty meats
- Roasted peanuts, including peanut butter
- Concentrated fruit juices, especially orange and tomato juice
- Excess refined wheat products
- Bananas
- Sugar and sweeteners
- Deep, fried foods
In dampness and phlegm, it is important to nourish the Spleen, which means that the consumption of raw, cold and processed sugary or fatty foods need to be limited to aid the spleen’s essential digestive function. The Spleen is similar to our digestive enzymes released in the digestive tract.
Original source:
Debra Betts, L.Ac. in New Zealand
http://acupuncture.rhizome.net.nz
Try Floating!!!! Sensory Deprivation Tanks….
I first tried floating out of curiosity. I am often looking for natural ways to get into the parasympathetic state of being and bring stress levels down, in the way that acupuncture does.
The water is a little warmer than your skin and is filled with around 800 lbs of epsom salts to relax the muscles and detoxify the body. Being in the tank is like being in a tropical womb, and you have total control of when or whether you close the door to the tank, and when you close your eyes inside, you could almost imagine being under a star-filled sky, it surprisingly feels more spacious than it is! You basically float in the water and try to calm the mind and maybe nap, Even if you don’t fall asleep, you can stretch, rest, chill out, and you come out feeling incredible, kinda loopy and deeply relaxed. The more you float, the more comfy you can get.
The first time, it was hard to get my neck comfortable, I felt like it was hard to relax it and let the salt water support me, I also felt a little claustrophobic for a few minutes and opened the door to get some fresh air, then I realized I could breathe right through the feeling and move my body and stretch to calm down. I found lacing my hand behind my neck and crossing my ankles to be the most comfortable position that first time, and although I didn’t fall asleep, I felt warm, cozy, and pretty out-of-it (in a good way) afterwards.
On the 3rd float, everything came together and I went into a deep relaxation right away, time flew and I went into la-la-land, waking myself occasionally when my arms twitched.. I finally figured out for me that I like the neck pillow, not around my neck, but sort of under my occiput with my long hair wrapped on the neck pillow to hold it in place, so it may take a few floats to find what position is most comfy for you.
I highly recommend Oakland Floats, near my office at the Opal Street Center. They have such a friendly and patient staff, the entire office is very cozy, clean, inviting, it sort of reminds me of being up in a floating treehouse. Check out Oakland Floats!
FREE HEALTH TALK ON ACUPUNCTURE AT OAKLAND FLOATS
FREE HEALTH TALK
ON ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE
Please join us with specialists Linda Kim, L.Ac. and Erin Wood, L.Ac. from the Opal Street Center
for a free health talk on Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4TH 7-8pm
at Oakland Floats 344 40th st Oakland, CA
Some Ideas About the Hidden Cost of Stress on Our Health
Keep in mind that there is no single cause of disease, and this video is not about blaming the victims of disease. Disease is an interplay of various factors with our immune system. I do believe in the power of saying “no” and how that can reduce our stress and improve our lives, just like acupuncture can 🙂
Erin Wood, Licensed Acupuncturist 