Acupuncture Boulder News, October 2007 - "Souper" Health!
October 18, 2007

Hello,
Welcome to the third edition of Acupuncture Boulder News. Yes, I meant to say SOUP-er in the subject line for this letter. Autumn is upon us and there is a chill in the air (well—at night, at least)! When the leaves begin to fall, I always start craving comforting, nourishing soups. So I'm including a recipe for one of my favorites: Quinoa and Kale Soup. Not yet familiar with Quinoa? Not to worry, I've included an introduction to this amazingly healthy food as well as an exposé on soda-pop, and a report on the effectiveness of acupuncture for back pain.

Cold and Flu Season is here, so consider getting an immune- boosting acupuncture treatment to shore-up your defenses. Read all the way to the end of the letter to find out how you can receive a complimentary Immune Boost Treatment!

As I've said before, if you know anyone else who may benefit from the information in this newsletter, please feel free to pass it along!

And if you found this in your bulk or junk mail folder, make sure to add Robin at AcupunctureBoulder.com to your address book so you won't have difficulty receiving future issues.

www.acupunctureboulder.com

(303) 541-9600

2760 29th Street, Suite 2E
Boulder , CO 80301

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3 - OCTOBER 2007

IN THIS ISSUE

Celebrate: National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day - October 24

Research Report: Acupuncture for Back Pain

Healthy Food Focus: Quinoa

Recipe: Quinoa and Kale Soup

Consumer Alert: How Soda-Pop is Harmful to Your Health

Promotion: Complimentary Immune Boost Treatment

Celebrate: National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day - October 24

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day is observed October 24 to increase public awareness of the progress, promise and benefits of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

An estimated 36% of U.S. adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), according to a survey by the National Institutes of Health. Among the common CAM practices identified by the survey were acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, tai chi and qi gong.

A 2002 survey found that approximately one in ten adults had received acupuncture at least one time. Half of the individuals surveyed were extremely satisfied or very satisfied with their treatment.

In addition, 21 percent of the total respondents reported that they had utilized some other form of Oriental medicine other than acupuncture, such as herbs or shiatsu bodywork.

Percentages have certainly risen in the five years since this report was published. These studies and others like them clearly demonstrate that acupuncture and Oriental medicine are becoming common practice in today's health care system—and that’s reason to celebrate!

Research Report: Acupuncture for Back Pain

In the largest experiment on acupuncture for back pain to date, German researchers have found that “sham”, or fake, acupuncture works nearly as well as the real thing for low back pain, and either kind of acupuncture performs much better than conventional medical care.

In the study, more than 1,100 patients were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture, sham acupuncture or conventional therapy. (For the sham acupuncture, needles were inserted, but not as deeply as for the real thing. The sham acupuncture also did not insert needles in traditional acupuncture points on the body, and the needles were not manually moved and rotated.)

After treatment, 47 percent of real acupuncture patients had improved. In the sham acupuncture group, 44 percent did. In the conventional care group, only 27 percent got relief.

In the study, the conventional treatment included many methods: painkillers, injections, physical therapy, massage, heat therapy or other treatments. Like the acupuncture patients, the patients getting usual care received about 10 sessions of 30 minutes each.

After six months, patients answered questions about pain and functional ability. Almost half the patients treated with acupuncture needles felt relief that lasted months. In contrast, only about a quarter of the patients receiving medications and other Western medical treatments felt better.

“Acupuncture represents a highly promising and effective treatment option for chronic back pain,” study co-author Dr. Heinz Endres of Ruhr University Bochum in Bochum, Germany, said.

“Patients experienced not only reduced pain intensity, but also reported improvements in the disability that often results from back pain and therefore in their quality of life.”

Healthy Food Focus: Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a native "grain" (actually a seed) that has been a food staple of indigenous peoples of the Andes mountains for centuries. It has been credited with contributing to the Peruvian Indians’ hardiness and endurance.

Quinoa is high in protein, calcium, and iron. Of all the whole grains, it is the most nutritious and is the only one to contain the essential amino acid lysine. Lysine is a necessary building block for all protein in the body. It plays a major role in calcium absorption; building muscle protein; recovering from injuries; and in the body's production of hormones, enzymes, and antibodies.

Dr. Duane Johnson, the New Crops Agronomist at CSU has said, “If I had to choose one food to survive on, quinoa would be the best.” Most people who are allergic to other grains do not have problems with quinoa.

When cooked, it has a similar consistency to barley or cous cous. It can be eaten as a hot cereal for breakfast, served with fruit or maple syrup—or, better yet, with agave nectar. It can be used in almost any side dish in which you would use other grains—pilafs and salads such as tabouli, etc., or to stuff peppers or squash.

How do you cook it?

Like rice, it is important to rinse quinoa very well before cooking, unless the quinoa you buy is marked “pre-washed,” such as the Ancient Harvest brand. For rinsing, a fine-mesh strainer is helpful, but not necessary.

Place 1 cup of rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Stir once, turn down the heat to low, cover and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed.

You can tell the quinoa is thoroughly cooked when it becomes translucent and the crescent-shaped germ separates and becomes white. It looks like a little tail. After the quinoa has been cooked, remove it from the heat and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe: Quinoa and Kale Soup

This recipe came to me through a friend who is an amazing cook. It makes a complete and hearty lunch on its own, or add a simple baked acorn squash as a side dish for a perfect Fall dinner!

1 cup quinoa

4 red potatoes

7 cloves garlic

1 bunch kale (If you aren't familiar with it, kale is a green leafy vegetable you can find in the produce section near the lettuce.)

½ to 1 cup crumbled goat feta cheese

6 to 8 cups water

2 to 3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp cumin

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp cinnamon

1 pinch of ground cloves

1 tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste



Cook quinoa (as directed above).

While the quinoa is cooking, dice the potatoes with skins on into small cubes. Peel and finely dice the garlic (or skip this step and use a garlic press to squeeze the garlic directly into heated oil).

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Fry the garlic, cumin, red pepper and curry powder on medium-high heat until the garlic just begins to brown (about 30 seconds to 1 minute).

Add the diced potatoes and continue frying until the potatoes begin to stick to the pan (several minutes).

Add the water and bring to a boil.

Turn heat down and simmer until the potatoes are tender (almost falling apart).

Add the kale, tearing it into small pieces and removing stems. Stir. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked quinoa. Turn off the heat and stir in the cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper.

Add the crumbled feta to individual bowls just before serving so it can be omitted for those with a dairy intolerance. However, goat feta is better tolerated by most people than cow's milk feta.

Consumer Alert: Soda-Pop is Harmful to Your Health

With all of the commercials featuring happy, hip people quenching their thirst with beverages from brightly-colored cans, it’s easy to believe that sodas are just harmless “soft drinks”. But the truth is quite a different story. Aside from directly promoting diabetes, tooth decay, heart disease and obesity, sodas also contain high amounts of phosphoric acid, a substance that leaches calcium from bones, causing a loss of bone mineral density, contributing to skeletal fragility and osteoporosis.

Regular soda is full of sugar, in the form of high-fructose corn syrup—linked to diabetes, especially in children—and is packed with empty calories. The amount of sugar in one soda can also suppress the immune system for up to five hours.

Diet sodas are just as bad or worse, since they contain chemical sweeteners linked to neurological disorders and learning disabilities. Nearly half of the studies provided to the FDA regarding the artificial sweetener Aspartame indicate serious health concerns. But with big money behind it, it continues to receive the stamp of approval.

Results from the Framingham Heart Study indicate that even diet sodas increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. They found that drinking just one soda per day (diet or regular) led to a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome (a cluster of cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors), a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese, a 30 percent higher risk of developing increased waist circumference, a 25 percent higher risk of developing high blood triglycerides and high blood sugar, and a 32 percent greater risk of low “good” cholesterol levels.

What’s more, the intense sweetness of artificial sweeteners causes a tendency to crave even more sweets.

What are the alternatives? If it’s the caffeine and a touch of sweetness you crave, try brewing a cup of green tea that you can sweeten with agave nectar. Agave enters the bloodstream much more slowly than sugar or honey—so you avoid the energy spike and crash—is lower in calories, and is naturally delicious!

For those who don’t want caffeine but crave a tasty drink, try Celestial Seasoning’s Bengal Spice tea—it’s full of flavor with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and a hint of vanilla—yummy and slightly sweet all on its own!

Promotion: Complimentary Immune Boost Treatment

It’s that time of year again—cold and flu season is here. The bugs are going around and you don’t want to catch them! A strong immune system is your best defense. Acupuncture has been shown to boost immune cell counts, strengthening your natural ability to fight off invading pathogens.

This month you can receive a complimentary acupuncture treatment specifically designed to boost your immunity. Just refer a friend, relative, co-worker or acquaintance to me, and as soon as they've had their new patient visit, my office will call you to schedule an appointment for your Immune Boost Treatment! (A $70 value.)

Remember, prospective patients are always welcome to call me for a no-obligation phone consultation to answer any questions they may have, and to determine if acupuncture is the right treatment for their condition.

That's it for this issue of Acupuncture Boulder News. If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to subscribe, just click on the following link:

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Thanks again for reading!

Warmest Regards,
Robin L. Schiesser, L.Ac.

Natural Resources Integrated Healthcare
2760 29th Street, Suite 2E
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 541-9600