Welcome back to Active Life Health Clinic's November newsletter. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Please note that Dr. Carr will be away from the clinic from December 5th to the 20th, so if you’d like to address your health issues before the end of the year, you’d better contact us soon! For December, she will be in the clinic as follows:

• December 2, 3, 4 as normal
• (December 5-20th away)
• Decmeber 22, 23
• (December 24, 25, 26 away)
• December 27, 29, 30, 31
• (January 1 away)
• Then back to normal Tuesdays to Saturdays

For ongoing acupuncture treatments when she's away December 5th-20th, her registered acupuncturist Tina Tse will be covering her patient care. Don't be shy to ask to see her as she's a very effective, and gentle, acupuncturist. You could also take this opportunity to see Helene Decarie for a reflexology session. She's fantastic! Inessa, our office manager, will be checking emails and phone messages on a periodic basis as well.

Okay, so this month is almost done, but while we're still hanging on to this month...November is both Osteoporosis Month and Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness month

If you suffer from any of these issues, or know someone who does, did you know that TCM can help? Read on.

And, if you are feeling the effects of too much desk work, check out the helpful yoga exercise offered by Lynn Roberts of Pure Yoga.

Helping you help yourself! My goal: To work in partnership with you to bring you to your optimal health. My focus: Ongoing health, not just temporary relief. This is active health.

Digestive Health

We haven't yet hit the holiday challenges of healthy eating, but it's coming soon! Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and TCM food cures can all play a large role in improving digestive health, whether it is specific for a particular disease such as Crohn's or colitis or just general digestive troubles like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, or heartburn.

Need proof?

Here's some:

• Acupuncture may relieve heartburn symptoms
  Acupuncture may work on heartburn by controlling the stomach valve which controls stomach acid flow.
• Chinese herbal medicine effective in IBS
  An Australian study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association lends strong scientific support to the traditional use of Chinese herbs in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 
• Clinical trial: acupuncture vs. doubling the proton pump inhibitor dose in refractory heartburn
  Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) are drugs used to reduce gastric acid production to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and peptic ulcer disease. One problem with these drugs is that they may increase the risk for bone fractures because they can interfere with calcium absorption. For this reason, amongst others, acupuncture is a fantastic alternative.
• Acupuncture for functional gastrointestinal disorders
  What does that mean? Irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, and GERD.  This article investigates how some common acupuncture points for digestion can help in relieving symptoms.
• Observation of the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion in 62 cases of chronic colitis
  Clinical practice of acupuncture gives a thumbs up for treatment of chronic colitis.
• Acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of active Crohn's disease: a randomized controlled study
  This study could have used a conventional medicine or no treatment control, intead of just a sham (pretend) acupuncture control group, but it did show acupuncture to be effective.

Are you dense?

How dense are you? Okay, what I really mean is how dense are your bones? 
Osteoporosis is a loss of the normal density of bone, leading to abnormally porous bone (osteo=bone; porosis=porous).  This "sponge-like" bone is weaker than denser "brick-like" bone and increases the risk of bone breakage.  

Osteopenia (osteo=bone; penia=poverty) is a mild thinning of the bone mass--less severe than osteoporosis--but genereally considered the first step on the road to osteoporosis.  

The tricky thing about both osteoporosis and osteopenia is that you may not know that you have either.  In fact, you may not know until you suffer from a bone fracture.  

If you don't know if your supplement choices are working for you, bring them in with you when you come in for your appointment with me. I can evaluate whether your bone supplements (or lack thereof) are really enough. 

Acupuncture can also increase blood supply and digestion, both of which can help with supporting a healthy bone structure.

Workplace Strrrreeetttttcccchhhh 
Chest Opener
by Lynn Roberts of Pure Yoga

BENEFITS
Stretches chest, arms and shoulders.  Releases tension in back, shoulders and neck.  Increases circulation to entire upper body, including brain, facial muscles, neck, arms, fingers, wrists, chest, shoulders and back.  Increases energy to heart and lungs.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Sit upright in your chair, slightly forward at the edge of your seat, feet flat on the floor, legs at a 90 degree angle. 

Step 2: Reach your arms around behind your back and clasp your hands together, palms facing in toward each other. Send your shoulder blades down your back and relax your face and neck. Keep your arms straight.
TIP:  If you cannot reach your hands together, try using a strap, towel, necktie, scarf, etc., to bridge the gap.

Step 3: As you inhale, lengthen your spine and contract your abdominal muscles.  As you exhale, start to reach your heart forward and bend forward and down with a straight spine.  At the last moment, let your spine round.  Let your arms soar over your head.

Step 4: Immediately begin to breathe deeply and slowly.  If it's difficult, just stay there and take deep breaths. If it feels okay, go even deeper by beginning to move your arms up and down and from side to side. 

Step 5: To come out, bring your arms back to center.  Keeping your hands clasped, inhale and sit up straight, resisting with your arms as you come up.  As you exhale, lower your arms, release your fingers and rest. 

Step 6: Take a few deep breaths and notice what you feel in your entire upper body.

From Pure Yoga

And finally, let us know your birthday
so we can email you a birthday card and gift at the right time!