Gill South turns to an acupuncturist in the latest chapter of her quest for good health and comes away impressed.
Why do people keep on trying to take my simple pleasures away from me? I mean a cup of tea, is that too much to ask? But I digress.
I am seeing an acupuncturist from Mother-Well Natural Health, as recommended by its naturopath, Loula George. Though I have never been to an acupuncturist before, I've written quite a lot about what they can do for women with fertility problems, so I am optimistic.
And within minutes, Lisa Houghton has wowed me with her ability to read tongues. "Your tongue is like a map of your body," she says. From a mere glance she tells me that my liver is "constrained" and that my digestive system is damp. That doesn't sound very good does it? Although she is impressed at how strong my pulse is. Oh, I do like to be doing something well!
But getting back to the tongue, the sides of my tongue, it seems, are curled and pale, which points to liver constraint and liver blood deficiency. This is draining my kidneys' cooling ability and could be the reason I am flushing after alcohol. This reaction is a "red flag" from my liver apparently. Yep, it sure is red.
Meanwhile watch out for a coating on the tongue, says Lisa. This coating shows a condition of damp and cold in the body and can be a sign that my digestive system is having some trouble with the fuel I am putting in or is compromised in some other way.
It is that this dampness in my digestive system which is compromising my ability to absorb nutrients - no good thing when you have an iron deficiency like I do. This brings me back to the cup of tea I was whining about at the beginning. I should only drink black tea an hour and a half after my meal because otherwise it will hinder my body's absorption of iron, says Lisa. Boo hoo, where does that put me with tea and cake?
My digestive system being compromised relates to my diet, says Lisa, and we agree to meet up and discuss this further in a couple of weeks. For now, Lisa suggests up to two tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed a day, sprinkled over my cereal.
Now it is time for the actual acupuncture treatment. And it's absolutely painless. These are really tiny needles. Lisa gives me a treatment known as a combination of the four gates.
It is made up of the source point for the liver (Tai Chong) and large intestine (Hegu). This is a great treatment for helping release liver constraint, apparently. Lisa also places a needle at the "Zhongwan" or "middle cavity" by my belly button. The point of this is to help stimulate my body's ability to drain the dampness and strengthen my digestive system's ability to absorb.
Next week:
I have a booking with my regular massage therapist to help me get rid of the end of winter's aches and pains. How hard can that be?
