​Dear patients and friends
 
If you are wondering how to support your health and reduce stress or anxiety with the threat of coronavirous and the restrictions on our usual activities, here are some options: 
 
Qi gong to support health
If you are looking for ways to support your health and cultivate more calmness and stability in the mind - which feels very relevant for most of us at this time - as well as cardiovascular exercise, I would recommend considering qi gong, (pronounced Chee Gong) a lesser - known cousin of Tai chi combines flowing movement and abdominal breathing requires less space to practice than tai chi and can be done at home for any length of time. Qi gong has been shown to have numerous physical and mental health benefits, including general physical function and quality of life, cardio-pulmonary fitness, immunity, flexibility, bone health, balance anxiety, depression and mental resilience (references below). 
 
Here is a qi gong exercise that supports the function of the Lung (referred to in the singular in Chinese Medicine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1235&v=Nqn70lirWKc&feature=emb_title   
It's by Peter Deadman, a respected Chinese medicine and qi gong practitioner, is 20 minutes long and like all qi gong, it feels both energising and calming to do.
 
Here is a very good short introduction to qi gong, also by Peter Deadman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=98&v=O3s5FpFhGaE&feature=emb_logo  It's the first part of a free and well-taught course teaching a qi gong form or routine that takes 15 minutes. It would be a way to support general health.
 
Chinese herbal medicine now mandatory for hospitalized coronavirus patients in Wuhan
Though this doesn’t seem to have been reported in the news anywhere (!) there have been promising results treating patients hospitalized with coronavirous in China. A directive was issued by the Covid-19 Medical Treatment Unit in Wuhan in February that all new hospitalized Coronavirus cases be treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as Western medicine (see: https://www.elotus.org/sites/default/files/novel_corona_virus_-_tcm_treatment_from_the_pprc.pdf  ) Patients are treated with Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) while in hospital (acupuncture is not suitable for obvious reasons) and on being discharged are being given a further two weeks worth of CHM, qi gong instructions and dietary advice. 
 
If you or anyone you know is becomes affected by Coronavirous and would like to use Chinese Herbal Medicine to support your health, please get in touch and I will put you in touch with one of my an experienced CHM practitioner colleagues. Consultation would be email / online / on the phone and herbs would be sent by post. Please note no endangered species or unethical products are involved. 
This would of course need to be in conjunction with conventional medical precautions, advice and treatment and absolutely not instead of these! Having personally experienced the benefits of Chinese Herbal Medicine repeatedly I would be happy to support you in this way. 
 
Lastly here’s an infographic very clearly showing the effects of different levels of social distancing on the spread of the virous, in case it would be useful for any friends or family members. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPrE5dBsiII
 
Again I don’t want to be sending you things you don’t want to receive, so please let me know if that’s the case and I’ll take you off my mailing list, no problem!
 
With very best wishes for your health and well-being
 
Paloma
 
References: A Comprehensive Review of the Health Benefits of Qi Gong and Tai Chi: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3085832/, The Effect of Baduanjin on Promoting the Physical Fitness and Health of Adults: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/784059/) 
 
 

Chinese medicine is in a way a misnomer as its approach is largely preventative. Its focus on subtle factors that combine over time to impact on health (depending on an individual's constitution) gives rise to a wealth of information on how to support health. 
In winter this means allowing some quieter, more restorative time, in tune with what is happening in the natural world. 
 
However what this means for an inhabitant of a developed country in the 21st century is likely to be quite different from an agricultural or manual worker in China in previous millennia. Because of the increased use of technology in daily life and the hyper-arousal of the nervous system that this can give rise to[1], allowing some non-demanding time for quiet restoration could mean planning less events into the holiday period, and more time to unwind, relax and in the absence of pre-planned events and routine, to connect with what we feel like doing in the moment. It might also mean reducing levels of stimulation from screen-related activities, perhaps having a family 'technology holiday', or non-screen days, or evenings – if need be holding off all but essential communications (these can be agreed before together). Both of these can be particularly important for children who are more sensitive to external influences and stimuli and whose neural development may be impacted in a lasting way by too much screen time[2].
 
While the winter months can be a welcome opportunity for physical rest or reduced activity for farmers of former times, for many of us holidays are a time when we are able to exercise, or give time to the kind of exercise we enjoy, and maybe to have more social time with friends and family. But perhaps because we have now less time available to exercise, exercise can mean pushing ourselves to the limit, chasing an adrenaline rush or weight loss. While recent research has highlighted the link between exercise and longevity[3], the approach of Chinese medicine would recommend that exercise is our approach to exercise needs to be more individualised. So rather than trying to live up to healthy ideals, accomplish everything you would like to for the holiday, or spending too much time on screens, a restorative holiday period could mean giving yourself time to wind down a bit and do what you feel like.

[1]   See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5836000/

[2]   See: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2722666

[3]   See: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2012/243958/

What you need to know about Vitamin C, and let's make sure that you are really getting enough. 
Modern science is still researching the vast array of benefits of vitamin C and it seems that Linus Pauling, a controversial Nobel prize winning scientist, was right all along. His studies using large quantities of vitamin C with patients who were suffering from severe conditions such as cancer and heart disease, showed a reversal of the disease.
Ten years after his death his work is on the way to vindication and the weight of evidence may yet force the medical establishment to accept his ideas.  Deficiency signs and vitamin C:

• Fatigue, experiencing reduced levels of energy
• Mood changes, becoming short tempered and irritable
• Bruising easily
• Dry hair/skin, a change in hair condition can be due to a lack of vitamin C.
• Infections/low immunity, lack of vitamin C can have a negative effect upon the efficiency of immune response, and wound healing and scar tissue fading will be slower.
• Dental conditions, gingivitis (bleeding gums) sore tongue, mouth ulcers.
• Joint and muscle aches, dull chronic pains can be a deficiency sign.
• Stress, the adrenal glands use up a lot of vitamin C to produce adrenaline and cortisol, so the higher the level of stress the higher amount needed.
• High cholesterol levels, this vitamin helps to lower the high density cholesterol level in the body, by converting it into bile salts that can then be excreted from the body.
• Heart conditions, vitamin C has excellent antioxidant properties so that it will scavenge free radicals - that damage cell walls increasing the risk of blood vessel, stroke and heart disease.
• Diabetes, it helps to regulate blood sugar levels.
• Cancer, in the last ten years there were numerous clinical studies on this subject.
• Asthma, being an anti oxidant and antihistamine it works well with any inflammation within the body.
• Cataracts, vitamin C plays an important role in improving vision.
• Oxidative damage and the resultant inflammatory changes are known to be root causes of most common chronic conditions in humans.... and vitamin C is essential for every cell in the body, it's repair and body chemistry balance.

Foods high in vitamin C are, berries, citrus fruits, mangoes and strawberries, green vegetables, especially avocados and asparagus, dandelion greens, and watercress, carrots and cauliflower.
To get enough we need to look at the way these foods are grown, stored and cooked, but also weigh our bodies needs against our intake, if an individual has any form of disease, disorder or smokes then this will increase the need to supplement to enable the correct amounts to be beneficial.
For further information please speak to Ruth Holmes. 

A large part of the population is at risk of being zinc deficient.  Few get enough from their diet, and this deficiency plays a role in a nearly every major disease.
Zinc's main role is the protection and repair of DNA (the genetic material of nearly all living cells) so therefore it is found in higher levels in animals and fish rather than plants, therefore a vegetarian diet may easily become low in zinc.
Oysters are popularly known as an aphrodisiac but are also the highest source of zinc for both men and women, which is essential for fertility.
Other food containing high levels of zinc are pumpkin/sesame seeds, pecans, cashews, peanuts, egg yolks, brewer's yeast, soy beans and wheat term, oats and organic vegetables, particularly the root vegetables like carrots.
Herbs that contain zinc are fennel, parsley, sage and alfalfa.  Zinc plays a vital role in many immune system reactions.  It promotes the destruction of foreign particles and micro-organisms, it acts as a protectant against free radical damage as well as inhibiting the growth of several viruses, including common cold viruses and herpes simplex viruses (cold sore) - with this condition the zinc can also be applied topically.  
Signs of being low in zinc are growth failure in children, slow wound healing, frequent infections, infertility, lack of appetite, and poor sense of taste and smell.  Finger nails become thin, peel and show the presence of white spots.  Adequate zinc levels are particularly important in the elderly, results of studies show that increased numbers of T cells and enhanced cell-dedicated immune responses occur, so it is particularly important now with the onset of winter.  For further information please speak to Ruth directly. 

Important herb
Ruth Holmes - allergy therapist, nutritionist and medical herbalist
Echinacea purpurea and echinacea angusti folia are among the world's most important medicinal herbs.  They can raise the body's resistance to bacterial and viral infections by stimulating the immune system.
Numerous clinical studies have confirmed this.  It can be used to treat infections of all kinds, and is particularly effective in chronic infections, like chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) and in skin infections such as acne and boils.  It can be used for mouth ulcers and gum disease as a mouthwash and throat problems as a gargle.  It is also beneficial for treating chilblains, and a tincture made with equal parts black walnut, echinacea and pad'arco is effective for clearing warts.
It is probably used most to help reduce the likelihood of developing colds and flu.
If you would like to speak to Ruth Holmes please ask at reception or phone us on 01453 832515.

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