Category: Nutrition Articles

Flower Essences: Gentle Messages for the Heart Ruler

Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest and brightest day of the year. Summer is the
season of Sun and Light, and the Heart. In Chinese Medicine, the Heart is the Ruler that sits on our inner
throne and ensures harmony in our world. Just as in ancient China, when it was rare to actually glimpse
the revered Emperor, our own Heart Ruler is a behind the scenes presence that rules not through force,
but gently, effortlessly, through the quality we refer to as Wu-Wei. Thus, we approach the Heart Ruler
gently and reverently. For this reason, the Heart channel and Heart Back Shu points were classically
forbidden to needle. The approach is too direct. Approaching …

Burdock root is a beautiful spring food that is both nutritive and detoxifying. In TCM, we use Burdock seeds, Niu Bang Zi, to vent early stage cold and flu from the body and treat sore throats. The root, able to penetrate more deeply into the body, cleans the blood and vents out deeper held toxins and impurities.

In springtime, the bodies’ energy is moving up and out from the deep yin storage time of winter. Just like plants, our energy is now moving upwards and outwards to create new growth. When this happens, we can see pathogenic energy that was hidden in winter come to the surface along with it. This could look like a replay of old illnesses, old emotions, or old fears and thoughts….

This is our growing collection of links to connect you with the best information out there. As an integrative medicine college, we know that MDs, Herbalists, community, movement, and mindfulness all have a role to play as we face this unprecedented health challenge. Check back often as we will update it as new information and resources come to light.

Public Health Information Support Your Immune System For Acupuncturists & Herbalists Tools for Fear & Anxiety Mutual Aid Resources

Public Health Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
World Health Organization
National Institute of Health
Free & Low-cost Healthcare Finder for Alameda County

How to Take Care of Your Immune System:

Midwife & Herbalist Dr. …

Now that we’re in the height of summer, many of us are looking for ways to stay cool and beat the heat. One classic summer food that can help us do just that is watermelon. Everyone knows how sweet and refreshing a juicy slice of watermelon on a hot day can be, it’s a summertime ritual for many of us.

In Chinese Medicine, watermelon is used medicinally to help cool and clear summer heat. It nourishes fluids and helps promote urination, making it an excellent medicine for clearing heat from the body. It also has a sweet calming nature for the spirit.

Here’s a cooling summer recipe for a Watermelon Salad:

1 small watermelon, sliced into cubes and seeds removed
½-1 cup jicama, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

We all think hydration is simple, right? Just drink plenty of water. But staying well hydrated also means our bodies need to actually ABSORB all the water we’re drinking. Imagine a dry, cracked piece of earth in the desert. When it rains, that earth is so parched and hard that it cannot absorb any water. It all runs off the surface.

Our bodies are the same. If we don’t “prepare our soil” properly, all the water we drink just runs right through, and our tissues are still parched and dry. In TCM, we use yin tonics- herbs that are moistening and demulcent, in order to help moisten the body on a deep level and help it to “hold” the water. On a cellular level, yin tonics …

With Spring in full bloom, one of our most prized medicinal plants is now in the height of its season- Pu Gong Ying, or Dandelion. Cursed by North American lawn growers, but celebrated by herbalists all over the planet, Dandelion greens are a highly nutritious and tasty food.

They are rich in minerals and Vitamin A. Many of us in North America often shy away from bitter, nutritive foods such as Dandelion. Our palate is so out of balance with sweet and salty, we have lost our taste for other flavors such as sour and bitter. However, the bitter greens of Spring are an important way to attune ourselves to the season and get the Liver and Gall Bladder moving after the stillness of winter. Check …

With Summer, the season of Fire upon us, we only need to step out our doors to see the reminder everywhere: Summer is the season of Flowering. We see this in the beauty of our gardens and the bright wildflowers that are still so alive in our local hills. The Nei Jing tells us that the movement of Summer is growth and flowering. Of all the parts of a plant, flowers pertain most to the Fire element. They are light and yang in nature, they lift and brighten our spirits and bring us joy. Flowers in TCM are mostly used to affect the upper parts of the body, where the shen (spirit) resides. Their fragrance is opening and moving.

Many of our local flowers can …

As acupuncturists and herbalists in training, the students of AIMC can use our garden to learn hundreds of herbs, sometimes up to 20 new herbs per week.

Nishanga Bliss, MS, Ph.D. L.Ac., is the author of Real Food All Year and has been a practitioner in the holistic health field for over 20 years. She is an acupuncturist, herbalist, integrative nutritionist, and professor of Chinese medicine at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley, where she grows, cooks, ferments, teaches, and writes about sustainable food.

On a recent sunny spring afternoon, Nishanga met with Kimber Simpkins, a yoga instructor, positive body image teacher, and author of Full and 52 Ways to Love Your Body. The venue was Sanctuary Bistro in West Berkeley. Along with Cheryl Angelina Koehler, editor of Edible East Bay, who joined them to photograph, they enjoyed BLTs and citrus trifle as they discussed the topic of pleasure in relation …

This a recipe made by Sarah Donnelly for our AIMC Berkeley Intro to Herbs class, where students create and share a medicinal recipe. These delicious chocolates treat wind-cold disorders and are also act as a tonic and detox. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Gelatin
Ginger
Chocolate
Lemon juice
Honey
Coconut oil
Agave nectar
Cayenne pepper

Medicinal Ingredients and function in the body:
Ginger – Warming to the Lungs, Spleen and Stomach; releases exterior; indicated for coughing, wheezing, nausea.
Chocolate – Bitter – Anti inflammatory; dries dampness and phlegm
Lemon & Honey – Muscle/pain reliever
Honey – Tonifies
Gelatin – Eases joint pain

Instructions:

Candied Ginger Topper:
Slice ginger thinly, cover with 2C of water. Boil 10 minutes or until ginger has softened. Drain, and return 1/4C water to the cooked ginger, stirring …