Ailments & Conditions, Recipes, All Things Chinese Medicine and Lifestyle Blog Posts
What is a BBT Chart: Basal Body Temperature (BBT) charting was first identified in the 1930s as a rhythm method of birth control. With the addition of monitoring cervical fluid and cervical positioning, the rhythm method of contraception upheld a 98% success rate. This newfound fertility awareness opened up a wealth of information to increase
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Cooking Tips & Tricks For Supercharged Meatballs Tips on how to make your meatballs superfood worthy (and extra delicious): Use almond meal as your binding agent for gluten free balls and blood sugar stabilisation Add bone broth powder and grass fed gelatine for gut support A pinch of seaweed flakes adds important trace minerals, such
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Lets talk meal/food prep… How many times have you caught yourself snacking non-stop throughout the day, never feeling satisfied, or being in too much of a rush to prepare a proper meal making you opt for an easier and less nutritious option? It happens to the best of us. But, an easy fix is meal
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We have discussed Pulse Diagnosis so we thought why not touch on Tongue Diagnosis. Tongue Diagnosis is another tool used in a TCM consultation to reveal how the body is functioning. As you can tell by the image, when looking at the tongue we look at its colour, shape, coating and movements. These characteristics highlight
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Each and every consultation with our practitioners involves them feeling your pulses. But why do they do this? The pulse is a very important diagnostic tool in TCM. As you can see in the photo above, Nick has 3 fingers placed over the pulse. This is because of the three sections of the pulse, Cun
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These delicious bliss balls are the perfect snack to bring to a festive gathering. Goji berries are high in antioxidants, especially zeaxanthin which helps the eyes. They contain large amounts of vitamins A and C, which together with the antioxidants help the immune system. They also contain beta-carotene, which is known for its ability to
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Super easy and nutritious apple and cinnamon gluten free muffins. Ingredients 3 eggs 2 apples 3 Tbs maple syrup 1/2 tsp natural vanilla extract 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 cup almond meal 1 tsp gluten free baking powder Method Pre heat oven to 170 C Combine ingredients in blender/food processor Pour combined ingredients into a
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We have been having lots of patients coming through the clinic recently with Hay Fever symptoms. So, we have a few tips to survive the hay fever season: Hydrate Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. Dehydration places significant stress on the body which may exacerbate hay fever symptoms. Avoid the wind
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This delicious smoothie is a gut loving bowl full of vitamin C and antioxidants. You can be as creative as you like with toppings. You have the option of an additional sweetener. However the bananas and berries will make it sweet enough without. Ingredients 1/2 cups frozen berries Handful of kale or baby spinach leaves
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Kefir contains up to 62 strains of yeast and bacteria including the probiotic bacteria lactobacilli. These are all an important part of maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. This in turn can assist with: Gastrointestinal disorders, Weight management, Immune modulation and, has been shown to assist with suppressing the bodies inflammatory response to allergies and asthma.
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The importance of gut health Break the fast with this protein rich vegetable slice curtesy of the Natural Nutritionist along with some cooked and cooled rice made with coconut milk. Cooking and cooling the rice creates resistant starch which is so important for our gut health. The added coconut milk will provide us with healthy
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Watch the video as Nick demonstrates back stretches to assist with pain relief
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Watch Nick’s demonstration of neck stretches to assist with pain relief
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For an easy start to the day try this recipe. It is full of fibre, antioxidants, and anti inflammatory properties. Cinnamon’s warming properties will help nourish your kidneys. While the oats, apples and flaxseed will provide you with fibre perfect for feeding and stimulating the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut. You can be
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We are open for acupuncture appointments! To keep you safe, happy and healthy we have introduced some extra measures in clinic and wanted to share them with you. New protocols include: One person only in the waiting room. People are to wait outside until ushered in. Everyone who enters is required to sanitise there hands.
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Sleep Research has shown that a good nights sleep will assist with many health concerns including immune support. In Chinese medicine we talk about sleep being yin in nature. Sleep allows: Our body to restore Our organs to relax Allows the blood to fill through the muscles It allows our nervous system to calm down
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We are open for business, but taking extra measure to make sure you stay safe and healthy during this time.
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This nourishing miso soup with astragalus will help to to support your immune system. In Chinese medicine Huang Qi (Astragalus) root is a herbal tonic used to strengthen qi. While miso traditionally made from fermented soya beans, contains probiotic bacteria to support a healthy gut. Ingredients: 2 Cups of (bone broth, veggie broth) 4-5 slices
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Foods rich in anti oxidants, (fight free radicles, preventing oxidative stress and cell damage within the body) and omega-3 fatty acids, may help many anti inflammatory conditions. Eat Less of Processed foods Deep fried foods Refined sugar Alcohol Eat More of Dark leafy greens – Kale, Bok choy, Brussel Sprouts. full of anti oxidants. and
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A dairy free antioxidant breaky. One you can easily prepare in advance for those busy mornings. Ingredients 1/4 cup coconut milk (or your choice) 1/4 cup Coconut yogurt 2 TBS chia seeds 1/2 tsp ground turmeric pumpkin seeds sunflower seeds Blueberries Strawberries Method Pour milk into jar or cup of choice Mix in chia seeds
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How does acupuncture work? This is a question I get a fair bit, especially after people see how effective it is for assisting with symptoms of pain. It is all about Qi and healthy blood flow Qi represents healthy oxygenated blood flowing through your body. If you have a healthy movement of Qi, you should
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Nick explains how acupuncture works for pain relief. To read more click here
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Nick demonstrates foam rolling for the gluteal muscles.
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Nick demonstrates foam rolling to relieve stress and pain through the upper back, shoulders, neck and other areas.
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Nick provides some tips and tricks on how to avoid the trauma of overindulging during the festive season.
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The festive eating season is here yet again. So let’s talk about an issue very close to my stomach, and that’s over eating. It’s not uncommon during this period to eat until we are feeling physically unwell. What can I do to avoid the trauma of overindulgence? It is hard during the festive eating season
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Something I get asked a lot in clinic is what can I do at at home to help with stress, pain due to injury, gut issues perhaps? The answer is healthy breathing. Dr Belisa Vranich has a great book ‘Breathe’ that goes in to detail on how breathing works. How to retrain yourself to breathe
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Nick discusses the importance of breathing properly, and demonstrates belly breathing
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These delicious lemon and coconut balls are wheat free, and are the perfect unprocessed snack for afternoon tea, or for a lunchbox treat. Ingredients 1 1/4 cups of almond meal 1 1/2 cups of desiccated coconut 4 tbsp melted coconut oil 2 tbsp rice malt syrup 1 lemon zest and juice extra coconut for rolling
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Hi it’s Jane and Nick from Gardenvale Chinese Medicine. When it comes to menopause, we women have to deal with dry, irritated vaginas, night sweats, irritability and so forth… I thought male menopause meant you get to date young girls and drive motorbikes. But Nick would like to talk to us today about this very
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Hi it’s Jane and Nick from Gardenvale Chinese Medicine. A lot of our patients have problems when it comes to sleeping, either problems falling asleep, or trouble staying asleep.
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Jane and Nick talk about the fourth Trimester in pregnancy, postpartum.
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Sleep Hygiene Hi it’s Jane and Nick from Gardenvale Chinese Medicine. A lot of our patients have problems when it comes to sleeping, either problems falling asleep, or trouble staying asleep. Today we thought we would share some tips and tricks for good sleep hygiene. It’s a bit of a buzz word lately, “sleep hygiene”,
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Method Use boiled water to make sure it’s sterile. Add enough salt to make it a similar strength to seawater. Here you can use a traditional neti pot or a syringe or even Tupperware sauce bottle Gently pour in one nostril at a time
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Spring foods Chinese Medicine strongly believes in eating according to the season for optimal digestion. In warmer weather you can enjoy more cooling foods, whilst in cooler weather you should eat more warming foods. In spring the weather is still relatively cool, so we encourage you try and eat more warming and pungent foods such
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Spring It’s that time of year when the sun starts shining, and the wind starts blowing, and our clinic gets busy with hay fever suffers. More and more we hear people saying they “…never used to get hayfever”, or “it never used to be that bad”. So why is it getting worse? Well, according to
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Menopause As women, we will have approximately 500 periods in our lifetime. Our periods begin between the ages of 10-18. We continue to menstruate until menopause (the change of life) begins at the age of 45-55. Menopause represents a hormonal change in the female physiological process. Certain levels of hormones such as oestrogen will not
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Watch as Nick uses acupuncture on Jane to assist with pain associated with tennis elbow.
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Here is a little something about how sperm is made, some tips so you can make it better for conception, some advice so you can avoid conception and a joke. How is sperm made? Sperm are made in the male gonads (testes). These organs hang outside the scrotum as sperm like to be kept a
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Ingreadients 2 table spoons of cacao (high in Largine) Handful of walnuts (high in omega 3) Goji berries (high in antioxidants) 3g MACA root veg (enhances and regulates hormones) Banana (Vit B and magnesium) Almond milk or coconut water Method Blend ingredients together and enjoy
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We spend most of lives in fear of getting pregnant, but now it’s now time to clear up some questions about the birds and the bees. Please send through any other questions you have, there is no such thing as a silly question. When should we have sex? Most women who I see have been
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At the clinic, I meet lots of young girls who have been put on the oral contraceptive pill (referred to as the pill from here). I also meet lots more women who want to come off the pill after being on it from since they were teenagers and are now in their 30’s and want
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Ingredients: 1 head of cauliflower 1 tsp olive oil Method: If grating then cut the cauliflower into large pieces. Grate the cauliflower on the large side of the cheese grater, or pulse in a food processor until it is rice size Remove excess water by transferring cauliflower to paper towel and squeeze/press Heat a large
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As the colder months fast approach it is time to eat foods that will warm and moisten our bodies in order to support and nurture our digestive system. Ingredients 1 1/4 kg chuck steak (beef) fat trimmed 3 tbs oilve oil 2 onions One bunch broccolini 200g mushrooms 1 Zucchini chopped 1 carrots, sliced into
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Previously we’ve discussed weight training and exercise during our menstrual cycle, today I’d like to talk about how food can help keep our hormones in balance.
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