Could my diet and lifestyle be affecting my physical and mental health?
The first time I saw an acupuncturist, she told me that the chronic rash under my eye was coming from the beer and popcorn that were my end-of-day delight at my then-stressful job.
To which I said, “F that,” and promptly went to the dermatologist.
Rash gone. Problem solved. Right?
A year later—having changed nothing about my diet or lifestyle—I found myself increasingly desperate to balance worsening hormonal cycle symptoms. When the acupuncturist told me the same thing again, I was finally ready to look more closely at how my food and daily routines might be influencing my myriad perimenopause symptoms.
You may be wondering, what’s the right diet for me?
Now, let’s be clear: Chinese Medicine looks at each person uniquely. We all have different genetics, upbringings, nervous systems, lifestyles, living environments, and capacities to metabolize foods and treats based on our individual constitutions.
Every food and beverage we put into our body has an energetic quality. Foods can be cold, neutral, or hot; damp or dry; sweet, salty, sour, spicy, or bitter. Each of these qualities exerts an influence on the body’s physiology and can contribute to the expression of both physical and emotional symptoms.
One person’s “protein hack” of yogurt or smoothies for breakfast may work beautifully for them—while for another, it can worsen constitutional dampness and slow digestion, showing up as inertia, lethargy, brain fog, low motivation, achy bodies, heavy limbs, loose stools, bloating, and more.
I always feel more depressed and sluggish during the winter. Do my dietary needs change with the seasons?
Absolutely. Our physical, dietary, and emotional needs are always changing with the seasons and affecting our levels of energy and vitality. If you already deal with constitutional dampness on the driest, warmest day in July, it becomes even more important to protect your digestive fire as the weather turns colder and damper. Receiving periodic acupuncture check-ins throughout the year can help you develop a strategy to custom tailor your own diet and lifestyle modifications to shake your fatigue and feel your best, wherever the weather is doing outside.
Are you ready to find out: can Chinese medicine help my mood?
What about you? Do you feel like telling me “F that.”? I totally understand. I’ll be here when you’re ready.
Or… are you realizing it might be time to look at your life and health through the holistic lens of Chinese Medicine? If so, I invite you to schedule your first—or next—appointment :: opens in a new windowHERE::.
