It is common for Chinese Medicine practitioners to advise their patients to avoid eating cold and raw foods because they are damaging to the spleen qi. As with many rules, there are exceptions. Depending on your constitution, it can be advisable to eat some fresh raw fruits and vegetables in the summer, because, seasonally, summer is the time of maximum yang energy.

The climactic factor that relates to the summer is heat, and to late summer, damp heat. Therefore, we do recommend consuming cooling foods in the summer, especially at mid-day which is the most yang time of day. It is beneficial to eat cool natured foods such as watermelon and mung beans during the summer months.

For a more complete list of foods and their natures come by the office. There is a chart posted in the main hallway called the Energetics of Food. Chinese Medicine also encourages eating local produce, in season, to provide the greatest nourishment and qi for the body.

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the fruits of local gardens but be careful not to over-do it, and avoid eating anything frozen or straight out of the fridge or freezer. Allow your veggies to warm up to room temperature before putting them into the salad bowl and avoid frozen deserts since they are too cold and often contain sugar, which is very hard on spleen qi.

Signs that you may have eaten too many cold natured or raw foods, and may have injured your spleen, include poor appetite, loose stools and fatigue after eating.

Beginning in September, the Clinic will be open on Saturdays. Blake Crownover, a graduate of Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts in Asheville, NC, will see adult patients only from 8:00am-2:00pm.

Blake Crownover, Lic.Ac., attended Appalachian State University and received a B.S. in Health Promotion. He then returned to his hometown of Asheville, NC, to attend Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts. Blake has also studied Qi Gong for over five years and currently offers a weekly Qi Gong class at Daoist Traditions.
With all the news from China regarding product safety, I thought I should address the safety of Chinese Herbal Medicinals.

When I first began practicing twenty three years ago I was in the position to share information with Earth Fare and the French Broad Coop, (our only two health food stores at that time) regarding the safety of Chinese Patent Herbal medicines. Some of you may remember that I pointed out a brand of herbs that was known in China to be tainted with western pharmaceuticals. There was one company that even listed acetaminophen as one of the ingredients. Due to my communications with them, both of the health food stores stopped carrying this type of herbal medicine.

In the beginning years of my practice I purchased bulk herbs, (the plants in raw form) from many different herbal companies. Since that time I have seen herbal companies becoming more and more aware of concerns regarding pesticides, natural contaminants and pharmaceutical contaminants.


The Chinese Acupuncture & Herbology Clinic has the largest and most comprehensive herbal apothecary in the South Eastern United States. Our practitioners provide formulas & teas specifically prepared for each patient.

The only company that we now use at the Chinese Acupuncture Clinic is Asia Natural. We are the only acupuncture clinic in the US that is able to buy direct from Asia Natural due to the size of our clinic and the fact that I have been with this company for over twenty years. They are one of the main distributors in the United States that supplies the American herbal companies that are manufacturing many of the pills that you take. Asia Natural is not just a supplier here in the United States. They are also owners of the “farms” in china where many of the herbs are cultivated. They travel to China throughout the year and supervise the cultivation and harvesting of the medicinals.

Many of our clients have also asked me about Chinese Medicine and their use of Endangered Species. For example, tiger bones, rhinoceros horns and the scaly anteater are all ingredient that you may see on boxes of patent herbal medicines that are manufactured in China. We DO NOT use any of these medicinals. It is also common knowledge that in the past, the Chinese would have labeled a box with the ingredient of tiger bones, when in actuality the remedy was using dog bones. Thankfully, this practice has been changing, and due to many factories in China instituting GMP standards, ingredients are now being listed correctly.

The tinctures and the granule formulas that we use are all manufactured in the United States. We will continue to buy our bulk herbs from Asia Natural only and will continually monitor the herbs we receive.

I cannot absolutely assure you that there will never be any contaminants, but I can assure you that we will always consider your health our first priority. We thank you for putting your trust in us for your health care.

Cissy Majebe

If you would like to do extensive reading on this subject, I would recommend the website of the Institute for Traditional Medicine. They have a list of articles regarding Chinese herbal medicine safety in general and also information on some specific herbs.

Summer is a time to relax and enjoy the warmer temperatures. But too much fun in the sun can result in an invasion of heat and dampness called Summer Heat Syndrome.

Summer Heat Syndrome is a disorder of the summer season which is associated with exposure to extreme heat when the temperature and humidity are very high. Symptoms of Summer Heat Syndrome are similar to the Western description of heat stroke and include excess body heat, red face, profuse sweating, dry mouth and throat, dizziness, headache, and nausea/vomiting.

There are many Chinese herbs that can clear Summer Heat while generating body fluids and alleviating thirst. Many of these herbs are used in Chinese food therapy, like mung beans and watermelon. Watermelon is one of the best remedies for dehydration and Summer Heat symptoms. Watermelon is 92 percent water and is so versatile you can eat every part of it – rind, pulp, juice and seeds. Chinese Herbal Medicine uses the fruit (Xi Gua) and the seeds (Xi Gua Ren) to clear Summer Heat and generate body fluids.

Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Wan is a patent remedy for Summer Heat Syndrome. It is a wonderful formula to have for summer travel or any time you are in the hot summer sun.

To avoid Summer Heat invasion, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day and to replace salts and minerals with electrolytes. Electrolytes are charged elements—like potassium, sodium, and phosphorous—essential for normal cell function in the body. Try Emergen-C Powder or drink 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water.

Always schedule your outdoor activities to avoid the hottest parts of the day. Be aware of over-exposure to the sun and heat when working outdoors, exercising or just enjoying the summer sun. And remember, if you feel dizzy and/or stop sweating, discontinue all activity and get out of the sun immediately.

Beginning September 1st, the Chinese Acupuncture Clinic will have Travel & First Aid Kits available.

The Travel Kit has herbal remedies to help prevent and treat many of the ailments commonly acquired while traveling domestically and abroad, such as diarrhea, nausea, jet lag, malaria, and respiratory infections.

The First Aid Kits include a number of herbal remedies to treat common health concerns, like digestive upsets, minor burns and scrapes, and middle-of-the-night earaches and stomachaches for children.

Ask the front desk for more details.
From time to time, our patients remark on the vile smell and taste of the raw herb formulas they receive from our clinic. We understand and sympathize with their plight but feel that what people stand to gain from drinking their teas justifies the discomfort. To illustrate both of these points, we would like to share a story that one of our regular patients recently told us about the unexpected benefits she reaped from her own Chinese herbal formula.

This patient’s family was being tormented by a large bear that had become too comfortable around their home. The bear regularly visited them and had even taken a liking to the front porch. They often woke in the morning to find their garbage spread throughout the yard.

The family was unsure of how to address the problem until one of our herbal concoctions saved the day. The family got up one morning to find that their trash can had been broken into again. Only this time, after making just a small tear in the bag, the bear had been dissuaded from its usual pillaging. Inspecting the contents of the bag, they found the herbs this patient had used to make her tea the day before and understood immediately, and all to well, what had protected them.

The teas we give our patients may not always be delicious, but we thought you should know that in addition to promoting health and balance, they can be an invaluable deterrent to predators. Please call the clinic today to order a refill of your Chinese herbal formula.

After being used to prepare a medicinal tea, raw Chinese herbs can help prevent large mammal invasions.

This video covers the treatment of children with Chinese Medicine. It includes a class on this topic as well as demonstrations of Chinese Medical modalities such as acupuncture, massage, cupping and moxabustion therapy that are commonly used with children who come to the clinic. This program was originally broadcast on URTV in Asheville, NC.
What snacks do you pack for your children when they go back to school? What is healthy, nutritious, and at the same time tastes good? What things do we need to consider from a Chinese Medicine perspective in choosing snacks?

The Spleen and Stomach play a large part in the digestion of food. The Spleen can become depleted with poor food choices, such as cold foods. By ‘cold foods’, we mean energetically cold, iced, or refrigerated. Raw foods and soy products are examples of foods that are energetically cold. These can be warmed through cooking or with the addition of warming foods such as garlic or onions, or warming spices like cinnamon or curry.

In the early school year when the days are still warm, raw foods are more acceptable as a healthy snack because the body doesn't have to use so much energy to keep itself warm. Baby carrots, celery sticks, slices of summer squash, cucumbers, and radishes along with a healthy dip create a crunchy snack that is healthy.

What is a healthy dip? Hummus or almond butter mixed with tahini are good. Tahini is made from sesame seeds and is very high in calcium. Nut and seed butters can be mixed and eaten with vegetables, dried fruit, rice crackers or rice cakes.

Fruits, especially those grown locally, are also a healthy option. Apples and pears are excellent choices. Berries are also a good choice. Berries nourish the blood; the darker the berry, the more it nourishes blood. Be careful with citrus fruits and bananas because they grow in damp, hot climates and create damp heat in the body.

These are simple and delicious snacks that can help your child maintain good health. Try some for yourself too.

Join us for free and informative classes to be held on the second Monday of each month from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Visit our website for more information on each class.

Monday, August 13th
Introduction to Qi Gong
Blake Crownover, Lic.Ac.
Learn exercises you can use in your day-to-day life to improve and maintain your health and well being.

Monday, September 10th
Postpartum Care
Joshua Herr, Lic.Ac.


Locally grown fruits and vegetables
make an ideal summer snack.
To be healthy is not a static state. Our bodies are dynamic as is nature, continually following an ebb and flow. The Chinese culture described this law of nature as yin and yang and has used it as a tool for understanding nature and humanity’s place in it. We can use this simple natural law to understand how to best tend to our bodies and maintain balance. Understanding the law of yin and yang enables us to create balance in our lives in order to cultivate health.

Many understand yin and yang as the balance of opposites. Examples are male balancing female, the moon following the sun, and Winter versus Summer. Another important aspect of this natural law is that within everything is the potential (seed) of the opposite. For example, we all regardless of our sex have feminine and masculine qualities, when the sun reaches the top of the sky it falls to the earth as night approaches, after the winter solstice the summer solstice is slowly approaching.


The symbol for yin and yang illustrates the dynamic interdependence of opposites.

Chinese medicine respects the natural law of yin and yang so as to use it as a tool to create harmony in life. It is applied in all aspects, including writing herbal prescriptions, providing dietary guidelines, and determining acupuncture point combinations. As the patient begins to learn how to apply the law of yin and yang they grasp a stronger concept of how to create health. They begin to understand when they need to avoid too much spicy food, when they need to be more physically active or spend more time in a quiet space.

I am sometimes asked, "I don’t have anything wrong with me; can I still benefit from acupuncture?” The answer is yes, not only does acupuncture balance the energy in our body’s meridians, but it also creates a dynamic relationship with an acupuncture provider who can then determine, with your input, how to best maintain balance. In this way, monthly or seasonal acupuncture treatments one can further the generation of health.

You can use Qi Gong exercises in your day-to-day life to improve and maintain your health and well being. Daoist Traditions offers free Qi Gong classes on Thursdays and Sundays. Classes are held at 382 Montford Avenue in Asheville.

Sundays
11:00am-12:00pm (for beginners)
12:00-1:00pm

or

Thursdays
5:30-6:30pm

Thank you for all the valuable suggestions that have been left in the suggestion box in our waiting area. We were recently given the idea to replace our light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use about 75% less energy and can last up to 10 times longer. What a wonderful idea! As our current light bulbs burn out we will begin replacing them with compact fluorescents in all three of our clinics. Please keep the helpful suggestions coming.
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