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Proof That Electroacupuncture Can Be Used To Lower Stress
Acupuncture Fremont is one of the oldest forms of treatment in Chinese medicine involving the use of hair-thin needles stuck into important acupoints in the body to help treat a wide range of health problems. While the benefits of acupuncture have been well known since in China since ancient times, the West is only now starting to comprehend how and why the age-old method works.
The alleviation of stress is just one among the many benefits of acupuncture, but precisely how or why inserting needles into the skin attains this was earlier unknown. The Journal of Endocrinology published a new study observing the method by which acupuncture can help alleviate stress in mice.
Georgetown University Medical Center researchers discovered that electronic acupuncture can slow down the release of hormones related to stress in the body, shielding the body from the effects of stress.
Lowering stress in mice
According to Dr. Ladan Eshkevari, a Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies associate professor, “a lot of acupuncture practitioners have noted that acupuncture can lower stress in people, but a dearth of proof exists of why or how this occurs,” ” At the molecular level, we’re beginning to understand what is occurring that can help explain the benefit of acupuncture to health.”
Electroacupuncture or electronic acupuncture is an acupuncture technique that transmits tiny electric signals into the needles. This procedure is at times favored over traditional acupuncture because the needles don’t need to be placed as precisely, since the electrical signal tends to reach a larger part of the body.
Electroacupuncture has the same advantages as traditional acupuncture, but is known to be especially effective for the management of pain.
Eshkevari, who is also an acupuncturist and physiologist commented, “Electroacupuncture is my treatment of choice because it guarantees that each animal is getting the same dose of treatment”.
Eshkevari produced a number of studies on mice to evaluate the impact of electroacupuncture on the amount of hormones and proteins released into the bloodstream due to stress.
Monitoring stress hormones
Researchers used mice for the study because their reaction to stress is akin to that of humans; when they’re exposed to cold temperatures for one hour each day, they tend to become extremely stressed. For a total of two weeks, they studied the mice after dividing them into four groups.
The first group received no stress triggers or electroacupuncture and was used as a control; the second group received no electroacupuncture and was stressed for an hour each day; the third group received “sham” acupuncture (placebo acupuncture) and was stressed; the fourth group was administered acupuncture to the “Zusanli” acupoint on the leg and was stressed.
When needles are inserted into the “Zusanli” or St36 acupuncture point, it can lead to relief of stress. This point is located in the same spot for both humans and mice: just below the knee down the leg.
The researchers then measured chemicals related to stress in the mice.
Stress causes the body to release a number of hormones into the bloodstream. The hypothalamus, adrenal gland, and pituitary gland are the organs responsible for these hormones release. Together they make up the HPA (hypothalamus pituitary adrenal) axis. The researchers also monitored peptide activity associated with “fight or flight” responses known as neuropeptide.
Mounting Evidence
Based on this analysis, researchers discovered, that “electroacupuncture obstructs the stress-induced, chronic elevations of the sympathetic neuropeptide pathway and the HPA axis hormones.” The mice receiving “sham” electroacupuncture showed higher levels of hormones same as the mice that were highly stressed.
Eshkevari said, “The growing body of proof indicates the protective effect of acupuncture against the stress response.” He added that more studies are required to determine whether acupuncture could work in lowering hormone levels in mice after they are exposed to the stress of cold temperatures, and if a similar conclusion can be made in humans.
According to Eshkevari, this study complements her work earlier reported that focused on neuropeptides alone. Eshkevari and her associates discovered the reduction of neuropeptide or NPY levels in the experimental group which was almost the same as the control group, while the mice that were not treated with Zusanli acupuncture and stressed showed high levels of NPY.
Six Alkanizing Foods To Combat Acidity And Decay
The standard American diet consists mainly of secret genetically modified organisms, conventionally manufactured dairy and meats, artificial sweeteners, and other acid-forming foods. It is indeed a deadly diet more so combined with a profusion of factors (such as pharmaceutical medications, psychological stress, and lack of rest). It’s not surprising that more and more people are being diagnosed with degenerative and chronic conditions or otherwise lethal conditions for which modern Western medicine does not have a cure for.
The ignorance or lack of understanding of the average consumer is one of the problems of this untenable way of life. In order to survive, the body needs to balance the pH levels of the blood at an alkaline level of 7.3. The body’s metabolic and digestive processes convert food into some sort of ash that’s either alkaline or acidic when a person consumes food to “burn” for fuel. According to modern biochemistry, it is not the food’s organic matter (whether the food itself is alkaline or acidic), but its inorganic matter (such as phosphorous, sulfur, potassium, magnesium, and calcium; that’s, how they dissolve in our bodies), that decides the alkalinity or acidity of this ashy excess.
Because of this, and due to the fact that in nature, all foods contain both alkaline and acid-forming elements, balance is either circumvented or attained as a direct impact of the foods we decide to consume. Among diabetics, “acidosis,” is a common diagnosis. Several foods that are acid-forming can negatively affect our health. This is because when the nutrients needed to preserve this marginally alkaline state fail to be obtained from food, the body will draw instead from its own vital tissues or bones – affecting its capacity to repair itself and cleanse itself off heavy metals, which thus makes a person more at risk to illness and fatigue. And there is a small margin for error. Even with just a pH level of 6.9, the result can still mean either death or a coma.
Obviously, the most important factor is balance. Consuming lots of alkalizing foods over time can lead to a number of complications, but their risk may be unlikely, given the present pitiful state of extremely addictive consumerist diet of today. To overcome the adverse impacts of such a diet, the following are six of the foods that are the most alkaline-forming that can be incorporated into your daily diet:
1. Cruciferous vegetables
These are vegetables that we all come to love made even more delectable with just a small number of homemade healthy sauces such as pesto. Select from Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and the like.
2. Root vegetables
Due to these foods “yang” nature which in traditional Chinese medicine is considered a positive healing energy, root veggies are more likely to be higher in minerals than several other class of vegetables; so it goes without saying that you can’t get enough of them. These foods include rutabaga, horseradish, turnips, carrots, beets, and radishes. After steaming for around 15 minutes or so, they are ready to eat. Root veggies can help you feel both better grounded and satiated.
3. Garlic
Garlic is a true alkaline-forming medicinal food that lists at the top of a myriad of foods that promote overall health. Some of its benefits include its ability to combat disease, its detoxifying effects on the liver, and its immune and cardiovascular qualities that can help reduce blood pressure.
4. Leafy greens
Helping to improve vision and digestion, leafy greens can include, first and foremost, spinach then turnip greens, Swiss chard, and kale. They are famed for their richness in folate and vitamin K. Spinach is also rich in fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals, minerals, and vitamins.
5. Lemons
Perhaps, the most alkalizing food of all is lemon. Lemons are a natural disinfectant, which means they can heal wounds and at the same time provide quick and potent relief for heartburn, flu, colds, coughs, and other virus-related conditions as well as therapy for hyperacidity. Lemon also helps spur detoxification and energizes the liver.
6. Capsicum/Cayenne peppers
Tropical peppers, such as cayenne is part of a group of foods that contain enzymes needed for endocrine function. Cayenne is one of the most alkalizing of foods. It is high in vitamin A and possesses anti-microbial qualities, which makes it one of the best foods to eat to combat free radicals that cause illness and stress.
So, there’s absolutely no risk in including these alkanizing foods into your diet. By simply applying the wise motherly advice to “eat your vegetables,” you are on your way to attaining good health.
Izumi “Zoe” Schutz, L.Ac., is a Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncturist in Austin, Texas.