In the clinic lately, I have been seeing more and more patients with depression. This is an issue that many people I love suffer from while those around them never even know. Everyone feels sadness from time to time. It is a natural and useful emotion when needed. But sometimes sadness or a low mood may linger and begin to interfere with our daily lives.

You may have heard the words "cupping therapy," and perhaps even seen the marks that are left behind after a session, but what is cupping therapy really?

A big difference between Eastern medicine and Western medicine is how to view the mind. In modern Western medicine, the mental and emotional ailments are treated by focusing mostly on the brain. However, traditional Eastern medicine uses a more holistic approach in treating mental and emotional ailments. In traditional Eastern Medicine theory, there are three basic elements in our life, which are Jing (精), Qi (氣) and Shen (神).

Based on the emerging science, we now know the status of the microbiome to be influential, if not pivotal, to many common health conditions. This includes nuisances like acne, eczema and allergies, for sure, but also includes obesity, cardiovascular disease, IBS and GERD, autoimmune diseases, and even neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The truth is that in our current age, to be healthy is to go against all the odds. A research report issued this year from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy found that only 7% of American adults are metabolically healthy, as measured by blood pressure, blood sugar and lipids, degree of overweight and obesity, and presence of cardiovascular disease (such as heart attack and stroke). 

When I was a young mother of two sons, I always struggled with some illness. One day, I read a book titled What is Yin Yang? written by traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctors. It was an eye-opening moment for me and I think it was when my medicine studies first began.