The following chart is a sample of some of basic information a Chinese medicine practitioner obtains from each patient. Next to each, I've shown healthy experience, and some possible symptoms of imbalance. How does your health match up?

Attitude & Emotions

* Wellness: Emotional balance, equanimity, open heart and mind, patience, tolerance, peace, helpfulness, service * Imbalance: Anxiety, worry, obsession, grief, fear, phobia, irritability, anger, depression. These predispose you to certain imbalances: Melancholy, impulsiveness, rashness, impatience, selfishness Body Temperature

* Wellness: Comfortable, unremarkable * Imbalance: Feelings of heat or cold, hot flashes, chills, or alternating fever and chills

Chest & Abdomen

* Wellness: Comfortable chest, normal breathing, normal heart function. Comfortable abdomen, no bloating, no pain. * Imbalance: Feeling of fullness or blockage in chest, cough with lots of phlegm, hot uncomfortable feeling in chest, pain in chest, or palpitations, abdominal pain of any type, or bloating relieved by passing gas or belching Immunity

* Wellness: Resistance to environmental changes * Imbalance: Aversion or sensitivity to wind, cold, heat, dryness, or dampness

Food Intake & Digestion

* Wellness: Good appetite, comfortable, effective digestion, variety of foods in diet * Imbalance: No thought of food and drink, persistent nausea, very high appetite (out of proportion with nutritional needs) or preference for rich fatty foods, indigestion, acid reflux, food digested immediately and always hungry, or stomach pain better after eating. An excess of cold, raw, or fatty foods, and tobacco smoking are unhealthy

Gynecology & Obstetrics * Wellness: Regular, red, moderate menses without pain or emotional fluctuations. That's right, no PMS * Imbalance: Early, late, light, purple, bright red, thin, thick, clotted, painful, or irregular menstruation, painful distended breasts, PMS, miscarriage, difficult deliveries. Excessive childbirth can lead to long-term depletion

Sleep

* Wellness: Fall asleep easily at a sensible hour, stay asleep all night, no dreaming or pleasant dreaming, wake up restored and refreshed, wakeful and alert throughout day * Imbalance: Insomnia = Reduced or shallow sleep, profuse dreaming, nightlong sleeplessness, feeling hot or agitated during sleeping hours. Somnolence = extended periods of sleep, drowsy consciousness, desire only to sleep

Stool & Urine

* Wellness: Bowel movement once or twice per day - firm, without smell. Urination 4-6 times per day, light yellow color, no discomfort. * Imbalance: Constipation, hard dry stool, difficult defecation, diarrhea, thin stool, loose stool, urgency, or loss of control. Great amount or frequency of urination, need to get up two or more times at night to urinate, rarely voiding small amounts, dark yellow color, pain or burning, or reddish urine.

As you can see, Chinese medicine has higher standards for well being. For example, Chinese medicine sees PMS as a sign of imbalance, whereas Western medicine says that since it is statistical norm, it's acceptable. But with Chinese medicine, you don't have to put up with discomfort.

There's no need wait for more serious diseases to develop. We can treat any of abnormal symptoms above and keep you healthy. That way, you'll prevent a lot of harder-to-treat, serious and complicated diseases.

Traditionally, Chinese herbs are given in formulas (not singly), which is safer and more personalized. They're prescribed by a Chinese medicine practitioner who diagnoses your specific imbalances first. Ephedra would never be given for weight loss, but only for certain kinds of colds and coughs, and only to people whose body's can handle it.

No traditional Chinese herbs should be outlawed without allowing Chinese medical practitioners to continue to use them traditionally.

Food Cravings

Problem #1 (Enzyme Deficiency): The foods you crave depending on your personal imbalances. Modern digestive science explains that when your body can't digest a food, you crave more of it - you're not getting what you need from it. This lead to a cycle of craving and overeating exact food you can't digest.

Problem #2 (Low Blood Sugar): Another vicious cycle happens when you can't digest complex carbs, so your blood sugar is low, so you eat simple carbs that raise your blood sugar which raises insulin, which lowers your blood sugar again, and your stuck eating donuts and feeling horrible. Solution: Enzymes (I recommend various enzyme formulations from a company called Transformations) and Chinese herbal formulas can help you digest your food and break both of these cycles

Weight can be lost safely if done slowly and naturally. You can lose up to 2 lbs per week without gaining it back. That means you could lose 104 lbs this year and keep it off!

Positive change is like stretching a rubber band- if you stretch too far too fast, it breaks or snaps back on you.

So avoid temptation to take an easy solution like ephedra or citrus aurantium (both misused Chinese herbs), because you'll gain weight back, and you're risking heart problems and stroke.

5 Things to Do Right Now To Lose 10 Pounds Within 2 Months And Keep Them Off:

1. Avoid heavily marketed supplements - instead, see a professional trained herbalist (acupuncturist) - it's safer and more effective - my preference would be a Chinese medicine practitioner, but some very well-educated western herbalists are good too. 2. Acupuncture Weight Loss: See an acupuncturist/chinese herbalist - Get acupuncture (once to three times per week) to SAFELY regulate your metabolism and hunger-satisfaction. Your acupuncturist can also get you herbs that will balance your digestion and cravings - and based on your Chinese pattern diagnosis, they can also give you personalized diet advice. Herbs and enzymes (specific formulations from enzyme company, Transformations) can eliminate your food cravings. 3. Develop a plan and goals with your acupuncturist and aerobics instructor- make it realistic, and stick to it. If you mess up, don't beat yourself up, just get back on track as soon as you can. Any progress is better than none at all. 4. Eat less, exercise more - Eat a low fat diet, and don't miss breakfast! Weigh yourself regularly, and exercise an hour a day. Start by walking a few minutes each day, or take stairs at work. Don't overdo it! Remember rubber band. In fact, you may want to wear a rubber band on your wrist to remind yourself to make changes slowly. Get some aerobic exercise help- a public class, or private aerobic counseling. 5. Join a support group like Weight Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous. There's nothing like positive friends to encourage you and keep you on track. OA members say that this spiritual program of action has changed way they relate to food. References and Resources

Office of Technology Assessment of Congress of United States, The Impact of Randomized Controlled Trials on Health Policy and Medical Practice, Background Paper OTA-BP-H-22. Michael Millenson's book, Demanding Medical Excellence Effect of acupuncture on weight loss evaluated by adrenal function. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1993 Sep, 13(3):169-73. Wozniak, P., Oszukowski, P., Stachowiak, G., and Szyllo, K. [The effectiveness of low-calorie diet or diet with acupuncture treatment in obese peri- and postmenopausal women] (in Polish). Ginekol.Pol. Vol.74 Issue 2 pp. 102-107. 2003 Acupuncture on Spleen, Stomach, and Ren Mai Channel Points for Treatment of Stomach & Intestinal Replete Heat Pattern Simple Obesity. Abstracted & translated by Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H, Lic. Ac., FNAAOM, FRCHM Richards D, Marley J. Stimulation of auricular acupuncture points in weight loss. Aust Fam Physician. 1998 Jul;27 Suppl 2:S73-7. Zhao, M., Liu, Z., and Su, J. The time-effect relationship of central action in acupuncture treatment for weight reduction. J Tradit Chin Med Vol.20 Issue 1 pp. 26-29. 2000 Liu, Z. Mechanisms underlying effects of acupuncture moxibustion on simple obesity complicated by hypertension. Inter J Clin Acup 371-378, 1995. Studies of Weight Loss Industry Obesity prevalence and effect Overeaters Anonymous