Emily Chui Acupuncture & Herbs

A much needed cup of ginger tea this morning! I was working outdoor yesterday during the gusty wind, and by the afternoon I was feeling my neck and shoulder tensing up. In TCM, it’s a result of wind qi, and when it comes along with cold qi invading our body, our muscles stiffen and some may even experience strong spasm. Fresh ginger is great for so many things such as expelling external wind to prevent and treat common cold symptoms, warming meridians, relieving food (especia...lly seafood) toxicity, increasing metabolism, etc. When paired with brown sugar, it nourishes the qi and warms the body even more. For women who have painful and/or irregular periods, having this tea regularly will warm up the uterus and regulate the menstrual cycle. To make a cup of ginger tea, use about 3 slices of fresh ginger and 3 tbsps of brown sugar and cook for about 15 minutes.

I feel fortunate and grateful to receive my first dose of Moderna vaccine! It feels surreal, as I was just telling patients I wasn’t notified of when and how to sign up just last week, and next thing I realized was San Mateo County Health having this drive through clinic this week. Even though I had my concerns before signing up, we’ve been waiting for a vaccine and here it is. I did it for my family, my patients, and my community. I feel good that I have a better chance at p...rotecting people around me! Getting the shot didn’t hurt for me at all. Felt like an acupuncture needle There was no pain or swelling until the night and it was sore to sleep on that side. It’s still slightly swollen and sore but getting better! Looking forward to the 2nd dose in 4 weeks. I’ll keep wearing my mask and stoggles, but huge Thank You to all the researchers working extra hard to get us to this point

This dish, pork knuckles in ginger and vinegar, is so special because you don’t always see it, but when you do, it makes people happy because it’s traditionally for postpartum women to replenish their blood and yin. In fact, this recipe can be for anyone including men, and it’s so tasty! (my kids’ godmother just gave birth!) Slow cooking the pork knuckles make the whole dish so filling and nourishing because of all the collagen in the soft bones. It’s helps moisten the joints..., hydrate the more gooey part of body fluids, and with its collagen, is so good for your skin too! Ginger is good for postpartum because of its quality to expel wind and cold, thus it’s great for cold deficiencies in general. It’s considered to be yang, so it’s there to balance the yin of the pork knuckles. Sweet vinegar is to help soft the knuckles and get it’s nutrients out and create a synergy with the ginger. You can add eggs in as well and it’s actually the best part that I like. The yolk is then harden as you slow cook and soaked with the gooey sweet vinegar sauce. See more

2020 might have been a challenging year, but I’m thankful for finding silver linings along the way. We spent the last few days of 2020 hiking and exploring the mesmerizing nature so close to us. Like the yin yang sign, we’re in a cycle and we’ll come around to the bright side soon. Happy New Year and Hello 2021!

Happy Winter Solstice Winter solstice marks the shortest daylight, meaning that we are in deep winter. Although we can’t hibernate like some animals, we can and should still stay cozy and spend more time resting! Storing up what we have now can get us a long way, and keep us healthy throughout the winter AND spring, which is the season to most likely catch a cold and allergies. In Chinese we say winter solstice is more than the new year - we get together with family during this festive. Yin transitions into Yang, everything starts growing again, and so it’s a blessing to be able to grow with our family. We eat little glutinous rice balls that signifies family will always stay together.

Major Snow starts today! Temperature is going to drop even more after this solar term starts, and it’s the best time of the year to keep warm and replenish the body for longevity. Getting more sleep during this time of the year is going to nourish our core energy or yang qi and can get us a long way throughout the winter. During the day, it is nice to go outside to enjoy sunlight and exercise mildly. Even it may not seem too cold, it’s beneficial to wear a light scarf or hat... to protect wind and cold from the head and neck region, as it’s the most yang area. There’s a saying in TCM eat radish in the winter and ginger in the summer, and you won’t need a prescription from the doctor - it’s the most Yin time of the year, so it’s better to stay warm on the outside and nourish yin internally by eating more yin foods. It’s also more balanced to cook high calorie foods with slightly cooling yin nourishing foods, and daikon radish is one that can help with balancing AND nourish the kidneys

It has been a year full of zoom meetings and screen time, and lately I’m having more patients complaining about tired and and burning eyes, and even insomnia. Chrysanthemum is commonly paired with goji berries for their heat clearing, eye brightening effects. They’re often used as a tea for itchy, burning, and/or tired eyes, but they’re actually great for other allergy symptoms too! Our Clarity tea has the above ingredients combined with Shi Hu dendrobium and Luo Han Guo ...monk fruit to enhance its yin nourishing function to further sooth any discomfort associated with allergies. Steep this combination of herbs in boiling water for 20 minutes before enjoying as a tea at midday. I love to use this as a side treatment besides acupuncture - if using it to relieve heat symptoms in the eyes, dip a cotton pad in the tea and put it on each eye as an eye mask. Drink a cup and and use topically daily for at least 2 weeks. However note that this tea is a bit on the cooling side, so it’s not for everyone for long term use.

This is the lion warmer, a tool that I often use for moxibustion application. A moxa stick being burnt goes in and it’s ready to use! Depending on the condition, the lion warmer rolls on the specific meridians to expel cold, warm the channels, and alleviate pain. Because it keeps rolling on the skin, it doesn’t get too hot easily. Treatment usually lasts for 10-15 minutes but personally I can have it done on myself all day long because it feels so soothing

Solar term Minor Snow has started! As we begin the holiday season, temperature is going to continue to drop during this solar term. It’s called Minor Snow on the lunar calendar because it is typically when the northern provinces in China get their first snow. Remember to put on layers so you’re actively keeping warm, eat more food high in calories, and rest for longer hours following the sun. Food to nourish the kidney energy includes lamb, black beans, forbidden rice, black dates, walnuts, and black silkie chicken.

Keeping warm actively is important throughout the winter to preserve our yang qi We had takeout tonight and this lamb stew is perfect for a cold #blackfriday night. Lamb is great to warm up in the winter but having it alone can always too much heat accumulate in the body. This dish is balanced by having lettuce and tofu skin and they soak up the flavor of the lamb stew too!