Lotus Center for Integrative Medicine

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All of our patients, past and present, have been asking us about COVID-19 vaccinations. Join us on Monday, December 21 at 5:30 pm for a live discussion with Brandon. He has been keeping up to date on all of this stuff so he will distill it for you. If you have questions and you can’t join us, please comment or DM. Share with your family and friends who have mutual concerns! . . . .... . . . #lotuscenter #immunity #covid19 #mrna #vaccines See more

Running cupping is a very efficient way to release large areas of muscle tightness, pain and stagnation. The more chronic the condition, the more bruising may result. We love these one time use cups! . . . .... . . . . #lotuscenter #cupping #runningcupping #chinesemedicine #acupuncture #losangelesacupuncture #highlandpark #hermon See more

Shout out to Jessie Lubke for growing these gorgeous gigantic Texan xanthium seeds, great for allergies, colds and nasal congestion. Have never seen such beautiful Cang Er Zi ever! . . . .... . . #lotuscenter #jessielubke #herblove #herbalmedicine #chineseherbalmedicine #chineseherbs #tcm #organic See more

One of the most basic questions that many of us don’t think about is what is health? Some have many diseases but they aren’t defined by them and they live happy and fruitful lives whereas others obsess and worry over small things and live unhappy lives. While the question of what health is is very philosophical, the Chinese felt that one’s spirit or mind is central to this question. So living a happy or sad life depends less on what’s wrong with you physically and more on how... you view the world and its circumstances. To the Chinese all dis-ease is rooted in the spirit. It’s the quality of life you are living that is the most important. The text that first discussed this was written over 2000 years ago and it was entitled the Ling Shu or Spiritual Axis. Today is Acupuncture and Oriental medicine day so we thought we would pay homage to the ancient ancestors of the medicine that the practitioners of Lotus Center have dedicated their lives to. . . . . . . . . #lotuscenter #acupuncture #acupunctureandorientalmedicineday #lingshu #spiritualaxis #health #losangelesacupuncture #90042

In case you're wondering what scientists that understand the trials really think, the British Medical Journal published an article summarizing the studies and what they are actually designed to assess: "None of the [COVID vaccine] trials currently underway are designed to detect a reduction in any serious outcome such as hospital admissions, use of intensive care, or deaths. Nor are the vaccines being studied to determine whether they can interrupt transmission of the virus...."[1] [We recommend pausing for a moment and thinking about the implications of that statement. Contrast that to what you are hearing in the media/social media. Why is this being so misrepresented by officials and many prominent scientists? Please note that there are also many scientists properly representing the data and issues, but they don't get much air time and so you don't hear from them] We've already posted on the obvious fact that it is impossible to have long term safety data on a vaccine that just started human trials a few months ago. The plan is to study long term safety in phase 4 trials. Phase 4 means that they give it to the general public and see if it's safe or not. As an example of a phase 4 trial: Vioxx was approved by the FDA, etc. and deemed safe and effective, and in phase 4 trials they discovered it had killed 60,000 people. We want our patients to understand what it means when the FDA approves something. There are many examples of approved drugs that damaged a LOT of people. If you are at high risk of dying from COVID then long term safety doesn't necessarily matter, but for the vast majority of people who are going to be vaccinated, it matters a lot. As the BMJ article states: "History shows many examples of serious adverse events from vaccines brought to market in periods of enormous pressure and expectation."[1] New York has just introduced a bill to allow it to mandate the COVID vaccine [2]. They want to be able to force vaccinate their citizens with a vaccine that has completely unknown long term safety. Take one possible long term outcome: what if the vaccine severely impacts fertility? That alone could crash our economy, destroy social security, medicare and cause our society to crumble for lack of tax dollars, new talent, productivity. We need to understand that unknown implications can be catastrophic for a vaccine that is intended for 300+ million people in the United States. In the meantime, we should roll out the vaccines only to the very vulnerable until we have long term safety data. We're playing with fire. _______________________________ [1] https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4037 [2] https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/A11179

The AstraZeneca and Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial just had their first death [1] and they released some details. The person who died was a 28 year old physician but was in the control group so they are continuing their trial. He died of COVID-19 according to the report. There are two things you should be aware of from this information. First, most people assume the "control group" is going to be given something inert like saline (assuming saline is inert). Why? Because you w...ant to see what kind of problems the vaccine causes versus someone who just gets a fake shot. In these trials they aren't doing that. Instead of using saline, they are using another vaccine that might have side effects (potentially such as making you more susceptible to dying of COVID-19). Why is that important? Because in the conclusion they will say that the COVID-19 vaccine group didn't have any more adverse events than the control group and therefore it is safe. This is reminiscent of Gardasil and many other vaccine trials that manipulate people into thinking something is safe when the data aren't actually showing that. The second problem is that a young, healthy physician died of COVID-19 after receiving the control injection of a meningitis vaccine. This is a potential warning that vaccines may be distracting your immune system and making it more susceptible to serious problems. It should make us think twice about the untested advice to get the flu vaccine to help prevent covid complications. It may have the opposite effect. Some researchers have indeed found that receipt of the flu vaccine makes you much more susceptible to getting sick with other viruses [2]. Citation: [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54634518 [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404712/ #lotuscenter #gardasil #vaccine #vaccinations

After talking to a few patients we realized that our new patients have no idea what we look like or our older patients have forgotten what we look like.

Japanese Buddhists have a tradition called Mizuko (water babies) Kuyo which is performed to honor the spirits of babies who couldn’t survive through their gestational period. This can be stillborn babies, miscarriages and abortions. Offerings are made to Jizo, a bodhisattva who protects children. Typically this is offered in some Buddhist temples where these Jizo statues are dressed in red bibs and caps. It is a beautiful way to mourn the loss of a baby and offers some comfor...t for their spirits. Today is Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day. We are thinking so much of our patients and loved ones who have experienced this and admire their strength and resilience. We are here for you. . . . . . . #lotuscenter #infantloss #infantlossawareness #pregnancyloss #miscarriage #abortion #stillbirth #infantandpregnancylossawareness #mizuko #mizukokuyo #waterchild #waterbaby #jizo

Let’s talk about ()(). Although many channels run through the breast tissue, the meridians that are primarily involved in breast health are the liver, stomach and small intestine and these are the channels that we often need to access for our patients who have tender premenstrual breasts, fibrocystic breasts and lumps. Breasts actually serve as great storage vessels for toxins (fatty tissue is where chemicals that are not efficiently excreted like to settle in) and latent i...nfections so it’s of utmost importance to #checkyourgirls. In addition to a monthly self exam, improving circulation is a great idea and one way to achieve this is through massage or gua sha. Wildling Beauty has a great tutorial on breast health and we have posted it in our stories. If you want to buy this awesome and versatile tool, please use discount code LOTUSCENTER for 15% off! Come back for our next post on nutrition and breast health. . . . . . . #lotuscenter #breasthealth #breastcancerawareness #breasts #toxicity #fibrocysticbreasts #wildling #guasha #massage

Quick note for those of you in the UC system (University of California) being forced against your will to get a flu vaccine annually or be kicked out of the University (includes both students and faculty). There is a lawsuit in progress and attorneys for the UC system said no one has to get a flu vaccine until the results of the hearing (currently scheduled for Nov. 12). If you are in the UC system and do not want to get the mandated vaccine, we recommend you sign up with Childrens Health Defense for updates. https://childrenshealthdefense.org//university-of-califor/ #fluvaccine #lawsuit #UCLA

Chinese medicine has a lot to say about seasonal changes and their energetic effects on the body and environment. As we transition into the fall, dryness develops. Leaves start falling off trees, humidity declines, our skin has a tendency to be drier, the lungs become more sensitive. Eyes might be itchy and dry, bowel movements might become less regular. How can we counteract this? Extra fluids. Water is important but sometimes drinking plain water doesn’t actually help bec...ause it just increases your urination and the fluids don’t stick. Add a pinch of sea salt or electrolytes. Consider sipping some homemade veggie broth throughout the day. Include more soups as meals. And reduce your caffeine exposure since this is very dehydrating. Check the humidity in your house. It should be between 30-50%. And it’s probably time to disinfect and sanitize your humidifier. These can very easily collect mold so check your manufacturer’s instructions on how best to do this. Or you can do the poor man’s method which is turning on a crock pot with water and the lid off. Moisturize. Slather that good lotion or oil on your skin. Rena, Wendy and Anne have all done tutorials in the past on homemade skin care so let us know if you might be interested and we can prepare something on IG live. Eat more produce. You should be doing this anyway but vegetables and fruits contain a lot of water content to augment your hydration. Who's favorite fruit season is fall? . . . . . . . . . #lotuscenter #fall #autumn #dryness #seasonalchange #hydration #dehydration #skindryness See more

Happy mid autumn festival! Today’s one of the more important Chinese holidays. There are several folktales that describe why this holiday is celebrated but the one that we resonate with the most involves a Chinese goddess named Chang E. According to legend, her husband Hou Yi was a great archer and saved the earth by shooting down an abundance of suns that was basically causing global warming and lots of natural disasters. Because of his contribution, he was rewarded with an ...elixir of immortality. For obvious reasons, someone tried to steal his elixir while he wasn’t home. Chang E drank it in order to protect it and subsequently started floating up into the sky and wound up on the moon. So every year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon is closest to the earth, this is also the closest she will ever come to being with her husband so Chinese people acknowledge this by gathering with family, lighting or making paper lanterns, sharing and eating mooncakes, looking at the full moon. And just like any Chinese movie, what a depressing story. And if you don’t buy into that, just celebrate the autumn harvest! . . . . . . . . #lotuscenter #midautumnfestival #chineseholiday #change #houyi #mooncakes #chineseculture Photo credit: @hongkongliving

Monosodium glutamate. It undoubtedly adds another dimension of flavor to food but it’s mired in controversy. Here we go MSG is a sodium salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid. Glutamic acid is naturally abundant in foods like tomatoes and cheeses. But MSG is not just found in Asian food. We have seen this used in many establishments as bouillon, snuck into condiments and sauces like mayonnaise, ketchup, worcestershire, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, etc. At the grocery store, you’ll se...e this in protein powders, many prepared foods like frozen foods, chips, crackers and much more. Keep this infographic handy when you’re reading labels. Some people can genetically and physiologically handle MSG like @davidchang and @mrnigelng but there is a segment of the population who cannot. At normal levels, glutamate (this is glutamic acid when it has lost a hydrogen atom) is needed for learning and memory. But when levels are high, it can over excite nerve cells which can cause cell death (excitotoxicity) and in the central nervous system, regeneration of nerve cells is more challenging. If you know our practice, you know we like to play it safe and for years now we have not recommended that our patients consume MSG because as medical providers (and NOT people who work in the food or restaurant industry), we see physical repercussions that undoubtedly resolve with abstinence of MSG. Nervous system disorders in particular are very sensitive to MSG. The most common neurological issues that are negatively affected by MSG include headache, migraine, severe depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, seizure, tremors, epilepsy, Bell’s palsy, concussion, brain injury and stroke. For our couples who are trying to conceive, we also suggest avoiding this. In men, it adversely affects sperm and can cause oxidative damage, morphology changes, hormonal imbalances and reduced sperm quality (doi:10.3390/toxics8010007). In females, MSG may increase LH and FSH levels, promote oxidative stress and follicular maturation and impair uterine function (doi:10.1002/tox.22508). There is a lot more we can say biochemically about this so if there is interest let us know. And again, not everyone reacts to it but there are definitely people who do. If you notice that some of your symptoms become exacerbated within 12-24 of eating something with MSG, you might want to consider eliminating all sources of it for a period of time to see if there is an improvement. . . . . . . . . . #lotuscenter #msg #monosodiumglutamate #glutamate #glutamicacid #excitotoxins #excitotoxicity #anxiety #headache #migraine #depression #ocd #fertility #tryingtoconceive #infertility #nutrition #foodadditives

We have had so many patients ask us about whether or not they should get the flu vaccine. Just a reminder: While influenza vaccine may offer some protection against specific strains of influenza, there is a cost. The first cost is side effects from the vaccine. According to the manufacturer of Flumist for this year, common side effects of the flu vaccine include: Fever over 100F, chills, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, loss of appetite, body aches/muscle pain, he...Continue reading

Chocolate. Chemical components within chocolate, especially dark chocolate, have many health benefits. It’s been found to lower total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides. It protects against DNA damage and enhances cognitive function. But of course anything in excess is bad! According to a collaboration between the USDA and Drexel Univeristy, chocolate was shown to provoke addictive-like behavior due to its bioactive compounds and incremental increases in sugar enhances these ...effects. Therefore milk chocolate caused the most addictive-like behavior. So in our pursuit of optimal health and wellness, perhaps small amounts of dark chocolate are okay to eat. Please be mindful of sourcing as well because chocolate has been repeatedly shown to contain lead and cadmium. . . . . . . . #lotuscenter #chocolate #darkchocolate #cholesterol #ldl #triglycerides #dnadamage #cognitivefunction #addiction #lead #cadmium #ilovechocolate See more

This morning Brandon did a FB live for a professional audience: The Role of Biofilms in the Induction and Maintenance of Latency (). Feel free to watch or share with your local acupuncturist if you aren’t local! * What is latency () and why is it important in Chinese medicine * Concept of bacterial latency in microbiology * Biofilm lifecycle and its relationship to latent qi... * Specific strategies to break up biofilms and manage the release of latent qi #lotuscenter #americanacupuncturecouncil #biofilms #latency #chinesemedicine #jeffreyyuen #bacterialinfection #bacteria #quorumsensing

Tongues provide an effective window into your organs’ inner workings and are an essential Chinese medicine diagnostic tool. We look at color, coating, shape, geographic abnormalities, sublingual veins. What does your tongue look like? Take a look at your family members’ and friends’ tongues. How do they differ? Please note there is a typo in this graphic. The kidney on your left is actually the right. . .... . . . . #lotuscenter #chinesemedicine #tongue #tonguediagnosis : @kpcherbs See more

Brandon loves biofilms! This lecture is definitely more for practitioners but for any of you with resistant microbial infections, this may be of interest to you.