the pathogen and the body struggle with each other. That could explain why pain can appear in different parts of the body over time in greater or lesser intensity, your energy level may vary widely or you may feel feverish sometimes and other times chilled. In long Covid, it often seems as if remnants the pathogen have become locked in this stage. ​

Recovery
Covid-19 has been shown to cause inflammation and, from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, is characterized by the accumulation in the body of pathological fluids called dampness. Acupuncture has demonstrable anti-inflammatory effects and Traditional Chinese Medicine has a number of ways to address dampness. If you suffer from long Covid, I encourage you to make an appointment to receive treatment and individualized dietary recommendations.

Generally, long Covid sufferers may be able to help their body to clear dampness and any residue of the pathogen by making some general changes to their diet. My number one recommendation would be to increase the amount of fluids that you consume with food. Soups, stews and congees (porridges) will hydrate your body much more effectively than only drinking water. More healthy fluids circulating in your system help to clear dampness. You can further ramp up the dampness clearing powers of your food by adding mung beans (the bean and the sprout), aduki beans, black sesame seeds, celery, turnips, pumpkin, sweet potato, seaweed and papaya. Lightly cooked or steamed foods are easier to digest than raw ones and should make up the bulk of your diet while clearing dampness. Eat smaller meals to aid digestion, perhaps more frequently to avoid snacking. Equally important are the foods and drinks to avoid: chocolate, sugar, dairy products, foods that are eaten frozen, coffee, alcohol, garlic, cold drinks consumed with meals, and fatty meats and other oily foods. I would advise avoiding tofu while clearing dampness as well.

Recipe idea - breakfast congee
​I will share my daily breakfast congee recipe below to give you an idea. It may not be for everyone, but I like it.

When my appointment for a teeth cleaning came up recently, I remembered the words of an old teacher of mine who said that he went to the dentist’s office with four needles in place to help with pain management. I have very sensitive teeth. So much so that I have sometimes had to get freezing so the hygienist could get the job done. For various reasons (winter gloves, hands needed for driving, possibility of needles getting snagged while the hygienist was working, etc.), I decided not to go with needles in my hands. Instead, I went with a needle in each foot at the acupuncture point on the Stomach meridian known as Neiting or Inner Courtyard. My former teacher had recommended it and from my studies I know that it is indicated for tooth ache or pain in the upper or lower teeth. I inserted the needles as in the picture below, and then delicately pulled my socks over them. Once my socks and winter boots were on, I could walk around and barely feel the needles.

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On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation my young son and I joined hundreds of other folks in assembling at the Healing Totem in Whitehorse and then marching to the fire pit at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre, where a number of survivors and representatives of the Warrior Walkers spoke.​​That powerful event brought to mind the immense grief that so many have experienced this year. Survivors of residential schools across Canada have long recounted stories of classmates having disappeared without explanation and spoken of unmarked graves at the schools, but the full weight of grief and anger only became more generalized across the country starting in May of this year. That was when ground-penetrating radar identified the remains of 200 children at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The tiny bones of hundreds more have since been identified and will no doubt continue to be discovered at other sites.

​Symptoms of imbalance in the Lung and Large Intestine meridians could include the recent onset of shortness of breath, dry skin and hair, fatigue, a weak or deep cough, skin breakouts, diarrhea, constipation, excess or insufficient sweating and congestion with mucous in the head or chest.
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If you suffer from any of those symptoms, it would be good to get assessed for an imbalance in the Lung and/or Large Intestine meridians. Acupuncture can probably help.

David wants the northern community to know that he is now providing treatments specifically geared to the unique needs and struggles of those who have been diagnosed with cancer or who are in recovery after treatment. In April he completed his International Certificate in Oncology Acupuncture from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Academy, and he wants to be a source of hope and support to those who are on a cancer journey.

In many parts of the world, integrated oncology clinics have been established where acupuncture is practiced alongside and in integration with western medicine treatments for cancer. We don’t have that in Whitehorse (yet!), but if you or a family member are dealing with a cancer diagnosis, David would be happy to discuss how integrating acupuncture can result in better outcomes. Give him a call or make an appointment today!

David also continues to provide acupuncture treatments for anything else that may be affecting your health and wellbeing.

There’s still is one week left to get 10% off on your first acupuncture treatment. Afternoon and evening appointments are still available.

Looking ahead to February, the Covid vaccine will be available to the general public and more and more people will be receiving it.  I am certainly looking forward to getting it as soon as I can. If you suffer any after-effects after getting your Covid shot, acupuncture has been used to treat post-vaccination symptoms including headaches, fever, pain at the injection site, fatigue and general malaise.

On the topic of vaccines, did you know that Chinese medicine developed a precursor to vaccination called variolation to innoculate against smallpox? There are reports that this was happening in China as early as 2200 years ago, but the evidence is more conclusive in the 15th Century. In any case, it was occurring several hundred years before similar practices began to occur in Europe.

Infectious material from people who had suffered mild cases of smallpox was dried, ground and then blown up the nose of patients. In accordance with Traditional Chinese Medicine principles, female patients received the treatment in their left nostril and males patients in the right. Another method was to apply infectious material from people with mild cases to superficial incisions in the patient’s skin.

Variolation usually resulted in immunity for the patient and the survival rate from the practice was much higher than for those who contracted smallpox naturally. Because the risk to the patient as well as the risk of contagion of others after the treatment was still significant, the practice was gradually curtailed once vaccination for smallpox was developed.

The smallpox vaccine was the first one developed and paved the way for future immunization. Let’s hope the Covid vaccines are as successful in eradicating our current pandemic. If you get the vaccine and experience mild side effects, don’t suffer unnecessarily. Appointments are sometimes available on short notice.

To celebrate the New Year and the re-opening of Boost Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine after a hiatus for much of 2020, we are offering 10% off your first treatment in January! Just book a January appointment and David will apply a 10% discount to your first treatment.

active and more extroverted. If you feel the need for more sleep and the urge to sit by a warm fire with a good book right now, it is because we are in the deepest yin phase of the year. 

That said, for many Yukoners winter is a very active time. We love the outdoors and getting out in it is an essential part of winter. I’m not going to tell anyone to stay indoors, and indeed I get out skiing, snowshoeing and fat-tire biking as much as I can. But even in my COVID bubble in Whitehorse, I couldn’t help but notice a flurry of injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments that coincided with this most yin time of year. The body’s energy is deeply internal at this time of year. When the body’s energy is deep, it isn’t available to moisten and nourish the muscles, tendons and ligaments as much as in other times of the year.

Movement is important throughout the year, but this part of winter is not the time to push yourself to the next level physically. It is a time for less exertion and for protecting the body’s reserves. Yes, get out into nature and exercise, but tone things back a notch or two. If you are working up a sweat this time of year, you are forcing your energy to the surface of the body when it wants to go deep. You can use sweating as a measure of when to dial things back.

Your diet in the heart of winter should reflect both the time of year and your individual health situation. Paul Pitchford, in his amazing book Healing with Whole Foods, recommends “warm, hearty soups, whole grains, and roasted nuts” as well as “dried foods, small dark beans, seaweed, and steamed winter greens.”
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We have just passed through a season that for many includes a lot of sweet foods, but really the focus at this time of year should be on bitter foods whose energy matches the centring, descending energy of this most yin of seasons. Salty foods also have that energy but salt is, if anything, overrepresented in the Western diet, while bitter foods are underrepresented. Bitter foods also boost your Heart energy and can help with minor mood issues that can arise in the darkness and cold. Try adding small amounts of foods like quinoa, oats, turnip, buckwheat, dark leafy greens, celery and asparagus to your diet to get a healthy dose of bitterness. 

Coffee is a bitter food that is generally over consumed, but the benefits of its bitterness are countered by its repeated tapping of the body’s adrenals. Now might be a good time to replace at least some of your coffee intake with coffee substitutes that contain chicory, dandelion and other bitter tasting substances. Kind Cafe in Whitehorse serves an amazing herbal coffee substitute that is deliciously bitter and also contains immune boosting mushrooms. Check it out.

Winter is also a very good time to get acupuncture and related treatments like moxibustion, guasha and cupping; whether to address injuries or illness or to provide proactive support for your mood, immune system and energy during this dark and cold time.

For personalized health support this winter, including acupuncture, Moxibustion, Guasha, Cupping and Traditional Chinese Medicine dietary advice, make an appointment to see me at the Boost Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine clinic in Be Well Integrated Health.