Lip Color Change - A Hint Of Deteriorating Health?

What is the first thing you do in the morning? Brush your teeth? Wash your face? That's normal but I wish you could break the routine at times by studying the color of your lips once you drag your body out of the bed in the morning.

As stated in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), changes in lips color or texture indicate changes of health status. (Yes, lip observation is a way of diagnosis in TCM). Healthy people have reddish, averaged moist and shiny lips. If you're getting exhausted easily or your health condition is flashing red light, ya... your lips would signify you through the following color and texture changes.

Pale Lips

Commonly found among people with anemia, blood loss or other diseases associated with anemia and low cell count.

Pale Or Greenish Upper Lip

You might have weak intestine, diarrhea, bloatedness, stomachache, fear of cold etc.

Pale Lower Lip

An indication of weak and cold stomach, frequent vomiting and diarrhea, stomachache, stomach upset, abdominal pain and so on.

Greenish Lips

Highly indicates poor blood circulation, you are prone to acute diseases, especially coronary disorders such as coronary thrombosis, stroke or similar acute attack.

Dry Or Dark Red Upper Lips

Watch out for abdominal disorder, this symptom might come with stiff shoulder, bad breath, mouth infection, throat irritation, blocked ears or nose etc.

Pale Pink Lip

Most probably associated with blood or both energy and blood deficiency. Proper toning up of blood or both blood and energy are needed.

Extreme Dark Red Lips

This is a symptom of excess syndrome in TCM. It usually accompanied by high fever, thirst, respiratory tract infection, abdominal fullness and pain that may lead to sputum and indigestion.

Black Lips

Highly suggestive of digestive system disorder, such as constipation, diarrhea, lower abdominal pain or even headache, insomnia, poor appetite and so on. Smoking and excessive caffeine intake cause lips darkening too. Anyway, some people are inherited with darker lips color.

Black Spots On Lips Or Black Ring Around Lips

Closely monitor the function of adrenal cortex. It might be weakening without our knowledge.

By Zing Teoh

7 Habits of Healthy Eating - The Chinese Way

This article offers 7 time-tested habits of healthy eating according to traditional Chinese dietary therapy - habits that YOU can incorporate into your daily life starting NOW. While some of these habits or principles may contradict what you've learnt or been told consider this - traditional Chinese dietary therapy has developed and been refined and trial-and-error tested on literally millions of people over at least 2500 years. Simply put, what works is still in use today - what doesn't was discarded long ago. You don't need to be Chinese or even eat Chinese food. So, start applying some or all of these habits before your next meal and see for yourself.

7 Habits of Healthy Eating

1. Eat at fixed, regular times: Your body likes and responds to regularity, not just in mealtimes, but sleeping and working too. If you doubt this, next time you take a long trip notice what it does to your eating, sleeping and bowel habits. For optimum health and vitality it's important to establish and maintain regular meal times, sleep times and bowel movements.

2. Eat mainly cooked foods: According to Chinese dietary therapy your meals should primarily be cooked and eaten warm. Raw vegetables and fruits, when eaten excessively, cool and weaken your digestive system, causing such problems as bloating, watery stools and lack of energy. Cooking is regarded in Chinese dietary therapy as a kind of pre-digestion process that makes it easier for digestion to occur. Cold, raw foods on the other hand require more digestive power to break them down. Suitable cooking methods are steaming and stir-frying as they cook quickly and lightly while still retaining nutrients.

3. Eat slowly, chew well: Digestion begins in your mouth - eating slowly and chewing food thoroughly before swallowing ensures smooth, complete digestion. Also, don't eat when angry or emotionally upset as it greatly impairs digestion - wait till you calm down, or skip the meal entirely.

4. Don't overeat: Be kind to your digestive organs and bowels and stop eating when you are 70-75% full. Overeating impairs your stomach and intestines causing indigestion, bloating, sluggishness, constipation, putrefaction, gas, weight gain and other problems.

5. Don't drink cold drinks: Consuming cold drinks especially iced ones at any time, but particularly with food, is very bad for digestion. The digestive process requires heat to break down what you eat and drink. Cold is, by nature, slowing and contracting - therefore cold drinks, and very cold foods like ice cream, slow and impede digestion, causing digestive upsets, abdominal pain and discomfort. Instead, drink warm water or green tea. Warm-hot water helps flush out toxins and green tea prepares your digestive system for food. Drink a cup of green tea 10-20 minutes before you eat - this is particularly beneficial if you know you'll be eating heavy foods like meat, or fried foods. Drinking green tea after meals also benefits digestion.

6. After meals take a slow walk: Whenever you leave a restaurant in China the staff thank you for coming then say, "man zou", meaning, "walk slowly". A slow, leisurely stroll after meals for 10-20 minutes facilitates digestion and nutrient absorption. Rubbing your abdomen with one palm on the other in slow circles around your belly button in the direction of your colon also helps digestion. This is also an excellent preventative and remedy for digestive disorders. Do it while standing still, or while taking a slow, leisurely stroll.

7. Do the Ab Lift: If you're looking to lose weight, exercise before breakfast. As you haven't eaten for maybe 10-12 hours, your body relies on its fat stores for energy. One exercise that is highly recommended before meals, and especially before breakfast, is the Abdominal Lift. It's easy to do and takes a couple of minutes only. Basically, it involves using your abdominal muscles to lift your abdomen up and towards your spine, and holding, then gently releasing it. The Ab Lift can also be done an hour after meals to help digestion, absorption and elimination.

By Matthew Scott

Lose Weight in 10 Easy Steps with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Every few years another weight loss drug gets thrown out because of their proven health risks. It used to be Redux and Fen-Phen. Yet, the FDA still approves new diet drugs, despite potential side effects that may be damaging to the heart. Is there another, safer way to lose weight?
The majority of people who resort to drugs to help them lose weight have previously tried dieting. Unfortunately, many studies indicate that as many as 95% of these people regain all their weight within a year?
The problem with many diets and diet drugs is that both approaches attempt to eliminate excess weight quickly by treating only the symptom. Because they don't reach the root of the problem, the results are not long lasting and may even be damaging.
It seems to be time to begin looking at the weight issue in a more holistic fashion. Let's look at weight loss through the eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
For thousands of years, TCM has compared digestion to a pot on a flame. In order for proper digestion to take place, it is essential to keep the flame burning. Digestion is a warming process and cold tends to freeze, constrict, and slow down the normal digestive functions. Anything that might smother or put out the flame can cause digestive disturbances, which can lead to sluggishness in the digestive process. Improper digestion impairs the body's ability to transport and transform food and fluids, leading to a build-up of dampness and phlegm, or what we know as excess body fat.
TCM offers ten simple guidelines to support proper digestion, which will ultimately lead to a reduction of body fat.
1. Avoid very cold foods. Ice water and drinks will shut down your digestive fires. Don't eat food directly from the refrigerator. WARM it up!
2. Reduce intake of sugars and sweets, fried, greasy foods, and milk and dairy products. Sugars and sweets cause an increase of fluids in the body, creating excess phlegm, dampness, and digestive problems. Fried, greasy foods do the same. Milk and dairy products are considered both cold and sweet and create much phlegm.
3. Eat more cooked and less raw food. Although many people think they receive more nutrients by eating some foods raw (e.g., fruits, vegetables, and salads), according to TCM, raw foods are too cold and difficult to digest, thereby not allowing the body to actually absorb all those nutrients. Lightly cooked foods make digestion easier and allow a higher net gain of nutrients through better absorption. (Some raw foods are okay to eat during the hot summer months to create balance.)
4. Chew food very well. Digestion begins in the mouth. Chewing warms the food and breaks it down, making it easier on the stomach.
5. Avoid constant nibbling. Nibbling all day can cause food retention and digestive stagnation.
6. Don't eat late at night. Metabolism is slower at this time of day and food tends to just sit there causing stagnation and weight gain.
7. Avoid overeating. Overeating can smother the digestive fires and cause food retention.
8. Avoid eating when under emotional stress. According to TCM, stress upsets the liver's energetic functions which then hinders normal digestive functions.
9. Reduce salt intake. Salt retains fluids in the body and too much of it will make it more difficult to eliminate excess fluid.
10. Exercise! Exercise is a must for a successful weight loss program.
Some people may do all of the above and still not lose weight. They may give up on the more natural, effective weight loss program and try drugs or fad diets. Too often this is counter-productive. The problem may well be that after years of impaired digestion, their metabolism may simply not be functioning as well as it should. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs may be used to stimulate the metabolism, dissolve fatty accumulations, regulate the appetite and strengthen the digestive system. By "reinforcing the flame under the pot," TCM gets to the root of the problem, brings the body back into balance and allows the body to heal itself.

Elie Goldschmidt