This research project conducted in China has shown that acupuncture is as effective as physiotherapy in the treatment for post stroke rehabilitation:

http://www.jcm.co.uk/research-archive/article/acupuncture-as-effective-as-physiotherapy-in-post-stroke-rehabilitation-2071/

This recent research project, conducted over the last couple of years in the UK by the University of York, yet again shows the benefits of traditional acupuncture for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

This will be welcome relief for so many people.

http://www.jcm.co.uk/research-archive/article/acupuncture-provides-additional-benefit-in-ibs-2080/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook

Bridgeways Clinic will be joining other members of the Buckinghamshire Acupuncture for Childbirth Team at the Bump and Beyond Exhibition in Friars Square, Aylesbury today.

This will be a great opportunity for women to discuss how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help them with fertility, pregnancy, labour and post-natal conditions.

The London Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine is organizing a “Traditional Chinese Medicine Photo Exhibition” at the Wellcome Collection (183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE) on 22/23 October 2012.

The exhibition will focus on the Traditional Chinese Medicine’s “Past, Present and Future” and provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine.

This piece of research provides some interesting evidence that traditional acupuncture may help relieve some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease:

Acupuncture May Benefit Parkinson’s Patients

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK has now recommended that a course of 10 traditional acupuncture treatments should be considered by GPs for patients that are experiencing tension-type and migraine headaches.

Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults

The most important issue that underpins this recommendation is how NICE used only Traditional Chinese Medicine trials results in their analysis.

So it is important that patients go to see a fully qualified traditional acupuncturist for help with headaches, and not be treated by a healthcare professional who has only done a ‘weekend’ course for dry needling. Those who have only done a very limited form of dry needling training are not able to provide the same level of therapeutic benefit if they don’t follow the same diagnostic principles that underpinned the trials used to reach the conclusions of this recommendation.

Whilst it is not so common today, making a broth or soup using the bones used to be a regular feature in the kitchen.

This website gives an excellent explanation of the benefits of bone broth, in terms of the cartilage, bone marrow, glycine and proline, collagen and gelatin, and the minerals that the broth will contain. It then goes on to describe very clearly how to cook a bone broth and gives a number of recipes:

Bone Broth for Health Building: Nourishing the Liver and Kidneys

The British Acupuncture Council has published a website to support the UK’s first Acupuncture Awareness Week running from 27th February to 4th March.

If you have any questions about acupuncture, then go check out the website here:

Introducing Acupuncture

Sometimes an alternative to rice and pasta is needed, and this where quinoa can be used. It cooks quickly and is very nutritious. You can prepare a simple basic quinoa, but you can also mix it up different ingredients – just as you would with rice, couscous or pastas – to make it more interesting.

You can get it from UK supermarkets such as Tesco.

Here’s a Mexican quinoa dish to try:

Quinoa with tomatillo and cilantro sauce

Congee is a soupy white rice ‘porridge’ that is a traditional Chinese dish. It is typically made with meat or fish stock and can then be flavoured with meat or vegetables, but it is possible to sweeten it. It is used for either breakfast or an evening snack. It is easily digested and absorbed, and is believe to replenish your Spleen Qi energy.

Here is a very simple recipe from China Life in London:

Basic Congee Recipe