Many specific conditions related to the heart can be supported through diet and therapeutic nutrition (supplementation). Some nutrients can be obtained through diet and others through supplementation. Here are some tips to taking care of your heart on a daily basis: Nutrition:īased on the metabolism of the heart muscle, studies show that the following nutrients are beneficial: Magnesium, Electrolytes, CoQ10, D-Ribose, L-Carnitine and Essential Fatty Acids. Thus, the outcome for treatment would be to settle the spirit and strengthen ones ability to make decisions. Treatment is designed to nourish the heart, tonifiy Qi (which means strengthen), and calm the mind. This is what gives Oriental Medicine its unique edge.įor example: do you suffer from palpitations (or a sense of your heart beating)? Are you anxious or fearful, indecisive, struggle to make decisions, or make so many decisions you feel exhausted by it? Are you easily losing your courage? This pattern in TCM is called “Heart and Gallbladder Qi Deficiency“.
Differentiating these patterns allows us to treat people with precision using acupuncture, herbs, nutrition and lifestyle. The Oriental Medicine practitioner doesn’t think of the physical and emotional (mind) aspects of the heart as separate – but more clearly, as part of a complete puzzle that fits together to describe a certain pattern of disease or a subtle disharmony. If your sleep is disturbed, are you feeling stressed and anxious in some way? Are you restless at night? Is it hard to fall asleep? Do you wake easily? Feeling hot at night? Once awake, does your mind race? If there is a heart imbalance, one of the most common ways it presents is with insomnia. In Chinese Medicine, the Heart is said to store the spirit. This phenomenon is called “Shen” which refers to the integration of all the emotions, the mind and psyche of a person. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Heart has a physical function (considered to “control the blood”) and it has an emotional function (described as “housing the mind”). Step into the eloquent language of Chinese Medicine: When someone describes a panic attack, often they cover their heart with their hands, gesturing the feeling. We will say things like: “My heart is broken” or “His heart leaped with joy”. However, we also refer to the heart in an emotional way, usually connected with love, joy, heartbreak and loss. When we think of diseases of the heart, we consider that something is wrong with the organ or its ability to do its function properly. Not sleeping well? Why does Integrative Oriental Medicine look to the Heart?įrom a Western point of view, we usually think of the human heart as an organ that pumps blood throughout the body, supplying oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and removing carbon dioxide and other wastes.