Winter's Greetings

Winter Solstice

In the northern hemisphere, September 23rd marked the 2023 autumnal equinox, which a month later was followed by a first snow fall on Halloween.  While it felt like the return of winter was a bit early, the rise and falls of temperatures over the next month allowed for a more gradual transition into the season.  As we inch our way closer to the winter solstice on Thursday, December 21st , we have collectively been experiencing decreased hours of light with increased hours of dark.  The winter solstice, also known as Midwinter, occurs when the earth’s poles are furthest from the sun, gifting us with the shortest day and the longest night or period of darkness for any given year.  Over time and in various cultures, this day has often been marked with winter festivals of light and reflection to prepare for a gradual returning of the light. 

The “Lucky Holiday” Mushroom

If you have been in clinic lately, you will find the seasonal programs committee adding light in the form of tiny fairy lights to little mushroom clad scenes.  While many have seemed delighted by the mushroom décor as we prepare for the winter season, others might be asking: why mushrooms?  Fair question.  For the mycological enthusiasts among us, we are making models of the Amanita muscaria, the mushrooms who don red caps with white speckles.  In Germany, this mushroom is often referred to as Gluckspilz, or the lucky holiday mushroom because these are the fungi that readily grow next to pine trees.

The Doctrine of Signatures

Admittedly, we do not readily use the Amanita muscaria in our everyday East Asian herbal medicine.  That said, we do often use mushrooms in formulas to treat myriad conditions, from gynecological issues to hypertension.  Moreover, understanding a bit more about our ‘fungi friends,’ if you will, has the potential to give us further insight and broader understanding of how we are connecting with herbs in a general sense.  One guiding principle in East Asian herbal medicine practice is called Doctrine of Signatures.  This principle, also referred to as Systematic Correspondence or Sympathetic Magic, simply means that the herbs themselves are giving us clues as to what their therapeutic effects might be by simply being who they are.  In short, noticing where and how the herbs grow in the natural world, noticing the herb’s color, and distilling down what part of the plant substance we are using often gives us insight in what that herb might be doing when consumed medicinally.  

Mushrooms as Medicine

Poria cocos (Fu Ling) is a mushroom that we readily use in East Asian herbal formulas.  When thinking about where mushrooms grow from a Doctrine of Signatures perspective, we can all imagine the mushrooms coming into being in moist woodlands or the innards of a decaying tree that many of us have encountered on hikes in forested areas.  Even within the city limits, I have encountered mushroom clusters seemingly popping up at the base of boulevard trees overnight after a rain.  You can imagine by virtue of the damp environment in which mushrooms grow, that they may have a therapeutic action focused on managing dampness.  Not surprisingly, Pori cocos (Fu Ling) is the representative herb of the herbal medicine category, Herbs that Drain Dampness. 

Calming the Spirit 

Four layers of the Poria fungus are used in East Asian herbal medicine, with slightly different actions dependent on the layer used.  The innermost layer of the mushroom, which also includes part of the root of the pine it grows near, is called Fu Shen.  From a clinical perspective, this fungus helps to drain dampness but also has a particular affinity for calming the spirit—calming the shen in East Asian medicine terms—and helping to regulate the nervous system.  From a Doctrine of Signatures perspective, having the pine root integrated into the herb may represent the calming rootedness this herb is helping to provide our bodies when consumed.  While mushrooms can be lovely to consume as food, should you be interested in learning more about whether a formula containing mushrooms may be the right fit for your clinical presentation, it is always recommended to meet with one of Five Point’s herbalists who is formally trained in how to diagnose and treat specific health conditions.    

Connected Community   

In the clinic, we have been reflecting on how to best connect with community while continuing to move through these often turbulent, heartbreaking, and all too often troubling times.  We have been busy curating a Five Point Winter Open House and mini–Holistic Market to be held this upcoming Sunday, December 10th from 1:00 – 3:00 PM, trying to balance reflective practices with time to connect directly or indirectly in community. We will be sipping tea, practicing solitude together through an East Asian- and nature-inspired crafts for children and adults, and sharing our updated Five Point Apothecary with items to accompany you through the winter months ahead.  Patty Sugrue, LCPC will help us respond to winter’s invitation to rest with a Cozy Story Time for Grown-Ups, giving your busy mind a gentle place to explore, with cozy details and no drama. In addition, Hope, one of our psychotherapists, has been beautifully holding space to connect through art and embodied practices to come together in community throughout their Hope and Grief series, the last one which will be held this upcoming Saturday from 1:30 – 3:30 PM.  

Looking forward to connecting with you all when the time is right – be it at our Winter Open House or in clinic soon! 

-Ashley 

Acupuncturist, herbalist, and public health-informed nature enthusiast 

Sources:

• Bensky, D., Gamble, A., and Kaptchuk, T. Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica Revised Edition, Eastland Press, Seattle, 1993. 

• Why Mushrooms are a popular Holiday Decoration Little Pine Learners.  Accessed December 6th, 2023.  

Thoughts on "Wintering"

“Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle.  It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment….doing those deeply unfashionable things – slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep…resting.”                   

                                                                                  –Katherine May 

These words from author Katherine May invite us into considering a countercultural set of practices that call for a slowing down as well as an invitation to rest, reflect, and take good care.  May offers up the concept of ‘wintering’ as an invitation to connect with the ever-changing natural cycles and ecological transitions.  Winter, she posits, is a time where we may do well to reflect on how we are caring for ourselves, our families, our colleagues, and our communities. 

December 21st marked the winter solstice, the time each year where we collectively experience the shortest day and the longest night.  For those of us residing in the Chicagoland area, we swiftly experienced a winter shock of cold and snow shortly thereafter the solstice reminding us all of the current season we inhabit.  For me, this wintry weather event meant a shortened clinical workday, a hot pot of my favorite carrot-fennel soup simmering on the stovetop, and many (many!) hot beverages.  Somewhere between the cups of coffee and the multiple mugs of Rooibus-turmeric-ginger tea, I finally felt myself able to begin slowing down – even amidst the winter holiday hubbub.                 

The concept of wintering aligns with the nature-based origins of Traditional East Asian Medicine, whereby the system implicitly considers people as a part of the natural world, not separate from it.  As such, we recognize that your body may have different needs as the weather chills and the sunlight hours shorten.  To counteract a wintering of the body, which can in fact occur during any season, herbalists will often employ a warming strategy.  For example, when working with patients on digestive issues, I will have the patient consider what happens to a stream as winter approaches.  

As the temperatures drop, the stream’s current begins to slow and may eventually freeze.  The same dynamics may be at play within the body.  For example, if someone is experiencing a slowed digestion as evidenced by fewer healthy bowel movements or is experiencing digestive pain, this may in part be exacerbated by the ingestion of cold foods and beverages that can be compounded in winter by the external cold temperatures.  With slower digestion, cold may contribute to a dynamic like the chilling and slowing stream on its way towards freezing, which would ultimately cause digestive pain.  

Herbalists will work with patients to try to balance their systems by suggesting warm fluids like brothy soup and warming herbal medicine formulas.  Essentially, we are trying to counterbalance the digestive wintering that has occurred.  To reverse the pain, we gently warm your system – effectively melting the metaphorical ice and support a quickening of the digestive stream to support your system in moving back into a healthy digestive flow.  While not all digestive issues are caused by cold alone as individuals embody dynamic systems, this nature-based example is one frame we may consider when determining how to help patients understand the dynamics of the body in relationship to nature.  For tailored support specific to your body’s system, it is always recommended to meet with an herbalist who is formally trained in how to diagnose and treat specific health conditions.       

That said, even for patients not experiencing pain or digestive pathology, we may suggest drinking warm herbal teas such as ginger or cinnamon to support digestive health and to simultaneously enhance well-being that often accompanies taking a ten-minute tea break at some point during your day.  Other activities that may enhance well-being include bundling up and connecting with nature.  As the daughter of a second-grade teacher, I have a clear memory of my mom stopping class during the first snow to bundle up and head outside.  This momentary break in the day became a priority especially if there was a new student who had just moved from a warm weather state and had never experienced snow.  

Once outside, she would equip the student with a black or dark blue pieces of construction paper and allow them to experience several snowflakes landing on the paper.  Even today, this activity never ceases to amaze me – seeing the crystalline structures of each individual flake land in full integrity for a few minutes.  While a great exercise to do with children, I have found that it can also slow down adults of all ages for a moment of joyful reflection, despite the cold temperatures.  

In moving forward through the winter season, we hope you are able to take good care and please never hesitate to reach out to our practitioners and care teams for support!  At Five Point Holistic Health, we recognize that our larger cultural systems often do their best to eclipse one’s ability to slow down and rest.  We will certainly continue to be in conversation and support larger policy changes and systems transformations that safeguard rest such as universal sick leave, minimum paid vacation, and adequate parental leave.  As we continue to cultivate a more caring culture, we also offer up some ideas for ‘wintering’ home practices to nourish your moments of solitude and to help sustain relationships as we move through this season on our Five Point Holistic Health Instagram Page. 

Warm Wishes and Happy Lunar New Year!

Ashley 

Acupuncturist, herbalist, and public health-informed nature enthusiast 

Source: 

May, K. (2020). Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times. Random House.

Taming the Sea of Blood

For People with Periods

By Julia MacGlashan, L.Ac

Your menstrual cycle is an elaborate balancing act of hormones in constant states of waxing and waning.  Imbalances at any stage can cause disruptions in your mood, sleep, energy, skin, pain etc. For many folks, it takes roughly 3-6 months of treatment to regulate hormones.  Ever wonder why your acupuncturist suggested weekly treatments during this time? The cycle has four stages, which works out to roughly one per week. See below to get an idea of what’s happening at each stage.

Stage 1: BLOOD
The first day of your period is Day 1 of your menstrual cycle.  Hormones are relatively low here. Your body’s Chong Mai (“Sea of Blood,” a splendid name) opens the floodgates.  The quality of this blood (color, thickness, clots, amount, and rate of flow) provides so much information on how your body is doing overall.  Your practitioner will definitely ask about this. Acupuncture and herbs at this stage help move and replenish blood. Treatment is especially good at this time if you get any cramps or headaches during your period or have a lot of clots.

Stage 2: YIN
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) tells an ovarian follicle to develop, maturing an egg and increasing estrogen.  The estrogen then tells your body to rebuild the uterine lining. This is perhaps the most important stage if you’re trying to get pregnant- definitely don’t skip your treatment this week.  Acupuncture and herbs will support yin and jing (reproductive essence). Once estrogen (yin) builds to a certain level, Luteinizing Hormone (LH) triggers ovulation (yang). This is literally yin transforming into yang.

Stage 3: YANG
After ovulation, the empty follicle that released the egg produces progesterone (literally pro-gestation) to stabilize the uterine lining, making it the perfect thickness for implantation of a fertilized egg.  Yang continues to build with progesterone, so acupuncture and herbs at this stage will help support yang. The transition from yin to yang is a major hormone shift that should happen smoothly, but can be easily disrupted by things like emotional stress.  Mid-cycle symptoms are just as common as PMS.  

Stage 4: QI
Implantation occurs here, so this is important if you’re trying to get pregnant.  If there IS a pregnancy, your practitioner will incorporate qi and yang tonifying acupuncture and herbs to help maintain your progesterone levels.  If there’s no pregnancy, your hormone levels will drop back down and the cycle begins again with the Sea of Blood. Treatments will focus on moving qi to help prevent premenstrual symptoms.  If you regularly experience symptoms of PMS or PMDD, this is the most important stage for treatment.

So there you have it, the menstrual cycle in a nutshell.  If you have any questions about how hormonal imbalances could be affecting you, or how to incorporate that into your treatments, just ask your acupuncturist!

Celebrating Collective Ownership

October is National Co-op Month! A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. There are many different types of co-ops including consumer co-ops like the Dill Pickle Food Co-op, Credit Unions like First Northern Credit Union, housing co-ops like Qumbya, and worker co-ops like Five Point Holistic Health!

Worker co-ops are values-driven businesses that put the needs of workers and the community front and center. Worker-owners democratically participate in the oversight, management, and profit distribution of the company. According to the National Co-op Business Association, the US has more than 400 worker co-ops in 17 industries. Worker co-ops provide employment stability, reducing the turnover rate from 60% to 15%. 

Currently Five Point's owners are Celeste Levitz-Jones, Ryan Palma, and Nathan Paulus. We are pleased to announce that Christian Villacres is the newest worker to start the path to ownership, which he'll complete in spring of 2020.

At our co-op, prospective owners must meet specific member eligibility criteria, undergo a 6-month training to bring them up to speed on all important aspects of the business, and provide a capital contribution at the same rate as the other owners. By investing the same amount into the business, every owner is given an equal vote in all business matters. We're excited to add Christian's skills and experience to our ownership team!

Five Point's Herb Sourcing

We often get inquiries about where our herbs come from.  Patients want to know if they’re safe or if they may contain pesticides or heavy metals. They ask if the herbs are ethically sourced or if we use endangered products. Many of our patients take herbs twice a day for weeks, months, or even years, so it’s understandable they’d want to know what they’re consuming. We take the quality and safety of our herbal products seriously and want our sourcing process to be transparent.

Herbal Medicine Regulation

Five Point predominantly sources our herbs from Sun Ten Laboratories, a pharmaceutical grade herb company based in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) is a member of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), “a non-binding, informal co-operative arrangement between Regulatory Authorities in the field of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) of medicinal products for human or veterinary use.” [1] PIC/S is an international organization that standardizes manufacturing practices and inspection procedures among Food and Drug regulating authorities. PIC/S membership guarantees that medicinals produced in another country, such as Taiwan, go through the same scrutinized testing that they would if produced in the United States.

China is not a PIC/S member, so while herbal products made in China are available for purchase in the US, the safety of many of those products cannot be guaranteed.

Current Good Manufacturing Practices

Sun Ten follows current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), which are regulations on manufacturing processes enforced by the FDA. Adherence to the CGMP regulations “assures the identity, strength, quality, and purity of drug products by requiring that manufacturers of medications adequately control manufacturing operations. This includes establishing strong quality management systems, obtaining appropriate quality raw materials, establishing robust operating procedures, detecting and investigating product quality deviations, and maintaining reliable testing laboratories. This formal system of controls at a pharmaceutical company, if adequately put into practice, helps to prevent instances of contamination, mix-ups, deviations, failures, and errors.”[2] Sun Ten follows manufacturing practices that allow them to guarantee the following standards.

Herb Authenticity

Sun Ten works closely with private growers and suppliers who meet strict standards. They avoid buying herbs on the public market in order to avoid inferior quality, adulterants, or improper additives.  

Safety and Quality Control

All raw herbs are tested for species authentication and the detection of sulfur dioxide, pesticide, heavy metal and other harmful substances. Each batch of herbs is awarded a certificate of analysis and lot number, so it can be traced.

Manufacturing Process

Sun Ten’s medicinals are pharmaceutical grade, meaning there is no cross-contamination and they are safe for people with allergies. Raw herbs are decocted by cooking them in water. The decoction is then stabilized into a powder using non-GMO corn starch.

Consistency and Verification

The final products are tested for batch-to-batch consistency by constituent verification so that all batches of herbs have similar potency.

Other Herb Companies

Since the Chinese Materia Medica contains thousands of medicinal substances, not all herb companies carry them all. We choose certain herbs from different companies based on availability and a preference of taste, texture and desired potency. The other herb companies from which we order, including QualiHerb and Legendary Herbs, follow similar standards in sourcing, quality control and manufacturing.

Local Herb Sourcing

The growing of medicinal-grade Chinese herbs in the US is on the rise, though still in small amounts. These products are not available in the convenient granular form that we sell, only raw. Some raw herb companies such as Chicago’s Inner Ecology source as many of their herbs from local farmers as they can. Some herbs come from as close as Wisconsin, while others from the East or West Coast. Still, most herbs are only available from Mainland China and Eastern Asia where the growing climate is just right.              

Our mission to provide high-quality holistic healthcare includes offering high-quality herbal products. The safety and purity of our herbs are our top priority, and we never dispense endangered plant or animal products. We appreciate your trust and are always open to answering your questions!

[1] https://www.picscheme.org/en/about

[2] http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/Manufacturing/ucm169105.htm