Where do Gray Hairs come from?

There's lots of buzz in the scientific/aesthetic community lately over a discovery: we have uncovered an explanation for why hair goes gray. Or so say the reporters. What scientists have discovered is that people naturally produce a certain amount of hydrogen peroxide in the body, as a waste product. The hydrogen peroxide, in a non-gray haired person, is neutralized with an enzyme called catalyse. As we age, it seems that our amount of catalyse produced goes down, meaning there's more hydrogen peroxide around to do things such as lighten our hair.

Catalyse is an interesting enzyme that is also used in the food industry to prevent oxidizing in food. If you remember in chemistry class, oxidizing is what happens then oxygen starts breaking things down. This is most commonly recognized in everyday life in the formation of rust on iron surfaces. Following this train of thought, white hair is our body's expression of damage from inability to maintain catalyse production.

The question that raises is now, why is it that our body produces less catalyse with time? We don't know that yet. It will be interesting to see if science will be able to answer this question. Science is not usually great at functional problems. If something in our body isn't doing it's job, it's not likely that a Western medical approach can get it to do something different.

I have seen my clients have their hair color return with regular treatment. Acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine has been shown to improve function. For example, I have seen digestive systems un-bloat and regulate. I have seen high blood pressures adjust themselves downwards. Western medicine has its place in our lives. It keeps people who are in critical condition from death. Contrast this with acupuncture, which can get a body to act younger and be more vital. One of the most cited articles on the gray hair discovery is at www.webmd.com. Check my website if you'd like to explore how you could benefit from acupuncture: www.AcuSpaWellness.com

Who isn't Stressed?!?

Do you know anyone who isn't stressed? Recently, I had someone come in who said that he was in the emergency room twice in the past week, diagnosed with panic attacks. When he came in to see me, he told me that he did not feel panicked or stressed. As he went on with his story, however, it seemed pretty apparent that there were multiple stress-ers in his life. He has several children to worry about, including a rebellious teenager. His job is very high powered with lots of responsibilities and people to manage. His family life is complex and involves juggling the needs and wants of many, many individuals. As he spoke of his life... he realized that perhaps he was stressed.

How do we know if we are stressed? Stress is, unfortunately, incredibly common in the lives of most Americans. A small amount of stress can be a positive driving force. However, in most of our lives it has blown out of proportion, with tight muscles being everyday occurrence and our hormones being thrown out of balance because of our anxieties. Probably the best way to tell how stressed we are is to provide a contrast. My personal favorite, easy way to de-stress is acupuncture. Acupuncture changes the hormones in our brains and literally puts us into a de-stressed frame of mind. Our brains release feel good chemicals and our bodies respond with deep relaxation. Our face muscles relax and we wake up looking younger from our acupuncture naps. All this and it's good for our health!

Stress can cause a huge variety of other medical conditions to happen. This means acupuncture can be used to help with a myriad of health disorders, all while making us feel really good. More info on acupuncture and its effects can be found at www.AcuSpaWellness.com