Depending on your location will depend on the availability (and price) of duck meat. Most specialty food stores will carry some form of packaged duck breasts, but beware that they can be pricey for the amount you get. New York is famous for its exportation of whole Long Island Ducks, which are large and last for several savory meals. It does have a slightly gamey taste and can get tough if over-cooked, although I find it quite delicious.  Its versatile flavor can be a perfect compliment to many meals.

According to traditional Chinese Dietary Medicine, Duck meat is neutral in temperature and is therefore suitable for many constitutional types. It heavily nourishes the yin of the body, and regulates water metabolism by simultaneously nourishing the lungs, spleen and kidneys. Such symptoms as edema, excessive thirst or profuse sweating may be reduced by adding some duck meat to the diet. As we enter the winter season, hearty meats like duck and lamb can deeply nourish, warm and rejuvenate the body.

Some of my favorite ways to eat duck:

Roasted

By far the easiest way is to buy a whole duck, cover it with garlic and spices, stuff it with potatoes and shallots and roast it in the oven for a couple of hours.  The skin will get nice and crispy and the meat perfectly tender. Serve it up with some fresh vegetables and you’ve got a gourmet meal.

Soup

Once the whole duck has been generously carved, a perfect way to utilize the nutrients left is to boil it up as soup.  Throw the entire carcass into a pot of boiling salt-water to make a delicious duck broth.  Add vegetables and spices of your choice.  The left-0ver meat should fall easily off the bone adding extra protein to a very nourishing and delicious soup.  Below is a duck stew that my colleague Grace and I made as a pre-Thanksgiving meal.  We used turnips, carrots, yams, potatoes, shallots and squash which made for a delightfully sweet broth.

Duck Broth

Duck pizza? I said the same when I first saw it on the menu at Pairings - a lovely wine bistro in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  But, let me tell you, this one is worth trying to re-create at home (or just stopping by if you are in the neighborhood).  Goat Cheese, roasted duck breast, tart cherries, butternut squash and piles of arugula adorned a thin-crust pizza dough toasted with an olive-oil glaze.  Amazing!

From breast pain to nausea to mood swings and back aches, such discomforts are more than just a nuisance, but signals from your body that something is out of balance and needs to be addressed. The only physiological components to a menstrual cycle should be moderate blood flow with the same number of days between cycles. Taking the time to address these symptoms now won’t only improve a woman’s quality of life, but also may prevent future reproductive problems. If you would like to take control of your menstrual cycle, understand it (and your fertility – to either prevent or promote pregnancy), Chinese Medicine has a variety of ways to alleviate common discomforts associated with menstruation.

The main cause of PMS according to Chinese medicine in liver qi stagnation, which is a pattern most commonly caused by stress. Some women are more susceptible to developing this pattern than others, and likewise the severity can also vary greatly.  Although the foundation for this pattern is based on a relative excess, or stagnation, in the body, it usually pairs itself with a relative deficiency that needs to be nourished.  The delicate balancing act of simultaneously nourishing and draining can be accomplished through the advice and treatment of a licensed practitioner.  Acupuncture, herbal medicine and dietary changes can help treat the root of cause of many common complaints associated with PMS.

Key Points to Consider when Trying to Reduce PMS

1)  Get plenty of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s)

• Fish Oil, Fish, Flaxseeds, Whole Eggs, Raw Nuts, Evening Primrose Oil

• Smooths hormonal function and facilitates ovulation

2)  Eat Organic Produce and Hormone Free Meats

• Meat is necessary for a healthy cycle, but the added hormones can interfere with your body’s natural endocrine rhythm.

3)  Increase Cruciferous Vegetable Consumption

• Broccoli, Cauliflower, Beets, Carrots, Kale, Cabbage, Collards

• Increases the body’s ability to metabolize Estradial, therefore decreasing breast tenderness, weight gain, moodiness, and low libido

4)  Take a High Potency Multi-Vitamin

• Increases bio-available nutrition, strengthening the whole system

5)  Dairy

• Avoid completely for scanty, painful or clotted menstruation

• If consuming, only take in moderation and of high quality (hormone free)

6)  Avoid Coffee, Alcohol, Nicotine

• Depletes nutrients in the body

• Green tea is OK in moderation while trying to alleviate PMS

7) Acupuncture & Herbs

• Regular acupuncture treatments can effectively regulation a woman’s cycle and reduce uncomfortable symptoms

• Herbal formulas safely and effectively address the root cause of imbalance

**Please note that the above suggestions should be tried over the course of 3-6 months before significant and permanent results can be expected. Likewise these are not meant to diagnose or treat any specific condition(s).

The leaves have turned color in New York City, the clocks turned back and the slight chill of winter lurks around the corner.  As our internal thermostats adjust to accommodate the external environmental changes during the fall, we often find ourselves fighting colds or catching the flu (beyond the hullabaloo of H1N1, there are many strains of simple colds out there – remember those?).  Much to my loving outdoor-hockey-playing boyfriend’s approval, these “natural alternatives” deliver potent relief when the time is right.  Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly a fan of the occasional Advil or Tylenol PM (also harbored in my medicine cabinet), but sometimes these other things get the job done better.  Yup, that’s right, better.

Chinese medicine offers great remedies to knock out that bug that hasn’t quite become full-blown illness, or strengthen the system to prevent an attack.  Acupuncture works to detoxify the body, and tonify the immune system.  Herbal medicine can do the same and work at a very deep level to re-balance during seasonal shifts and either treat or prevent common ailments. The following are some remedies you can try at home to stay healthy and out of the doctor’s office as winter gingerly approaches.

Gan Mao Ling

A very common patent-herbal remedy for knocking out an on-coming cold before it has the chance to set in is Gan Mao Ling. It is most effective when you feel just on the brink of getting sick.  Take 8-10 pills (they are small, if you are used to taking Chinese herbs, you know what I mean) 3 times daily to nip a cold in the bud.  Take until you feel better, up to a week. If the illness has already sunken in to produce specific symptoms like headache, nasal congestion or cough, this formula is no longer the right one, but it certainly will not make anything worse if you are unsure.  If symptoms do not improve or begin to incorporate chills, try the next step.

Immune Tea

Prepare this tea while taking the Gan Mao Ling, and especially if you are starting to feel fatigued and a slight chill. The warm water will help to clean out bacteria in the mouth and throat, and the herbs will help strengthen the immune system. If you are feeling a chill, drink this and wrap up in a warm blanket - in an effort to break a small sweat, venting the pathogen.

In 4 C water, Boil Together for 10 min:

4-5 Slices Fresh Ginger

The Rind of 1 Tangerine, Cut in Slices

2 Green Onions, Sliced (using both the white & green parts)

Steep for 5min in either 1 peppermint teabag or in chopped fresh peppermint leaves

Pour into a mug with 1 Tbsp honey.  Enjoy several cups.

Other Patents

If your generalized-think-you’re-getting-sick symptoms begin to get more specific, Chinese herbs may still be able to help.  There is a wide variety of time-tested formulas for chest congestion, runny nose, headaches, foggy-headiness, muscle-aches, queasy stomach, sore throat and cough.  It may be too late to avoid getting sick, but such formulas can help your body fight it faster, and reduce the uncomfortable symptoms you feel in the process. Any Certified Chinese herbalist would be able to recommend the right formula for you, which can be purchased in a chinatown pharmacy or herb shop – usually at minimal cost.

If you have the opportunity to speak with a Certified Herbalist for a consultation, they may even combine formulas, or give you something more individualized for your symptoms. Although many Chinese herbs have anti-microbial, anti-bacterial & anti-fungal effects, it is always important to check with your doctor to see if something more serious is going on.

Stay Covered

It is the same as grandma said, and ironically enough it is the same in Chinese medical literature from thousands of years ago: stay covered! On windy days and as the outside temperature fluctuates, it is important to keep vulnerable areas like your neck, the top of your head, abdomen & feet covered.  When exposed, these areas are likely to ‘trap’ external factors in the superficial layer of the body’s defense, thus making you more susceptible to other ailments.

Sleep

In preparation for the hibernation of winter, your body may need more sleep than it did in the hot summer months.  This is actually a healthy sign, and it is important to listen to.  During sleep is when our bodies repair and strengthen, an important part to staying healthy.  It is the easiest prevention technique, so try and make time for a good-nights sleep as part of your health care regime.

Eat Warm Food

There is a reason behind mother-natures seasonal vegetables this time of year, and their need to be cooked (raw sweet-potato or butternut squash is not a delicacy that I know of). Eating cold or raw food causes your digestive system to work harder. Rather than immediately absorbing the nutrition just taken in, it must “cook” the ingested food first, then break it down for energy and nourishment. This takes vital energy away from other parts of your body -like your immune system that is working overtime as the days waver between a chilly 40 and a balmy 65 degrees Fahrenheit- trying to prevent you from getting sick. Help your immune system by giving your digestive system a break.  Eat easy to digest, seasonal, cooked foods.

This post is proudly a part of Prevention Not Prescriptions Tuesday @ The Kathleen Show.  For more information and to check out some other great health blogs, check this site.