I am experiencing hot flushes & a heavy period, diagnosed as perimenopause. Can acupuncture & Chinese medicine help?     By Dr. Xia Cheng from Body Mind Synergy Health Centre Yes, Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine has been used for this condition for thousands of years. It has been proved to be an effective method to treat premanopause, relieve symptoms and also address the cause of these symptoms. Perimenopause is a stage all women have to go through sooner or later, no matter if we like it or not. Hot flushes are one of most commonly seen symptoms during premanopause, as well as irregular periods, forgetfulness, poor concentration, mood swings, night sweats, virginal dryness and decrease in libido. Lost of bone density is also another condition that starts at this period of time. Different people may be bothered by different symptoms; often one or two of the above symptoms could be more predominate. Although symptoms could be different, the physio-pathological changes in our body are the same, which is the decline of the estrogens in our body. According to Chinese medicine, the balance of Yin and Yang keeps the healthy conditions of the body. During the period of premanopause, our Yin energy (estrogens are part of the Yin energy) decreases, especially the Yin of liver and kidney, which leads to Yang becoming relatively excessive causing heat symptoms, such as hot flushes and night sweats. The heat can also disturb our mind causing insomnia, poor memory and mood swings. The kidney is in charge of our reproductive system and the liver is in charge of regulating blood and our period. When liver and kidney Yin is deficient, we will experience symptoms of sexual and period disorders. Treatment of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can stimulate the release of hormones, for early decline of ovary functions (women in thirties or early forties), acupuncture can help to stimulate and recover the release of estrogens and push back the onset of premanopause. For women over 45, it is a natural process to go through premanopause, but acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help to minimize the symptoms and maintain quality of life during this period. In this treatment, diet changes are prescribed, such as eating broccoli, bone brouce, seaweeds for calcium, Chinese jujubes and dragon eyes for blood and iron. Soy beans give natural estrogens, fruits and vegetables increase Yin energy. A decrease in spicy food and alcohol is also recommended to decrease heat. For more details on this subject, please contact Dr. Xia Chen of Body Mind Synergy Health Centre at 403.520.5258 or visit www.bodymindsynergy.com