Ancient Chinese medicine believes that the body contains “Meridians”. These meridians are pathways in the body which the energy of life called Qi (”chi”) flows through. It flows through every body part, tissue, and organ. Cupping therapy is mainly performed on one’s back because there are five meridians located on your back. When these meridians are opened, the internal energy is able to flow through the whole body.

Benefits:

• Alleviates upper and lower back pain. • Helps with insomnia • Moves phlegm in the Lungs • Release of toxins in your body.

The suction from the cups can penetrate deep into your tissues causing the tissues to release harmful toxins. It triggers the lymphatic system, clears the blood vessels, and stretches and activates the skin.

For extremely blocked energy, one can also practice a modern day bloodletting. A practitioner uses sterile lancets and quickly pricks the skin, followed immediately with cupping. In this way blood can release and move tough blockages in the area and added bonus is no bruising.

Osher Center marries Eastern medicine with Western

Julian Guthrie, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle March 7, 2011 04:00 AM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistMonday, March 7, 2011

Julianne Ward, a 42-year-old mother of two young children, was diagnosed a year ago with Stage IV breast cancer.

For the cancer, she has had 18 rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and 30 lymph nodes removed, and she is now undergoing 25 sessions of radiation.

For her body and mind, she is getting acupuncture, Chinese herbs and a diet rich in cancer-fighting foods. She also practices visualization.

“My feeling is that Western medicine treats the disease, and Eastern medicine treats the whole body and whole person,” said Ward. “When you are diagnosed with cancer, that doesn’t mean it’s what you are. You have the rest of your body and future, and you need to be strong and sustain yourself.”

Ward, who lives in Napa, travels to San Francisco for treatment. Her oncologist, trained in modern medicine and complementary approaches, works at the University of California’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. The Osher clinic, opened in 2002 and housed in a handful of cramped locations, opened in January in a gleaming new $37 million building with five floors and 48,000 square feet dedicated to research, education and clinical care.

The Osher Center, part of the Mount Zion campus on Divisadero Street and named after philanthropist Bernard Osher, offers physicians trained in integrative medicine, as well as specialists in traditional Chinese medicine, biofeedback, guided imagery, therapeutic massage and ayurveda consultation. There are a range of public programs and lectures, including how to prepare for surgery and how to be mindful in childbirth and parenting. Some of the group classes include tai chi, laughter yoga and meditation.

“There are 46 integrative medicine programs at major academic health centers around the country and we are the best,” said Margaret Chesney, the center’s director who formerly worked as a deputy director for complementary and alternative medicine at the National Institutes of Health.

Chesney, whose fifth-floor office looks out onto the center’s Japanese healing garden, open to patients and their families, added, “Integrative does not mean alternative. Rather, it’s medicine that is integrated together with a focus on prevention, health maintenance, early intervention and patient-centered care.”

Kevin Barrows, a family physician who heads the center’s clinical programs, said, “We choose programs that are evidence-based. When we decide to offer a therapy or hire a practitioner, our highest criteria is if there is evidence for that therapy. Do we know through Western science that it will work?”

As the science advances, insurance coverage will follow, said Barrows, noting that some plans have begun to pay for acupuncture.

Research projects

The center’s current research projects range from studying how breathing and meditation lower blood pressure to the impact of teaching pregnant women to meditate as a way to reduce preterm delivery and reduce postpartum depression. Elizabeth Blackburn, the UCSF biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize, is an investigator on two of the center’s largest studies, on mindful meditation for patients who are obese and for patients with HIV.

“What we are trying to do here is really to transform medicine,” Barrows said.

Patient rooms, situated off the reception area on the fifth floor, have soft lighting, hardwood floors, wooden dressers and walls painted in hues of sage and sand and adorned with framed flower prints. Rooms for classes open to patients and the public are also on the fifth floor.

About a dozen people, ages 50 and up, gathered recently in a carpeted room for tai chi class.

Leon Lord, who is 70 and lives in San Francisco, said he needed something to balance the running he does.

“I come here just for classes,” Lord said. “I pay out of pocket. It’s preventative for me, all in my quest to stay healthy and stay alive.”

Alex Schott, 60, has been doing tai chi for four years for general health and because “there are so many positions to learn and know. I hope it will strengthen my memory.”

New to the class was Trish Douglas, who is 39 and was diagnosed with breast cancer in July.

“I’m trying out different classes here,” said Douglas, who wore a head scarf, having just shaved her long hair. “I’m doing chemotherapy across the street, but I’m here for peace of mind. My attitude is, why not do the regular medicine which will kill the cancer, and do alternative things which will help me to heal my body?”

Alex Pamasik, 38, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in January. He quickly met with a surgeon and a radiation specialist. When he met with his oncologist, Donald Abrams, head of integrative oncology at the Osher Center, Abrams asked questions about his life, his family, his work and his spirituality.

‘Treating the garden’

“The other doctors are looking at treating the weed,” Pamasik said. “Dr. Abrams is about treating the garden.”

Abrams, an oncologist for 30 years who completed a two-year fellowship at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, sat in his office sipping green tea.

“I focus on things including nutrition,” he said. “I co-manage my patients with a traditional Chinese medicine person. I’m big into medicinal mushrooms. I talk with patients about supplements. So often, cancer is about losing control. It’s given to the person doing your chemo, and your radiation. My job is to re-empower my patients, to give them things they can control.”

Abrams added, “You know how I end all of my appointments with patients? I ask them: ‘So what brings you joy? What are your hopes? Where does your strength come from?’ Then we come up with a recipe to continue to obtain that joy.”

Here’s an article that proves it.  In Chinese Medicine, often part of the challenge of fertility is the stagnation of unresolved emotion, stress and tension causing inflammation and problematic circulation to the uterus.  Laughter, meditation and of course, acupuncture, move these stagnations through the body, resulting in a better balanced vessel ready for conception and implantation.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Chinese New Year is Thursday, February 3rd this year, the Year of the Rabbit. While last year’s ferocious Tiger year was about aggression, heat, high energy, and battles. This year, the Rabbit brings us peace and quiet, ease and luxury.

A Chinese proverb states that all creations are reborn on New Year’s day. The Chinese New Year is a celebration of change … out with the old and in with the new!

The celebration actually starts on New Year’s Eve with the reunion dinner. Here are a few traditions and tips for preparation.

By New Year’s Eve, you should have done the following:

· Clean the entire home to get rid of all the things that are associated with the old year.

· Put away all brooms and brushes.

· Pay debts.

· Resolve differences with family members, friends, neighbors and business associates.

· Buy oranges (good health and long life), tangerines (long relationships, fruitful and multiply for having children or persimmons (happiness and wealth).

· Fresh flowers, if they a flower blooms on New Year’s Day this is a sign of prosperity all year.

· Get together with close family members for the “reunion” dinner.

· Open every door and window in your home at midnight of New Year’s Eve to let go of the old year.

On New Year’s Day…

· Do not lend any money, otherwise you’ll be lending all year.

· Do not use foul language or unlucky words, like the word ‘four” which is the word for death, don’t talk about death or ghosts on this day.

· Do not reference the past year or things in the past, only speak of the coming year.

· Wear new clothes or shoes, especially bright red.

· Eat candy in the morning for luck and also fish and chicken during the day.

· Don’t wash your hair.

· Do not cry on New Year’s Day or you will cry throughout the whole year.

· Don’t sweep the floor.

· Don’t greet people who are in mourning.

· Don’t drop your chopsticks.

· Do not use knives or scissors.

· The first person you meet or first words heard are indicative of the setting of the whole year.

And for those most superstitious, before leaving the house to call on others, the Almanac should be consulted to find the best time to leave the home and the direction, which is most auspicious to head out.

Pungent steam rises from a boiling pot of a mugwort tea blended with wormwood and a variety of other herbs. Above it sits a nude woman on an open-seated stool, partaking in a centuries-old Korean remedy that is gaining a toehold in the West.

Vaginal steam baths, called chai-yok, are said to reduce stress, fight infections, clear hemorrhoids, regulate menstrual cycles and aid infertility, among many other health benefits. In Korea, many women steam regularly after their monthly periods.

There is folk wisdom — and even some logic — to support the idea that the carefully targeted steam may provide some physiological benefits for women. But there are no studies to document its effectiveness, and few American doctors have even heard of it.

“It sounds like voodoo medicine that sometimes works,” said Dr. Vicken Sahakian, medical director of Pacific Fertility Center in Los Angeles.

Niki Han Schwarz believes it worked for her. After five steams, she found she had fewer body aches and more energy. She also became pregnant eight months ago at the age of 45 after attempting to conceive for three years.

Han Schwarz and her husband, orthopedic surgeon Charles Schwarz, are determined to introduce vaginal steam baths to Southern California women. Their Santa Monica spa, Tikkun Holistic Spa, offers a 30-minute V-Steam treatment for $50. (The identical treatment is available for men, to steam the perineal area.)

At Daengki Spa in Koreatown, a 45-minute V-Herbal Therapy treatment can be had for $20 a squat. The steam includes a mixture of 14 herbs imported from Korea by spa manager Jin Young. The spa’s website claims the treatment will “rid the body of toxins” and help women with menstrual cramps, bladder infections, kidney problems and fertility issues. “It is a traditional Korean health remedy,” according to the website.

Across the country, chai-yok treatments are not easy to find. They are available in a scattering of alternative holistic health centers. The flashy Juvenex Spa in Manhattan offers its 30-minute Gyno Spa Cure for $75. A complete setup for a do-it-yourself steam — open-seated stool, boiler and herbs — can be purchased online at http://www.rakuten.com for $330.

The two predominant herbs in the steam bath mixture are mugwort and wormwood. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) has been used in Eastern medicine for hundreds of years to balance female hormones. It contains natural antibiotics and antifungal agents, according to herbalists and alternative medicine journals. It is also said to stimulate the production of hormones to maintain uterine health, protect the uterus from ulcers and tumors, stimulate menstrual discharge and ease fatigue, headaches, abdominal discomfort and nausea, among other claims.

Wormwood (Artemisia herba), an antimicrobial “cooling herb,” is also popular in Eastern medicine. It has been used historically to induce uterine contractions and treat bladder infections, fevers, open sores, constipation, diarrhea, hepatitis, jaundice, eczema and parasitic infections. The leaves and young shoots are antibacterial and antiviral, and they also relax the blood vessels and promote the discharge of bile, according to historical tradition.

Neither herb has been subjected to the rigorous analysis used to vet Western medicines. But Han Schwarz says she and her husband became persuaded by the herbs’ healing abilities after conducting a fact-finding mission in South Korea. They discovered that people there used the herbs to aid digestive disorders and immune system strength, for reduction of headaches and pain from inflammatory conditions, to improve energy, to regulate the menstrual cycle and hormones, and to detoxify the uterus.

One of their clients, Sherman Oaks-based writer Lanee Neil, said she prefers the V-Steam to the harshness of a douche and thinks of it as a “facial” for her private area.

“It’s a simple, relaxing treatment,” says Neil, who hopes it will help her become pregnant. “You can imagine people doing this in the forest somewhere.”

Tae-Cheong Choo, who teaches at Samra University of Oriental Medicine in Los Angeles, strongly endorses chai-yok treatment, especially for gynecological problems and infertility. He says he used to administer it to his patients in Korea, but he doesn’t have the time to prepare the formula here.

“Many infertility problems are related to coldness and stagnation,” Choo says. “The chai-yok treatment is effective for coldness or poor circulation in the lower part of the body because it increases the blood circulation, and blood supplies nutrition, so the more blood supply, the faster the healing process.”

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Women’s Care of Beverly Hills Medical Group, says the idea of steaming the pelvic area is “not insane.” The heat boosts circulation, and the increased blood flow brings more oxygen and “immune factors” to the region, she says.

However, she notes, it’s impossible to say whether the herbal steam does any good.

“Most of these kinds of treatments are not put through intensive clinical trials, so it becomes challenging to evaluate the actual impact they have,” she says. In addition, traditional practices like chai-yok “have been cut off from the larger system they grew out of, including factors of cultural and family life, diet, environment, etc. There’s a bigger picture that we’re really missing.”

A Korean treatment for the vaginal area is said to aid health and fertility. What’s missing is evidence.

Pungent steam rises from a boiling pot of a mugwort tea blended with wormwood and a variety of other herbs. Above it sits a nude woman on an open-seated stool, partaking in a centuries-old Korean remedy that is gaining a toehold in the West.

Vaginal steam baths, called chai-yok, are said to reduce stress, fight infections, clear hemorrhoids, regulate menstrual cycles and aid infertility, among many other health benefits. In Korea, many women steam regularly after their monthly periods.

There is folk wisdom — and even some logic — to support the idea that the carefully targeted steam may provide some physiological benefits for women. But there are no studies to document its effectiveness, and few American doctors have even heard of it.

“It sounds like voodoo medicine that sometimes works,” said Dr. Vicken Sahakian, medical director of Pacific Fertility Center in Los Angeles.

Niki Han Schwarz believes it worked for her. After five steams, she found she had fewer body aches and more energy. She also became pregnant eight months ago at the age of 45 after attempting to conceive for three years.

Han Schwarz and her husband, orthopedic surgeon Charles Schwarz, are determined to introduce vaginal steam baths to Southern California women. Their Santa Monica spa, Tikkun Holistic Spa, offers a 30-minute V-Steam treatment for $50. (The identical treatment is available for men, to steam the perineal area.)

At Daengki Spa in Koreatown, a 45-minute V-Herbal Therapy treatment can be had for $20 a squat. The steam includes a mixture of 14 herbs imported from Korea by spa manager Jin Young. The spa’s website claims the treatment will “rid the body of toxins” and help women with menstrual cramps, bladder infections, kidney problems and fertility issues. “It is a traditional Korean health remedy,” according to the website.

Across the country, chai-yok treatments are not easy to find. They are available in a scattering of alternative holistic health centers. The flashy Juvenex Spa in Manhattan offers its 30-minute Gyno Spa Cure for $75. A complete setup for a do-it-yourself steam — open-seated stool, boiler and herbs — can be purchased online at http://www.rakuten.com for $330.

The two predominant herbs in the steam bath mixture are mugwort and wormwood. Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) has been used in Eastern medicine for hundreds of years to balance female hormones. It contains natural antibiotics and antifungal agents, according to herbalists and alternative medicine journals. It is also said to stimulate the production of hormones to maintain uterine health, protect the uterus from ulcers and tumors, stimulate menstrual discharge and ease fatigue, headaches, abdominal discomfort and nausea, among other claims.

Wormwood (Artemisia herba), an antimicrobial “cooling herb,” is also popular in Eastern medicine. It has been used historically to induce uterine contractions and treat bladder infections, fevers, open sores, constipation, diarrhea, hepatitis, jaundice, eczema and parasitic infections. The leaves and young shoots are antibacterial and antiviral, and they also relax the blood vessels and promote the discharge of bile, according to historical tradition.

Neither herb has been subjected to the rigorous analysis used to vet Western medicines. But Han Schwarz says she and her husband became persuaded by the herbs’ healing abilities after conducting a fact-finding mission in South Korea. They discovered that people there used the herbs to aid digestive disorders and immune system strength, for reduction of headaches and pain from inflammatory conditions, to improve energy, to regulate the menstrual cycle and hormones, and to detoxify the uterus.

One of their clients, Sherman Oaks-based writer Lanee Neil, said she prefers the V-Steam to the harshness of a douche and thinks of it as a “facial” for her private area.

“It’s a simple, relaxing treatment,” says Neil, who hopes it will help her become pregnant. “You can imagine people doing this in the forest somewhere.”

Tae-Cheong Choo, who teaches at Samra University of Oriental Medicine in Los Angeles, strongly endorses chai-yok treatment, especially for gynecological problems and infertility. He says he used to administer it to his patients in Korea, but he doesn’t have the time to prepare the formula here.

“Many infertility problems are related to coldness and stagnation,” Choo says. “The chai-yok treatment is effective for coldness or poor circulation in the lower part of the body because it increases the blood circulation, and blood supplies nutrition, so the more blood supply, the faster the healing process.”

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Women’s Care of Beverly Hills Medical Group, says the idea of steaming the pelvic area is “not insane.” The heat boosts circulation, and the increased blood flow brings more oxygen and “immune factors” to the region, she says.

However, she notes, it’s impossible to say whether the herbal steam does any good.

“Most of these kinds of treatments are not put through intensive clinical trials, so it becomes challenging to evaluate the actual impact they have,” she says. In addition, traditional practices like chai-yok “have been cut off from the larger system they grew out of, including factors of cultural and family life, diet, environment, etc. There’s a bigger picture that we’re really missing.”

Pumpkin Gingerbread

**for those who still want post-holiday pumpkin treats

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

- Mix dry ingredients together

½ cup coconut oil

2/3 cup agave nectar

¼ cup molasses

2/3 cup rice milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin pureee

¾ cup hot water

- Combine wet ingredients, and mix with dry until batter is smooth

- With a spatula, fold in the pumpkin puree and hot water

- Bake at 325° in oiled loaf pan for 40 minutes

Having issues with estrogen dominance?  Or simply said, high levels of estrogen in the body?  What does it look like and what are the simple things you can do to avoid taxing your body and estrogen even more?

First, what does estrogen dominance look like?  Women can experience any of the following:

· Allergy Symptoms

· Breast cancer

· Breast tenderness

· Cold hands and feet

· Decreased sex drive

· Mood swings

· Dry eyes

· Depression, anxiety, irritability

· Fatigue

· Fibrocystic breasts

· Increased risk of strokes

· Irregular menstrual periods

· Headaches

· Hypoglycemia

· Insomnia

· Slow metabolism

· Infertility

· PMS

· Zinc deficiency

· Osteoporosis

· Uterine Fibroids

· Uterine Cancer

· Water retention, bloating

· Weight gain

· Hair loss

· Acceleration of the aging process

· Fat gain around hips and thighs

· Polycystic ovaries

· Endometrial cancer

· Memory loss, foggy thinking

· Thyroid Dysfunction

· Magnesium deficiency

· Gallbladder disease

· Unstable blood sugar

· Cervical dysplasia

· Prostate cancer

· Ovarian cancer

Foods and Drinks to Avoid

Sources say that caffeine can raise estrogen levels by 70%!  Eliminating caffeine is a sure-fire way to reduce estrogen levels.

Eat hormone free meats - be sure all the meat that touches your lips is organic.

There is also a long list of natural herbs or culinary spices that will raise estrogen. To name a few - lavender, rosemary, sage, black cohosh, dong quai, and motherwort are on this list.

And, what about Soy???  Soy, soy, soy…Please use soy in minimal amounts.  It’s estrogenic by nature, which is why women going through menopause like to consume more because it helps with hot flashes and night sweats. (Menopause is essentially the decline of estrogen in the body).  And watch your labels because soy is in EVERYTHING!

Food Storage and Preparation

As for storing and preparing food, be careful of the dreaded Xenoestrogen.  Plastic is high in Xenoestrogen when it leaches and it always leaches when combined with heat.  For example, water bottles - we have no idea how long they’ve been in transport and in what temperatures.  Not to mention, the plastics used for water bottles are almost always a Food Grade Level of 1.  The lowest and cheapest. Higher food grade plastic is a little better, but not by much, an example of this are the ever so popular Nalgene bottles which are a level 8, but still shown to leach Xenoestrogen in small amounts.  The best alternatives, good old glass or stainless steel are the safest containers to drink from.  I, personally, drink out of glass mason jars or stainless steel water bottles like Klean Kanteen.

Preparing food poses its own problems.  You absolutely never want to cook with plastic, think plastic frozen food containers made for the oven or microwave.  Be careful with cheap plastic spatulas too that melt!

Balanced hormone levels lead to balance in every aspect of your life, and can help greatly ease menstruation, PMS, mood, sleep and energy, as well as preventing future issues such as difficult menopause and Breast and other Reproductive Cancers.

July 18, 2010 in Food & Nutrition, Thyroid Disorders |

In the first article in this series, I showed that hypothyroidism is an autoimmune disease in 90% of cases. In this article we’re going to discuss the connection between autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and gluten intolerance.

Several studies show a strong link between AITD (both Hashimoto’s and Graves’) and gluten intolerance. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] The link is so well-established that researchers suggest all people with AITD be screened for gluten intolerance, and vice versa.

What explains the connection? It’s a case of mistaken identity. The molecular structure of gliadin, the protein portion of gluten, closely resembles that of the thyroid gland. When gliadin breaches the protective barrier of the gut, and enters the bloodstream, the immune system tags it for destruction. These antibodies to gliadin also cause the body to attack thyroid tissue. This means if you have AITD and you eat foods containing gluten, your immune system will attack your thyroid.

Even worse, the immune response to gluten can last up to 6 months each time you eat it. This explains why it is critical to eliminate gluten completely from your diet if you have AITD. There’s no “80/20″ rule when it comes to gluten. Being “mostly” gluten-free isn’t going to cut it. If you’re gluten intolerant, you have to be 100% gluten-free to prevent immune destruction of your thyroid.

So how do you find out if you’re gluten intolerant? Unfortunately, standard lab tests aren’t very accurate. They test for antibodies to gluten in the bloodstream. But antibodies in the blood will only be found in cases where the gut has become so permeable that gluten can pass through. This is a relatively advanced stage of disease. Blood tests will miss the many milder cases of gluten intolerance that haven’t yet progressed to that stage.

Stool analysis is far more sensitive, because it detects antibodies produced in the digestive tract that aren’t yet escaping into the bloodstream. Using this method at Entero Lab, Dr. Kenneth Fine, a pioneer in the field, has found that up to 35% of Americans are gluten intolerant.

In addition to the stool analysis, Dr. Fine’s lab uses a cheek swab to test for the genes connected with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. People with HLA DQ genes are more likely than the general population to have autoimmune disease, celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Dr. Fine’s research shows that more than 80% of Americans have one of these gene types.

When I first read Dr. Fine’s research, I was astounded by the implications. It suggests that 1 in 3 Americans are gluten intolerant, and that 8 in 10 are genetically predisposed to gluten intolerance. This is nothing short of a public health catastrophe in a nation where the #1 source of calories is refined flour. But while most are at least aware of the dangers of sugar, trans-fat and other unhealthy foods, fewer than 1 in 8 people with celiac disease are aware of their condition. I would guess that an even lower proportion of people are aware they are gluten intolerant.

One reason gluten intolerance goes undetected in so many cases is that both doctors and patients mistakenly believe it only causes digestive problems. But gluten intolerance can also present with inflammation in the joints, skin, respiratory tract and brain – without any obvious gut symptoms.

As much improved as Dr. Fine’s methods are, they aren’t perfect. In some patients with autoimmune disease, their immune system is so worn out they can no longer produce many antibodies.

Hashmioto’s, the most common autoimmune thyroid condition, is primarily a Th1 dominant condition. I’ll explain what this means in further detail in a future article. For now, what you need to understand is that in Th1-dominant conditions, the Th2 system is suppressed. The Th2 system is the part of the immune system responsible for producing antibodies. When the Th2 system is severely depressed, the body’s ability to produce antibodies is impaired. The levels may be so low that they won’t show up on a test. So, even if you have gluten intolerance, your test for gluten antibodies may be falsely negative if you have Th1-dominant Hashimoto’s.

This is why I recommend that you avoid gluten if you have AITD, regardless of whether tests show an active antibody response. This is especially true if you have one of the genes (HLA DQ1,2, or 3) that predisposes you to developing gluten intolerance. In my opinion continuing to eat gluten when you have a confirmed autoimmune condition simply isn’t worth risking the immune destruction it could cause.

In fact, the more I learn about gluten and its effects on the body, the more I think we’d all probably be better off not eating it. Mark Sisson has written extensively about the dangers of gluten and gluten-containing grains, so head over there and have a look if this is new to you. The short version: foods that contain gluten (both whole grains and flours) contain substances that inhibit nutrient absorption, damage our intestinal lining, and – as I’ve described in this article – activate a potentially destructive autoimmune response. What’s more, there are no nutrients in gluten-containing foods that you can’t get more easily and efficiently from foods that don’t contain gluten.

The good news is that if you have AITD and are gluten intolerant removing gluten completely from your diet will dramatically improve your health. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

By ACCESSHOLLYWOOD.COM EDITORIAL STAFF

Updated 11:45 AM CDT, Sat, Oct 30, 2010

FilmMagic

After suffering a miscarriage nearly two years ago, Mariah Carey picked up a helpful tip from a fellow singing superstar who also struggled with infertility – Celine Dion.

“[Celine Dion] was talking about acupuncture,” Mariah told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush in an exclusive interview. “I used to get acupuncture, and I had never thought [of it] with regards to the trying to conceive situation.”

Before she knew it, acupuncture became part of Mariah’s daily calming routine.

“I was [getting acupuncture] like once a day at least,” she told Billy. “It was on a schedule, everything. For the first time in my life, I spent time in one place — as you know I’m always traveling just all over the place.”

The “Shake It Off” singer said acupuncture has dramatically reduced her stress level, which was crucial in helping her get pregnant.

“People who know me would be like, ‘You scheduled acupuncture at a certain time every day? You stayed in one place? You listened to these weird, etherial tapes?’” she told Billy.

Mariah also enlisted the aid of hormone treatments to increase her fertility chances – the side effects of which caused pregnancy rumors to fly prematurely.

“I put my body through like a whole kind of cleansing kind of situation and prepared,” she told Billy. “I had to be on progesterone. I did end up being on progesterone like every month to go through the cycles — especially after going through the operations and stuff.

“And then, you know, because it sort of helps seal the pregnancy, but it also bloats you, it also puts on weight,” she added. “So then everybody was like, ‘Oh the weight gain, she’s definitely pregnant!’ And I’m like, ‘Well, at some point I was.’”

As previously reported, Access Hollywood was first to break the news that Mariah and her husband, Nick Cannon, are expecting their first child in the spring.

Nick and Mariah chose to wait awhile for announcing their happy news, due to Mariah’s painful miscarriage.

“After you have been through an event that really is a tragic event in your life, and you go through it and you come out and you are like, ‘OK, we’re not giving up, we are happy, we’re positive, this is all OK, it’s going to be OK,’ but the point is, who do we really want to include in our circle of this private subject? No one, thank you!

“But you can only hold back for so long before you have to talk about it,” Mariah told Billy.

The charming couple has already chosen names for their future bundle of joy — although, for now, they’re keeping it to themselves.

“We’re not [revealing the names],” Nick told Billy. “But… we have names [picked out] from the first day that we met and I think we want to stay true to that.”