Happy Holidays

Look for your holiday offer in the mail... and pass on the 'Gift-of-Health' to a friend or loved one.

$50 OFF ALL NEW PATIENTS FOR MASSAGE AND ACUPUNCTURE UNTIL JAN 15TH

Happy Holidays from everyone at the D'Arcy Wellness Clinic.

The Remarkable Maqui Berry of Chile-Geoff D'Arcy

I recently had the opportunity to visit Southern Chile to film for a production company, a pilot TV show to pitch to the networks. We were checking out a remarkable berry, unique to Chile, that has been shown to have the highest anti-oxidants in the world. It has a three times greater ORAC value than acai and goji berries). We followed the research to the Valdivia Veterinary School, where lab work and studies are showing great promise for the treatment of many cancers. We visited the processing factory and explored the amazing countryside where the Maqui berry grows wild. The backdrop was the incredible Mount Orsorno snow capped volcano. This berry has been used medicinally for hundreds of years by the Mapuche Indians.

The Mapuche Shamans

The Mapuche Shamans who are 95% women, (known as the Machi,) use Maqui in their medicinal and ceremonial lives. I paid a visit to the Makawe (Maquiwe) Intercultural Hospital. This is a unique intercultural program that focuses primarily on building a health care system where the power of traditional medicine, embodied in the Machi (traditional healer) is offered as an equal and complementary alternative to western medicine. Herbs are offered alongside drugs, the social workers triage between M.D's and the Machi. It was great to see the pride the Mapuche have at this achievement created within the conventional Chilean health-care system.

I also visited the Mapuche Pharmacia in Temuco where they collect and manufacture 41 classical Mapuche herbal formulas. Open to the general public, and referred to by a few practicing Mapuche herbalists such as Maria the "Naturalista." Maria is amazing, I visited with her in her small office in Temuco. She has practiced Mapuche herbal medicine since her childhood gift was acknowledged, (she's not a Shaman). Her loving Grandmotherly ways disarmed everyone and her stories of being shown how to use and prepare herbs for patients in her dream-life were accepted as 100% authentic even by our science-hardened film producer. I won't forget her.

It was so refreshing to see the ancient traditional roots of the Maqui Berry honored and being acknowledged by the modern scientific research. We'll be hearing alot about the maqui berry in the near future.

HERBAL FORMULA OF THE MONTH: Stress-Relief

STRESS-RELIEF

Stress-related problems are typical in today�s world, Especially around the holidays! As a society, we tend to be overstimulated, overworked, and overtired. The typical American family is working 1,000 hours a year more than their parents. The fast pace of today�s world has left us little time for many of life�s simple pleasures � a relaxed meal or a good night�s sleep. Medical research shows that sixty to ninety percent of doctor�s office visits are stress related. Ginseng is an adaptogenic herb, that is, it helps adapt the body to stress by producing a glucoside that the body reads as adrenaline, thereby stopping post-stress-event adrenal exhaustion and calming the mind. The classic formula, Xiao Yao San, helps to move stagnant liver Qi, which can help the body overcome the negative effects of stress. Combined with the Western herb, chamomile, this formula can help switch off the fight-or-flight response that can wreak havoc on the heart and suppress the immune system, while increasing the body�s natural ability to relax.

STUDY FINDS..Acupuncture relieves Headaches

A recent study offers proof that acupuncture is an effective tension headache remedy has proven to be an effective treatment for tension headache. It not only relieves pain, but also cuts rates of recurrence by almost half, indicates research published in the August 2005 issue of BMJ.

Fewer Headaches After Treatment

The subjects were monitored for four weeks after their period of treatment. Those who had received traditional acupuncture care subsequently experienced seven fewer headaches. The group that had been given minimal acupuncture therapy had surprisingly similar results -- 6.6 fewer headaches.

The control group did not fare as well, with only 1.5 fewer headaches.

Improvements in headache rates continued for months after the acupuncture treatment, though they began to rise slightly as time went on.

Chiropractic--Dr. Kouch "Use-them-or-lose-them"

December 31, your Chiropractic benefits will expire. Use them before you lose them!

Chiropractic has been shown in recent and past studies to be extremely effective in the treatment of both acute and chronic low back pain, as well as headaches caused from tension in the upper spine and neck. Schedule your appointment today to take advantage of your benefits before they expire. Dr Kouch accepts Blue Cross, Harvard Pilgrim, United Health Care, as well as Medicare Insurances. We take care of all the paperwork so you can focus on getting better.

Dr Kouch specializes in using myofascial release techniques and stretches, along with superior adjusting techniques to achieve his results.

D'ARCY WELLNESS SHOW ON NATICK TV

D'Arcy Wellness Show.
The series format is based upon Geoff interviewing and discussing topics and therapies that are non-drug and non-surgical options with licensed practitioners of Complementary and Alternative Medicines.

Please call your Community Cable TV station and ask them if they would like to show them.

12/17/2007 at 3:00 PM
12/18/2007 at 3:00 PM
12/20/2007 at 3:00 PM

Other Towns that have agreed to or are showing our series are:
Dover/Sherborn
Millis
Milford
Needham
Wayland
Wellesley
Weston
Please contact these TV stations directly for their viewing schedules. It is a fun series, please let us know what you think.

BOOK OF THE MONTH:Shamans of the Foye Tree: Gender, Power, and Healing among Chilean Mapuche

Amazing book about Mapuche shamanism. The power and respect of mainly women Machi's. The book challenges so many stereotypes about gender, sexuality and spirituality. She tells the story from her experience as well as from an academic point of view.

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