Picture this. It's springtime in Jacksonville, Florida. You walk out to your car after work and find it covered in a thin layer of yellow dust. Does this sound familiar?

It is the beginning of allergy season here in Jax, and many are starting to suffer with itchy eyes, sinus headaches, sneezing, runny nose and post-nasal drip.

Luckily, I've seen acupuncture work extremely well time and time again for allergic rhinitis and hay fever caused by allergies. Recently one of my new patients emailed me after her first treatment telling me that one acupuncture treatment worked better for her than three weeks of Flonase!

The American Society of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery now recommends acupuncture as one option for allergic rhinitis in patients who desire a non-pharmaceutical approach. 

So how do you use acupuncture for allergies?

• Make sure to get a course of treatments. Acupuncture is a cumulative medicine, and each treatment builds on the next. A regular course of treatments is anywhere from about 6-12, depending on the severity of the symptoms. I always prescribe a custom treatment plan for each patient.
• Think about prevention. Start before the symptoms appear, if possible. If you start about a month or so before you know you get allergies, acupuncture can help prevent them.
• After your course of treatments, you may need maintenance or "tune-up" treatments about once every 4-6 weeks. Every case is different.

Once you are getting acupuncture, there are several lifestyle tips that can enhance your treatment and help you maintain your results after your course of treatments:

• Try a neti pot. These can be found at health food stores and also drugstores. It is a container especially designed to irrigate the sinuses and wash out allergens like mold and pollen as well as mucus.
• Take a 1/2 TBL of raw, local honey daily. This is like taking a "vaccine" with all of the local allergens in it, and it can help your body build antibodies against the allergens in the environment. Make sure to find truly local honey--usually at your farmer's market.
• If you have congestion, eliminate cheese, milk, yogurt and ice cream, at least until the congestion clears. Dairy is very good at forming phlegm in the body.

I just learned of an interesting program called Blogging for Books, where bloggers can receive free copies of recent books to review on their blogs. I am an avid collector of books--especially health, nutrition and wellness books--after all, it is my field of study! During my undergraduate degree I worked at Barnes & Noble. Books have always been a passion of mine, so I was excited to hear about Blogging for Books. They have a good selection of health and wellness books, so you can expect to see some book reviews here from time to time.

The cookbook The Paleo Chef is one I had looked at before and I was attracted to it because of the delicious looking recipes and beautiful photos. I like a paleo diet template for several reasons:

• It helps to balance blood sugar, and there have been many testimonials from paleo diet adherents that have reversed diabetes.
• It is an anti-inflammatory diet because it cuts out the major foods that cause sensitivities and intolerances. The big food culprits are gluten, dairy and soy...and the paleo diet eliminates these (with a few exceptions I won't go into here). The paleo diet also eliminates sugar and vegetable oils, which are also highly inflammatory.
• Is rich in vegetable content--more phytonutrients and fiber means a happier body.
• It focuses on quality foods and sustainably raised meats, eggs and other products.

Now, I don't recommend a strict paleo diet for all of my patients. "Strict" paleo excludes all grains, all beans, all dairy (for the most part), all sugar and all processed foods. That still leaves highly nutritious foods like grass-fed and pastured meats, eggs, nuts and seeds, veggies and of course fruit. For many of my patients, the strict version of the diet isn't necessary. However, some people can really benefit from this way of eating, even for a short period (like a month or two).

Back to the book. The author is indeed a chef, and some of the recipes look like they might be a tad complicated. I love simple recipes when I cook at home, as I prepare the bulk of my meals from scratch (think one-dish meals and the slow cooker!). However, many of these really look fabulous and also like they might not take all day! Here are the recipes from the book that are top on my list to try:

• Black Chia Seed Pudding with Nuts, Figs and Dates
• Moroccan Carrot Salad
• Raw Zucchini Lasagna with Tomato-Olive Pesto
• Shrimp Laksa
• Chicken Schnitzel with Slaw

There are many paleo cookbooks out there, and I have quite a few. However, the distinction with this book is definitely that the author if a chef, and the recipes approach gourmet (albeit accessible gourmet). It might not be the best book for a paleo newbie who isn't used to more intricate recipes and ingredients. The book Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo is usually the one I recommend to people just starting out. Bon Appetit!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books.

I've seen statistics that nearly 50% of women suffer with period cramps. Many women also suffer from horrible PMS which can include not only cramping, but irritability, depression, moodiness, breast tenderness, breakouts and more. Many women are surprised to find out that acupuncture and herbs can usually eliminate all symptoms of a painful period.

These women may take NSAIDS to help ease the cramping pain, but NSAIDS have some nasty side effects such as stomach upset and being toxic to the liver. Some women have such bad cramps that their doctor will prescribe birth control pills to regulate their hormones. This may help ease the pain of the cramps a little bit. However, in my practice I hear a lot about side effects from birth control pills, a common one being loss of libido. Birth control pills also rob the body of some very valuable nutrients. When the body gets robbed of nutrients, important organs don't function correctly. Read more here about how birth control may be something you'd want to avoid: 14 Ways Birth Control Pills Rob Us of Our Health.

So, what to do about painful cramps? I am passionate about spreading the word the you do NOT have to suffer with painful menstrual cramps. They can be treated naturally with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Acupuncture works really well, but adding the herbs to the treatment plan is key.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine can address:

• PMS
• Heavy Bleeding
• Breast Tenderness
• Mood Swings
• Menstrual related acne
• Painful cramping in the lower abdomen, back and legs

When a woman come to my office to work on these type of symptoms, I do a throughout health history. Some questions I may ask are:

• Is your cycle regular? How long is it?
• Do your symptoms start before the menstrual flow starts, after the flow starts or after it stops (or a combination of the three)?
• Where are the cramps located?
• Are there other symptoms involved, like headaches or digestive disturbances?
• Is there clotting? What size--dime, nickel, quarter sized?
• Is the bleeding heavy? How often do you change your pad or tampon?

Knowing the answers to these questions helps me to properly asses and treat menstrual woes. You do not have to suffer on a monthly basis any more!

A headache is a really bad type of pain. You can't think. You can't sleep. You can't eat. Work or caring for your children becomes almost impossible.

So, can acupuncture help? As a headache sufferer myself (since adolescence), I know firsthand the power of acupuncture to lessen the severity of headaches as well as the frequency. I also know it can often take away a headache that is already in progress. As a practitioner of acupuncture, I've seen it work very well for many of my patients.

When I assess a headache patient it is always important for me to differentiate that patient's particular symptoms. Some questions to think about before you come in for acupuncture include:

• Where on the head is my headache?
• What triggers my headache?
• Does it feel better with pressure applied to it, or does pressure make it worse?
• Is it dull or sharp and stabbing?
• If female, where in my menstrual cycle do my headaches tend to come?
• Does my headache come on with weather shifts, like cold and wet weather?
• Do my headaches come with tight neck and shoulder muscles?
• Do my headaches come with a spike in blood pressure?
• Do I have digestive symptoms when I get a migraine, like nausea, poor appetite or vomiting?

The answers to these questions are all very important and they all influence how I will treat a headache or migraine patient.

Acupuncture can be used as a great tool to relieve headaches. A series of treatments will usually be needed, especially for chronic headaches. Lifestyle changes can also be useful to relieve headaches, here are some suggestions:

• Identify and eliminate trigger foods
• Limit time on computers and mobile devices, or use a blue light filter if eye strain is an issue
• Use stretching, epsom salt baths and other measures to keep neck and shoulder muscles supple (acupuncture helps with this too)
• Lavender and peppermint essential oils applied by the drop to the area of the headache can sometimes be helpful
• Eliminate allergens in the household, as sometimes this can be a trigger

What is the most popular or important acupuncture point for headaches? I use many points for headaches. Points that are located on the head, face, neck, shoulders, legs and feet are often used. However, the most famous point for headaches is called Large Intestine 4. This can be used for any headache, but it is especially awesome for sinus headaches.