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Acupuncture: Ancient practice, modern science. What you should know · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

• 0:00
  As God intended.
• 0:02
  Let's go.
• 0:19
  Well, hello, hello.
• 0:21
  It's Dr.
• 0:21
  Angie Farella, your host for Looking for Healing Radio.
• 0:26
  And today I am super excited.
• 0:28
  We are continuing our series on just healthy living.
• 0:32
  And I don't know if you guys have been listening to my podcast over the last few weeks, but we touched on many subjects that I think a lot of people want to know a little bit about at least.
• 1:05
  And she is an acupuncturist.
• 1:08
  And I'm gonna tell you a little bit about her because I think you're you guys are going to be very, very interested in what she has to say.
• 1:16
  Dr.
• 1:17
  Deb Bielak is a doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine and is a board-certified licensed acupuncturist who basically went into practice.
• 1:29
  She wanted to use holistic health care to help people get real relief and help from the conditions that most standard Western doctors couldn't seem to fix, couldn't seem to provide the care they needed to.
• 1:43
  And so she specializes in complex chronic cases, including neuropathy, chronic pain, arthritis, digestive issues, and stress and anxiety.
• 1:57
  She has a whole person approach, and she blends not just acupuncture, but she blends it with ATP resonance biotherapy.
• 2:05
  She blends that also with some red light therapy, Chinese herbals, supplements, and other neural feedback integration um mechanisms, which this is really really cool.
• 2:18
  Um, this is all to deliver natural evidence-informed results without relying on pharmaceuticals or surgery.
• 2:26
  I mean, this is incredible.
• 2:28
  Her office is returned to wellness, and it's in Houston, Texas, actually outside of what we consider Clear Lake area.
• 2:37
  And I am so thrilled to talk to you today, Dr.
• 2:41
  B-Lak, because I know very little about acupuncture, and the amount I do know is something that is more along the lines of um it's needles, you poke them in somewhere and you twist them.
• 2:56
  And that's about all I know.
• 2:59
  So welcome to the show.
• 3:00
  I'm really excited to have you today.
• 3:03
  Um, tell us a little bit about your background and why, you know, why you went into acupuncture of all the things, right?
• 3:12
  Why did you choose acupuncture?
• 3:14
  Um, well, first of all, thank you so much for having me.
• 3:17
  I'm really excited to be here.
• 3:19
  Um excuse me.
• 3:22
  Um, okay, so I um I grew up in uh an interesting home.
• 3:28
  My dad was an interesting man, and he looked into like holistic stuff back in the 70s, 80s, 90s when it wasn't cool, right?
• 3:37
  It wasn't trendy.
• 3:38
  He was actually considered an odd cat when he was doing certain things, and I always thought it was interesting, but it gave me permission to look outside of the box.
• 3:48
  And um I was in sales for years, and I lived in Maryland, and interestingly, I sold yellow page advertising, and uh one of my gold either.
• 4:03
  Some people have no idea what that is exactly.
• 4:07
  So, but one of my clients was an acupuncturist, and so I went to go help her with her marketing, and I'm asking a whole bunch of questions, and I was just drooling.
• 4:18
  I'm like, oh my gosh, I need that for myself.
• 4:21
  And so I actually started going as a patient for acupuncture, and I went faithfully once a week for five years straight.
• 4:29
  I just loved what it did for me, and it helped with physical pain, it helped with my mood.
• 4:35
  I didn't even know I was depressed until I wasn't depressed, you know.
• 4:39
  It actually, like it was like, oh, people don't normally think and feel the way that I do and have the anxiety.
• 4:45
  And so it just changed my life.
• 4:48
  And and anytime I was on a sales call, if the business owner that I was uh talking to was talking about their back pain, everybody always tells me about their health problems.
• 4:58
  So I always recommended them going to acupuncture.
• 5:02
  And one day I was at a like an after hours mixer for work, and um, this guy asked everybody that we worked with it the same question, but he started with me, which was like a God moment because I didn't have time to think of an answer.
• 5:20
  And so the question was, what would you be if you weren't in sales?
• 5:23
  And the first thing that popped out of my mouth without any brain function at all, was I would be an acupuncturist.
• 5:30
  And it took me off guard.
• 5:32
  I was like, oh my gosh, there's no way that I can do that.
• 5:35
  But lo and behold, I was able to find a way, and here I am.
• 5:38
  And you know, I've been practicing since 2009, and I just love what acupuncture does and how it helps people in a way that um is just more holistic and and actually helps people with the chronic pain and and the aches and pains that you know doctors just can't seem to find or get rid of.
• 5:58
  So yeah, yeah.
• 6:00
  I I loved it.
• 6:01
  I think when you and I first met, which was quite a few years ago, um, we were talking about um using acupuncture because I'm a pediatrician, everyone knows that.
• 6:12
  And um, I was asking you very specifically about you know pediatrics and acupuncture, knowing how phobic kids are to needles.
• 6:22
  And I mean, you could just mention the word needle and the kids go absolutely ape ballistic.
• 6:27
  Um without even showing them one doing anything.
• 6:31
  It's just, you know, I think it's been a um uh kind of a trump card for parents to say, you know, if you're not good, we're gonna go and get you a shot.
• 6:41
  Um and so yeah, yeah, no, it's true.
• 6:44
  It's really true.
• 6:45
  Um so that is something that I think you know, inherently there's a lot of people in our society that are so needle phobic that they couldn't even think about it.
• 6:58
  And um, interestingly enough, I think I may have told you this, you know, way back in one of my conferences years ago, they did a little workshop on acupuncture, and I do have a few acupuncture needles.
• 7:00
  Enough.
• 7:00
  I think I may have told you this, you know, way back in one of my conferences years ago, they did a little workshop on acupuncture.
• 7:08
  And I do have a few acupuncture needles.
• 7:10
  I think I told you this.
• 7:10
  I think I told you this.
• 7:11
  And so I was working on my dad because this was a hundred years ago.
• 7:11
  And so I was working on my dad because this was a hundred years ago.
• 7:15
  Um I decided to try it on my father.
• 7:15
  Um I decided to try it on my father, and because he was saying, you know, my knee kind of hurts.
• 7:18
  And because he was saying, you know, my knee kind of hurts.
• 7:20
  And I said, well, let me just try it.
• 7:20
  And I said, well, let me just try it, you know.
• 7:22
  You know, let me say.
• 7:22
  Let me say, and it, you know, considering I had what an hour to two hours worth of training, it actually did help, which
• 7:23
  And it, you know, considering I had what an hour to two hours worth of training, it actually did help, which I thought was really cool.
• 7:31
  That wow, this is really cool.
• 7:33
  Um and I and I do, I mean, I know they use it for um children that have chemotherapy to help them with pain control, nausea, of course, the anxiety, depression.
• 7:45
  But what other aspects um in the crossover, what I consider crossover allopathic world, would you see a good fit for um acupuncture?
• 7:56
  Um, I I tell people if a doctor can prescribe surgery or give you a pill for it, I can help.
• 8:04
  So literally anything, anything and everything.
• 8:07
  And I I'm I'm a little different than a lot of acupuncturists.
• 8:11
  I have special training, and so um, I actually treat eye diseases, I treat neuropathy, so like neurological stuff.
• 8:20
  I've even helped people with stroke patients.
• 8:22
  My own mother had a stroke and she wasn't walking right uh three months after the surgery or after the stroke.
• 8:30
  And um, and I have a little video on my social media that shows her before walking and then after.
• 8:36
  And after I I can't remember if it was eight or 10 treatments, um, my mom was walking perfectly straight again.
• 8:44
  Um, and so I mean literally if they're like if anybody has a health concern that um like they're just not able to get any relief from, I can help.
• 8:56
  Awesome.
• 8:58
  Um I I find it more and more, especially post 2020 debacle, that more and more people are seeking out alternate holistic, functional, whatever you want to call it, non-allopathic care, I guess you would call it.
• 9:16
  And um, I just find it fascinating because you know, uh in certain generations, and today there is a gen, you know, what I would consider the grandparent generation to me.
• 9:27
  Um, you know, I was listening in on a patient, and you know, it's so typical of what they say, right?
• 9:34
  Well, the doctor told me to do this, so therefore I did it.
• 9:37
  And as a doctor, that's I mean, I I'm I'm glad that there is something called compliance, but I also am sad that that questions that the patient asked of their particular physician were not being answered properly, right?
• 9:53
  Um, they were kind of being blown off, you know, and um it preached down to, you know, kind of thing, which I always tell people that I don't preach down to my parents, I try to partner with them.
• 10:05
  Um, because I think it's really important for you to be involved in your health care, you know, that's the buy-in, right?
• 10:11
  You have to have a buy-in.
• 10:13
  So I can imagine when they walk it.
• 10:15
  The beauty of your practice is they're looking for that when they walk into your door.
• 10:19
  Right.
• 10:20
  Very hesitantly.
• 10:21
  When people come in, they're like, all right, what is she gonna try to, you know, like you know, people are definitely cautious, which actually that's why I do um I do free consultations for that reason in particular, because um, you know, I want people to see our clinic, it looks like a normal medical clinic and and see that we're real people with real emotions and we really help people.
• 10:46
  And you know, you see our patients smiling and they're all happy.
• 10:49
  And so, you know, I like people to feel it before they judge whether acupuncture is gonna work because people have preconceived notions of what they think it's gonna be, and you know, once they come and see me, they they have a whole different outlook.
• 11:04
  Well, it's really cool.
• 11:05
  Yeah, and I really like the fact that you know, it's it's kind of one of those things of what I always call the why not.
• 11:12
  Why don't you just try it?
• 11:14
  You know, it's not gonna hurt you, right?
• 11:17
  It's not going to like, I mean, can you really mess somebody up with acupuncture?
• 11:23
  You uh yes and no.
• 11:25
  Okay, so I have not, not that I'm aware of, but that like there's a lot of um uh chiropractors and physical therapists and some MDs who do uh they call it acupuncture or dry needling.
• 11:40
  Um that tends to be more um more dangerous because of the lack of education they have in regards to acupuncture and the depth of the needles.
• 11:51
  So, like one of the common things is like a collapsed lung.
• 11:54
  Uh, but I if I do any in the torso, which I really don't very often because I I have other ways to to do what I need to do.
• 12:03
  Um it's you know, you just have to know what you're doing.
• 12:07
  And if and I have almost 4,000 hours of study, and you know, a lot of the dry needling uh practitioners have like maybe a weekend course.
• 12:18
  So um, so I would highly recommend going to a licensed acupuncturist, not certified acupuncturists.
• 12:26
  It's it's two different things.
• 12:28
  So, with that being said, if you go to a licensed acupuncturist, they know what they're doing, they're board certified.
• 12:34
  Um, the the chance uh in all the years that I've been doing this, I've never had any problems, and I do not intend on having any moving forward.
• 12:43
  So it's really interesting because I never thought because those needles are so so small.
• 12:49
  I mean, the gauge is what 28.
• 12:54
  Uh uh 28 or 25, 22, 18.
• 12:59
  I mean, there it depends.
• 13:00
  And and actually, I might be talking about like I'm like having a brain fart.
• 13:06
  Um like the Western gauge, it's like the what is it, the bigger the number, the smaller the smaller it is, yes, yeah.
• 13:13
  So ours is reversed.
• 13:15
  So um, okay, yeah.
• 13:17
  And um interesting.
• 13:19
  Well, and and and going back to to what you mentioned earlier about people having the needle phobia.
• 13:25
  I actually have at my office, and there's a picture of it online as well.
• 13:31
  And you know, people like to see it.
• 13:32
  I actually have a hypodermic needle in my office, and I was able to put 38 of my needles in the tip of the one hypodermic needle.
• 13:42
  So it looks like a little tree.
• 13:43
  It's kind of like a little decoration, but it there's they're so small that you know that they're they are the size of a hair, it's not anything to say about and and um and it's funny because people I I see people with tattoos all over their bodies, and they're like, Oh no, I'm afraid of needles.
• 14:00
  tattoos all over their bodies and they're like oh no I'm afraid of needles I'm like oh please just stop that hurts way more than what I exactly exactly yeah and I was really shocked when I saw the needles for acupuncture you know when they gave us like a box for this this thingy and um I'm sure I have them somewhere still but um they are they're they are like a hair I guess yeah you know maybe a thick hair you know very bendy very bendy and even the way that you guys and now this is how they taught us I could be totally wrong and of course it was about 15 years ago but um the way they taught us is to like gently apply it on the skin and like tap the end really light and fast right and then that's it like you're done.
• 14:03
  I'm like, oh, please just stop.
• 14:06
  That hurts way more than what I think exactly.
• 14:11
  Exactly.
• 14:11
  Yeah, and I was really shocked when I saw the needles for acupuncture, you know, when they gave us like a box for this this thingy, and um, I'm sure I have them somewhere still.
• 14:22
  But um, they are they're they are like a hair, I guess.
• 14:26
  Yeah, you know, maybe a thick hair, you know, very bendy.
• 14:50
  I actually do a free hand the school that I went to I do more of a Korean style which is a little bit more gentle and um and uh I I don't use the tubes at all I can just do it and it I think it's less painful because it just I have a pretty smooth technique.
• 15:07
  So but yeah it's pretty it's pretty neat.
• 15:12
  We actually in school when we first started handling a needle um we the goal was to get it where you didn't pop a balloon like you could put it through a balloon and not pop it.
• 15:25
  Um I'm saying this I never did that when I was at school but I really should because I think I wouldn't pop it at this point that was just a memory that popped up no that's cool though but I mean if you think about it that's how tiny these needles are that's how you know gentle the procedure is per se you know and and it is just when I say it's like a thick hair I'm not kidding that's and they're they're a couple inches long they're like what three inches long maybe two inches I I mean you know depending on the body part they're as small as a half inch and they can go up to I mean I have some six inch needles for uh hip pain and you know and and if a person has a little extra meat to them you know we need a little longer needle depending on the point but most of the needles that I use are about a half inch or inch or inch and a half.
• 16:21
  Wow that's super interesting but you know in our next section um when we we'll get into a deeper dive on acupuncture and maybe a little more about you know technique or questions people can ask to really pick an acupuncturist for themselves depending on maybe something that they do um but in the meanwhile I want to remind my listeners that if you go to America out loud dot shop then and use that online code that it says out loud use that for discounts on all different kinds of cool stuff there on our shop there's some bear bars and those things are savory snack bars um that are more adult like than what you would consider a normal grant uh you know granola bar for and also check out the um chemical free body that one those particular products are super cool they use nano silver technology and I think that's something that most people um nowadays they know a little bit about silver colloidal but they may not know about nano silver so go to that site right now while we're on break and we'll be back in just a moment hi this is Colonel Mike from the National Security hour calling all patriots to join me in Nashville on July 2nd 3rd and 4th for America Out Loud News 250 10th anniversary in Nashville go get them cowboys along with clear the wellness company we're celebrating two big milestones 250 years of America and 10 years of America out loud dot news that's where you come to hear military and intel experts on the national security hour and where you get freedom of speech with liberty and justice for all not like anywhere else this is a once in a lifetime celebration we will have inspiring entertainment incredible fireworks nationally recognized speakers who proudly stand for freedom just like you and us.
• 18:18
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• 19:48
  Deb Black and we are talking acupuncture and uh yeah I know right um in this segment um Dr.
• 19:58
  Deb why don't we talk a little bit about kind of specifics like you talked a little bit about the different sizes of the needles um like can you go into detail a little bit about what you you know what do you use the short needles for is there a specific um not just body part but is there a specific ailment or certain things that you are shooting for when you use the small needles versus the big needles things like that let our let our listeners know and teach them something that and you're gonna be teaching me too by the way because I have no clue that's why I'm asking the question um go into that a little bit because I think that's gonna really shock people okay well um it's not it so it it depends on the body part that we're doing so um like I mentioned before I use half inch needles a lot of half inch needles so when I I do needles in the hands the hands and the feet there's not a lot of meat so I don't I don't use the longer ones because I don't need to I can just use the smaller ones um and you know like if I the legs or the arms or even the head or um the torso I I do use the longer needles just depending on what I'm doing.
• 21:00
  Smaller ones.
• 21:01
  Um, and you know, like if I the legs or the arms or even the head or um the torso, I I do use the longer needles just depending on what I'm doing.
• 21:12
  So um the the thing is it's not so much about the length of the needle I mean maybe to a degree depending on the body part but it's about the location of the um of you know of where I place the needle and it's interesting because I
• 21:12
  So um the the thing is it's not so much about the length of the needle, I mean, maybe to a degree, depending on the body part, but it's about the location of the um of you know of where I place the needle, and it's interesting because I do treat a lot of um how like half of my practice is treating neuropathy very successfully, by the way.
• 21:38
  And so most of my patients are you know, around 65 and older, and you know, and some people like I have up to like 99 years old.
• 21:47
  So when people come in and they can't really move that well, and so to get them on a table and have them like if someone coming in for back pain too, they could have neuropathy and back pain all at the same time, but to get them to lay face down, it's not really gonna work to do needles in their back.
• 22:04
  So I uh do specific uh techniques that I use from the elbow down to the fingers and the knees down to the toes, and I can treat the whole entire body with that.
• 22:16
  So the way I talk about it is uh our body think of our body as an electric box for your house, right?
• 22:24
  You know, you have the little switches and you flip the different switches and it sends energy to different rooms.
• 22:29
  So I can put little needles in the hands, like certain spots, and you know, one spot would go and help with lower back pain, another one helps with shoulder pain, another one helps with hip pain.
• 22:41
  So by putting needles in the hands and feet, I can uh send energy to the area of concern, and they don't even have to lay on their stomach and be uncomfortable.
• 22:52
  So um, because it's harder for certain people to do that.
• 22:55
  So um, you know, I have cats and I like cats, but I think you don't have to go to the source of the pain um because it's already inflamed, it's already irritated.
• 23:06
  So why would I want to stick more needles in it if if I don't have to?
• 23:10
  So there's a so there's another way to skin that cat for lack of a better way of saying it.
• 23:15
  And I I've I've been able to uh do that by by using the hands and the feet.
• 23:22
  That's really cool.
• 23:22
  Now, are they this is obviously acupuncture comes from Chinese origins, right?
• 23:29
  Correct.
• 23:30
  And you know, the Chinese were very, very meticulous in mapping out the meridians, I guess they are.
• 23:39
  Is that correct?
• 23:40
  Is it called meridians?
• 23:41
  Yep, they're meridians.
• 23:42
  So um, and they were very um obviously it works, right?
• 23:48
  I mean, if if the if they mapped this whole thing out, which to me just blows my mind because it's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years old, um, and they mapped out the entire human body following different meridians.
• 24:02
  Um, you know, there are, and I know this now, you know, that there are kind of allopathic or or more regular to to be um layman, regular medical devices now that are that are actually being used, um, utilizing the meridian.
• 24:23
  Um so it's really fascinating how it comes full circle, right?
• 24:28
  Because I think when I was a kid growing up, if we heard about Chinese medicine or acupuncture, it was almost like you know, voodoo.
• 24:37
  Um but nowadays, you know, it's kind of funny here 50 years later, it's like almost normal, like norm, right?
• 24:48
  So um, can you speak a little bit to like the history of acupuncture and like what um like what is fascinating to you about that?
• 24:58
  Like what is something that you think most people wouldn't know about?
• 25:02
  Okay, uh, I got a good one.
• 25:03
  And this this actually has proof to show um how old acupuncture really is.
• 25:10
  Do you remember back, I want to say like 89, 90, back in in that range, there was um the iceman found in the Swiss Alps.
• 25:20
  Do you remember that?
• 25:22
  Yeah, yeah.
• 25:23
  Okay.
• 25:24
  So they when they found his body and they they um they noticed that he had tattoos in certain parts of his body, and whatever language it was, I don't remember what language it was, but in certain points, he had the tattoos with like on the hand, you know, people are well aware of the the point between the thumb and the and the pointer finger where you push it and you're it relieves headaches, right?
• 25:49
  That's a common one.
• 25:51
  Yeah, that's like my favorite thing to do.
• 25:53
  Yeah, well, and so interesting, Atsy, the iceman, he had a little tattoo right there, and it had the word headaches next to it, right?
• 26:03
  And so, and then there were some points on just below the knee, and it said um digestion, and there's a point, it's called stomach 36, and that is one that we use to regulate the digestive system and support it.
• 26:17
  And so that is proof to show that these points that have been used um, you know, thousands of like literally 5,000 years ago.
• 26:26
  I he was um I think they said he was from 3300 BC.
• 26:31
  So yeah, very long time.
• 26:33
  And there was 61 tattoos that had 61 different points that showed the um the acupuncture points.
• 26:40
  So what's interesting because a dear friend of mine, she um is a doctor of nurse practitioner, and she teaches at UTMB, and she tells her students when they first start the nursing program, they said 50% of what you know or what you learn today will be obsolete in five years, and I find it interesting because my medicine is not obsolete, it's beyond obsolete because I mean we have 5,000 years of backup to show and prove that it works.
• 27:14
  So um, you know, and and and somebody uh one of my colleagues pointed out that you know, we have all these western medical tools, but yet they're not fine-tuned enough to be able to understand how the medicine works, so it's foo food as if it doesn't work.
• 27:30
  I just think the technology isn't as advanced as it needs to be to show and prove that it does, you know what I mean?
• 27:37
  Yeah, but you know, there is more and more um technology and things of that nature coming through now that is really truly based on you know this ancient medicine or this these ancient techniques, you know, just like I told you about um there are these machines now that follow the meridian, and um, you know, there are these, I guess energy machines or something like that.
• 28:00
  Follow the meridian.
• 28:01
  And um, you know, there are these, I guess, energy machines or something like that.
• 28:06
  I don't really know what they're called, but it's really kind of interesting, you know, that that they can do that, and that it can actually give you a really decent analysis of of what your body's doing in that moment.
• 28:06
  I don't really know what they're called, but it's really kind of interesting, you know, that that they can do that, and that it can actually give you a really decent analysis of of what your body's doing in that moment.
• 28:17
  And um, do you think I don't know if if you know because you seem very well learned about the iceman, was he like a shaman?
• 28:17
  And um, do you think I don't know if if you know because you seem very well learned about the iceman, was he like a shaman?
• 28:25
  I mean, it's kind of weird for some person to just tattoo themselves with all the people.
• 28:25
  I mean, it's kind of weird for some person to just tattoo themselves with all the
• 28:29
  I know I I don't think he was a shaman.
• 28:32
  I think he was just uh just uh a normal guy who was trying to stay alive and he had like arrows, and you know, what killed him was an arrow, it went through his chest.
• 28:42
  Um I I really don't remember much about it, but I just remember I remember hearing about it back then.
• 28:49
  I was like, Oh, that's cool.
• 28:50
  That was long before I was even in the conversation of acupuncture.
• 28:54
  So I was like, oh, they they pulled a man out of the Swiss Alps, you know, like it was just something.
• 28:59
  No, but this is something that we might want to look up and do another show on.
• 29:03
  That would be pretty cool.
• 29:04
  But that would be really cool.
• 29:06
  When we are um, you know, as we go through um history, and I I do this all the time.
• 29:13
  I look back, you know, and I think about how, especially in my career.
• 29:21
  I've been in pediatrics now for 30 years, and which is a long time.
• 29:28
  Um, but you know, a lot of my basics haven't changed, you know, and a lot of my I did a lot of, you know, I I wouldn't call them wives' tales, but I would call them like grandmother's uh myths or whatever, where I have them written out on pieces of paper, like different recipes, things like that that you could do from home, things you could find your bathroom or under your sink, and um my patients actually absolutely love it, they think it's the best thing since since sliced bread, and um, you know, and it's something I've always done.
• 30:00
  Like I've literally had these papers for 25, 30 years, and I just keep photocopying or retyping them, cutting them up and handing them out.
• 30:09
  And um, people are like, I cannot believe that you have these handouts for so long.
• 30:15
  And I'm like, well, you know, tried and true does not go out of style, it does not stop working, it's just it is what it is.
• 30:22
  So I always tell people that you know a lot of what grandma said is probably true, so you probably should have listened to her better.
• 30:29
  Right.
• 30:29
  Right.
• 30:30
  Yeah.
• 30:31
  And it's funny, it's oh go ahead.
• 30:33
  I'm sorry.
• 30:34
  No, no, no, go.
• 30:35
  Um, I was just gonna say, you know, that's that kind of goes along with ancient medicines, right?
• 30:40
  We are all going back to supplements, and this goes into your Chinese medicine, right?
• 30:45
  The Chinese herbals, everyone is talking about Ashwaganda, whereas six years ago they didn't even know what Oshwaganda was.
• 30:52
  Yeah, they couldn't say it, they couldn't spell it, they couldn't, nothing.
• 30:56
  Right, right.
• 30:56
  I mean, I say the same thing about probiotics.
• 30:58
  I mean, I've been carrying probiotics in my office since 2007, I think.
• 31:04
  And most people had no idea what I was talking about when I said, Yeah, you need probiotic.
• 31:09
  So, you know, it it's it's fascinating to me how we kind of come full circle and we do eventually do that.
• 31:16
  Um because a lot of what I do in my practice today, I learned back in you know the late 90s or early 2000s.
• 31:23
  So it's pretty cool, but to go back even further to Chinese medicine, which I know you're also a doctorate in that.
• 31:30
  Um talk a little bit about how you discovered that.
• 31:35
  I mean, I know you were in the realm because you were going to school for acupuncture, but how did you get into the Chinese herbals?
• 31:42
  Um, well, it it's interesting because I went to school in Maryland, and the acupuncture program is completely separate from the Chinese herbal program.
• 31:51
  And uh like here in Texas, they have a school, they have a school in Austin, they have a school in Houston, and they combine the two uh programs because in order to be licensed in the state of Texas, you have to have it the herbals and the acupuncture um education.
• 32:07
  So in Maryland, the requirements are different, and so you didn't need both, but um I mean it was as simple as like I I was I was studying the acupuncture, and I mean it's it's it's just an amazing medicine that it's like I just wanted to be a sponge and learn more and learn more and learn more.
• 32:27
  And and so they had like this uh there were two not electives, but two other add-on programs that you could do at the school in regards to the the um Chinese medicine, which one would be animal acupuncture or Chinese herbals, and um I have a severe allergy to like horses and and dogs and and I I could not do animal acupuncture because I wouldn't be able to breathe.
• 32:55
  So I chose because and I just wanted to know more about the herbals anyways.
• 32:59
  So I took the Chinese herbal program, which was um a two-year program, and uh thank God I did because when I decided to move to Texas, I had the education that I needed to be able to practice here.
• 33:11
  So that was cool.
• 33:12
  So that was another God thing.
• 33:14
  It's like I chose the right path that led me here.
• 33:16
  So here we are.
• 33:17
  And so um, but it's it's you know, some people just think acupuncture is all, you know, like it's all you need, which you know, I can get down with that.
• 33:27
  There's some people that think Chinese herbals is all you need, but I just love the combination.
• 33:32
  I'm all I I love integrating different things.
• 33:35
  Um because you know, like I'm from the school of why not try it all and and and get the best result we can, you know.
• 33:44
  So that's awesome because that is where integrative physicians, you know, really shine.
• 33:52
  And like I said, that is not my forte, you know.
• 33:56
  I just I mean, I know a lot about supplements, and I and I think secondarily, therefore, since a lot of supplements put in a lot of herbals, um, I do tend to have a knowledge base of that.
• 34:10
  Um, not to your extent, of course, but it's just it's so interesting that I can't, and and one of the things that got me into that was when I was in med school and I took pharmacology, I was just fascinated by the fact that you know, certain flowers led to the extracts that were certain modern medicines, right?
• 34:33
  Like the foxglove plant is the precursor to cardiac medications, right?
• 34:39
  So I was absolutely fascinated by that.
• 34:42
  And um, I think that was like, well, why don't we just use the plant then?
• 34:49
  Like, why are we making a pharmaceutical out of it?
• 34:52
  Um, of course, I was that person.
• 34:58
  Yeah, and we probably can on the next on the next segment, actually.
• 35:00
  The next on the next segment, actually, we should.
• 35:01
  We should, but that was one of the things that to me I would always scratch my head.
• 35:02
  But that was one of the things that to me, I would always scratch my head.
• 35:06
  And but I always remembered that.
• 35:06
  And but I always remembered that.
• 35:08
  I mean, I I learned that in my first class in pharmacology about that.
• 35:08
  I mean, I I learned that in my first class in pharmacology about that.
• 35:12
  I learned a lot.
• 35:12
  I learned a lot.
• 35:14
  I mean, I have to give kudos to my pharmacology professor who was just amazing and like a walking um red book.
• 35:14
  I mean, I have to give kudos to my pharmacology professor who was just amazing and like a walking um red book.
• 35:22
  I mean, it was ridiculous how much that woman knew.
• 35:22
  I mean, it was ridiculous how much that woman knew.
• 35:24
  And um, and but she always made it to a point where she tried.
• 35:24
  And um, and but she always made it to a point where she tried to trace it all the way back, you know.
• 35:32
  And I find that to be not only interesting and educational, but I was just always fascinated by wow.
• 35:41
  Oh, so there are some old things that you could do.
• 35:43
  You know, I I even have old um postcards of you know colonial times and what they did for you know different medicinal purposes and stuff, which is a whole other thing.
• 35:55
  But like and milk thistle and the they they you know, it's like a whole blend of things, but there's no money in that.
• 36:02
  You can't make money off of naturally occurring things, so you know.
• 36:06
  Well, you know, you can, but not on the big scale.
• 36:10
  Yeah, well, you know, on our maybe we should do that.
• 36:14
  Maybe we should have some fun next segment.
• 36:16
  We'll talk a little bit about origins of meds and and some more about the Chinese herbals because we really haven't touched much on that, and maybe just um a few more um like your best picks for you know, if someone is suffering from this, this is probably one of the best picks for them for acupuncture.
• 36:35
  But let me remind my listeners that they need to go and listen to our podcast, and please, please, please share, share, share to your friends and family because when you're in the know, then we are all better for it.
• 36:49
  You can share that with your friends and family, and we are on the radio on Mondays and then on Tuesday, we go straight to podcasts.
• 36:58
  So please, please, please go back, listen to some of these podcasts and share them because a better educated community is just overall better.
• 37:09
  We'll be right back.
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• 38:47
  And we are back for our third and final part of this wonderful radio show with Dr.
• 38:56
  Deb Bielak.
• 38:58
  And we are talking about acupuncture and Chinese herb herbal medicine, I guess that's what you say, right?
• 39:05
  Um with the um we were talking a little bit last at the very tail end of the last uh segment.
• 39:11
  We were talking a little bit about the origin of pharmaceuticals, and so um I just happened to say something.
• 39:18
  You're like, oh my gosh, oh yeah, we could totally talk about that.
• 39:20
  Um here, you know, why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about something that they may know about, like what surprises you, what is in some common remedies that they may use every day and not even know that it's actual Chinese, you know, herbal medicine.
• 39:38
  Oh, that's a good one.
• 39:39
  Um there well, I mean, the one you mentioned was Oshwaganda.
• 39:45
  The interesting thing is with Chinese medicine, the formulas are tried and true.
• 39:51
  So, like when when you have a Chinese herbal formula, it has you know, most of the time they have three or more ingredients, and and they all like there's antagonists and protagonists and and and you know, things that support each other, things that don't.
• 40:09
  Um, it's they're just perfectly blended to counteract any side effects that would be from the formulas.
• 40:15
  So in Chinese medicine, like you know, with the American supplements, there is like you just buy one herb like milk thistle or dandelion root, or you know, like with the one word ingredients, but Chinese medicine really doesn't do that.
• 40:29
  Um, like the Ashwaganda, that is a standalone or ginseng.
• 40:33
  Ginseng is another one, but a lot of people, you know, like like there's red ginseng, there's yellow, there's you know, different origins of ginseng as well.
• 40:42
  So there's just there's a lot to it, and really it's it's not meant to be taken as one herb, it's meant to be taken in like a symphony of other herbs to give your body the best um the best benefit.
• 40:57
  Well, you know, it's interesting because that's kind of when you said the there's protagonists, antagonists that is very um homeopathy kind of related, if you think about it because um, and again, not my forte, totally fascinated, but totally I just will claim total ignorance on it because it is it's a fascinating subject.
• 41:21
  I think it's really amazing.
• 41:23
  Um I am I'm gonna leave that to the experts because gosh, I mean, one more thing, right?
• 41:29
  But it's really kind of an energy thing, you know.
• 41:33
  I think that's that's important for people to understand.
• 41:36
  Like energy medicine is a total uh true uh you know entity, right?
• 41:45
  It's absolutely not woo-woo, it's real, it's real stuff.
• 41:48
  Yeah, it's not woo-woo.
• 41:50
  Yes, woo-woo, not voodoo, it's real stuff.
• 41:54
  So um, can you touch a little bit on that?
• 41:57
  Like how the herbals and even acupuncture work on the energy of a human.
• 42:00
  In acupuncture work on the energy of a human.
• 42:04
  That's a great question.
• 42:04
  That's a great question.
• 42:06
  Um, so the uh, you know, our body thrives on certain energies.
• 42:06
  Um, so the you know, our body thrives on certain certain energies.
• 42:13
  I'll give you an example.
• 42:13
  I'll give you an example.
• 42:14
  How about this?
• 42:14
  How about this?
• 42:15
  Um in particular, so cinnamon cinnamon is a Chinese herbal that we use a lot.
• 42:15
  Um in particular, so cinnamon cinnamon is a Chinese herbal that we use a lot.
• 42:21
  It's normally a harmonizer in formulas, but I will say there's some formulas that most people actually need cinnamon.
• 42:21
  It's normally a harmonizer in formulas, but I will say there's some formulas that most people actually need cinnamon in their diet, they need cinnamon or nutmeg, like the earthy, like spicy, they they add a little heat, but not jalapenos.
• 42:38
  We're in Texas, everybody loves jalapenos.
• 42:41
  That's actually very damaging for a person's energy, and um, I don't make a lot of friends in Texas when I say that, but it's very true.
• 42:50
  But cinnamon, we'll skip over that.
• 42:52
  But cinnamon in particular, like, like I'm sure, you know, with your patient.
• 42:57
  Well, actually, for yours, the kit kiddos, you know, are probably a little different, but most adults, like our body functions most optimally at 98.6 degrees, right?
• 43:07
  And that's like the typical temperature, but a majority of people, a majority of adults don't show up at 98.6 degrees, their body's actually at 97 degrees, 96 degrees.
• 43:21
  I had a patient one time, it was 95.7 degrees.
• 43:26
  And um, and they're it's funny because his symptoms showed that he was overly hot, but his body temperature was very, very cold.
• 43:34
  So it's a very it's it, you know, just kind of like jumbo shrimp, it's like an oxymoron.
• 43:39
  But with so what I do in those cases is I add cinnamon twig.
• 43:45
  So there's a a little um decoction called cinnamon twig decoction, and um, and I have patients take that to get their body to warm up.
• 43:55
  Even one of my employees, she is um, she's very cold all the time.
• 44:01
  And I was like, Oh, girl, we need to get you on the cinnamon twig.
• 44:04
  Within a few days, her hands and feet weren't as cold, just because the cinnamon helps with getting blood circulating through the body and it gets things moving.
• 44:14
  And when that happens, and like when someone's body temperature is off, um, you know, their heart has to pump harder.
• 44:21
  They're you know, their body just doesn't function at optimal level.
• 44:25
  So a lot of times I think like thyroid function might be because of a cold body temperature, uh, blood pressure issues could be because of a cold body temperature.
• 44:33
  Um, you know, a good way for people to tell if they have like you if you have a thermometer, great.
• 44:39
  I mean, I would use the oral thermometers.
• 44:42
  Um, but uh what I would recommend is you know, for people just sitting there, take your hands and put it on your knees and feel the temperature of your knees, like make sure there's no clothes in between, try to get it skin to skin, and then move your hand lower, but like down towards your feet.
• 44:58
  If the temperature of your calves is warmer than the temperature of your knees, then there's a body temperature issue.
• 45:05
  So that's when I would recommend like the like I said, the cinnamon twig decoction to get the body moving because there is a lot of stagnation, the body's too cold.
• 45:15
  So what it does is it pulls from the joints, so a lot of shoulder pain issue, hip pain issue, knees.
• 45:21
  Um, they they tend to be colder because the body doesn't need the arms and legs to function, it needs the torso, so it tries to pull all the heat from the extremities to the core of the body, so the organs can function optimally.
• 45:36
  Oh that's really kind of I was thinking brain fog too when you said that.
• 45:40
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 45:43
  You know, that's of course where I go.
• 45:45
  Um hundred percent.
• 45:49
  And you know, in medicine, we call those things like Reynolds phenomenon.
• 45:53
  We call it, you know, we call it a lot of different things, but um, it's amazing how just adding something to someone's milieu um can really alter the body's um blood flow, you know, like eating beets, right?
• 46:08
  Like that's one of my things, you know.
• 46:10
  You and I are both from Eastern European uh origins, and so beets are kind of a staple in our lives, or at least they used to be.
• 46:19
  Um yeah, borscht all the time.
• 46:22
  You know, I just made it actually last week.
• 46:24
  Did you really?
• 46:25
  I have to try some.
• 46:27
  I actually made borsch last week.
• 46:29
  Um so you know, with with that, you know, and you see super beats on television, right?
• 46:35
  Super beats, and it's a jump, the little gummy beat thing, which of course I question whether or not it's worth anything anyway.
• 46:42
  Um but instead, you know, we come from somewhere where our parents used to make or my mom used to make borsch probably every other week or so.
• 46:52
  And so I never thought of it.
• 46:54
  No, you know, I was a kid.
• 46:55
  What would what did I know?
• 46:57
  But you know, it's just kind of funny, like, okay, well, what civilization civilizations live longer?
• 47:04
  And yeah, a lot of the eastern Europeans live longer, despite the fact that they live in cold climates, despite that there's extreme poverty, you know, those kinds of things, and it's just like, oh, their diet, yeah, right?
• 47:18
  Americans ding ding ding diet, remember that diet?
• 47:21
  Yeah, exactly.
• 47:24
  Yeah, and and I love that you say things like you know, cinnamon and and nutmeg, you know, nutmeg is one of those awesome herbs that I use all the time on green vegetables.
• 47:36
  That's just kind of my thing.
• 47:37
  Oh, yeah, it does bring it down, it gives it that depth.
• 47:41
  It does, and it's it was a little trick I learned from Rachel Ray, um, the chef years and years ago.
• 47:47
  So whenever I'm making green beans, here comes some nutmeg.
• 47:50
  So that's great idea.
• 47:52
  Yeah.
• 47:53
  In in the kitchen, I'm practicing my Chinese herbalism.
• 47:55
  You like that?
• 47:56
  I love it.
• 47:57
  I love it.
• 47:58
  What other herbs do you think most Americans should have in their diet?
• 48:03
  Is there like do you think prioritize ginseng or should you prioritize like Japanese skull cap or um you know, knot wood?
• 48:13
  Where would you go?
• 48:16
  You know, it really depends on the person.
• 48:18
  Um, that's a good question.
• 48:22
  The I'll be honest.
• 48:24
  Well, I'm always honest, but um like a lot of my patients, and and you know, because I deal with people with such complex chronic cases, their anxiety and depression have accelerated.
• 48:37
  And I see that across the board.
• 48:38
  I mean, you know, everybody's looking like zombies because they're just trying to get through the day, you know.
• 48:43
  And so there's like a two formula um uh duet that I really love putting together, and uh, and I'll say the names, and I'm sure you've heard of it a hundred times, you know, Jawe Xiao Yao San and Tianwan Bujindong, you know, that's that's a staple in the American home.
• 49:00
  A staple in the in the American home.
• 49:03
  But anyway, say that five times.
• 49:03
  But anyway, say that five times you know, the funny thing is, like I say that to like some friends and family, and they just get a kick out of it.
• 49:07
  You know, the funny thing is, like, I say that to like some friends and family, and they just get a kick out of it.
• 49:12
  They're like, oh my god, it's so funny.
• 49:12
  They're like, oh my God, it's so funny.
• 49:14
  But um, anyways, so but the the so the English translation, like one is called the Emperor's pill, and that's a really good one for heart, and it like calms the heart.
• 49:14
  But um, anyways, so but the the so the English translation, like one is called the Emperor's pill, and that's a really good one for heart, and it like calms the heart, like it's it's like, well, let me take a step back.
• 49:26
  Like it's it's like, well, let me take a step back.
• 49:29
  The other formula the
• 49:29
  The other formula, the first one, um, the Jawe Xiao Yo San is called the free and easy wanderer.
• 49:36
  So it's like, you know, when you know, people have like mood swings and they get irritable and their anger seems to get out of control, like that formula, the free and easy wanderer, it takes it down, it cuts that irritability down, right?
• 49:51
  And so it that just calms the liver down, which calms the anger and frustration and that kind of thing.
• 49:58
  And then when you couple it with the um the Tianwan Boujindong, which is the emperor's pill, like if you think of it, the emperor it like Buddha, you know, not to go into religion because it's not a religious thing, but like Buddha is like this Santa Claus for the, you know, and I uh this is downplaying it.
• 50:15
  So I I do not mean to offend anybody, but he's a jolly fellow, like a happy, just calm, like it's the heart, it's like a true, genuine heart, and just like being in love and in existence.
• 50:28
  So when you come when you combine the two formulas together, it it gets rid of anxiety and depression and and fear and you know, just all this stuff, and and it does help with like like liver issues, so it helps with like detoxing the liver, like fatty liver disease and like cirrhosis, even and then like heart conditions, blood pressure issues.
• 50:52
  It helps on so many levels.
• 50:54
  It's funny because years ago I was um talking to my nephews, and like, you know, I was talking about these two formulas, and and my nephews were like 10 and 12 years old, and I was like, Well, these were the western uses for this one herb, and then these are the western the uses for the other herb, and they're like, So basically you're saying everybody should be on it, and I was like, Yes, because it just literally because who doesn't need a little support on the anger?
• 51:22
  Who doesn't need a little more love and calmness and serenity in their life?
• 51:26
  Like, I can't think of one person, so that would be that's that's my favorite combination, but there's different levels to that formula.
• 51:35
  So the one that I mentioned, there's a a softer formula, but um that that but I like to step it up a notch.
• 51:42
  I'm like, let's go for the gusto.
• 51:43
  So I I do the like most of the time I give the the go for the gusto formula because I'm like, let's just get in there and get this moving.
• 51:51
  So yeah, that's that's pretty awesome.
• 51:54
  And you know, nowadays, um people are you know getting into ginsing teas and different teas, which again, that's another um aspect that a lot of people are now investigating doing teas instead of pills.
• 52:10
  Um, I was just somewhere today and they were talking about how in Europe and in some countries in Europe, they don't understand Americans' fascination with pills, and they use a lot more like topicals like creams or transdermal patches, things like that, with believe it or not, more natural things in it to penetrate um into the skin and absorb better and and therefore not deal with the side effects as much.
• 52:36
  And so that was that's always been fascinating to me.
• 52:40
  Um, I I like the fact that many allopaths um that I like to Sarah like minded as I am.
• 52:47
  Um you know, they really got into the um you know, into different herbals and different supplements because the 2020 debacle really cut off a lot of what we were um used to using for respiratory disease, um, things you know, things that we normally would prescribe um were blocked.
• 53:12
  Uh I can tell you that for an absolute fact.
• 53:15
  Um and so we resorted to a lot more on the you know, cursitin and we and knack and um vitamin D, of course, but there was a lot of people using Japanese knotwood.
• 53:29
  Um, there was a lot of people using um Oshwaganda because of course anxiety was through the roof.
• 53:35
  Um, you know, a lot of things were starting to come into now, what I would call our practice now is is so much more integrative, which I think is a great thing, by the way.
• 53:46
  Um, but it was really fascinating to me when I would be talking to colleagues that would actually converse and talk about this and try to do better for the for the other patients.
• 53:58
  Um that we we were sharing information and studies on you know, Chinese herbals and other things that we could do, red light therapy.
• 54:07
  I mean, we got into so many different things, we went down so many rabbit holes, right?
• 54:12
  Yeah, you know, and and all these things are integrative, like you said earlier, like red light that I did a whole thing on red light um a couple months ago on this show and had a red light, you know, a really intense red light guy who studied tons of studies and and really talked about it.
• 54:34
  Um you know, the frequency therapy, like we talked about earlier, the energy therapy.
• 54:39
  Actually, I had a guy on about energy um a couple months back as well.
• 54:43
  So I I'm fascinated and love the fact that we're able to do this, you know, and combine um services and combine like east meets west, so to speak, um with this, and I think it's it's so cool that we have practitioners out in our community here, you know, in Southeast Houston, that people don't have to travel.
• 55:05
  There, you know, it's so cool, we just need a network, and that's all there is to it.
• 55:08
  So, you know, if anyone's in the Southeast Houston area, how can they find you?
• 55:14
  They can um go uh Google Return to Wellness.
• 55:18
  Um the website is Return to Wellness TX.com.
• 55:24
  Um, our phone number is 713 725 7858.
• 55:30
  Um, if they want to email, we're office at return to wellness tx.com.
• 55:36
  Um, like I think that's pretty much it.
• 55:38
  But you can find us on social media.
• 55:40
  If you Google Dr.
• 55:41
  Deb acupuncture, I come up.
• 55:43
  I'm the only Dr.
• 55:45
  Deb in acupuncture in Texas.
• 55:47
  Um, I think I don't know if there's any other Debbies that practice acupuncture here.
• 55:52
  So um that's awesome.
• 55:54
  Yeah, but uh, I mean, uh what just to say too, if anybody is interested in coming, I do free consultations because uh, and I think I mentioned that at the beginning, just so they can meet me, so and they can see like you know, I want to educate people, it's it's a whole process because that my job is to not only help them with whatever is ailing them, but to teach them how to help themselves so they don't need to come back and see me.
• 56:00
  Free consultations because uh and I think I mentioned that at the beginning, just so they can meet me so and they can see like you know, I want to educate people.
• 56:08
  It's a it's a whole process because that my job is to not only help them with whatever is ailing them, but to teach them how to help themselves so they don't need to come back and see me.
• 56:18
  I tell that to people all the time like, I'm glad I'm here to help you.
• 56:18
  I tell that to people all the time, like, I'm glad I'm here to help you.
• 56:22
  But once we're done with this problem, like I want you to want to come for preventative.
• 56:22
  But once we're done with this problem, like I want you to want to come for preventative.
• 56:27
  I don't want you to come back because you need more help.
• 56:27
  I don't want you to come back because you need more help with your back pain or hip pain or God only knows what else.
• 56:33
  So um, and I do.
• 56:35
  I have once people come, I mean, I have people patients that have been coming to me since I opened up my doors, and actually in October, it will be my 10 year anniversary of being in Texas.
• 56:46
  Yeah, that is so awesome.
• 56:49
  Thank you so much.
• 56:49
  This has been so informative.
• 56:52
  You have a great rest of your week.