Chinese Medicine for Hair Thinning in Women

Hair thinning is a common concern for women, particularly as they age. Despite its prevalence, the issue often remains under-discussed, leaving many women feeling isolated and unsupported. Understanding the root causes of hair thinning and exploring effective solutions through Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can offer a path toward healthier, fuller hair.

Understanding Hair Thinning in Women

Hair thinning is a natural part of aging, but it can also be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Hormonal Changes: Associated with PCOS, perimenopause, and menopause.

• Genetics: Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) becomes more common with age.

• Nutritional Deficiencies: Particularly low iron and biotin levels.

• Stress and Inflammation: These disrupt hair growth cycles, leading to more shedding and slower regrowth.

• Poor Lifestyle Choices: Including low-calorie diets and insufficient protein intake.

By age 29, up to 12% of women experience FPHL. Unlike men, women typically don’t experience complete baldness but often notice slower hair growth, weaker strands, and reduced density—especially across the scalp.

How TCM Can Help with Hair Thinning

Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a holistic approach to addressing hair thinning by restoring balance within the body. While we used a customized approach for each patient, these are some key TCM remedies and practices that might be used in your care:

Common Chinese Herbs Used to Support Healthy Hair

• Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis): Known for invigorating blood flow and supporting hair growth.

• He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum): Often used in formulations for alopecia, it has shown promising results, improving hair growth in over 60% of people within months.

• Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum): Also known as the “herb of divine energy,” it helps combat premature graying and hair loss.

These herbs work by nourishing the blood, enhancing liver and kidney function, and improving circulation. Together, they help strengthen hair follicles, promote regrowth, and prevent further thinning.

Acupuncture and Lifestyle Changes

Acupuncture helps reduce stress and improve circulation, both of which play a critical role in healthy hair growth. Combined with dietary adjustments, physical therapies, and stress management, TCM provides a comprehensive plan to rejuvenate your hair health and overall well-being.

Start Your Journey with Professional TCM Care

If you’re struggling with hair thinning, TCM offers a natural, effective solution tailored to your unique needs. At Double Happiness Health in San Francisco, we understand how personal and emotional this journey can be.

Your hair is more than just a physical feature—it’s part of your identity. Seeing it thin or weaken can take a toll on your confidence and self-esteem. But you don’t have to face this alone.

Under the expert care of the licensed acupuncture team at Double Happiness Health, trusted TCM practitioners, we provide personalized, holistic solutions to address the root causes of hair thinning. Together, we’ll create a plan to restore your hair’s strength and shine while supporting your overall health.

Call us today at 415-255-2252 to start your journey toward vibrant, healthy hair.

How Acupuncture Supports Women During Perimenopause

Perimenopause is a transitional phase marked by fluctuating hormone levels and a variety of symptoms that can significantly impact daily life. Acupuncture offers a natural, holistic approach to easing this transition. Here's how it helps:

1. Balances Hormonal Activity
During perimenopause, the gradual decline in ovarian function disrupts hormonal balance, particularly estrogen. Acupuncture stimulates specific points in the body to influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis, promoting hormonal harmony. Research, including a 2019 meta-analysis in Menopause, highlights its effectiveness in alleviating perimenopausal symptoms.

2. Eases Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
Hot flashes and night sweats are hallmark symptoms of perimenopause. Acupuncture helps regulate the hypothalamus and stabilize body temperature through the release of endorphins. Studies show that women undergoing acupuncture report significant reductions in these discomforts compared to placebo treatments.

3. Enhances Sleep Quality
Insomnia is a common challenge during perimenopause. Acupuncture improves sleep by boosting melatonin levels, reducing cortisol production, and promoting relaxation. A 2016 study in Sleep Medicine found that acupuncture significantly alleviates insomnia in menopausal women.

4. Improves Mood and Emotional Well-Being
Hormonal fluctuations can lead to irritability, anxiety, and depression. Acupuncture supports emotional health by stimulating the release of serotonin and dopamine, mood-enhancing neurotransmitters. A 2014 study in Acupuncture in Medicine demonstrated its benefits for reducing anxiety and depression in perimenopausal women.

5. Relieves Joint and Muscle Discomfort
Declining estrogen levels can cause joint and muscle pain. Acupuncture improves blood flow, reduces inflammation, and alleviates stiffness, enhancing mobility and comfort. Regular sessions can also support bone health by addressing early signs of osteoporosis risk.

6. Offers a Non-Hormonal Alternative
For women seeking non-hormonal options, acupuncture is a safe and effective alternative to treatments like hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It addresses the root cause of symptoms, offering relief without relying on medication.

Why Choose Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is recognized by organizations like the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) as a valuable treatment for managing perimenopausal symptoms. This growing acceptance underscores its role in women’s health.

If you're navigating perimenopause, acupuncture provides a personalized, holistic approach to help you regain balance and vitality. Dr. Christine and the team at Double Happiness Health in San Francisco are here to support you.

Book a Free Consultation
Discover how acupuncture can help ease perimenopause and restore your well-being. Schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation today by calling 415-255-2252.

Acupuncture for Anxiety

Today, anxiety isn't just a common ailment but an epidemic. Anxiety disorders affected an estimated 19% of the US adult population last year and over 30% of people in the United States will experience it at some point in their lives. Fast-paced lifestyles, poor diet, and disrupted sleep contribute to making it one of the most prevalent mental health illnesses. This leads a large number of people to seek relief with natural solutions. Here's what can help.

Prevalence of Anxiety

Anxiety affects a significant portion of the population. It manifests across mental, physical, and social dimensions. It doesn't just impact your mental health but also physical well-being, social relationships, routine activities, and overall quality of life. This underscores the need for holistic treatments so you can lead a joyful, stress-resilient life.

Acupuncture Can Help

Acupuncture, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice, has emerged as a powerful tool for alleviating anxiety and its effects. It can help reduce your sensitivity to pain and stress, promoting a state of calm. The practice can also help ease headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, and insomnia. It also improves circulation, promotes hormonal balance, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, and relieves both mental and physical symptoms of anxiety.

Anxiety can impact your social life, but acupuncture can help you feel more relaxed and less overwhelmed. It boosts your access to your own confidence and social interaction skills, making it easier to participate more in your community and social circles. Acupuncture takes a holistic approach to overall well-being and works right from the root. It targets what patterns are at the core and not just the symptoms for a sense of wellness.

When the acupuncturist inserts fine needles into the acupoints (specific points on the body), it helps stimulate your body's healing processes. This can rebalance the flow of vital energy (Qi) and significantly reduce anxiety levels.

Experience Healing With Double Happiness Health

At Double Happiness Health, led by Christine Friel, L.Ac. in San Francisco, we're a trusted health and wellness center. With over two decades of experience,  the Double Happiness Health team offers patient-centric approaches to treating the whole individual. They customizes each treatment plan to include not just acupuncture but also high-quality herbal formulations, nutritional counseling, and manual therapy techniques for comprehensive care.

When you visit our clinic, you can expect all-inclusive care combining ancient wisdom and contemporary science to experience the best of both worlds. Our patients report feeling a sense of never-experienced relaxation immediately after their sessions. Over time, acupuncture shows significant improvements in their anxiety levels and overall quality of life.

If you're in or around San Francisco, you'd want to visit us to experience the difference. Acupuncture is a natural, holistic, less intrusive solution to managing anxiety. Choose us to enhance your overall health under expert and compassionate care.

Book Your Appointment Now

Battling anxiety? Seek holistic treatments at Double Happiness Health in San Francisco. Achieving a calmer, more balanced state of being is just a call away. Get in touch at 415-255-2252 to explore how the experienced team at Double Happiness Health in the Mission District can help you experience healing and rediscovery.

Acupuncture for Thin Endometrial Lining

Acupuncture for Thin Endometrial Lining

Are you experiencing fertility issues? Could a thin endometrial lining be an obstacle in your journey? Here’s how acupuncture might be the breakthrough solution you’ve been looking for.

What Is Thin Endometrial Lining?

The endometrium, or the uterus lining, is one factor in a successful conception and pregnancy. The lining must be sufficiently thick and healthy for the implantation of an embryo. If the lining is too thin, implantation becomes difficult or even impossible. This can lead to infertility or frequent miscarriages.

Hormonal imbalances, reduced blood flow to the uterus, prolonged use of certain medications, and past uterine surgeries are common reasons for a thin endometrial lining. Women experiencing this condition struggle with a lot of frustration and uncertainties. Traditional East Asian medicine offers natural yet effective treatment to improve the chances of a successful pregnancy.

Experience the Power of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), balancing the body’s vital energy, called qi (pronounced chi), and allowing it to flow along its specific channels or meridians. It’s that gentle yet powerful nudge your body needs to awaken its incredible power.

At Double Happiness Health, we’ve been empowering women to optimize their fertility with acupuncture. The practice helps improve blood flow to the uterus, regulate hormones, and promote a healthy endometrial lining. We combine this technique with nutritional counseling, herbal medicine, and lifestyle adjustments, offering a comprehensive treatment plan. Stimulating specific points on the body, we ensure that acupuncture supports your body’s natural ability to heal and restore balance.

The team at Double Happiness Health can help.

Under the expert guidance of Christine Friel L.Ac, the Double Happiness Health team is dedicated to offering tailored solutions for your unique health needs. The practice has been open since since 2003 and specializes in Oriental reproductive medicine, orthopedics, and functional medicine. We has successfully treated thousands of women, helping them achieve their fertility goals.

Our compassionate and expert care can help you attain amazing results and greater well-being. Book a consultation with us to discover how acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can manage various reproductive issues, enhancing different fertility journeys.

Start Your Journey to Better Health with Us

If you’re struggling with a thin endometrial lining or other fertility issues, the team at Double Happiness Health in San Francisco has your back. We have helped many women overcome fertility challenges, and ewe can help you, too. Visit Double Happiness Health or call us at 415-255-2252 to book your appointment because you deserve hope, healing, and the power of ancient.

Magnesium: 10 Ways It Benefits Your Health

A crucial mineral, magnesium helps with our mood regulation, sleep cycling, elimination, energy production, muscle contraction, heart rate, hormone balance and immune function. Unfortunately, due to modern farming practices that deplete our soil of nutrients, our food supply is lacking in this mighty mineral. Compounding the issue, magnesium is found in whole foods that the standard American diet misses. Modern, refined-food diets are not geared toward the very foods that provide the nutrition our bodies need to function optimally.

Magnesium is involved in hundreds of biochemical reactions in your body. In fact, every cell of your body needs it to function. When your dietary intake of magnesium is lacking, it makes you vulnerable to develop certain chronic diseases. Research has linked diseases such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to low levels of magnesium. Fortunately, magnesium is easy to find in foods when you know where to look. It is also generally safe to take as a supplement whether you are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive. You should always check with your doctor or licensed health practitioner to find out if supplementation is safe for you. Read on to understand how magnesium can help you specifically, where to find it in foods and how to navigate choosing the best form of magnesium for you.

Benefits of Magnesium:

1. Stress relief - Magnesium calms the nervous system, moving us out of sympathetic “fight or flight” mode and into parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode. Recent studies show that magnesium helps to reduce anxiety and depression.

2. Reduces muscle contractions-Due to its regulation of muscle contraction, magnesium reduces tension from backaches to menstrual cramps.

3. Improves sleep- Because of it’s calming effect, magnesium is effective in helping folks fall asleep. Taking it at bedtime can also improve sleep quality.

4. Relieves constipation- Magnesium helps draw water into the colon, assisting with elimination. Certain forms of magnesium are not as well absorbed and as a result they work best for the GI tract. Magnesium citrate and magnesium oxide are particularly good to help with constipation.

5. Prevention of migraines and headaches- Some types of headaches and migraines are affected by hormonal fluctuations. Magnesium deficiency may give rise to these types of menstrual headaches. Supplementation with Magnesium Glycinate can be a big help in relieving them.

6. Important in pregnancy- Magnesium could reduce the chances of developing issues with blood pressure such as preeclampsia during pregnancy. Magnesium is also essential for fetal development.

7. Bone Health- Magnesium is an important building block for bone tissue. A large 2014 study linked low magnesium intake with reduced bone density- which increases risk of osteoporosis.

8. Insulin sensitivity- Research shows that people with the highest intake of magnesium have the lowest risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Supplementation has been shown to reduce blood sugar in some people.

9. Reduces blood pressure- Magnesium helps lower blood pressure in folks with low levels of magnesium, but does not have the same impact on those with normal levels of magnesium.

10. Supports thyroid function- Magnesium is key to help your thyroid produce the right amounts of hormones. Severely low levels of magnesium are linked with the swelling of the thyroid- also known as a goiter- in those with hyperthyroidism.

Food Sources of Magnesium:

The following foods are excellent sources of magnesium:

• Pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews

• Spinach, swiss chard

• Dark chocolate

• Black beans, quinoa,

• Halibut, mackerel

• Avocado

Supplementing With Magnesium- Which Form is Best For You?

• Magnesium Glycinate- One of the best absorbed forms, this is the golden child of magnesium due to its calming effects on anxiety, depression and insomnia as well as its assistance in relaxing muscle tension and improving elimination.

• Magnesium Taurate- Containing the amino acid taurine, this form of magnesium helps regulate blood sugar . Magnesium and taurine also help to promote healthy blood pressure.

• Magnesium L-Threonate- Formed by combining magnesium with threonic acid, this form is easily absorbed. Animal research indicates it may be the most effective in increasing magnesium concentration in brain cells. Magnesium L-Thronate may support brain health, potentially helping with conditions like depression and age-related memory loss.

• Magnesium Malate- Easy on the digestive tract, and with less laxative effect, Mag Malate is sometimes recommended for people who suffer from fibromyalgia as it may be helpful to reduce muscle soreness.

• Magnesium Citrate- Bound with citric acid, Mag Citrate has got a tart taste. it is among the most common to find on the shelf. Due to its natural laxative effect, it is most known for its help in relieving constipation, although it can mildly help with muscle tension and nervous system relaxation.

• Magnesium Chloride- This Mag will not do much to raise your magnesium levels but is often found in topical creams to reduce muscle soreness and tension.

• Magnesium Oxide- Combined with oxygen, this not-well-absorbed form of magnesium makes it a good choice for short term relief of acute constipation or other digestive upsets such as reflux or indigestion.

• Magnesium Lactate- A gentle friend, Mag Lactate is easy on the digestive tract. It’s great for folks who cannot tolerate other forms of magnesium very well or who need to take especially large doses.

• Magnesium Sulfate- This is magnesium combines with sulfur- essentially Epsom salts! This divine salt is frequently used dissolved into bath water. Absorbed transdermally through your skin, magnesium sulfate is helpful to reduce stress and soothe sore muscles.

If you have any questions about whether magnesium is right for you or for help with optimizing your hormonal, gut or musculoskeletal health, we are here to help at Double Happiness Health. Please reach out to us at info@doublehappinesshealth.com