With the Lunar New Year, Olympics, and Traditional Chinese Medicine practices on social media right now, Dr. Kelsy Vick revisits her June convo with TCM practitioner Dr. Felice Chan and pulls out the most practical takeaways. We cover core TCM ideas (qi, blood, jing), how imbalance can show up like missed periods in hard-training athletes, and easy ways to apply TCM day-to-day: more warmth for digestion, gentler movement for stress and cortisol balance, and blood-building foods during your period. Kelsy also shares Dr. Felice's travel digestion tips (breathwork, hydration/electrolytes, ginger tea) and what TCM might look like in elite training—think acupuncture, cupping, massage techniques, and carefully dosed herbs.

Episode with Dr. Felice Chan:

https://wellness-big-sis-the-pod.captivate.fm/episode/dr-felice-chan/

Research articles:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9219272/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9331350/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40251536/

Eileen Gu article:

https://en.people.cn/n3/2022/0209/c90000-9955574.html

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Let's Wellness Girl chat about traditional Chinese

2

medicine, the Olympics, and

the recent Chinese batty trend.

3

Welcome back to Wellness Exists, the Pod.

4

I'm your host, Dr.

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Kelsey Vick, a board certified

orthopedic doctor, physical therapy,

6

and a pelvic floor physical therapist.

7

I was lucky enough back in

June to interview a traditional

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Chinese medicine practitioner, Dr.

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Valise Chan, and over the last few months

that episode has really popped off and

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I have a feeling it is because of this

Chinese batty trend that we are seeing

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everywhere on social media at the time.

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I'm recording this episode.

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The Olympics are still going on.

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We're about to wrap them.

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And so I also got to wondering about the

differences in how elite female athletes

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train and approach their performance

fueling hydration recovery in cultures

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that utilize traditional Chinese medicine

practices a little more frequently

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than we do here in these states.

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So I wanted to compare and contrast

that in addition to revisiting some

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of the traditional Chinese medicine.

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Practices and key tips and tricks that Dr.

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Valise shared with us back in June.

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So I am pre-recording this, and actually

when this episode is released, my

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husband and I will be on a trip in

Asia, which I am very excited about.

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So this is all sort of coming full circle.

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We also just entered the year of

the fire horse, So happy lunar New

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Year to all of those who celebrate.

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It's just the perfect time to

sort of dive into traditional

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Chinese medicine again, given.

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All that's happening in the world,

but also the time of year as we're

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entering this year of the fire horse.

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So let's bring it back to

the Chinese batty trend, if

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you guys haven't heard of it.

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It is basically this trend on social media

where a lot of people who have utilized

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traditional Chinese medicine practices

or Chinese practices in general, are

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starting to share their practices on.

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Social media in a fun way.

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So I've loved following the trend because

it's a lot of people sharing even their

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morning routines, like how their parents

and grandparents have inspired their

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Chinese batty morning routines, or how

different remedies for illnesses, how

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they approach those in their lives.

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And a lot of them have TCM or

traditional Chinese medicine practices

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as sort of the foundation behind them.

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with the Olympics going on right now at

the time of this recording, I thought

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it would be fun to also look at.

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How elite female athletes train,

utilizing both the Western medicine

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perspective, but then also looking into

female athletes who might also implement

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traditional Chinese medicine practices,

So I was able to reach out to Dr.

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Felice to get her take on how someone

like Eileen Guo might approach her

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training utilizing TCM practices in

addition to some of the Western medicine

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training and practices I'm also very

excited to be going to a place that.

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Has these TCM practices sort

of built into their routine.

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And I'm thinking something so silly as

having something like soup for breakfast

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compared to my very typical Greek yogurt.

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And as Dr.

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Felice mentions, and we'll share

in this podcast episode, but warmth

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is really good for our digestion.

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So thinking of starting my morning

with something like a warm soup

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compared to a cold Greek yogurt and

seeing how I feel throughout that.

60

Just change in my daily routine.

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I'm very excited for all of the warm,

cozy digestive assistance fueling that Dr.

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Felice emphasized in her

episode back in June.

63

If you miss that episode,

I'll also leave it below.

64

It was a wonderful episode,

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So I figured now is a great time to

also revisit it and just talk about

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how people who aren't used to applying

TCM practices into their lives.

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Someone like me has tried to shift things

a little bit to get the benefits of both.

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Maybe more of a western medicine

approach, but then also more of

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a traditional Chinese medicine

approach in her daily routines.

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So back in June, Dr.

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Feliz shared with us some of the basics

of traditional Chinese medicine when

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it comes to our health and wellness

by describing the TCM perspective

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on amenorrhea or a loss of a period.

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Dr. Felice Chan:

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I think it's easier to break down

from a Chinese one as a perspective

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what our vital substances are.

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So we have blood, we have qi, which is

this energy that courses through our

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body, through our brain system, and then

we also have Jing, which is our essence.

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And all of these components are integral.

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Parts of our reproductive system,

whether they're in the organ

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itself, in our meridian system.

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And when you overwork, let's say a

gymnast who is extremely athletic

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they're likely at a blood deficiency

and a Qi deficiency because of

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how much activity they're doing.

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And Chinese medicine is all about balance.

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And so when we focus too much on

losing this blood, or jing through

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activity, it becomes deficient.

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And so that's why someone

doesn't have a bleed, right?

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They're getting into their

reservoir that is less and less.

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And so Chinese medicine, the whole point

of it is to boost what is deficient.

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Essence translated to Jing in Chinese

is a component that is really.

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Important for our kidneys.

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So our kidneys hold this jing, and it's

almost like our genetic material that

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we're born with from our parents, but

also can be worked on in this lifetime.

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So there's two components.

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And so for example, if someone is

overworking, it gets into their qi,

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depletion gets into their blood,

and the last level is this Jing.

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And so when they get into this Jing,

they're essentially pulling into their

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. Genetic material, what they had before.

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And so what puts 'em in a reservoir

that is negative, essentially.

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And so to keep our jing

alive is so important.

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That's why rest is important,

finding balance because we don't

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want to eat into this reservoir.

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That gives us our vitality

to help us age gracefully.

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Speaker 2: As a physical therapist,

I loved learning about how she

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views the human body and imbalances.

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My sister has actually helped

me the most when incorporating

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some of the TCM ideology when it

comes to my own menstrual cycle.

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The other day she was so kind

and knew that I was on my period

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and we were having family dinner.

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Her and my mom were in charge of the

grocery shopping, and when I showed up,

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she goes, oh, Kelsey, I got you steak

because I know that you're on your period

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and you're losing a lot of blood and iron.

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And so I thought the steak might be a

good protein for you to have for your

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meal knowing that you're on your period.

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TCM has a big focus on blood

building foods, especially during

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our periods, and I thought it was

a very sweet gesture for my sister.

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So I've been now trying to prioritize

more blood building foods, especially

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during those first few days of my

menstrual cycle when I am on my period.

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I love how traditional Chinese medicine

also focuses on using your body's natural

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rhythms, especially when it comes to

cortisol, sunlight, and circadian rhythms.

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I am on a selfish mission to decrease

the fear surrounding cortisol.

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We've done an entire series

on why cortisol is not the.

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Bad guy.

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She's really the misunderstood, mean girl.

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So I just loved when Dr.

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Felice mentioned her thoughts on

cortisol and not looking at it as this

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mean girl, but really understanding

when cortisol peaks throughout the day

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and when it should start to taper off,

and utilizing that knowledge to help

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align our rhythms with our natural

cortisol levels throughout the day.

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Dr. Felice Chan:

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Cortisol is something that we all need.

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It's what helps us get up in the morning.

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It gives us the energy, but I think

because we live in a world that is so fast

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paced, too much, cortisol is more common.

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So I would recommend movement that

is more gentle, more so for the

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movement of QI or this energy,

rather than for the increase of.

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Good stress because a, Chinese

medicine principle is that when

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there's free flow of qi, this energy,

there's no ailments that happen.

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And as soon as there's a blockage, that's

where we start to feel any health issues

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from headaches, period and imbalances.

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So these gentle movements could be

what we say, Qigong or Tai Chi in

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Chinese medicine, or it could be

yoga or Pilates, or even just walking

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the premise of Chinese medicine iss

balance, it's the yin and the yang.

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And in simple terms,

the yin is the dormancy.

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Our rest, it's nighttime.

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yang is our energy.

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Daytime, it's the morning, and so

it's almost relevant to cortisol,

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for example, when you wake

up, cortisol should be higher.

150

Our energy should be elevated to give

us, the momentum for the day, but at

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the end of the day, it should return.

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And so in general, we should

see these energy spikes during

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the sun, when the sun is out.

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Versus at nighttime it's separate.

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So that's the general flow

of how our bodies should be.

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But we see issues when that is,

imbalance right when cortisol spikes

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at nighttime and someone can't sleep.

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Speaker 2: Dr.

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Fel also emphasized the

importance of warm foods for our

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digestive system and gut health.

161

Dr. Felice Chan:

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So gut health is central

to our wellbeing, right?

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It's.

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In Chinese medicine, we say

it's a spleen in stomach.

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They're the first organs that

actually receive food and

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they have to be strong, right?

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And it's function of transforming

food and fluids, of pushing, the

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foods into our intestines to absorb.

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And when it's a little bit off

balance, that's when we start to

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see any gut issues from bloating,

digestive issues, stool issues.

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And my biggest tip from a Chinese

medicine standpoint is we have

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to listen to our body, right?

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We're human beings, we're nature

beings, and we're warm blooded.

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And because we're warm blooded,

warm food, warm drinks, room

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temp drinks are really vital to

creating a strong digestive system.

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There's the feminine, the masculine and

women are more feminine energetically as

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well, and meaning that we are more yin.

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Men are more yang.

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yang again is hot.

180

Yin is cold.

181

So when you put cold and cold, it

puts you further off balance, right?

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It makes you even colder.

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Hence why a lot of research now is

showing that women do need more warmth.

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And even just the way that our

body metabolizes and deals with

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homeostasis, we don't need.

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As cold.

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Actually cooking or stir frying,

let's say arugula or kale is something

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that triggers a lot of people.

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It's going to help your

body digest it easier.

190

If someone does love raw arugula,

it's something that I eat

191

actually quite often, but I.

192

Take it outta the fridge, I let it

hit room temperature before I eat it.

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You can also add, a dressing

or components that are warmer.

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For example, I like to add a

ginger dressing to something

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that's raw because ginger is hot.

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So again, it's that, it's finding

that balance that works for your body.

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And it's not to say all raw food is bad

for people because it's really cold in

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nature and hard to digest, but if you

have digestive issues to limit, raw food.

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Cold smoothies, raw salads will

benefit you in the long run so

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that then you can consume it later.

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Speaker 2: I've noticed this actually

most recently in my own life when it

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comes to how I consume protein, especially

before and after a workout, I've actually

203

really been favoring bone broth either

before or after, and actually heating

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up bone broth and something about it,

I don't know if you guys get this,

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but after exercise, my adrenaline's

going, like my sympathetic system.

206

My fight or flight system is active

as it should be, and sometimes

207

my digestion can suffer because

of that, but for some reason,

208

incorporating this warm bone broth.

209

Has really helped me to feel

even better after my workout.

210

It almost sort of calms my system.

211

It feels like this nice, warm.

212

Internal hug, and I have no doubt

that falls in alignment with some of

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the TCM practices of warming foods

for our digestive systems that Dr.

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Felice was talking about

215

related to digestion and gut health.

216

I also wanted to bring it back to what Dr.

217

Felice was saying when it comes to

travel tips and tricks, especially as

218

my husband and I are about to go on a

very long plane ride and have a lot of

219

air travel and train travel and just.

220

A different routine in general.

221

Dr. Felice Chan:

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It's funny, I just made a travel series

of a lot of issues that come about and.

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With constipation, there's two

main buckets of why that happens.

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It's an emotional stagnation, it's

our stress holding everything in.

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We don't wanna let go

because we're on, high alert.

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And the other thing is dehydration, right?

227

It, there's too much

dryness in the intestines.

228

Hence why we can't pass stools.

229

And so for constipation, truly

the best thing, again, is to

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breathe and relax the body.

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Hence why people are just like, oh,

if I safe in my home again, I can

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pass stools because their body is,

surrendering and able to let go.

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The second thing is hydrate,

with electrolytes, with even.

234

Celtic salt in their water, lemon

water, whatever they need to do

235

to increase hydration, can help.

236

And with bloating on the other hand,

my favorite is fresh ginger tea

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wherever I travel you can always

find ginger at supermarkets, right?

238

And I'll literally get, with thumb

size, chop it up, boil it in hot

239

water for about 10, 15 minutes

until it's spicy, and drink it.

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And that is one of the most

effective things to de bloat.

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Speaker 2: I really am going

to try to incorporate what Dr.

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Lee says when it comes to TCM practices to

help our travel and digestion throughout.

243

So I'm trying to be more mindful

of all of her tips and tricks that

244

she shared with us back in June.

245

Taking time for breath work and really

tapping into my parasympathetic rest

246

digest part of my nervous system.

247

Then preparing my body

with warm water and ginger.

248

I am definitely going to be packing some

of that ginger with me for the flight

249

for before the flight, for after the

flight and throughout the trip just to

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help ease some of those uncomfortable

digestion symptoms that I often get.

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One of the things I am

more recently trying to.

252

Implement when it comes to my fueling,

especially with this big protein push,

253

this huge, huge protein push, I feel

like we can oftentimes forget the

254

necessities of carbs, fats, different

micronutrients, just having the basics.

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So I've been trying to check the boxes

with, okay, am I getting my veggies, my

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fats, my fiber, my carbs, my protein?

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Am I checking the box when it

comes to certain categories

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for fueling that my body needs?

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From a TCM standpoint, I notice whenever

I am out of balance, in some way,

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I crave sugary or salty foods, and

if I'm not thinking about it, I can

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easily go grab a sweet or salty snack.

262

However, if I have a well-balanced meal

where I'm checking all of those boxes

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and actually staying hydrated, getting

the fiber I need, getting the proteins,

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the carbs, the fats that I need, I notice

myself overall starting from this, this

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place of balance where I'm not trying to.

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Satiate myself with a sweet food

or a salty food because my body

267

feels more balanced and in alignment

because of what I am fueling it with.

268

In a similar way, if I choose a morning

workout, I'm much more likely to make

269

those healthy choices throughout the day.

270

Dr.

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Felice explains this phenomenon so

beautifully from a TCM perspective

272

talking about how when we are balanced,

we are more likely to make choices

273

that also foster that balance.

274

Compared to when we're imbalanced,

we might make choices that don't

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necessarily bring our bodies

in our system back in harmony.

276

Dr. Felice Chan:

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It's all about polarities and contrast.

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We don't know how to

feel good unless we feel.

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Pretty crappy at times, right?

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And so we know the imbalances.

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And so if you're starting the day

off with this higher vibration, you

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know your qi, this flow of energy is

moving through every part of your body.

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There's no stagnation.

284

You're gonna seek out things

that match its vibration.

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Whether it's clean, whole foods, sitting

out in the sunshine, going for a walk,

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getting a coffee with a close friends.

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And as soon as something comes into

your day, whether it's a stressful

288

call, I meeting some, unpredictable

things that happen all the time,

289

your body's gonna tighten up.

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Your breath is gonna slow down.

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It's just gonna constrict.

292

And so then we're aware, oh, this is a

huge contrast of how good I was feeling.

293

So again, it's tuning into how we

feel, how we are as humans, such

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as being extremely self of swear.

295

Speaker 2: I love the idea of helping

to create this higher vibration for

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myself with my fueling movement, sleep,

hydration, recovery, so that I'm able

297

to make decisions from a full cup,

from a balanced state compared to an

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empty cup and an imbalanced state.

299

Now in addition to revisiting some of Dr.

300

Felice's TCM tips, tricks and practices

that she shared with us back in June

301

and ways that I've tried to incorporate

some of them in my own life, I also

302

wanted to look at elite athlete training,

specifically the Olympics are going

303

on right now, and I started wondering

how might someone like Eileen Goo

304

approach her training with the use of

TCM practices compared to someone like.

305

Like me, if I were to be competing

at that level, or basically someone

306

who doesn't necessarily have this

generational use of TCM in her family.

307

So I pulled a lot of the

research, a lot of commentaries,

308

and just different articles.

309

So most of the research I saw

said elite athletes and countries

310

that have historically utilized

TCM now use a combination of TCM

311

and western medicine techniques.

312

So most often I found the use of TCM.

313

During elite training to be related to

what I would consider tools, so things

314

like acupuncture, cupping, and I'm gonna

butcher this name so I apologize in

315

advance, but T Na Tana, which is basically

massage based techniques, effleurage Pet

316

Dressage and Friction massage, which we

actually learn 'em in school and we call

317

them Effleurage Pet Dressage and Friction.

318

So I'm assuming they're very similar,

but they're manual based techniques.

319

There was also some mention of

herbal remedies and medicine

320

to help with pain and recovery.

321

But I thought it was interesting that

some of the herbal remedies in medicine,

322

it has to be in specific dosages or

else some of those remedies might pop

323

up positive on drug test screenings.

324

So there's currently research going

on right now for TCM practices in

325

herbal remedies specifically to know

what's the right dosage, where our

326

elite athletes can get the benefit

from some of these TCM herbal remedies.

327

But then also not be testing

positive on drug test screening.

328

So I thought that was a very interesting,

like next step for research and I,

329

it's already going on right now.

330

There was one that they mentioned

where any more than three days starts

331

to show up positive, but three days

or less really helps with pain relief

332

and recovery for these athletes.

333

So I thought that was really cool.

334

There have been a few studies done

on sleep and elite athletes, both

335

in a broader sense during training

and pre and post competition and

336

among Chinese elite athletes.

337

Preparing for the Beijing 2022 Olympics

actually, so the long story short

338

is sleep is a factor that needs to

be addressed amongst all athletes,

339

regardless of western medicine

approach or combination approach of

340

Western medicine and TCM practices.

341

In general, sleep is definitely worse

for athletes prior to competition,

342

but both the articles looking at sleep

from a broader perspective and sleep

343

in Chinese athletes, specifically

344

All of them said.

345

Sleep was definitely affected based

on their competition schedule.

346

It didn't matter whether or not

they utilized TCM practices or not.

347

There were just poor sleep outcomes

before competition Compared to normal

348

training and post competition, I wasn't

able to find any training schedules or

349

nutritional diaries related to elite

athlete training in countries with TCM.

350

A pillar of their health

and wellness approach, but I

351

was able to reach out to Dr.

352

Felice to see how someone

like Eileen Gu might utilize

353

TCM in their normal routines.

354

And before I asked her, I looked up Eileen

Gu specifically because I feel like she is

355

a very prominent Chinese female athlete.

356

And there wasn't much

information available.

357

I was really hoping to find specifics of

nutrition, sleep performance training,

358

all of the variables that go into it, and

how she might utilize TCM specifically.

359

I wasn't able to find that, but it

does sound like she utilized TCM

360

physicians during a New Zealand

training camp where the TCM physician

361

performed orthopedic techniques to

help Eileen's back, and she utilized

362

TCM in preparation for Beijing 2022.

363

Where the TCM physician also

performed these orthopedic manual

364

techniques to help her in her

training, recovery, and performance.

365

So I'd love to learn more about this

if any of you guys have insight into

366

how certain athletes utilize TCM more

specifically when it comes to their

367

training and their nutritional strategies.

368

I would love to know,

I did reach out to Dr.

369

Felice to get her thoughts on all of this.

370

I mentioned Eileen Goose specifically.

371

So she says, I would assume TCM

is integrated with weekly or more

372

acupuncture and cupping to help the

body rebuild, recover, and heal.

373

That would be my approach.

374

Herbal medicine would also be included,

dependent on their root cause.

375

Hope this helps in happy lunar New Year.

376

So I was so grateful for her insight

because I do feel like she is the expert.

377

I am just trying to learn from her and

apply what she knows into my own life and

378

also share that with you guys to Hopely,

give you some inspiration and ideas.

379

If you guys are also like me and

not as familiar with TCM practices.

380

But I thought her insight into elite

training specifically and specifically

381

with Olympic athletes, and I did

mention Eileen Gu as an example.

382

So I think she was basing it off

of a female elite athlete who might

383

utilize TCM practices in her training.

384

So this was a fun episode for me.

385

I just feel like when I was coming

up with new ideas after the podcast

386

festival, this one was one that I

really wanted to revisit just given

387

the timing in my own life and the

world around us with the Olympics, with

388

all of the trends that are going on.

389

I thought it would be really, really

fun to dive into TCM again and look at

390

some of the ways that I've been applying

what we learned back in June from Dr.

391

Felice into my own life, and then also

look at elite athlete training with

392

TCM, because that is something that

I haven't even thought about, but.

393

It's really, really cool to understand

for me, especially as like this exercise

394

physiology, human body, geek, and

nerd to understand how these elite

395

athletes might utilize an entirely new

viewpoint for me in their own training.

396

So I appreciate you guys for nerding

out with me and for, I guess taking a

397

more science backed health and wellness

perspective to this Chinese body trend.

398

I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.

399

Again, I'll leave all the links

below if you missed the one.

400

Back in June, our episode with Dr.

401

Felice.

402

It was an amazing episode.

403

I only clipped some of it today, but

she shares so much more information

404

and education in that episode.

405

So I'll leave that below

if you guys missed it.

406

But thank you guys for listening, for

joining me, for nerding out with me

407

today, and I'll see you guys on the

next episode of Wellness is the Pop.