“Diana” began coming for acupuncture treatments for post-menopausal symptoms of night sweats, hot flashes, fatigue, insomnia, minor depression, and “brain fog.” Over the course of several weeks of treatments she began experiencing increasing relief of her symptoms: her body temperature started self-regulating; her sleep deepened; her memory, concentration, and mood improved; and her energy rebounded.
But one thing she hadn’t expected: She lost four pounds without trying and could feel her cravings for sugar disappearing. “I feel no desire to eat late in the day as I did before,” she said. “I have plenty of energy and none of the thoughts of snacking all the time.”
Diana’s experience is not unique. Weight loss is often a wonderful side effect of regaining balance and health through Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). People who initially come for relief of pain, fatigue, or other distressing symptoms discover that in the process of feeling better in general they also can more easily lose weight without having a sense of deprivation or denial of pleasure.
The initial session of acupuncture includes a comprehensive health history interview that encompasses all aspects of a person’s “being”—symptoms, lifestyle, diet, stress levels, emotional component, exercise, social support, work situations, other activities, and family health history, plus looking at the tongue and taking the pulse—which then determines the course of treatment, specific to that individual. Each session afterward includes follow-up and reassessment of these areas.
We acupuncturists are rarely working on just one single symptom but instead are looking at the person as a whole, with no separation between the mind and body or between the person’s health and other influences in his or her life. As a result, some symptoms that are not necessarily the Number One complaint can resolve in the course of treating the Number One complaint. Weight loss is just one benefit that often accompanies the improvements felt through acupuncture and herbal medicine.
“Gary” first started treatments for a rotator cuff injury. He was an athletic and otherwise healthy man in his mid-40s with just two other complaints, which he revealed only on close questioning: frequent constipation and recurring heartburn. Mostly he wanted relief from the shoulder pain that had been dogging him for much of the past year. Within five treatments his shoulder pain had reduced from Level 8 to less than Level 1, and with some amazement he said, “Plus my digestion’s working fine and I haven’t had any heartburn at all!” And, he added, “I don’t know if acupuncture had anything to do with this but I’ve lost 6 pounds!”
Many people report a sense of euphoria after treatments, a feeling of total relaxation and a letting go of stress that can last for weeks. Concentration, memory, mood, attention to detail, and focus can all improve. As a person begins to regain a sense of balance, the need for the artificial comfort or stimulation from food starts to wane as well. Cravings for carbohydrates, overt sugar, alcohol, tobacco, and other substances reduce and eventually melt away.
People will take drastic measures to lose weight. Some of the fad diets might work in the short term because of low caloric intake, but too often the body rebels and will crave certain foods, causing one to binge or develop a yo-yo dieting pattern with drastic ups and downs in body weight.
WEIGHT LOSS THROUGH TCM
The effects of acupuncture are not always immediate and miraculous. I try to warn new patients not to have unrealistic expectations about one or two sessions. Sometimes there is immediate relief, but perhaps more often the benefits of acupuncture are cumulative and subtle—but they will happen. As I said, we are not treating just one symptom but the whole system, and often habits and symptoms have been present for quite some time so they are not likely to change overnight.
We Americans especially often want quick fixes to our problems—take a pill, have surgery—but quick fixes don’t address the underlying imbalances that cause the problems in the first place. Traditional Chinese Medicine goes to the core of problems and looks at the reasons why things are out of whack. Acupuncturists are working on the whole person to improve the operation of the entire organism. And the process is collaborative, not magic. We work together to find the right process for you.
There is no miracle cure for weight loss. Everything you hear about commitment to nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes is true; without them, any quick and easy weight loss “solution” is temporary at best. But a committed person, one who is inspired to lose weight not only for appearance but also for health, can use acupuncture and Chinese medicine to help begin, achieve, and maintain weight loss goals.
According to TCM, the root of excess weight is an imbalance within the body caused by malfunctioning of the spleen and liver systems. The spleen system in Chinese medicine is responsible for the proper functioning of the digestive system, ensuring that the food we eat is transformed into Qi (energy)—the vital substance of life. Disharmony in the spleen system can result in fatigue, slow metabolism, digestive issues, loose stools, water retention, and a feeling of bloating or heaviness. The emotions associated with the spleen system are worrying, over-thinking, being “up in your head” a lot, and ruminating.
The job of the liver system is to keep the flow of Qi and blood (and emotions) running smoothly. Our current day fast-paced lifestyle and chronic stress can negatively impact the liver system’s ability to function properly and smoothly, which, in turn, can cause the spleen system and the whole digestive tract to function poorly and decrease metabolism. Liver disharmony can also cause some of the “triggers” that lead to cravings and compulsive eating. The emotions associated with the liver system are irritability, anger, frustration, “stuffing things down,” and feeling thwarted.
From a TCM perspective, the acupuncture points, foods, and herbs that are chosen to assist with weight loss directly influence the Qi of the spleen and liver systems to treat the root imbalances that are causing the weight gain.
From a Western perspective, acupuncture and TCM have been shown to have an effect on the function of the nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, food cravings, and metabolism. All of these influences can help to energize the body, maximize the absorption of nutrients, regulate elimination, control overeating, suppress the appetite, and reduce anxiety.
- Regulates metabolism: A history of irregular eating, yo-yo dieting, overeating, and thyroid dysfunction all contribute to a slow metabolism. Acupuncture can help increase metabolism by stimulating the thyroid and endocrine glands as your body adjusts to changes in your diet and exercise.
- Stops food cravings: Regular acupuncture treatments can help curb food cravings just as it has been proven to stop cravings for other addictive substances like tobacco and alcohol.
- Benefits digestion: Over time, crash diets, irregular eating habits, and excessive intake of starchy, greasy, or fattening foods all take their toll on the digestive process. Chronic symptoms such as bloating, gas, heartburn, constipation or diarrhea are all signs that the digestive system is out of balance. Acupuncture can help harmonize the digestive organs so you can get the nutrients you need and therefore feel less hungry.
- Calms and relaxes: Acupuncture stimulates the release of endorphins, which have a calming effect on the body and make it easier to deal with stress, frustration, and anxiety, which are often triggers for emotional eating and bingeing on fattening foods.
- Cleanses the system: Acupuncture treatments during weight loss help cleanse the toxins released from adipose (fat) tissue that can cause fatigue, acne, and depression.
Each treatment is geared to the needs of the individual patient. The number of treatments necessary depends on the person’s goals for losing weight, the speed at which he or she wants to lose, and the commitment to a new, healthier lifestyle.
BACKED BY RESEARCH
A growing body of research supports the use of acupuncture for weight loss:
- A 2003 study published in The Journal of Medical Acupuncture found that participants receiving acupuncture lost more than three times more weight than the control group.
- In a study conducted by the University of Adelaide in Australia in 1998, 95 percent of the participants receiving electro-stimulation on acupuncture points reported appetite suppression. The results showed that the acupuncture group was more likely to experience a reduced appetite and to lose weight than the control group.
- In a recent study, 20 women between the ages of 22 and 42, all with a Body Mass Index higher than 27, were divided into two groups. The women who followed a regimen of a 2,000-calorie per day diet, daily exercise, and weekly ear acupuncture treatments lost on average more than twice as much weight as those who only dieted and exercised, even if they did not comply exactly with the treatment plan.
Acupuncture can be seen as a bridge that is able to affect and integrate different systems of the body such as the nervous, endocrine, pituitary, circulatory, reproductive, and digestive systems. Because of these broad effects, acupuncture can create profound changes in the self-regulating and self-healing systems of the body, including achieving a more ideal weight.
Acupuncture might just be the best-kept diet secret going.