Acupuncture And Weight Loss - Does It Work?

Does acupuncture really help weight loss? The answer is Yes! However, lets take a step back and look at some details. Americans spend over 33 billion dollars every year on weight-loss programs. Unfortunately, 95 percent fail in their attempt to lose the weight they need to maintain good health. The good news is that based on researchers from Korea, acupuncture in fact can help individuals loose weight. Researchers claim in a study published in the BMJ journal Acupuncture in Medicine that "Ear" acupuncture treatment can help people lose while being affordable
It is known that the ancient practice of acupuncture helps to heal a host of ailments. Even today's practitioners of Western medicine embrace this ancient practice to subdue chronic pain, postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, high blood pressure, and weight loss. Acupuncture can restore balance to ones body by increasing blood circulation, decreasing any inflammatory responses or inflammation and much more. Acupuncture from an eastern perspective can increase to the flow of energy along rivers of Qi (pronounced chee), or life force through fine, thin needles that are barely inserted into the skin along strategic points on the human's body.
To be more specific about weight loss, we need to focus on the brain. Our brain has a regulating center called the hypothalamus which regulates thirst and hunger along many other things. Weight gain could be the result of disturbed energy flow to and from the regulating center of the brain. As a result, different acupuncture methods can be used for weight control by tuning the disturbed energy flow and helping the body run like a finely tuned machine. Interestingly enough, acupuncture has the ability to influence obesity hormones by boosting metabolism, curbing appetite, improving digestion, decreasing cravings, regulating obesity related hormones and enhancing the way nutrients are used. Acupuncture also strengthens the function of the liver, the organ that produces many chemicals critical for digestion, processing nutrients and breaking down of fats. Finally, Acupuncture may also increase tone in the smooth muscle of the stomach to help people realize that they are full and stop eating. Furthermore, Skilled acupuncture practitioners or acupuncturists will zero in on specific body areas to effect weight loss. Beside the liver, other areas such as endocrine system and kidneys, which are addressed to treat water retention and to stimulate nerve and hormonal rebalance can be tapped into through acupuncture to help weight loss.
Acupuncture + Your Ear = Weight loss:
As mentioned earlier, in order to pinpoint the Qi or stimulate certain areas on the ear for effective weight control, acupuncturists take aim at four to five acupuncture points on the ear (results will be better if a practitioner stimulated five points instead of just one or two). These points include: the hunger point, Shen Men point, stomach point, and endocrine point. A few tiny sterilized needles are inserted along these invisible channels to decrease the "heat" generated along these meridians and to stimulate centers that trigger the release of neuron-chemicals and hormones. Sometimes the needles are covered with tape so that they can be left in place for a few days. Patients usually later remove them at home or have them removed during follow up visits to the acupuncturist.
It is important to note that ear acupuncture must be administered by a qualified acupuncturist