Acupuncture Weight Loss - Fact or Fantasy?

 I remember back in my senior year of high school - my best friend since 5th 

grade was living in France. He wrote that they didn't like Americans much. 

"They think we're all fat," he said. With his own skinny frame, of course, 

he confounded their belief.

But, he added a funny, or perhaps ironic capstone to the issue. "I went to a 

store, and they were selling statues of these fat people, and, at the base of 

each one was written, 'American.'"

Obesity is not only an American problem. According to the World Health 

Organization (WHO), it's a global problem. They call it globesity. 

Parodoxically, their understanding of this problem began with their original 

mission to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. We live in a world where many 

have nothing to eat, and many eat too much. From 1995 to 2000, the number of 

obese adults worldwide mushroomed from 200 million to 300 million. That's a 

50% increase in just 5 years!

What is Obesity, and What is Overweight?

Overweight means an excess of body weight. This excess weight may be muscle, 

bone, fat, and/or body water. Obesity refers specifically to an abnormally 

high proportion of body fat. You can be overweight without being obese - 

for example, a bodybuilder or other highly-muscled athlete. But many people 

who are overweight are also obese.The main way to determine whether you are 

overweight or obese is with the body mass index (BMI). It doesn't directly 

measure body fat, and it's not gender specific, but it does give you a pretty 

reliable estimation.

To find your BMI, divide your weight (in kilograms) by your height in meters 

squared. Yep, for the math-challenged, that's complex, so I'll give you a 

website that will figure it out for you, the National Institute's of Health 

BMI calculator (http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/). This will very quickly 

tell you if you are normal, overweight, or obese, and it does all the 

calculating and metric conversions for you!

Overweight is defined as a BMI above 25 (including those above 30 BMI, too), 

and obese is a BMI above 30. So, all obese people are overweight, but not all 

overweight people are obese.

The Obesity Epidemic

Obesity isn't just about not feeling good or having trouble getting dates…

It leads to more than 300,000 premature deaths each year in the United 

States. 90,000 are preventable cancer deaths. (CDC)

Severely obese men die 13 years sooner than men of normal weight (JAMA).

As a killer in America, obesity is second only to tobacco. (CDC)

The Weight Loss Industry

Spending: Americans spend between $40-50 billion per year to lose weight.

Results: I haven't seen any recent news that Americans are getting any 

thinner - have you?

Conclusion: What people are doing isn't working. If we want different 

results, we have to try a different solution.

Acupuncture Weight Loss: Fantasy, or Fact?

Fantasy or Fact? As a well-trained and fairly conservative Chinese 

medicine practitioner, I had assumed that acupuncture for weight loss was a 

marketing fad and a patient fantasy.

Evidence: But while researching my upcoming book Chinese Medicine: 

A Practical Guide to Optimal Healing, I found some surprisingly positive 

information that changed my mind.

Chinese Medicine's Collective Clinical Data on Acupuncture Weight Loss

Chinese Medicine has thousands of years of clinical experience. This 

collective data not as convincing as randomized controlled trials are, 

but it does contain truth - it's imperfect but still valid and important.

A U.S. government study in the 80's concluded that 85% of western medicine 

is based on clinical experience, not on research. (Office of Technology 

Assessment of the Congress of the United States, The Impact of Randomized 

Controlled Trials on Health Policy and Medical Practice, Background Paper

 OTA-BP-H-22. Also see Michael Millenson's book, Demanding Medical Excellence)

There is good Chinese Medicine research in Taiwan, Australia, and Europe 

that gets ignored by American scientists and media. Much research in Chinese 

has not even been translated into English.

Seven Studies of Acupuncture for Weight Loss

How it works: By enhancing the function of two neuroendocrine pathways that 

regulate many bodily processes, including metabolism.

What it does:

Lowers body weight, body fat, insulin levels, and lipid levels in 

the blood

Decreases excessive appetite and makes it easier to satisfy your 

hunger with less food.

Decreases menopausal weight gain

In one study, acupuncture took off 10 pounds in 2 months - that 

translates to 60 lbs in a year!

Combined with diet control, and aerobic counseling it not only 

takes off the pounds and body fat, but keeps them off, especially if you'

re diligent with their exercise.

(See references at end of article for the research)

Ephedra misuse and mislegislation

Ephedra is a Chinese herb for colds and coughs. It has been misused to 

increase metabolism, and this misuse has caused numerous deaths. As a 

result, the FDA is considering a total ban on ephedra products. We can 

blame two major things:

Supplement companies that care more about your money than your 

health (no, not all of them are that way, but some of them are, especially 

the ones that market weight loss formulations).

The idea that you can medicate yourself safely with herbs - self-

medication of any kind is risky. Self-medication with herbs is off the radar, 

and people generally think they can do it safely. The ephedra debacle is an 

example of how dangerous it can be.

Traditionally, Chinese herbs are given in formulas (not singly), which is 

safer and more personalized. They're prescribed by a Chinese medicine 

practitioner who diagnoses your specific imbalances first. Ephedra would 

never be given for weight loss, but only for certain kinds of colds and 

coughs, and only to people whose body's can handle it.

No traditional Chinese herbs should be outlawed without allowing Chinese 

medical practitioners to continue to use them traditionally.

Food Cravings

Problem #1 (Enzyme Deficiency): The foods you crave depending on 

your personal imbalances. Modern digestive science explains that when your 

body can't digest a food, you crave more of it - you're not getting what 

you need from it. This lead to a cycle of craving and overeating the exact 

food you can't digest.

Problem #2 (Low Blood Sugar): Another vicious cycle happens when 

you can't digest complex carbs, so your blood sugar is low, so you eat 

simple carbs that raise your blood sugar which raises insulin, which 

lowers your blood sugar again, and your stuck eating donuts and feeling 

horrible.

Solution: Enzymes (I recommend various enzyme formulations from 

a company called Transformations) and Chinese herbal formulas can help 

you digest your food and break both of these cycles

Weight can be lost safely if done slowly and naturally.

You can lose up to 2 lbs per week without gaining it back. That means 

you could lose 104 lbs this year and keep it off!

Positive change is like stretching a rubber band- if you stretch too 

far too fast, it breaks or snaps back on you.

So avoid the temptation to take an easy solution like ephedra or 

citrus aurantium (both misused Chinese herbs), because you'll gain 

the weight back, and you're risking heart problems and stroke.

5 Things to Do Right Now

To Lose 10 Pounds Within 2 Months

And Keep Them Off:

Avoid heavily marketed supplements - instead, see a professional 

trained herbalist (acupuncturist) - it's safer and more effective - my 

preference would be a Chinese medicine practitioner, but some very well-

educated western herbalists are good too.

Acupuncture Weight Loss: See an acupuncturist/chinese herbalist - 

Get acupuncture (once to three times per week) to SAFELY regulate your 

metabolism and hunger-satisfaction. Your acupuncturist can also get you

the herbs that will balance your digestion and cravings - and based on 

your Chinese pattern diagnosis, they can also give you personalized diet 

advice. Herbs and enzymes (specific formulations from the enzyme company, 

Transformations) can eliminate your food cravings.

Develop a plan and goals with your acupuncturist and aerobics 

instructor- make it realistic, and stick to it. If you mess up, don't 

beat yourself up, just get back on track as soon as you can. Any progress 

is better than none at all.

Eat less, exercise more - Eat a low fat diet, and don't miss 

breakfast! Weigh yourself regularly, and exercise an hour a day. Start 

by walking a few minutes each day, or take the stairs at work. Don't 

overdo it! Remember the rubber band. In fact, you may want to wear a 

rubber band on your wrist to remind yourself to make changes slowly. 

Get some aerobic exercise help- a public class, or private aerobic 

counseling.

Join a support group like Weight Watchers or Overeaters 

Anonymous. There's nothing like positive friends to encourage you 

and keep you on track. OA members say that this spiritual program of 

action has changed the way they relate to food.

References and Resources

Office of Technology Assessment of the Congress of the 

United States, The Impact of Randomized Controlled Trials on 

Health Policy and Medical Practice, Background Paper OTA-BP-H-22.

Michael Millenson's book, Demanding Medical Excellence

Effect of acupuncture on weight loss evaluated by adrenal 

function. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1993 Sep, 13

(3):169-73.

Wozniak, P., Oszukowski, P., Stachowiak, G., and Szyllo, K. 

[The effectiveness of low-calorie diet or diet with acupuncture 

treatment in obese peri- and postmenopausal women] (in Polish). 

Ginekol.Pol. Vol.74 Issue 2 pp. 102-107. 2003

Acupuncture on Spleen, Stomach, and Ren Mai Channel Points 

for the Treatment of Stomach & Intestinal Replete Heat Pattern Simple 

Obesity. Abstracted & translated by Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H, Lic. 

Ac., FNAAOM, FRCHM

Richards D, Marley J. Stimulation of auricular acupuncture 

points in weight loss. Aust Fam Physician. 1998 Jul;27 Suppl 2:S73-7.

Zhao, M., Liu, Z., and Su, J. The time-effect relationship of 

central action in acupuncture treatment for weight reduction. J Tradit 

Chin Med Vol.20 Issue 1 pp. 26-29. 2000

Liu, Z. Mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture 

moxibustion on simple obesity complicated by hypertension. Inter J 

Clin Acup 371-378, 1995.

Studies of the Weight Loss Industry

Obesity prevalence and effect

Overeaters Anonymous