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Can Acupuncture Help with Weight Loss in Obese Patients?
Obesity affects both children and adults, men and women, alike and is becoming a serious health impediment across the world. Excessive weight or obesity is a growing health problem in different parts of the world. It is not just merely a cosmetic issue but a serious medical condition that requires immediate attention. Those who are overweight may be prone to kidney disease, gout, high blood pressure, arthritis, neuropathy, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, fatty liver, infertility, ED and prostate problem. Fat cells stores more toxin and estrogens, which can stimulate the cancer growth. Women may even experience problems during pregnancy, such as high blood sugar and pregnancy diabetes, and may need to opt for a c-section rather than a normal delivery. According to our experiences in Boca Acupuncture clinic, people who had stomach bypass surgery and did not change their habit, can gradually gain back their weight a few years after their surgery.
Causes of Obesity
There is a strong correlation between weight gain and physical inactivity. In Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Parkland, Pompano Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Miami, Coconut Creek and Deerfield Beach, there are many retired people, who tend to have arthritis, AF and high blood pressure. They reduce the physical activity after their retirement and sit more than 6 hours a day. When people stop intense exercises, they tend to crave carbohydrates so that they can bring up their serotonin and dopamine level. People, who eat a diet rich in simple carbohydrates can gain weight quickly as it increases the levels of blood glucose within half an hour, which stimulates the insulin release. High insulin level can move the blood sugar into fat cells instead of using the blood sugar to produce energy. The blood sugar will drop sharply an hour after their meal; people can feel anxious and tired. They need to eat more carbohydrates to raise their sugar.
Certain medications such as anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antihistamines, estrogens and oral contraceptives can also lead to weight gain. Those medications can change the metabolism of the body and increase the intestinal peristalsis, thus people tend to eat more than they should.
Acupuncture for Weight Loss
In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that acupuncture can reduce appetite, lower stress, increase metabolism, and affect the part of the brain that experiences hunger. Advocates of acupuncture treatment believe that weight gain is largely due to hormone imbalances, which can be a result of a problem associated with the kidney, liver, thyroid gland, spleen, or stomach. A trained acupuncturist will be able to address hormonal imbalances and clear up the internal heat, so people will not crave for sweets or simple carbohydrates. For those, who are overweight due to premenstrual syndrome, menopause or hypothyroid condition, acupuncture can help improve thyroid and ovarian function, so women can burn more calories. Acupuncture for weight loss could also include ear pressing ball, a process where points on the ear are manipulated to address food cravings and reduce the stress. Boca Chinese Acupuncture clinic can also help you lose weight by using Chinese herbs to enhance the function of thyroid and digestive system.
According to a study published by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, acupuncture leads to a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, and insulin level in obese patients. The study concluded that a balanced diet, regular exercise, and acupuncture can help obese people lose weight by reducing the stress hormones and changing the bad eating habit because acupuncture can make the body produce more relaxing hormones during the weight loss process.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4877795/
Case Study
Mary was born in Boca Raton from a wealthy family; she went to a private school in Delray Beach and joined many kinds of sports when she was in high school. She loves sweets and drank a lot of soda when she was in FAU to study computer science in Boca Raton. She gained 20 lbs during the college year, but does not look overweight because she is tall and has strong leg and arm muscles. She found a good job in a software company to manage many genius level employees in Boynton Beach. Her stress level had been high because of her difficult job to manage and coordinate the department because each talented employee had their own different idea. She gained another 10 lbs after she started working in the company in Boynton Beach for 10 years.
By age of 38 years old, her period is very irregular; she did not get period for a few months sometimes. She went to Delray Beach hospital to get her hormones checked. Her OBGYN told her she may have early menopause because her FSH went up to 15 and her ovarian reserve was very low. She did not want to have children at that time, but not having period before 40 years old can make her look older faster and develop arthritis and macular degeneration in her earlier age. She decided to see an acupuncturist and herbalist in Boca Raton. Mary came to Boca Raton acupuncture clinic for her facial rejuvenation initially because she noticed that her right eye lid is slightly lower than the left side. Her Boca Raton Chinese acupuncturist asked her about her period and other health issues. At that time, Mary was given progesterone every 3 months to induce her period. She still has beautiful skin, but her cholesterol was elevated and she is 30lbs overweight. Her Chinese acupuncturist in Boca Raton clinic made a plan to change her diet and started put the needles around her eyes, belly, legs and hands and feet.
She started treatment twice a week for 6 weeks, then once a week for 12 weeks, then once every other week. After she had acupuncture in Boca Raton acupuncture clinic for 4 months, she got her period by herself without progesterone. She also started losing weight lowly with her healthier diet. She was very happy that she can get her period by herself and noticed that her energy level goes up and she does not craves for sweets as much as before. Her eye lids look at the same level and her facial skin looks very nice with improved circulation and hormones.
Mary has had acupuncture treatments every two weeks for two years. On January 2, 2019, she came to Boca Acupuncture Clinic with a big smile and told her acupuncturist that she got pregnant and lost 30lbs altogether within two years. Usually when women in their forties lose too much weight, they tend to also lose their period, but Mary eats very healthy and lost 30lbs within 2 years. Mary’s whole endocrine system becomes healthier. She was very happy and got married in Delray Beach and delivered a healthy baby by the end of 2019 in West Palm Beach Hospital.