Lose Weight Through Acupuncture
Acupuncture can also help with migraines or headaches, even disorders such as insomnia, depression, fatigue or irritable bowel syndrome. All in all acupuncture is a fantastic healing art which has been used for hundreds of years. Acupuncture alone will not cure weight loss as a good diet and exercise will always be the main way to lose weight.
However acupuncture and herbal medicine can provide an excellent compliment to diet and exercise. What the acupuncturist does is to diagnose if there is any underlying problems which could be hindering your weight loss. Some of the problems which acupuncture can help with are Thyroid dysfunction, Polycystic ovaries, sluggish metabolisms or diabetes.
These are just a few of the underlying problems you may have which affect your weight and can be helped by acupuncture. Acupuncture and herbal medicine can also be used to reduce cravings and increase will power, helping the body to lose weight. The Chinese have a wide range of advice in the weight loss area but acupuncture is by far the most famous of the healing arts. Acupuncture can only be performed at a clinic or hospital. The sessions can last between 45 minutes to an hour, and can cost between £25 - £40 but prices vary. Obviously acupuncture can only be done by a professional and specialist equipment is used. If you decide to try acupuncture it is wise to go for a consultation first to determine which problem you need help with.
The first group had five needles placed in the five ear acupuncture sites: endocrine, stomach, spleen, hunger and Shen-men. They covered these with surgical tapes and the patients had to carry it for one week. After that one week, they came back and the same routine was repeated for the other ear and this had to be repeated for 8 weeks. The second group had the same routine done on them but with only one needle inserted at the hunger point.
The third group was convinced they were receiving the five-point treatment but the needles were taken out immediately after they were inserted, even though the surgical tapes were left in place. To eliminate any discrepancy, the treatments were carried out by the same doctor. None of the patients took on additional exercise than they had before the commencement of the trial and they were all placed on a restrictive diet. About 24 people dropped out of the trial and 15 of them came from the placebo group but of those who completed the trial, there were noticeable results.
Four weeks into the trial, BMI in the five-point group showed a 6.1% reduction, the one-point treatment group showed 5.7% reduction and they also both showed a reduction in weight. The placebo group showed no changes at all. These results led the researchers to the conclusion that the five-point and one-point treatments were effective in weight loss in the short term but the five-point was more effective in the reduction of abdominal fat and waist circumference. The European Journal of Integrative Medicine published results of a trial conducted on 42 patients.
Acupuncture was used on them but amazingly, it was not auricular acupuncture. At least, the study did not say otherwise. The aim was to find out whether acupuncture reduces BMI, weight and HbA1c levels. HbA1c means glycated hemoglobin and it is measured mainly to find out the three-month average plasma glucose concentration (the amount of sugar present in the blood).
Glucose means simple sugar and is the primary source of energy in humans, highly important for normal body functions. This was necessary for the trial because excess glucose in the blood could lead to obesity and diabetes. The patients underwent 20 sessions of acupuncture therapy and their weight, HbA1c and BMI were measured before and after the trial, for comparison. Factors that contribute to weight gain like menopause, diabetes and age were put under consideration throughout the entire process.
After the entire process of acupuncture therapy, it was concluded that it might confer reductions in weight, HbA1c and BMI in obese people. The word “may” is the operative word, meaning that you should not put all your hopes in it. Results from the few studies on acupuncture and weight loss have been varied; there is no consistency to the results. In one study, the effectiveness of sham acupuncture and ear acupuncture were tried out on some obese women, to see which would work, if any.
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