Acupuncture - Weight Loss With An "ancient Chinese Twist"
By Debra Clydesdale LAc DNBAO, Thu Dec 8th

Acupuncture Weight Loss Treatments

I remember the first time I took Chinese herbs. One of mypatients told me “You look really tired – Here take these herbs”and handed me a bagful of different colored packages. It hurt tohave it put so bluntly, but it was true, I was building abusiness, working long hours and feeling a bit drained, so Ilistened and took them home to use that night. One was a peachgreen tea that tasted like the Snapple I had been drinkingearlier that day, one was an “interesting tasting” dark greenliquid which I took with an OJ chaser and the third was a powderthat I mixed up with OJ, water and soy milk to make a citrussmoothie. Not bad I thought, for Chinese herbs… And thensomething amazing happened. I felt full! Little did I know atthat time I had been given the key to my natural weight lossthat I still maintain 15 years later.

I loved it! I had never felt full before in my life. I had beenstruggling with being thin since childhood. I had learned whento stop eating in order to not gain weight; I knew all kinds oftricks like drinking water before a meal and getting up andwalking away from the table. I looked at each new “diet trend”and I had eliminated all those “bad carbohydrates” from my dietand lived at the gym – and I ended up thin and tired all thetime. I even tried dexatrim (I may be dating myself – does anybody else out there remember that?) and ended up a yo-yo dieter.It was like I was in a constant battle with my body and myweight.

In this process of trying everything I had never before feltthis feeling of being satisfied. I loved it! So I used the herbsfor a few weeks and then I proceeded to talk myself out oftaking the herbs – too expensive, etc… and promptly got tiredand sick, went back on them – stopped and got sick and tiredagain, repeated it a third time and then I got the message thatthese herbs were doing something really good for my body.

Then to my surprise, six months later I dropped 20 poundswithout changing anything else in my life. I even began to eatmore without gaining weight like I used to. I had a lifetime ofexperience struggling with my weight and I was amazed at howthese “little packages of herbs” were changing my life. I wouldnever have expected that these nutritional herbs would help melose weight. I was so intrigued that I ended up going toAcupuncture and Oriental Medicine School to learn more. That wasmy door into the world of Chinese Medicine and acupunctureweight loss and I’ve never looked back.

Weight Loss is quite a difficult complex problem for some of us,and not even an issue for others. Just recently “Language hasbeen removed from the Medicare Coverage Issues Manual statingthat obesity is not an illness…. The medical science will nowdetermine whether we provide coverage for the treatments thatreduce complications and improve quality of life for themillions of Medicare beneficiaries with obesity.(1)” Beingoverweight is now officially a disease. “And as a first step, weexpect to convene our Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee inthe fall to evaluate the evidence on the various surgicalprocedures used in treating obesity.(2)” There has to be otheralternatives besides surgery.

Acupuncture for Weight Loss hit the press in 2003 when Reuters,CNN and others reported of successful acupuncture weight lossclinics in China. Chinese Medicine theory, traditionally holdthat overweight people have imbalanced digestive systems. Bystimulating the digestive system through acupuncture and herbs,it becomes more balanced and efficient, thus nutrition is morebio-available and the person feels fuller. This is what happenedto me when my metabolism came into a better balance. Othertheories are that acupuncture mainly helps reduce appetite andimprove metabolism.(3)

A slow increase in Obesity in China had lead to this newspecialty – acupuncture weight loss. A professor at aTraditional Chinese Medicine College in China states thattreatments for weight reduction have been practiced, studied andrefined over the past 5 years(4). While an exact comparisonbetween the US and China is difficult, in China the numbers maybe close to 10-13% overweight adults, as compared to 64% for theUS, but with their lifestyles and economic changes this numberis beginning to rise (5) . In Beijing, the capital, studentseagerly enjoy down their Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds,Coca-Cola, Pepsi and pop tarts. These foods have slowly replacedthe previous hot spots with traditional Chinese snacks found inplaces like Grandma’s Dumpling House (6) . The obesity rateamong primary and middle school students has risen to 18 %, from10% in 1991, the state Xinhua news agency said recently, citinga survey from the Beijing Center for Disease Control andPrevention.(7)

So what kind of acupuncture weight loss treatments do they offerin these clinics in China? Acupuncture, on the body and/or theear, herbal supplements and exercise that’s not overly

taxing(8). These are the primary treatment modalities that are used,but Acupuncture is the pillar of their weight loss strategy. Howsuccessful are they in losing weight? Currently there are nopublished research studies in peer – reviewed journals, onlysuccess stories emanating from the clinics. One source states“On this modest program – patients are said to lose between 22and 33 pounds per month(9).” Huge weight losses of up to 242pounds are boasted. In China, they say that 4 of 5 patients loseweight.(10)

I was fortunate to have been trained by a colleague that studiedin China learning these acupuncture weight loss treatments. Weare now proud and excited to offer the Chinese nutritionalherbal program that I used as well as these acupuncturetreatments and other supporting treatments for weight loss atour Oriental Medicine spa-clinic in Los Angeles. I continue tofurther my study and am exploring working with researchers at amajor university to evaluate the efficacy of these protocols.Imagine finding solid evidence that there is a treatment forobesity that has relatively few side effects. It is exciting tosee where this can go.

The unique acupuncture weight loss program we are offering herein Los Angeles at the Oriental Med Spa is a synergy based on thetreatment protocol currently used in China(11), Chinese Dietarytherapy including nutrient packed supplements and nutrition forweight loss taught to physicians (12). It is a gradual reductionmethod and includes Oriental Medicine Diagnosis, a series ofeight Acupuncture for Weight Loss Treatments, Auricularacupuncture (ear seeds) and herbal pharmaceutical grade Chinesenutrition supplements. Acupuncture and nutritional herbs areused primarily to strengthen the digestive system so it becomesmore efficient. The food you eat is better assimilated and youfeel full more quickly with less cravings. We hear “I noticedthat my cravings were much less” on a regular basis frompatients.

Breathing exercises are also a vital part of our program. Foradditional support we also provide Chinese Nutrition dietanalysis, Eating plans, Lifestyle Changes Support, RejuvaQi QiGong Exercises, Slim & Toned IR BodyWrap and AromaWraps forweight loss. Treatments range from active to pampering. Eachprogram is tailored and individualized for the patient’s uniquesituation. In China they say that 4 of 5 patients lose weight.Only time will tell here in the West (13).

Searches of medical literature show that all of the followingare important, lifestyle choices such as daily exercise, smartdiet choices, dealing with your “inner eating demons”. Othersare important but haven’t gotten quite as much press – properbreathing, body balance & flexibility, and constitution. Let’sface it we all come in as a unique individual with our own DNA,personality profile and favorite foods. First is the decision tolose weight, next is the right support.

This is where I believe Chinese Medicine and acupuncture forweight loss are powerful supporting tools, to help us find ourown individual paths to healthy living. It is a slow gradualreduction method. The program can stand alone or be a supportivetreatment for other weight loss or weight management programs.It takes time as the body rebalances. It worked well for me, ithas worked for others and if you are seriously looking forsupport for your weight loss, contact us to learn more about ourprograms or come in for a treatment. We’d love to share it withyou.

FOOTNOTES:

1 CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Press office,Press release 6/10/04,http://cms.hhs.gov/ncdr/searchdisplay.asp?id=57. 2 Ibid. 3FlorCruz, Jaime, Tackling Asias Growing Waistline,http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/11/02/china.obesity 4 ChristianMK Weight Loss Reduction in China, Acupuncture Today, Sept 2004,http://www.acupuncturetoday.comarchives2004/sep/09christian.html. 5http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php.display=rednews/2004/02/04/build/health/80-chinesewaistline.inc 6 Christian MK WeightLoss Reduction in China, Acupuncture Today, Sept 2004,http://www.acupuncturetoday.comarchives2004/sep/09christian.html7http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php.display=rednews/2004/02/04/build/health/80-chinesewaistline.inc 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10Christian MK Weight Loss Reduction in China, Acupuncture Today,Sept 2004,http://www.acupuncturetoday.comarchives2004/sep/09christian.html11 Ibid. 12 Second Annual Integrative Medicine Symposium:Translating Science into Clinical Practice, UCLA CollaborativeCenters for Integrative Medicine Practical MultidisciplinaryTeaching of Weight Management 13 Christian MK Weight LossReduction in China, Acupuncture Today, Sept 2004,

About the author:Debra Clydesdale LAc DNBAO is President of the Oriental Med SPA.She has been helping people improve their inner health and outerbeauty and lead healthier lives for over 15 years offeringspecialized anti-aging, weight loss, acupuncture facial renewal,and orthopoedic treatments, products and services with roots inOriental Medicine and Chinese Nutrition. She can be reachedwww.OrientalMedSPA.com.