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Weight loss is a complicated problem.
It is physically demanding and emotionally charged, but it is also full of fads of dubious efficacy.
And acupuncture? This complementary technique has gained popularity recently, and devotees say it helped them lose kilos quickly and easily.
So, how does acupuncture work to lose weight? Works? Is it for you? We have everything you need to know here. Continue learning…
The theory behind acupuncture
Acupuncture is a traditional practice of Chinese medicine that deals less with needles and more with energy.
When a person is healthy, Qi (vital energy) flows freely through a network of channels, called meridians, through the body. According to the theory, when these channels are blocked, the result is disease or pain.
Acupuncture is the insertion of beautiful needles at specific points along these meridians to eliminate blockages and promote the healthy flow of energy.
Modern doctors generally see it to stimulate or calm specific nerves, muscles, and connective tissue with sterile needles, electricity, and magnets.
Devotees of acupuncture believe that it can treat and cure everything from chronic pain to arthritis, and there are many anecdotal success stories.
However, scientific studies have found few reliable and replicable benefits for acupuncture; it generally works as a placebo in clinical trials—people who expect it to work report better results.
Despite this, many people looking to lose weight turn to acupuncture to get help.
The traditional theory is that the outer ear represents the whole body, so stimulating key points with needles and magnets around it will reduce the appetite and stimulate the metabolism.
A report published in Acupuncture for Medicine reported that obese patients who underwent five-point ear acupuncture lost more weight than patients who received one-point or sham acupuncture.
However, another article published in Eating and Weight Disorders showed that acupuncture was more helpful in treating patients’ mental health (which led to weight loss) than in stimulating weight loss on its own.
In other words, believing that you are receiving help is more important to losing weight than the treatment itself.
But there are many anecdotal stories about the benefits of acupuncture that would influence even the most skeptical.
It’s hard to argue with those before and after photos and the seductive idea that there’s a way to lose weight with needles instead of a significant lifestyle change, medication, or surgery.
Sensitive points
In general, the following points are the places where needles are inserted in acupuncture to lose weight:
The stomach: the relationship of this point is mainly with an obese person, who always seeks to eat even when it is complete.
Endocrine point: the needles are placed at this point when obesity is caused by fluid retention in the body.
The spleen: this is a point associated with hormonal imbalances, such as sugar levels.
The thyroid: this point is related to a relatively slow metabolism.
The kidney: a point that is directly related to the nervous system and water retention.
The lungs: associated with people with addiction at meals.
The mouth: this acupuncture point to lose weight has to do with people who are smokers and compulsive overeaters.
“Shenmen” point: acupuncture to control anxiety levels; a topic directly related to psychological impulses such as anxiety, loneliness, and frustration.
Ear therapy
It is an approach to stimulate specific points in the ear with tiny needles where, due to its size, it can be used at home or work. Suppresses the desire to eat compulsively.
Current research shows that needles at specific points in the ear can help regulate insulin levels.
We are what we eat
Acupuncture is an excellent alternative that should go hand in hand with a balanced diet.
This makes it necessary to adopt changes in eating habits and physical activities when undergoing acupuncture treatment to lose weight.
The diet plan would be the following:
- Eliminate foods rich in sugars and foods that quickly accumulate fat deposits.
- Take 2 liters of water per day.
- Include foods rich in fatty acids such as Omega 3 and Omega 6. These include tuna, salmon, sardines, and other types of fish and shellfish.
- Consume vegetables since they contain antioxidants. It is advisable to avoid bananas, pasta, bread, potatoes, rice, and corn, as these are rich in carbohydrates that the body can use as energy instead of fat deposits. It will simply slow down the weight loss process.
- Avoid coffee and replace it with mixtures of herbs or teas, which are not irritating.
Healthy lifestyle
Acupuncture to lose weight with their respective periodic reviews can certainly show positive feedback. Still, the procedure works best when supplemented with a healthy regular diet to help balance the body by eliminating extra kilos.
If we add at least 20 minutes of routine daily exercise, it can help the body improve on many levels.
When the procedure does not offer the desired results or if you are not entirely convinced, it can only be functional on its own with a healthy lifestyle, mainly helping to speed up the process of losing weight.
