Acupuncture for Weight Loss

An ancient Chinese medical practice call Acupuncture has been tested for weight loss. Acupuncture is rooted in the belief that the balance of vital energy influences a person’s health. When your vital energy is in balance, you’re healthy. Acupuncture helps balance a person’s vital energy by stimulating specific meridian points to promote circulation and healing.

Traditional acupuncture uses very thin needles to stimulate meridian points on the body. Meridian points are located all over the body, such as the face, chest, legs, or ears. For weight loss, acupuncture points on the ear are commonly used. Both acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine treat obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, chronic pain, insomnia problems, back and neck pain, and more.

Acupuncture may help you lose weight by improving your digestion, reduce stress (emotional eating), increasing metabolism, and appetite control.

But What Does Science Say?

To answer this, we’ll look at clinical studies that have used acupuncture to enhance weight loss.

Appetite

Acupuncture helps with weight loss by suppressing an appetite. In a study conducted by Richards and Marley (1998), they aimed to determine the effect of hitting acupuncture points connected with appetite suppression.

The acupuncture participants were assigned randomly to either an experimental or placebo group. This trial lasted for four weeks. After the test, 95% of the experimental group reported appetite suppression, while none of the placebo group reported such a change. Furthermore, weight loss was significantly higher in the experimental group.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16393882/

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9679359/

Digestion

Acupuncture could help with weight loss by aiding with the digestion process.

In this 2016 study by Liu, they tried to determine the effect of acupuncture for Chronic Severe Functional Constipation (CSFC). By the end of the test, they concluded that acupuncture aids in increasing Complete Spontaneous Bowel Movements (CSBM).

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27618593/

Hormones

Acupuncture could help with weight loss by regulating several hormones directly or indirectly linked to weight loss.

Cortisol:

Currently, the link regarding acupuncture and cortisol secretion remains vague. Several studies reviewed by Lim, noted the connection between the mentioned variables. The review ended by stating the difficulty of determining the link due to the conflicting results of the studies.

The belief is that acupuncture could help with decreasing the stress hormone. In turn, this is supposed to help lessen stress or emotional eating. However, further studies are needed to solidify this claim.

Source: https://www.jkom.org/upload/31-6%2004(21~28).pdf

Leptin & Insulin:

In this following study conducted by Zhao et al. (2018), the authors tried to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture on prediabetic patients. The patients were randomly assigned to three groups, and the tests continued for 12 weeks. Findings show that acupuncture reduced the participants’ insulin and leptin resistance. Both are known to contribute to appetite regulation.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30232854/

Serotonin:

In the study by Richards and Marley (1998) mentioned earlier, it was believed that acupuncture increases serotonin levels. This, in turn, was expected to help in appetite suppression.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9679359/

Ghrelin:

Ghrelin is also called the hunger hormone. Hisayuki Ito conducted a study in 2015 to discover the mechanisms (he believes) by which acupuncture works.

The participants were assigned randomly to either an acupuncture or placebo group. Ito and his colleagues tracked the ghrelin levels and changes in body weight of the acupuncture group. They varied significantly from the control group. The researchers concluded that acupuncture reduces the participants’ appetites in the acupuncture group by suppressing ghrelin production.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4599151/

Could it Possibly Replace Exercise?

No. It couldn’t and shouldn’t replace exercise and healthy diets when it comes to weight loss. Experts have stated and reiterated that it should only be done combined with exercising or eating healthy, or both.

Going Under The Needle?

If thinking about trying acupuncture to lose weight, consider the following:

• Discuss the option of trying acupuncture with your primary care professional.

• Make sure your acupuncture practitioner is accredited and licensed in your state.

• With the practitioner, discuss the length and number of sessions expected to reach your goal.

• Check your medical insurance to see if it covers any acupuncture treatments.

Source:

https://www.healthline.com/health/acupuncture-for-weight-loss

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2019-02-14/can-acupuncture-help-you-lose-weight

Disclaimer

The content and information contained in this article are for informational purposes only. The information provided in this article is not and must not be taken as an alternative to any advice by a doctor, physician, or medical professional.

The author, John Iovine, has narrated his research experiences in this article by observing and evaluating facts and figures. The reliance on the facts and figures has been done in good faith and believed to be reliable according to the author’s best knowledge. The sources of referenced information could change or be updated in the future. The author cannot guarantee the validity and accuracy of the sources, which may change, be modified, updated, or removed in the future, and thus, disclaims himself from any such changes, modifications, updates, and removals.