HOW ACUPUNCTURE FACILITATES WEIGHT LOSS
In Springtime we shake off the winter sluggishness and activate our warm weather body. How best to improve our emotional and metabolic bathing suit body?? Well, everyone knows that Acupuncture is great for inflammation and joint pain. It is not widely known however, that Acupuncture enhances metabolism to burn more fat; reduces appetite, detoxifies the digestive system, reduces cravings and addictions, and improves circulation and energy.

Research supports the use of Acupuncture for weight loss: A 2003 study published in The Journal of Medical Acupuncture found that participants receiving acupuncture lost more than three times more weight than the control group.
In a study conducted by the University of Adelaide in Australia in 1998, 95 % of the participants receiving electro-stimulation on acupuncture points reported appetite suppression. The results showed that the acupuncture group was more likely to experience a reduced appetite and to lose weight than the control group.
Acupuncture addresses the internal organs that determine our weight issues. Often an imbalance in the pancreas and liver leads to fatigue, slow metabolism, water retention, loose stool, a feeling of heaviness, and the “triggers” that lead to cravings and compulsive eating.

Furthermore, in Chinese medicine, each major organ has it own related emotion in a feedback loop. Sometimes the organ is weak and starts the emotion; in other instances it’s the emotion that then causes a problem in the organ. If the lungs are weak, they can lead to sadness and likewise, excessive grief will in turn damage the lungs. A toxic liver can lead to anger or depression and then these states can damage the liver. Likewise, obsessive thinking and over eating damages the spleen and excessive fear damages the kidneys.

When a patient has extended depression, anxiety or other emotional stress, this damages the spirits and eventually destroys the balanced relationships of the five-organ system. The emotional obstruction results in overeating from stress and further disables the transformation and transportation of food essence. Then obesity occurs. In my practice, I have seen patients restore their previous normal metabolism, lose their aches and pains that are produced by out-of-control fat cells, and regain their good energy and good sleep.

From a Western perspective, acupuncture and herbal formulas have been shown to balance the nervous, endocrine, and digestive systems, food cravings, and metabolism. In turn this helps to energize the body, maximize nutrient absorption, normalize elimination, control overeating, suppress the appetite, and reduce anxiety. Most patients report a marked decline in appetite and cravings with acupuncture alone but herbs, healing foods, and exercises can definitely enhance the efficacy of the treatments.

I always seek to work on the deepest levels of mind and body to really enhance the patient in all aspect of life and life style--for a long term effect. The patient then feels 'fed' by so many more energizing energies other than only Food!

Author's Bio: 

Dr. Kathleen Rosenblatt, L.Ac, PhD, OMD co-founded the first Acupuncture clinic in the U.S—at UCLA, and also the first four Acupuncture colleges. Author of Rene Daumal: The Life & Work of a Mystic Guide(SUNY Press & also published in Paris), Kathleen is particularly focused on the spiritual dimension of health and specializes in depression and panic disorders as well as pain and pathology. She explains that the mind inhabits the entire body, so patients can experience a deep sense of reunification through the body's endorphin network. Her treatment aims at harnessing the radiant energy that bathes every cell of our psycho-neuro-immune system. Kathleen is currently writing a book on the era of the Baby Boomers.