Why Ear Acupuncture For Losing Weight Works

Ear acupuncture for losing weight has been practiced for centuries even if the thought of piercing needles into various parts of one's ear sounds strange or crazy.

The ear, in Orientle Medicine, is a micro-system with points that match up some vital organs in the body. One's appetite can be curbed once the needles are inserted into these points and your binging and overeating can be prevented while your metabolism can be speeded up.

Endorphins are released and you'll feel calmer after ear acupuncture is administered. One's stress, anxiety, and frustration will be relieved with the aid of these endorphins. What actually lead to overeating and cravings for fattening, unhealthy foods are often ascribed to these feelings.

Similar to needles, this acupuncture also stimulates the same points but with the use of laser.

The metabolism is therefore slowed down while your determination to keep away from overeating and eating unhealthy foods is fortified.

Increasing the Effectiveness of Ear Acupuncture for fat Loss

A patient is required to apply mild pressure to the bead or magnet if he/she starts to feel hungry during the treatment process. In this way, endorphins are released helping the patient to curb his appetite.

The effectiveness of ear acupuncture for weight loss treatment doesn't mean that it is cure-all or miracle.

Certain points on the ear that match up the mouth for impulsive eaters, the lung for food and sugar addicts, and the endocrine system for water retention are helpful in ear acupuncture for weight loss treatment.

Chinese herbal treatment and breathing techniques are combined with ear acupuncture for best results.

This is for real. Ear acupuncture for weight loss treatment can be the way out to your weight problem and the treatment is proven to be highly effective. This can help you achieve your weight loss goals easily and quickly more than you expect especially with the help of other treatments and the necessary diet and exercise routine.

So, let me examine this issue with you in detail. How real is this possibility that Chinese medicine can help you with weight loss? To do that, we'll have to look at several therapies, including acupuncture, diet modification, and exercise. And the first thing we're going to do is look at the research. We'll talk about the quality of the research, and the conclusions of each study. If the results are bad, we'll try to figure out why. If they're good, we'll make sure the study quality was good too.

It's likely that given the thousands of possible acupuncture point selections, and herbal formulas, that there may not be any research on certain parts of the Chinese medicine weight loss plan. Remember that there are levels of evidence- the best is certainly the level 1 double-blind placebo controlled study (considered the "gold standard" or best kind), and the worst is level 8, conjecture or common sense - but in between, when there are no gold standard studies, a level 5 series of patient cases (without a control group) does count for something. It may not be rock solid evidence, but neither is it easily dismissed. They demonstrate the need for more research.

An Outcome Study Using Traditional Criteria

In a 2003 Chinese study, 40 men and women (7 male) fit a specific set of symptoms , which in Chinese medicine define a pattern called Yang Ming Replete Heat. The patients also all had greater than 20 BMI's, and more than 30% body fat. A specific acupuncture protocol , which often included electroacupuncture, was followed.

After 1 to 4 courses of treatment (which usually means 10-40 treatments, and in China they often treat every day or every other day), the results were as follows:

* Two cases (5%) were clinically controlled, and had fat reduction of up to 30%.
* Thirteen cases (32.5%) seeing a 9-10% reduction in percentage of fat.
* Twelve cases (30%) got a 5-8% reduction in percentage of fat.
* Ten cases (25%) experienced a 2-5% reduction in percentage of fat.
* Three cases (7.5%) got no result. Therefore, the total effectiveness rate was calculated as 92.5%.

The important characteristics of this study, which may be essential to acupuncture weight loss success, were:

* Pattern differentiation: Usage of points based on the Chinese medical pattern (Yang Ming replete heat), rather than just one point prescription for all weight loss situations
* Strong needle technique: Typically, Chinese acupuncturists use strong needle technique, which produces strong sensations for the patient. Not all acupuncturists practice this way. In fact, Japanese acupuncturists barely puncture the skin. Plus, some patients are quite needle sensitive, and Americans are pain phobic, so not all patients will allow this kind of treatment.
* Electro-acupuncture: This may be enough even if the previous technique is not used. The electricity increases the stimulation of the points.

As translator Bob Flaws goes on to discuss, most patients cannot see an acupuncturist this often, but herbs can be added to the treatment strategy to take up the slack. This is also where food selection according to Chinese medical pattern diagnosis, and the right exercise program come in.