Acupuncture

Introduction

Acupuncture has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years for several conditions. The National Institutes of Health produced a Consensus Statement stating that it has some beneficial effects for dental pain after surgery, throwing-up after cancer chemotherapy, joint pain, muscle pain, addictions, and asthma.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine system holds that a life force (Qi) goes through energy pathways in the body called meridians. When Qi is out of balance, it causes disease. Different acupoints on the body are connected to meridians that correspond to different organs in out bodies. By stimulating these points, an acupuncturist trys to re-balance the Qi.

The Western, more scientific, view is that it exerts its effects by stimulating nerves your body. The nerves send signals back to the brain and spinal cord which in turn release their own chemical signals.

How It Is Used in Weight loss

There are a few different types of acupuncture. Auricular (ear) acupuncture is the most commonly used method for weight loss. Several nerves go to the ear. One, called the vagus nerve, shares a common path to the brain with some of the nerves of the digestive tract. Stimulation of these nerves in the ear may interfere with appetite signals from the digestive organs.

Some studies on rats suggest that this affects the part of the brain that deals with feeling hungry. Placing the needles at differect points may cause the release of chemicals called endorphins which can lead to improved mood. This improvement in mood may also help people to eat less.

Scientific Studies (i.e. Does acupunture work?)

Most studies on acupuncture for weight loss are not randomized controlled trials, which are considered to be the best type of scientific studies. Some of these lower quality studies reported positive weight loss effects.

There are a few higher quality studies. Most of these showed some beneficial effect on weight loss, but others showed that it did not help. Several of these studies had some technical issues that made it difficult to interpret their data.

Currently, there is a lot of room to improve upon these scientific studies. The biggest improvements in future research would be in standardizing the way acupuncture is performed and in having a appropriate controls in which to compare for any real effects.

Side Effects / Risks

As with almost every intervention, there are risks involved. The needles can cause pain, inflammation, and occasionally infection. One study found that only the minor side effects of bruising, dizziness, sweating, discomfort, and skin irritation occurred. However, there have been reports of serious side effects including infection, fluid build up around the heart, spine lesions, and punctured lungs.

Conclusion

Overall, this seems to be a safe addition to weight loss in the short term. Most studies are not of high quality. Of those that are higher quality, acupuncture seems to only have a small added effect and there are still technical difficulties in interpreting the data from these studies. In the end, there is no convincing scientific evidence that acupuncture is effective for reducing body weight.