Poke yourself slim

By Laura Lopez

From South Beach to Atkins, there are plenty of ways to lose weight. Add to the list sticking needles in your body.

Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese procedure, is the solution for some Americans who struggle with their weight. The therapy places needles in pressure points throughout the body. Each pressure point is connected to a specific organ in the body. The needles placed in these points stimulate and improve organ function.

Celebrities find the therapy to be helpful. It is rumored that Kate Moss used acupuncture to fight her drug addiction and in “Vanity Fair,” Gwyneth Paltrow said acupuncture helped her find balance in her life after the death of her father. But Hollywood isn’t the only place to notice acupuncture.

Last year, Dorine Palucci, a resident of Middletown, Del., started acupuncture sessions to minimize migraine pain. After a few sessions, Palucci says her migraines improved but, she had a new problem. The medication she took for her migraines caused her to gain weight. She asked her acupuncturist, Lorna Lee, who works at the Massage Center in Wilmington, if the therapy helped with weight gain. Lee said it could.

After her second session Palucci says she saw an improvement.

“I could stop feeling hungry,” she says.

By the sixth week, Palucci said she lost the five pounds gained on the medication.

While she offered the treatment to Palucci, Lee says she does not treat patients who want acupuncture for the sole purpose of losing weight. Lee believes acupuncture isn’t a reliable method for weight loss. Exercise and a well-balanced diet are still the best ways to drop pounds, she says. Though some patients, like Palucci, lost weight, Lee she says it isn’t the best method.

“Some people have definitely felt that it helped them, but nothing helps all the time,” Lee says.

Doug Briggs, an acupuncturist at First State Health and Wellness, says acupuncture can be part of a weight-loss program, but weight won’t be lost with acupuncture alone.

“It’s not just going to force your body to do something and drop off chunks of weight,” Briggs says.

The media influences the idea that poking people with needles will instantly shed pounds, but that’s not how acupuncture works, he says.

Jeff Cadwell, a weight-loss coach in Orange County, Calif., says he weighed 365 pounds before he began acupuncture treatment to relieve lower back pain. After starting treatment, Cadwell says he saw immediate results, losing a total of 40 pounds. Eight years later, he continues to advocate acupuncture as a means to lose weight.

“This is the healthiest way without doing any damage to your body,” he says. “I think acupuncture gives you a peace of mind, and as a result you’re not craving food.”

Siaoyan Gong, an acupuncturist at Gong Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs, has practiced acupuncture for 20 years. Gong says needles placed in pressure points on the ears help increase metabolism, but results from the treatment can vary.

“Some people after treatment lost several pounds,” she says. “Others went through several treatments before they saw results.”

Julie Senko, an acupuncturist at the West Chester Wellness Center, says she typically does not perform acupuncture to help with weight loss, but patients treated for other problems sometimes noticed a reduction in weight.

“I think acupuncture just optimizes digestive functions,” Senko says.

Pressure points on the leg affect the stomach and digestion. When people receive treatment they will notice their digestive tract works more efficiently, Senko says.

Along with metabolism, she says the ear is a pressure point for cravings. Patients looking to suppress their hunger may find acupuncture helpful. However, acupuncture alone will not burn fat, Senko says. The majority of patients lost weight because they were motivated to do so. Acupuncture just increased their energy, she says.

Unless a patient is seeking treatment for additional reasons, acupuncture is an impractical method for weight loss, Senko says.

“It’s just more expensive,” she says. “I think most people don’t want to come in multiple times a week for treatment.”

Senko says three to four treatments cost approximately $100 at her office and run as high as $500 at others.

An appealing factor of acupuncture is the lack of negative side effects, she says.

Though there’s nothing wrong with acupuncture, Lee says, patients should be wary about the acupuncturist they use.

Delaware doesn’t license acupuncturists, she says, increasing the odds of being treated by a nonprofessional. Patients should use practitioners who are certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Betsy Smith, Associate Director for NCCAOM, says there are dangers to visiting an uncertified acupuncturist.

“Anyone can set up a practice,” she says.

The main concern is the use of un-sterile needles. Smith says in Ontario, Canada, there was a dermatological outbreak among patients of an acupuncturist who reused needles. Now, there are regulations in Canada.

“It seems you would want to have regulation before that happens,” she says.

Eights states do not license acupuncturist, Smith says. Patients who live in a state without regulation can visit NCCAMO’s Web site, http://www.NCCAMO.org, to find a list of certified acupuncturists. To be certified, acupuncturists must complete 1,905 hours of schooling in acupuncture and 450 hours in biomedicine from an accredited school. In addition to schooling, acupuncturist must complete a series of five tests totaling eight hours.

Since 1982, when the commission was established, approximately 22,000 acupuncturists have been licensed, Smith says. There is a growing trend in Chinese medicine, Smith says, and it is not likely to slow down soon.