Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be helpful for weight loss and other digestive issues, like acid reflux, irritable bowel, or stomach pain. This article offers suggestions on how to get the most out of your acupuncture treatments for digestive disorders.

Pay attention to timing: Spring and summer are the best time to start a weight-loss plan* because we naturally eat less and eat lighter foods during this time (once the fall season arrives, your needs to store energy for winter, so it is best to give your body a rest from trying to lose weight). Any time of year is appropriate to address other digestive issues, and your acupuncturist can help guide you towards the foods that are most helpful for each season.

Keep a food journal: A food journal will help you to identify which foods are triggering your symptoms or cravings, so that you can avoid them.

Clarify the issue: If weight loss has been a problem for you, do you know why? Do you face severe food cravings, is your energy level too low to exercise, does your metabolism seemed to have slowed down? Each of these complaints will need a different treatment strategy, so tell your acupuncturist what issues you are facing. If you are suffering from other digestive disorders, make sure that you have had a complete medical checkup so that you know the root cause of your symptoms.

Be careful of dietary supplements: Most over the counter weight-loss supplements contain laxatives and caffeine, which can be hard on your digestive system. There are much more gentle traditional Chinese herbal formulas that can both encourage weight loss as well as strengthen the digestive system. There are also Chinese herbs and over-the-counter supplements for other digestive complaints; ask your acupuncturist for suggestions.

Be realistic: Many of my patients succeed in losing weight; they realize that to be effective, acupuncture must be combined with a healthy diet and some form of exercise. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs should be seen as another tool in your weight-loss toolbox, but are by no means miracle cures. Similarly, if you have digestive problems but you continue to eat foods that trigger your symptoms, acupuncture will be a band-aid solution at best. In either case, acupuncture can take several weeks to see a difference, so be patient—your acupuncturist will consult with you about the number of treatments necessary for your condition.

*Disclaimer: check with your doctor first

Patients often ask me if Chinese acupuncturists really practice community acupuncture. A recent blog post to the Community Acupuncture Network website does a great job explaining how patients are treated in hospitals in Shanghai. Follow the link for the full text. An excerpt is below. As you can see, the Chinese clinics are actually a lot busier and nosier than community acupuncture practices here in the United States (but both get great results)!

“I conducted my acupuncture internship at Yueyang Hospital. Inpatients often receive acupuncture every day, while outpatients normally receive acupuncture 3 times a week. At the outpatient acupuncture department, patients start lining up as early as 6 in the morning for treatment. The department doesn’t open until 8 a.m., but there are no appointments – treatment is given on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you’re a new patient, the doctor will do a brief intake in her office. The office functions as the intake area as well as the place where the doctor and interns wash their hands, rinse out bloody cups, give injections into acupuncture points, insert ear seeds, check patients’ blood pressure, and even treat patients if the rest of the treatment area is full. It is a hive of activity, and by no means private.

The doctor will review the patient’s chart, ask questions, and check the tongue and pulse. Then the patient goes to the treatment area. The doctor with whom I studied, Dr. Zong, supervises an area of 8 tables and 3 chairs. The main area (pictured below) contains 4 tables and 3 chairs. There are curtains which can be used to provide privacy, but these are rarely used.

Each doctor is followed by a troupe of 2 to 4 clinical interns. Dr. Zong is in charge of the study-abroad program for international students, so there is also a group of 4 to 5 foreign students following her as well. As you can imagine, the treatment room is anything but quiet. Patients are chatting with other patients; interns are running around cupping, applying moxa, and removing needles; and Dr. Zong is calmly and methodically moving from patient to patient. As soon as one patient leaves, another takes his place. There is no time to change the sheets or even pause for a breath.

If you’re a returning patient, as soon as it’s your turn, you go right to your chair or table. Dr. Zong will come to you and do the intake right in the treatment room. There is no whispering here, no hushed voices. It would be hard to hear a whisper over the din. One of the first words you learn upon arriving in China is renao, which literally means “hot and noisy.” Renao has a very positive connotation. A place that is not renao feels empty and sad. Chinese clinics are very renao.”

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“In the midst of the noise and through the haze of the moxa smoke, healing is taking place here. One of my favorite patients was being treated for schizophrenia, and she said that the treatment had allowed her to feel stable enough to return to work. Another patient with partial paralysis was able to get down from the treatment table by herself. This is truly a people’s medicine clinic, and the medicine works. Patients typically come at the same times each week and get to know each other. Husbands and wives come together, mothers bring their sons. There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie in the treatment room. They share the road to health together.

While those of us in the West may prefer a quieter room with some relaxing music in the background, Chinese acupuncture clinics and Community Acupuncture clinics are essentially the same: no fuss, no bother, a focus on the treatment itself and not on the interaction with the doctor, and high quality acupuncture at a low cost. Chinese acupuncture is Community Acupuncture.”

Starting in July, we are offering a new program at River Valley Acupuncture. Each month, I will pick one profession to recognize as a valuable part of our community. Any worker in that profession will receive their first acupuncture treatment free, during that month only.

The profession for July is anyone in the food service industry. When I was in college, one of my favorite jobs was working as a cashier at the school’s fast food restaurant. I got to see my friends and meet new people… though I did come home smelling like fryer grease! I also did a brief stint working as a waitress, so I know how hard these folks work.

So please, pass the word! Waitstaff, cafeteria workers, cooks, bakers, and anyone else in the food service industry can try their first treatment for free, from July 1-July 30.

Do you have friends who have been meaning to try acupuncture but haven’t gotten around to it? Today would be a great day for them to check it out.

River Valley Acupuncture has partnered with The Local Deal to offer new patients 2 acupuncture treatments for $25. The regular cost for two acupuncture treatments at River Valley ranges from $40-$80!

This deal is available today only (Wednesday, June 9, 2010). If you click on The Local Deal’s website anytime after today, you will get an offer for a different business.

So, take advantage! Please tell your friends about this offer right away!

I am so lucky to have a job where I can spend time with interesting, caring, and sincere people—my patients!

I would like to do a series of interviews for our website that profile different patients and their feelings about acupuncture. Please let me know if you would be willing to be featured.