3 Key Benefits of Moxibustion and Acupuncture for Weight Loss

19 Apr 3 Key Benefits of Moxibustion and Acupuncture for Weight Loss

In the last 12 months, roughly 49% of adults tried to lose weight. A lot of these individuals failed for a variety of reasons, from lack of commitment to frustration from not losing weight fast enough.

But some people are turning to alternative methods to try and lose weight: acupuncture for weight loss. 

What is Acupuncture, and How Does It Work?

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese form of medicine that involves inserting very thin needles into your skin (it’s not painful) at strategic points in the body. The needles are placed into one of the 2,000 acupuncture pathways in the body that are responsible for the flow of Qi, or energy flow in the body.

These energy paths often become blocked, which is believed to slow healing and can even lead to disease.

What is Moxibustion?

Moxibustion is a form of heat therapy that also comes from traditional Chinese medicine. The practice involves mugwort, which is burned and is thought to help promote healing in acupuncture. 

The practice of moxibustion helps a person maintain general health by stimulating the qi.

Indirect moxibustion is used most often with acupuncture. The indirect moxibustion method places the moxa stick close to the treatment area rather than placing it on top of the acupuncture point, which can lead to burning.

Mixing Moxibustion and Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Studies have been conducted on the efficacy of weight loss using both moxibustion and acupuncture. One 2018 study found that a 20-minute session of moxibustion was able to help participants lose 1.5 kilograms of weight, roughly equivalent to 3.3 pounds, in eight weeks compared to the control group, which lost just 0.038 kilograms.

Acupuncture works by stimulating your body’s qi to help:

• Reduce your appetite
• Increase metabolism
• Lower your stress levels

Overreactive stress is a major contributor to fat storage, which causes your body to chronically store your fat rather than burning it for energy. Since acupuncture can relieve this stress and open up the body’s energy flow, along with promoting digestion and a healthy metabolism, it’s possible to increase weight loss with acupuncture.

3 Benefits of Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Acupuncture and moxibustion can provide a substantial boost to your weight loss effort by offering significant benefits, including:

1. Appetite Suppression: Acupuncture raises the body’s serotonin levels and also the vagal nerve. Additionally, acupuncture can lead to an increase in smooth muscle tone in the stomach, which can lead to appetite suppression.
2. Metabolism: Acupuncture can help regulate your body’s lipid metabolism and help control the body’s inflammatory response.
3. Stress Reduction: Through the reduction of cortisol, or stress hormones, and the stimulation of the “feel good” hormones, acupuncture can lead to stress reduction. Less stress reduces the risk that the body will continue to store excess fat.

Multiple points in the body can help promote weight loss. When used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise, the results can be significantly amplified. Even when used on its own without any changes to diet and exercise, acupuncture for weight loss showed significant reductions in weight compared to control groups.

Try acupuncture for weight loss at Peak Life Acupuncture. We are professionally trained to help you with all your acupuncture needs. Call us at (818) 823-6721 for a free consultation.