How does acupuncture work?  Why is acupuncture effective?  When you ask an acupuncturist, they will talk of the life force known as Qi or Chi coursing along pathways, channels or meridians.  To a lay person the language used to describe acupuncture treatment sounds alien.

The western medical community observed that acupuncture was effective.  They sought to know why it was effective so they performed studies before and after acupuncture, using blood draws to measure biomedical changes in the body.

Here are the 5 prevailing theories of how acupuncture works using western medical terminology.

The Gate Control Theory: Pain signals must pass through a number of high traffic gates as they move from the area of injury upward through the spinal cord into the brain. Like a road or a highway, these nerves can only handle a limited number of nerve signals at one time. Acupuncture generates competing stimulus and effectively interrupts the neurotransmitters of the pain signals from reaching the brain. This results in the patient never getting the pain signal and therefore never getting the pain. This is the most popular theory among Western scientists.

The Augmentation Theory: Acupuncture raises levels of triglycerides, specific hormones, prostaglandins, white blood cells (WBC’s), gamma globulins, opsonins and overall anti-body levels. This is why acupuncture can treat disorders relating to immune deficiencies. Raising WBC’s can help every patient. According to research, more and more conditions are being linked with a weak immune system. Whether or not you are immune compromised, you always want your immune system as strong as possible and this is a positive bi-product of all acupuncture treatments.

The Endorphin Theory: Acupuncture stimulates the secretion of endorphins in the body (specifically Enkephalins). Endorphins are our bodies’ natural painkillers. They are 1000 times stronger than morphine.

The Neurotransmitter Theory: This states that certain neurotransmitter levels (such as Seratonin and Noradrenaline) are affected by Acupuncture. This is why acupuncture is so successful with depression, mood disorders and weight loss. Seratonin levels are affected by sugar intake and low Seratonin levels may cause cravings for sugar. This is why people feel so amazing after a treatment.

The Circulatory Theory: There is an effect of constricting or dilating of blood vessels, from doing acupuncture. A possible explanation of this is the release of the body’s vasodilators (such as Histamine), in response to acupuncture. Increasing circulation of fresh red blood cells (RBC’s) and WBC’s to an injured area helps to create a faster healing process. Acupuncture is very effective in treating edema by this concept of promoting dilation.

“When a person is sick the doctor should first regulate the person’s diet and lifestyle” – Sun Si Miao

Many patients present with some kinds of digestive issues, even if only loose stools, bloating after eating, indigestion or food sensitivity. This tells us that the Earth element needs to be addressed for these patients.

The Earth element (Spleen and Stomach) is vital for our health and well-being. It is responsible for extracting the Gu Qi (‘grain qi’) from food, which is then turned into Qi and Blood for the whole body. The post-heaven Jing is also derived from our food. Because the Shen resides in the Blood, and requires strong Qi and Jing in order to flourish, it also depends on a healthy and strong Earth element. Dampness and Phlegm, so often seen in clinical practice, are also produced by the Spleen. All aspects of our health therefore rely on the process of digestion.

A ‘Spleen friendly’ diet is helpful in a wide range of digestive imbalances.

For instance – The ‘healthy diet’ of Chinese medicine consists of a number of basic points which make digestion as easy as possible, in order to extract maximum goodness (in the form of Gu Qi) from our food:

• Always eat breakfast

• Don’t eat late at night (the weak time for the Spleen and Stomach is 7-11pm)

• Favour warm and cooked food over cold and raw food

• Chew well

• Don’t “flood the Spleen” by drinking too much fluid with meals

• Eat a varied diet, and avoid extremes

• Don’t eat ‘on the go’ or when emotionally agitated

• Avoid too much Damp producing food (dairy products, sugar, wheat etc.)

• Avoid unnatural, processed and refined food

• Don’t overeat

The most common kinds of digestive issues is as follows:

• Too much meat in the diet, leading to Heat and Stagnation

• Too many spicy or rich foods, leading to Heat, Dampness and Phlegm

• Too few vegetables, or a lack of good quality food leading to Qi and Blood deficiency

• Too many Damp foods (especially dairy products and sugar) leading to Dampness and Phlegm

• Too much coffee, leading to Yin deficiency and Heat

Each food has an energetic temperature that effects the Qi of the stomach and spleen. For every patient with internal Heat avoiding Hot foods will help, and for every patient with Cold avoiding Cold foods will help. This is a simple but powerful way of starting to work with food, without getting too complex.

Almost everyone thinks that salads and raw foods are good for them, but easily see the sense in sticking to mainly warm and cooked foods because much extra effort by the stomach is required to process the cold raw food.

Drinking ginger tea or chai is very simple for Yang deficient people, cabbage or beetroot soup for Blood deficiency, and lemon juice in hot water for Damp-Heat or Qi Stagnation.

Eating a “Spleen friendly” diet can improve the success of almost any acupuncture treatment, and in some cases can be the missing element which is preventing an acupuncture treatment from working. All cases of Spleen disharmony or any patient that presents with digestive issues will benefit from the basic ‘Spleen friendly’ healthy eating advice, and for deficiency cases, this alone can make a huge difference to a person’s health.

Supporting patients with basic cooking ideas or recipes and working with diet and lifestyle as Sun Si Miao recommended, can get to the root of many problems, and help patients to truly heal.

Further Reading

Leggett, Daverick. Recipes For Self Healing (Totnes, Meridian Press, 1999)
Flaws, Bob. The Tao of Healthy Eating (Boulder, Blue Poppy Press, 1998)
Ni, Maoshing and McNease, Cathy. The Tao of Nutrition (California, Severn Star Communications, 1987)
Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods (North Atlantic Books, 2002)
For using Chinese herbs in cooking
Liu, Jilin. Chinese Dietary Therapy (Churchill Livingstone, 1995)
Flaws, Bob. The Book Of Jook (Boulder, Blue Poppy Press, 1995)
In addition, basic advice for the main imbalances can be quite straightforward. For example, for Yang deficiency we should avoid energetically Cold foods (mango, bananas, tofu etc), use hot cooking methods such as baking, and eat more Warming foods such as Lamb, Trout, and most spices.

When I meet a new patient, I wonder, “Who is this person? How is she feeling? What does she need to become whole on all levels — physical, emotional and spiritual?” To find out, I ask deeper questions about her well-being in order to find the symptom’s cause and treat it.

Any symptom a patient reports can be the result of an imbalance in one of the five elements — Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. Once this happens, the imbalance can spread throughout the body, because all five elements are connected like members of a family. When one member is sick, unable or unwilling to do his tasks, the rest of the family suffers. In time, they all become symptomatic, too.

Because symptoms and imbalances are interrelated in this way, I need to know more than just that my patient has migraines, arthritis or insomnia. Those symptoms can be the result of imbalances in any organ or function, so I have to find the elemental cause.

In classical five-element acupuncture, this is done through the senses — perceiving the odor (yes, odor!), color, sound, and emotion that identifies which element is out of balance. Then I work empathetically — feeling what the patient feels in order to understand the level of disease.

If a roof gutter fills with leaves, water may stagnate rather than drain, encouraging clogging and the growth of unwanted seedlings. In the same way, when the body’s gutters and drains stop flowing, manipulation of an acupuncture point opens and clears out stagnation, encourages flow and returns the body to a balanced state so that it can heal itself.

Symptoms are the body’s distress signals, clues to what’s going on inside. When symptoms are suppressed by prescription drugs, the body is being told to “shut up!” But centuries of Chinese medicine have demonstrated the wisdom of listening.

Today is the first day of Autumn. The time of year when the sun crosses the celestrial equator and moves toward in the northern hemisphere – the Autumnal equinox. The sun is beginning to set earlier and rise later as the leaves turn multi shades of red, orange and yellow.

Fall has arrived and now is the time to harvest the bounty that grew during the summer so we can store up for the cold winter ahead.  It is a time to organize, work hard, and finish projects you began in spring and summer.

Chinese medicine recognizes the change in nature and gives us practical tools to live in balance with this season according to nature’s laws. Ancient Chinese physicians observed the natural cycles of the season and have given us tips for the best daily practices for staying healthy and harmonizing our own energy with that of the environment.

“In the three months of autumn all things in nature reach their full maturity.  The grains ripen and harvesting occurs.  The heavenly energy cools, as does the weather.  The wind begins to stir.  This is the changing or pivoting point when the yang, or active, phase turns into its opposite, the yin, or passive, phase.  One should retire with the sunset and arise with the dawn.  Just as the weather in autumn turns harsh, so does the emotional climate.  It is therefore important to remain calm and peaceful, refraining from depression so that one can make the transition to winter smoothly.  This is the time to gather one’s spirit and energy, be more focused, and not allow desires to run wild.  One must keep the lung energy free, full, clean and quiet.  This means practicing breathing exercises to enhance lung Qi.  Also, one should refrain from smoking and grief, the emotion of lung.  This will prevent the kidney or digestive problems in the winter.  If this natural order is violated, damage will occur to the lungs, resulting in diarrhea with undigested food in the winter.  This compromises the body’s ability to store in winter”. -Huangdi Neijing Suwen

Fall is the perfect time to reflect as it is associated with the metal element which according to Chinese medicine, governs the mind, organization, order and stability. We tend to be more reflective, turning inward to our work, our families and our homes during this time.  It is a time to organize and prepare for the winter season ahead and a time to reflect on our lives.

Emotionally, this is the season associated with grief and sadness.  It is important to keep the mind clear and “let go” of negative emotions, which can impact health more strong during the fall.

Associated Organs:  Lungs and Large Intestine

Fall corresponds to the lungs, skin, and large intestine. The lungs and large intestine are in charge of respiration, digestion, and elimination.  Common symptoms associated with lung and large intestine imbalances are respiratory problems, such as asthma, shortness of breath, frequent colds, and sinus infections, as well as constipation and skin problems.

Fall Imbalances Produce Symptoms

The body is particularly susceptible to wind and cold during the fall. Dryness can cause symptoms of coughing, dry nose, sore throat, dry skin, dry hair and scalp, dry mouth and cracked lips, and hard and dry stools.  Adding more nourishing yin foods to your diet can promote body fluid, soothe the lungs and protect you from dryness.

Fall Seasonal Eating

Eat fewer cold, uncooked foods – such as salads, and more warm, cooked foods.  Switch from salads to soups and steamed vegetables such as winter squash, winter peas, broccoli, sweet potatoes and yams.  Incorporate yellow and red foods into your meals.  Start your day with hot otameal.

Warm and Nourishing foods and herbs to add to your Fall diet:

Apple, Banana, Beets, Bell pepper, Bok choy, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Cinnamon, Cranberry, Figs, Garlic, Ginger, Grapes, Horseradish, Leeks, Pears, Persimmons, Plums, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Red Cabbage, Rosemary, Sage, Spinach, Thyme, Whole grains, Wild rice, Winter squash, Yam

Protect Your Lung Qi

Lung 7 is one of the most powerful poins on the lung channel.  It is a popular acupuncture point to use for stopping a persistent cough and relieving a sore throat.  Lung 7 is often used to treat conditions related to the head and neck, such as headaches, migraines, stiff neck, facial paralysis, and toothache.

Lung 7 is considered to be the ”command point” of the head and neck and is also used to improve circulation in the brain and stimulate memory.

Lung 7 is located above the wrist on the inside of the arm.
To find this point, interlock your thumb and index finger of one hand with those of the other, the point lies on the edge of the index finger, in a depression between the sinew and the bone on the thumb side of the wrist.

Stimulate this point on both hands with the tip of your index finger for approximately 30 seconds or until your cough subsides.

I tell my patients that acupuncture has a cumulative effect and that scheduling a series of treatments is the most effective way to help resolve imbalances. Why is this so? The endorphin theory.

Bruce Pomeranz, M.D., PhD., a neurophysiology professor at the University of Toronto School of Medicine and one of the world’s foremost acupuncture researchers, has reviewed more than a dozen studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture.

To challenge the belief of many conventional doctors that acupuncture simply produces a placebo effect, Dr. Pomeranz spent 20 years trying to disprove his hypothesis that acupuncture blocks pain pathways in the brain. Put another way, the question was, does acupuncture stimulate peripheral nerves that send messages to the brain to release endorphins (morphine-like compounds)?

A Chinese student working in his lab studied acupuncture as anesthesia on animals. If it was a placebo, then it should not work, he reasoned, because  placebos only work if the patient is conscious. The student had previously observed that acupuncture worked on farm animals and infants, who cannot experience the placebo effect. His experiments on anesthetized animals demonstrated that what acupuncture actually does is block pain pathways.

In testing the acupuncture-endorphin theory, Dr. Pomeranz tested 16 lines of evidence with 16 different kinds of experiments based on 16 different assumptions—all supporting his hypothesis. He concluded that there was more evidence in favor of the acupuncture-endorphin hypothesis than there is for 95% of conventional medical treatments.

Dr. Pomeranz says the advantage of the endorphin theory is that you can improve acupuncture treatment. Endorphins have a cumulative effect. The first treatment is mildly effective, the second, if given within hours or days, is even more potent. Endorphins have a memory. If you give an acupuncture treatment a third time in close succession, it’s going to be even stronger.