health medical clinic

Understanding Acupuncture and Its Principles
The Fundamentals of Qi and Meridians
Acupuncture is rooted in the Chinese philosophy of yin (passive) and yang (active) energies. An imbalance between these energies is believed to block the flow of qi, leading to illness. Acupuncture seeks to restore this balance by inserting fine needles at specific points along the body’s meridians. There are traditionally 14 to 20 meridians, with over 2,000 acupuncture points identified for therapeutic manipulation.

Modern Research and Clinical Applications
Recent studies have expanded our understanding of acupuncture’s efficacy. For instance, a 2003 study published in The Journal of Medical Acupuncture found that participants undergoing acupuncture for weight loss shed three times more weight than those not receiving the treatment. This suggests a significant potential for acupuncture in complementing traditional weight loss methods involving diet and exercise.

Acupuncture in Contemporary Healthcare Settings
Integration with Western Medicine
Unlike Western medicine, which often focuses on alleviating symptoms, acupuncture aims to treat the underlying cause of disease. This holistic approach is gaining traction in Western healthcare, with many practitioners using acupuncture as an adjunct therapy to enhance outcomes in treatments ranging from pain management to allergy relief.

Acupuncture and Personal Training
In London, some personal training centers are now incorporating acupuncture into their regimes. This integration is based on the premise that acupuncture can enhance physical strength and aid in weight management, potentially revolutionizing approaches to fitness and well-being.

Patient Experiences and Treatment Protocols
Treatment Frequency and Duration
Acupuncture treatments typically last between 45 minutes to an hour, with the frequency depending on the severity of the condition being treated. Some practitioners recommend twice-weekly sessions for optimal results, especially in cases targeting weight loss.

Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes
Patients often report high satisfaction with acupuncture treatments due to the minimal side effects and the perceived speed of results, particularly in areas such as weight loss and pain relief.

Conclusion
Acupuncture represents a fascinating blend of ancient tradition and modern medical practice. Its growing acceptance in Western healthcare highlights an increasing appreciation for holistic treatment approaches that prioritize long-term wellness over short-term symptom relief. As research continues to uncover the mechanisms and benefits of acupuncture, it is likely that its integration into mainstream medicine will deepen, offering patients a complementary tool in their health and wellness journeys.

For those interested in exploring this treatment, The British Acupuncture Council provides resources and information on certified practitioners across the UK. Additionally, insights into the scientific backing of acupuncture can be found through The Journal of Medical Acupuncture.

This evolving practice not only underscores the potential of traditional methods in modern settings but also encourages a broader, more inclusive view of health management that spans cultures and centuries.

Written by Phil Satterfield
If you are like most people I know, you have tried one diet after another. They decide one day that they are going on a diet and BANG they suddenly dieting. Many times when people do this they just stop eating, or eat very little. If they follow a diet plan many times it is a crash diet, which promises some large amount of weight loss in a short period of time.

As many people find out neither one these approaches work well. Why don’ they work?
There are several reasons. The first reason, especially if someone drastically reduces what they eat, they get hungry, and you can only drink so much ice water, until you need real food. Many diet plans leave you hungry as well.

Another reason diets fail is because; many diet plans are designed to work for all of us. I feel that is a problem. We are all made differently, we have different tastes and situations, so how can we expect the diet plan that worked for our friend, will work for us.

A third reason, that many dieters fail is because they just jump into a diet with out really thinking about it. We need to have goal and a plan to reach our weight loss goals. Just starting a diet one day, even a great diet program, can quickly lead to burn out. If one day you are eating what you want and the next day, you are eating tofu and carrots, which is too drastic of a difference for most people. As a they cannot stay on the diet for long.

These are three reasons diets fail. So, how can we make a diet a success?

First, get in a mindset to lose weight. Stop using the word diet it brings up negative thoughts. Never say you have to go on a diet, you are CHOOSING to go on weight loss program or follow a weight loss plan. We do not like things that we HAVE to do, choose to lose weight, for your self, no one else.

Second, write down your goal. If you want to lose 25 pounds, write that down. Write down a time frame in which you think you can reach your goal. Make it a reasonable amount of time, at least 3 months maybe more. It may seem like a long time, but we are looking for lasting results, not more yo-yo dieting.

Third, keep 3-to5 day food log. Write down every thing you eat and the amounts you eat. Pay attention to carbs and fat as well as total calories. Look honestly at your food log look for areas where you can change small things. You can switch to a lower fat milk or diet soda pop. Reduce your fast food outings what ever it is, just start. It may take a while but it will be worth it.

Green tea can aid your weight loss goals if you have any. What is good about green tea is that it has no side effects and brings you many health benefits not to mention disease prevention because of its antioxidant properties.Among the different kinds of tea, green tea is favored for weight loss because of its polyphenol antioxidants and caffeine concentrations. Yes, in terms of weight loss, caffeine together with the antioxidant ingredients in green tea can be beneficial.Before we begin our discussion on the way green tea can benefit in weight loss, we’ll have to get a little understanding about noradrenaline, better known as norepinephrine. It is a hormone released by the adrenal glands. The release is triggered by events such as being under a stressful situation. Caffeine can also fool the body as to being in a stressful event thereby triggering the adrenal glands to release noradrenaline together with other hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.Cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cCAMP), whose function is to speed up the rate of converting glycogen into glucose for energy production, is stimulated in a stressful event thereby making available an abundant supply of raw materials for energy production which then speeds up metabolism.The presence of noradrenaline in the blood together with EGCG(epigallocatechin gallate) of green tea, triggers thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue(BAT), fatty tissues which can be found in the waistline and buttocks of adults. It converts free fatty acids into heat instead of being created as energy(ATP) in the mitochondria of the cell.After noradrenaline has prepared the body for the ‘fight or flight’ situation, catechol O-methyltransferase(COMT) which degrades noradrenaline, come into play. Phosphodiesterase(PDE) also degrades cCAMP. With the degradation of noradrenaline and cCAMP, thermogenesis halts and energy production goes back to normal. So for a limited time, our body speeds up metabolism and converts fatty acids in the BAT into heat(thermogenesis) to cope with a stressful event.This is where green tea and caffeine work together to burn more fat. Green tea prevents noradrenaline from degrading and caffeine prevents cCAMP from degrading for an extended period of time. This means burning more fat for a longer period of time.Caffeine alone can produce little thermogenesis on BAT but when combined with green tea, the effect goes to a larger extent.For a healthier weight loss, it would be a good suggestion to try green tea. Experts advise to take 6 to 10 cups of green tea per day to fully benefit from its antioxidant properties. Well, why not try that amount? Lose weight and reap the antioxidant benefits that green tea brings.A study has also been made that adding citrus fruits to green tea can make our body absorb more of its antioxidants by several fold.6 to 10 cups of green tea may be too much for those who doesn’t like the taste or for those who does not have the schedule to ingest that amount. An alternative would be to take green tea extract which are available in capsule form or in liquid form combined with other herbal extracts.

We all need motivation to make changes in our lives. But some motivations can have short-term effects whilst other motivations can have long-lasting, life changing effects. This article takes a very quick look at how we can cut to the core of making the long-lasting, life changing decisions easier.

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Why do you want to lose weight? Do you want to make someone else happy? Your kids, your husband? The only way to lose weight in the long-term is to lose weight for you.

While some or most of this article might sound like pointless new-age psycho-babble, at its core are valid, solid ways of changing your life. Do not give in, it may well be a life changing experience.

Whilst these are all valid reasons for losing weight they may actually be the reasons why so many people fail to lose weight or lose weight but then put it all back on with a little extra just for desert. In order to understand long term weight loss we need to look at the nitty-gritty at how the mind works and how we become, and remain motivated, to do something.

When we want to change something about ourselves we need to look deep. Not just “Because the doc said I need to lose a few pounds” deep or “I want to look nice when I lie by the pool” deep. We need to look at where we are now, where we want to be and the difference between the two. That is where the deepness lies.

Ok, let’s take any weight measurements out of the equation and look at body size and shape. We might imagine ourselves to look a long way from the way we want to look. But how does that make us feel? Pretty miserable right. But that’s where your change begins – connect with the feelings caused by the difference between the two you’s. The discrepancy between the you now and the person you want to be is the reality and sometimes the reality hurts! The difference between where we are and where we need to get to needs to be bridged.

You need to imagine what it would feel like to be the person you want to be. Stop for a second and think about it. Close your eyes. Really think about it. Think about the person you want to change for. Because this is only a short article I will give you the answer you need to come up with.

The only person you want to change for is you. There are just so many reasons you could have come up with for changing. Kids, husbands, wives, parents, friends, pets, teams – the list is endless.

The only person you need to change for is you. If this sounds too selfish and self-centred for you then I’m sorry. However, the chance of you changing long-term for anybody other than yourself are minimal. If you think about it another way, what would make the person you are changing for happy? Would they be happier to see YOU happy or would they be happier watching you trying to make THEM happy? So if we want to change we have to look at ourselves and see ourselves as we really are. We need to look to the person we want to be. From then on the person you want to be is going to be the person you are.

If you want to lose weight you need to do it for yourself, no-one else. Not only do you get to be the person you want to be but everybody else gets the benefit of basking in the glow of your happiness and success.

Are you interested in formulating an exercise plan that will assist you to remain trim and help you to get thin? Studies regularly show that there are two basic types of exercise that are both extremely efficient and successful. Of course, it stands to reason that you must be motivated in the first place, and that is why therapeutic hypnosis can help solve your problems.

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If you’re like most people, you are interested in creating an exercise system that will assist you to remain healthy and slim. It may shock you to find out that research studies usually demonstrate that only two core kinds of exercise are useful — which suggests that you can’t just choose any type of exercise to become trim.

Due to the fact that so many people have trouble with the motivation to exercise, performing the most efficient kinds of exercise is imperative, since the less time you spend exercising – and the less time you waste on low efficiency exercise – the more likely it is that you will persist in your exercise routine and therefore achieve your personal weight and strength target.

Our first type of exercise which has been regularly proven to aid people to lose weight and get trim is progressive resistance. In brief, progressive resistance is one type of strength training. It functions by progressively ramping up the pounds lifted, the number of sets, and number of repetitions performed. As a result, your muscles are never strained or subjected to damage – instead, they slowly and steadily strengthen without any setbacks.

Our second type of exercise that has been scientifically studied is cardiovascular training. This is any type of exercise that gets the heart rate up to 60 – 85 percent of its maximum rate. Some kinds of cardio training may involve jogging, jumping rope, aerobics, or treadmill, among other types of exercise, but it is your choice.

Although progressive resistance and cardio training by themselves have been found to be very efficient forms of exercise, scientists now know that performing both of these types of exercise is the best bet for success. If you combine both progressive resistance and cardio training, you will increase the strength of your muscle groups and increase overall endurance. According to a recent scientific study, exercisers who used both cardio and progressive resistance during a two month time period lost 45 percent more weight than exercisers who did cardio training or progressive resistance alone.

Just as important as the type of exercise you perform is, the way in which you exercise is also important. It probably will be unsurprising that being consistent is the name of the game. Exercising inconsistently may strain your muscles and will probably not aid you to build strength and endurance. In addition, it is unlikely to improve your whole-body health. According to most scientists, the best regime is to exercise for forty minutes to an hour three to five times per week.

Unfortunately, it turns out that for a significantly sized subset of the population, getting sufficient exercise is not as easy as attending the health club a few times every week or listening to what scientists claim. For this group of people, the motivation to exercise is the primary issue – this group of people simply doesn’t have the motivation to go to the gym. Actually, they might resist any and all exercise, to the point of severe anxiety.

Nobody knows what percentage of the population suffers from problems with the motivation to exercise, but scientists say that up to 20 to 40 percent of people claim that they “hate” or “dread” exercise. An even larger percentage of people might have more mild problems with the motivation to exercise, finding that even though it is simple enough to commit themselves to an exercise regime for a week or two, motivation eventually degrades, leaving them where they were initially – unhealthy and heavy.

If you are one of these people who struggles with the motivation to exercise, the good news is that there are some easy strategies to deal with the struggle. In a recent research study, volunteers who needed to start an exercise program were provided with a brief learning program that aided them to decide on the right kinds of exercise, were provided with a therapist who specialized in exercise motivation, and were given a brief course in hypnosis. After six months, they were asked to evaluate their progress. It turns out that over 85 percent of the participants had adhered to an exercise program throughout the whole six months. Even better, they generally lost an average of fifteen more pounds than the control group.

If you have an interest in this study, it might make sense to look into locating a motivational therapist, habit control therapist, or therapist who deals with hypnotherapy. These therapists are provided with special training in helping people to transcend anxieties, build the motivation to exercise, and reinforce the creation of good habits. One more choice for exercise motivation is self-hypnosis – which is a simple and inexpensive process that often helps people take control of their own inborn abilities to be motivated.

Hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis are risk-free ways of increasing motivation that have been proven to provide success in the case of exercise motivation. Hypnosis works by using hypnotic relaxation to enhance the powers of the unconscious mind to influence the modification of behavior and habit development. Hypnotherapy is a good choice for the exercise adverse because it can help increase the drive to get trim and lose weight easily and effectively.

Are you tired of the yo yo effect? These simple 5 steps can help you KEEP the weight off once you do lose it

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Why do some dieters suffer the endless frustration of losing and then gaining weight again and again, while others lose weight and keep it off forever?

And we know you don’t want to be the latter group?

Here are 5 very simple tips successful dieters implement – and you can easily adapt these good habits yourself.

1.) You know that old conventional wisdom that goes “The scale doesn’t matter when you’re dieting”? For a long time experts scorned the idea of frequent weigh ins, pointing out that the scale can be inaccurate because of fluctuations caused by water weight. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat. So if you’re exercising you may be gaining muscle and that will throw the scale off.

However, it turns out that weighing yourself every day is actually an excellent motivator for dieters. A study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that dieters who weighed themselves every day lost the most weight, and kept it off more successfully, compared to a group of dieters who did not weigh themselves regularly.

2.) Keep a log of everything you eat. When you log everything you eat you will feel MUCH more guilty when you cheat because you have to see it and read it.

3.) Do at least 1 15 minute activity everyday. ANYTHING. Walk your dog, go jogging, do tae bo. Most of us work at desks and sit at home all day – then do it at least three times a week. You will lose weight quicker and this is one of the big contributors of keeping the weight off.

4.) Plan ahead. If you are going out to dinner with friends or to a holiday office party or even to the movies, what are you going to do when hunger pangs hit? Eat something before you go and decide BEFORE you get to the party or movies.

5.) Schedule the occasional indulgence. Most weight loss experts suggest and encourage a cheating day. When you get to eat some pizza, brownie or some ice cream at some time in the week your chances of ditching your plan is much less likely. This can also be a day when you throw in some more activity.

For those of you out there who believe that you can only lose weight through fasting, you cannot be more wrong! Facts have shown that it is not how much you eat but actually what you eat that results in weight gain in most people. If you decide to eat correctly, you will surely be eating your way to weight loss naturally.

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In the developed world today, a whole lot of people seem to be struggling with a particular challenge common to them all and that is the issue of how to lose weight so as to live a healthier life. In the same vein, a good number of the people concerned tend to believe that the only way to lose that excess fat is by starving themselves or fasting. Nothing can be further than the truth in this case. It has been proven by the experts that one can achieve weight loss naturally through correct dieting.

In order to lose weight naturally, the main thing one has to keep in mind and practice is to eat wisely, take enough water and do some regular exercise. This combination of actions will surely help you get rid of that unwanted fat as well as give you a fitter and sexier physique.

It is pertinent at this stage to note that when I talk of losing weight naturally through correct dieting, I am not talking about some very strict diet but simple ones that can be found in some cook books such as the Metabolic Cooking. I am also not talking about a particular diet for the whole day but an intelligent mix of recommended diets that will end up giving you a healthier body through weight loss.

I suppose that at this stage some of you out will want to know exactly how to eat wise and reap the benefits of losing weight naturally in the shortest possible time. It is not rocket science but simply doing what is right as already suggested. For an example, the diet experts claim that our ability to shed fats is eighty percent correct dieting and twenty percent how much exercise we give to our body. This also means that you need to steer clear of that attractive and sweet junk foodstuff you have been destroying your system with only to go back to the gym to try to burn the fat you got from wrong dieting practice.

Another important aspect of correct dieting is the issue of the water intake level. It is a fact that taking a good amount of water on a daily basis helps in ensuring a clean body system. As a matter of fact, the experts have made it abundantly clear that in order to keep our body system in a clean condition we need to take as much as sixty ounces of water daily. This is much better than the sugary drinks that many people use to replace water in their diet. It is recommended by medical experts that every adult should drink at least eight glasses of water in order to enjoy a healthier life devoid of obesity.

In summary therefore, anyone who wishes to enjoy the benefits weight loss simply needs to combine a correct diet with a good water intake and do some exercise. That also means such a person needs to as well avoid taking junk food and replace that with the consumption of lots of fruit and vegetables. When fruits are added to your meals, it is easier for you to ward off the cravings for sweet since you are ingesting natural sugar instead of the artificial one. You are advised to take fruits such as oranges and or apples in between your meals as a means of eating your way to weight loss and good health.

You can begin to lose weight by reducing your stress level. Here’s how!

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There may be many reasons why you engage in the behavior of overeating. Overeating helps some people gain a sense of control over their lives. Other people overeat when they are stressed or upset. Think about the times that you have had a binge eating session? What was the motivation behind it? Do you turn to food when you are upset or have a stressful day? Do you find a sense of comfort in the food that you eat? If stress is a major factor in your eating habits, finding ways to help reduce stress can help you lose weight.

1. Find a Support System

Having people that you can rely on is a great way to start reducing stress. Call on your friends or family when you are in a stressful situation. They can be a great source of advice or just a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes going out with work friends after a long stressful day can work wonders to melt the stress that you feel. We all need to rely on our friends and family at some point. Being able to talk about your stress is a health alternative to overeating.

2. Post Positive Mantras

Think about the negative comments you make about yourself when you are feeling stressed. Most people struggle with negative self-talk at sometime in their lives. Begin to challenge your old ways of thinking. Replace those old thoughts with positive thoughts that will help you push through stressful times. If a long stressful day at work leaves you thinking that you are “no good at my job”, change your thoughts. Think about how hard you worked today. You put in your all and achieved a goal you had set. Whatever your new thoughts are going to be, post them around your house. This will help you stay focused on them even when you are headed for a stress out moment. Thinking positively can help curb overeating.

3. Find Time to Relax

It is important that you take a few minutes everyday for relaxtion. There are many different things you can do in order to relax. If you had a busy day at work and spent the evening running errands, take a long soak in a tub. If you find yourself working late one night, close your office door and read a chapter in a book. On the weekends, go for a walk around a nature trail. The activity can last five minutes or five hours; the important thing is to take some time to relax.

4. Meditate or Journal

Another great way to reduce stress is to be alone with your thoughts. This can help you sort out what is going on in your life in a healthy way. One way to do this is to meditate. Another way is to write in a journal. Writing in a journal is a great way to begin organizing your thoughts about the stresses in your life. Dealing with your stress in this productive way makes it less likely that you will overeat.

5. Listen to Your Body

Stop beating yourself up for overeating. Move forward into a new way of thinking about eating and food. By listening to your body, you will learn when your body is telling you it is full or hungry. Know the signals that your body gives off in order to begin recognizing the difference between hunger and emotional eating. You can pull through this struggle and be on your way towards a natural weight loss.