Acupuncture Helps with All Digestive Disorders

Many people suffer from a variety of digestive disorders. They do not effectively process their food. They have diarrhea, heartburn, and acid reflux disease. They're nauseated.

And who would expect any different? In this fast-paced, high-technology culture, we're overrun with time constraints and stressors of all kinds.

People unaware of what a good diet consists of rely on processed fast foods and meats packed with hormones and antibiotics. In the West, we're overprescribed antibiotics and other medications; women are reeling from the side-effects of birth control pills; and we regularly take any of a myriad of anti-inflammatories for the slightest ache. It's no wonder so many people are experiencing internal disharmony. And if all of that wasn't enough, most people either don't know how to, or are afraid to, release their emotions. Opting for a sense of control, they "hold." And they get constipated.

The digestive system is a mirror to how we process our external world on every level. Are we assimilating good nutritional, emotional and spiritual nourishment, and effectively eliminating what is toxic to us? Are we letting go of negative situations and allowing ourselves to be nurtured by positive ones? Without the foundation of a healthy, properly nourished body, we can't find the strength to feed into our emotions. If there's a backlog of undigested emotions, any digestive symptom can manifest.

Traditional Chinese medicine teaches us to properly diagnose and treat our patients using staid, ancient teachings recorded thousands of years ago. People don't change from century to century, but their circumstances do. The environment, food, medications, and stressors affecting our patients are very different today, and since the disharmonies that cause them are rampant, digestive disorders are also rampant.

A group of acupuncture points could balance every kind of digestive disorder, including irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, ulcerative colitis, indigestion, and more.

Acupuncture can also help those undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation, as it is a wonderful balancing treatment. A 40-year old female with breast cancer was just finishing her course of radiation was treated with acupuncture. She looked literally lifeless. Mostly bedridden, she had become frail, pale and weak. Given her delicate digestion and poor appetite, she wasn't getting the nutrients she needed to recover her strength. When she returned  for the second session, a light had already turned on in her eyes. Even her family noticed the dramatic difference. Continuing treatments, she began her recovery from the adverse effects of radiation.

A pregnant woman, 28, experiencing severe vomiting and persistent nausea was treated with acupuncture and her symptoms abated immediately. She continued treatment throughout her pregnancy, and ultimately had an unusually easy delivery. She is now the mother of a healthy, contented newborn.

Acupuncture also performs wonders on people experiencing emotional upset, especially women with hormonal imbalances. A 42-year old female experiencing perimenopausal symptoms was treated for her emotional distress. Hypersensitive to everything and everyone, she felt deeply depressed and completely controlled by her emotions. She was so anxious that she couldn't eat; she couldn't even lie still on the treatment table for more than 20 minutes without getting antsy. At her second treatment session, she raved about how much better she felt.

Summarized and/or cited from

Acupuncture Today - December, 2005, Vol. 06, Issue 12

Lisajeanne Potyk, LAc