Did You Know…that stimulating trigger points on your ear can help you shed fat?
What if you could burn fat, melt away the pounds, and lower your body mass index (BMI) just by stimulating a few acupressure points on the ear? A study published in the BMJ journal Acupuncture in Medicine suggests that weight loss may be that simple.
This study is of particular interest because, while ear acupuncture (a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine) has been practiced for thousands of years, researchers may have targeted its exact mechanisms for weight loss.
Heal with Auriculotherapy
Auriculotherapy (ear acupuncture) stimulates specific points on the ear to heal corresponding physical and mental ailments. As an alternative healing modality, auriculotherapy is routinely used to treat mood disorders, pain, obesity, and over 150 other conditions. It has a 75 – 80% success rate for curing addictions to smoking and nicotine, and a similarly high success rate for weight loss.
In 1957, Dr. Paul Nogier published a map of ear acupuncture points after discovering that a patient’s back pain was cured by an accidental burn to the ear. Nogier’s map, as well as the Traditional Chinese Medicine ear map, is used by acupuncturists (who insert needles to stimulate ear pressure points) and acupressure practitioners (who use manual stimulation, lasers, pellets, and ear magnets to activate pressure points).
Your Ear: The Key to Weight Loss
The effects of ear acupuncture on weight loss have been consistently confirmed, but Korean researchers wanted to see whether continuous stimulation of 5 points was more effective than continuous stimulation of just one point. Researchers divided 91 adults with a BMI of 23 or more into three groups: 
- 31 people received the 5-point treatment: Researchers inserted acupuncture needles 2 mm deep into 5 points: the shen-men, spleen, stomach, hunger, and endocrine points. The needles were kept in place with surgical tape for a week. The following week the process was repeated on the other ear… and so on for 8 weeks.
- 30 people received the one-point treatment: Researchers inserted an acupuncture needle in the hunger point only. The needle was kept in place until the next week, when treatment shifted to the other ear… and so on for 8 weeks.
- 30 people received “sham” treatment: Researchers immediately removed the needles upon insertion, but participants were led to believe that the needles remained under the surgical tape.
Participants from each group were put on a restrictive diet—not a weight loss diet—and told to not do any more exercise than normal during the eight weeks.
BMI, weight, waist circumference, body fat, and blood pressure were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of the study. After just 4 weeks, results were clear and compelling for the benefits of Auriculotherapy:
Those undergoing 5-point treatment showed a 6.1% reduction in BMI.
Those receiving one-point treatment experienced a reduction of 5.7%.
Those in the sham group showed no reduction in BMI, body fat, or weight!
Waist circumference and body fat decreased the most among individuals in the 5-point group.
Blood pressure remained consistent among all participants, regardless of treatment method.
The researchers concluded: “Both 5-needle acupuncture treatment generally used in Korean clinics and one-needle treatment at the hunger point appear to be effective in reducing body weight in the short term.”
Ear acupuncture isn’t relegated to needles. You can also heal yourself with a gentle touch of your fingertips. To learn how to administer auriculotherapy to yourself or your loved ones, click the link at the bottom of this email.
