Body in Balance: The TCM Perspective on Weight Loss
Clearly something is out of balance. More than half of all American adults are overweight or obese, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. One-third meet the criterion for obesity, based on body mass index, as defined by Federal clinical practice guidelines released in 2006 by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Overweight among adults in this country increased 61 percent from 1991 to 2000. The rate of obesity in women has nearly doubled in twenty years. Yet the most alarming rise in this health problem is in children—17 percent are now overweight (children and teens are not classified as "obese" within NHLBI guidelines). And it is estimated that as a society we bear obesity-related disease costs in the range of $100 billion per year.
To some it's an enigma—never before in the West have so many diet programs and products been available to those who wish to lose weight. Some plans count calories or carbohydrates; others control what, how much, and when you eat; a few feature supplements or appetite suppressants, diuretics or laxatives; there are the workouts regimens and repetitions; and most extreme is stomach stapling. These weight-loss regimes are well advertised in the various media, and classes, books, tapes, and DVDs abound everywhere. Americans now spend $40 billion a year on diet programs and products. Why then are so many of us overweight? Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a unique view.
The greatest difference between Western weight-loss strategies and the TCM approach is that Western methods focus almost exclusively on external factors—it's all about the weight and the food. TCM addresses the root cause of weight conditions. From the TCM perspective it's essential to identify and treat the root cause of any condition in order to truly heal it. Actually, TCM considers excess weight a symptom of a greater health problem. It's the end result of a series of internal events in the body that usually begin with a Qi (internal energy) deficiency and a Qi imbalance. TCM understands that if the root cause of excess weight is not addressed, weight loss will never be permanent. This fundamental concept is supported by statistics that show that 95 percent of dieters ultimately regain a portion or all of the weight they have lost.
According to TCM theory, in order to have good health you must have sufficient Qi and your internal organs must work in harmony with each other. If there isn't enough Qi, one or more organs can become imbalanced and develop energy function disorders. When this happens they cannot perform their innate tasks, for example, promoting proper metabolism and ridding your body of excess water and fat. Very often health problems like headaches, emotional difficulties such as depression, and allergies precede a weight gain. These are all signals that the body is having functional difficulties. Frequently the relationship between the Spleen and Liver organ systems—both key to proper digestion—becomes imbalanced. TCM believes that a balanced body does not have weight problems. When your Qi is strong and balanced, weight will be lost naturally and normal weight will be maintained.
Most diets require you to eat or eliminate specific foods. The TCM view is that a healthy body will "ask for" what it needs. When your Qi is strong and balanced, you will not experience extraordinary food cravings or an enormous appetite. Cravings indicate your body requires a certain type of Qi, or energy. Every food, according to TCM understanding, carries a specific essence that resonates energetically with one or more organs. Cravings are signals that an organ may be imbalanced and in need of additional Qi. If you crave sweets, for instance, chances are your Spleen is out of balance ("sweet" is the taste associated with this organ). Often, TCM practitioners "prescribe" certain foods to their patients. Food is just one of a variety of healing resources used in TCM treatment, along with herbs, acupuncture, and acupressure. Yet food recommendations are always made with an eye to healing the root cause of your specific health condition. Food used in this way—as medicine—is for the purpose of healing one or more particular organs to restore your health as a whole.
TCM believes that the great benefit of food is that it virtually has no side effects. When high-quality food is selected intelligently, it is a resource that you can use on a daily basis to help heal yourself. In general TCM advises a varied diet comprised primarily of vegetables, fruits, some grains, legumes and nuts. Seafood, especially shellfish, has many healing benefits. Regulating food portions or skipping meals altogether actually undermines weight-loss efforts, in the TCM view. The Spleen/Stomach organ pair needs a steady supply of food to maintain its overall health and to create adequate Acquired Qi (see "The Earth Element" in "TCM This Season"). Not eating enough food can lead to a Stomach function disorder.
Perhaps the most profound aspect of TCM's perspective on overweight conditions is its perception of the role emotions play in overall health. TCM does not see and treat your body, mind, emotions, and spirit as separate, but rather as an interrelated whole. This means you must have emotional balance to have true physical health. When TCM looks at digestion, it takes the broadest view: digestion is the ingestion, absorption, and letting go of food, drink, and emotion as well as everything else you may take in, including what you read, what you see on t.v., conversations, and the like. In TCM theory each of the five organ pairs has a corresponding emotion. For instance, anger and stress are related to the Liver and Gallbladder. TCM understands that chronically held emotions act like internal pathogens, destabilizing the function of your organs. If you hold onto an emotion, it will stay "undigested" or stagnant in your system. This affects how Qi flows through the related meridians and organs, compromising their function. From the TCM viewpoint, stress plays a large part in overweight conditions. Unrelenting stress creates a negative vibration that impairs Liver function. Because the Liver controls the digestive process (the Spleen/Stomach organ pair), its dysfunction can disturb healthy digestion.
It's not unusual for TCM practitioners to advise their patients to emotionally "let things go" or to slow down and take more rest and relaxation. Qigong, a self-healing energy practice, is especially helpful to people trying to lose weight because it reduces stress and can build your body's Qi. To heal your body and lose weight TCM recognizes that your Qi needs to be increased. Qigong has been used extensively in China for millennia to treat a wide range of conditions, including obesity.
TCM sees overweight and obesity as issues also related to the greater culture. Western definitions of acceptable appearance are often unrealistic. Advertising and media drive a certain concept of "ideal" weight and then turn around and pitch the products for people to achieve what, for most, is an unreasonable ideal. TCM encourages individuals to tune into their own body and spirit, recognizing that each person is entirely unique.
Western weight-loss methods, when placed next to those of TCM, are generally focused more on superficial and quick results at the expense of the long-term health of the individual as a whole. The entire vision and framework of TCM is based on an understanding of how the entire human being works—body, mind, and spirit. It seeks to create internal balance and harmony within each individual and then harmonize that individual with nature. TCM is an ancient paradigm for the workings of the human body that is based on Universal law—how nature really works. All of the principles and theories of TCM, a complete and holistic medical system in continuous existence and practice for thousands of years, can be applied to anyone to foster and maintain health, and prevent health problems. With its age-old specialties of prevention and lifestyle modification, traditional Chinese medicine is a safe and truly healing weight-loss resource just waiting to be discovered by the American mainstream.