Acupuncture Your Immune System Into Optimal Strength
Your immune system is your first responder. From your skin to good bacteria gut production your body is constantly defending itself from the slings and arrows of everyday exposure. Now that the winter season is approaching, more germs are stewing inside and that means you need to have your immune system’s “A” game running at full throttle to avoid any and all potential airborne health risks.
Acupuncture has been shown, through ancient observational reports to scientific studies, that it is capable of turning your immune system fire into a blaze. An immune system supported by acupuncture has more of a chance fighting bacterial and viral pathogens than most treatments conventional medicine can offer. Add in some other naturopathic remedies like botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, homeopathy, and nutraceutical supplements and you will certainly hit the ground running to breeze through the cold and flu season and beyond.
Do You Have A Weak Immune System?
Many people think they are healthy but often do not realize the subtleties their body is trying
to clue them in on regarding a compromised or potentially compromised immune system. WebMD offers a list of symptoms that could be associated with a weakened immune system. Some symptoms that don’t go away for months on end include:
- Cold hands
- Diarrhea/Constipation
- Dry Eyes
- Fatigue
- Mild fever
- Headaches
- Rash
- Joint aches
- Patchy hair loss
- Repeated infections
- Sun sensitivity
- Tingling or Numbness in Your Hands and Feet
- Trouble swallowing
- Unexplained weight change
- White patches on skin
- Yellowing of skin or eyes
If you struggle with any of these, especially if they are chronic (you have them all the time), then you may want to consider acupuncture and naturopathic medicine before taking pharmaceuticals.
Benefits of Acupuncture for Immune Strength
Acupuncture is one of the most researched alternative remedies. Ancient observational studies continually reported all sorts of health benefits from this age old practice. Yet, it still baffles science. Therefore, studies ensued and the science based data keeps pouring in, mostly with positive results (unless you read the skeptics which are often connected to a conventional medicine agenda).
According to a report by the Healthcare Medicine Institute (HealthCMi,) a specific study of acupuncture by researchers from Hubei University of Chinese Medicine resulted in a detailed immune system response. It was stated that,
“The research measured the effects of electroacupuncture and precisely identified that electroacupuncture at ST36 enhances cytokines, which are proteins secreted by cells that have a specific effect on the interactions and communications between cells. The researchers discovered that electroacupuncture enhancement of cytokines and helper T cells (CD4 + T cells) is through TRPV (transient receptor potential vanilloid) channels. TRPV channels are cellular sensors for a broad variety of physical and chemical stimuli involved in the formation of visual and auditory sensations, touch, olfactory perception, taste, temperature, and algesia [pain sensitivity]. TRPV involvement in cell signaling triggers host cell responses to “benign or harmful environmental changes.”
It has also been shown that your immune system is directly related to your emotional health. Some refer to this as the gut-brain axis which describes how a person’s intestinal (ground zero for immune function) bacterial compromise not only affects the body systemically but emotionally as well. Immune system weakness has been linked to depression, anxiety, stress and many other emotional components that possibly you, and many like you, struggle with everyday.
Researchers from the Department of Physiology (Animal Physiology II), Faculty of Biological Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain published a study in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine (2007) that stated,
“The results showed that the most favorable effects of acupuncture on the immune functions appear 72 hours after the single session and persist one month after the end of the complete treatment. Impaired immune functions in anxious women (chemotaxis, phagocytosis, lymphoproliferation and NK activity) were significantly improved by acupuncture, and augmented immune parameters (superoxide anion levels and lymphoproliferation of the patient subgroup whose values had been too high) were significantly diminished.”
Keep Your Immune System Going
Even if you do not relate to any of these subtle symptoms of a compromised immune system, these and many studies like these show how acupuncture can be used as an excellent preventative remedy. By adhering to a maintenance acupuncture protocol you could stoke your immune system to be “at the ready” for any signs of systemic compromise.
Dr. Lucy Chen, a board-certified anesthesiologist, specialist in pain medicine, and practicing acupuncturist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital commented to Harvard Medical School commented,
“I think the benefit of acupuncture is clear, and the complications and potential adverse effects of acupuncture are low compared with medication,”
If a testimonial from an accredited source such as Dr. Chen isn’t enough, a study published in the renowned Archives of Internal Medicine (10/22/12) concluded that,
“Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo…Our results from individual patient data meta-analyses of nearly 18,000 randomized patients in high-quality RCTs [randomized clinical trials] provide the most robust evidence to date that acupuncture is a reasonable referral option for patients with chronic pain.”
Along with naturopathic medicine, consider a maintenance program to acupuncture your immune system into optimal strength. At Integrative Med Solutions, we will design an acupuncture and naturopathic treatment program that works for you. In many cases, insurance covers portions of the acupuncture treatment. Allow us to support you to achieve optimal health. To make an appointment or find out more about how acupuncture and naturopathic medicine can benefit you, please call our office at 914.337.2980 or Click Here to schedule an online appointment.
*Please Click Here to see a current list of Insurance Companies that commonly carry acupuncture benefits for its members. Please call 914.337.2980 or securely email info@intmedsolutions.com to verify your specific benefits. If you are emailing, please include your full name, date of birth and insurance identification card number.