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Robin West needs a liver. At 34 years old, the U.S. military veteran and mom of a rambunctious toddler spends her days waiting for a call that will change her life—a call that her name on the Colorado transplant list has been matched with someone whose organ can be transplanted into her body.
Born with a rare gastrointestinal disorder called biliary atresia, a condition that progressively destroys the bile ducts that carry bile from the liver to the intestine. She underwent surgery when she was just 8 weeks old, when doctors performed a procedure sometimes known as a Roux-en-Y or a Kasai procedure. It was meant to reroute her bile drainage system and take pressure off her liver.
It bought West’s body time. She had a normal childhood. She went to college. She signed up to serve her country. But she was serving in the U.S. Army in 2016 when she thought she’d caught the flu.
A trip to the emergency room said something different. She was experiencing liver disease symptoms. “My liver enzymes were off the charts,” West tells HealthyWay.
She was diagnosed that day with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a progressive liver disease that has since landed her on the transplant list. She is one of millions of people in America who live every day with liver disease and its symptoms.
West’s childhood diagnosis with biliary atresia was a harbinger that she may have trouble in her future. It’s the most common liver disease that requires transplantation.
 

But for millions of Americans, a liver disease shows up unannounced, and it’s not caused by a childhood illness.
In fact, everything from our weight to our sex lives could eventually lead to damage (or even disease) of the liver. And the numbers of people diagnosed are growing.

What the Liver Does

Located in your abdominal cavity, above the stomach, the liver is one of the body’s biggest organs, and we can’t live without it. The liver is responsible for converting the nutrients we take in into substances the body can use, and when it’s functioning properly it will break down the fats we eat to help make energy.
A healthy liver also helps our bodies to handle toxins, removing things like alcohol and the byproducts of certain medicines from the blood and processing them so they can be released back into the blood or the bowels.

Maybe there’s a problem?

As a society, we tend to think of liver disease as something that crops up in aging alcoholics. The internet is rife with memes that poke fun at the idea that one’s “liver light” might come on after a weekend of partying and t-shirts warning “shut up, liver, you’re fine.”
Tastelessness of the jokes aside, the idea that liver disease is singular to people who drink excessive amounts of alcohol is patently false.
The most common cause of liver disease in America is actually viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis C, says Lauren Nephew, MD, a hepatologist at Indiana University Health. The chronic (aka lifelong) disease infects some 4.6 million Americans, and an estimated 2,000 die from it every year in the U.S.

“Some risk factors for hepatitis C include [intravenous] drug use, intranasal cocaine, blood product transfusions before 1987, and non-professional tattoos,” Nephew explains.
Hepatitis B also kills some 2,000 Americans annually, although rates of infection are rapidly declining, thanks to vaccinations created in the early 1990s that are now given to babies (and are available to older Americans). Whether hepatitis B is contracted via sex, contact with an infected person’s blood, or birth (it can be transmitted from mother to child), estimates of how many people are affected with it vary wildly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the figure anywhere between 85,000 and 2.2 million Americans.
Another cause of liver disease that’s taking root in America is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), sometimes called just fatty liver disease.
“This is expected to be the leading cause of liver disease in the U.S. in the next decade,” Nephew notes. Linked to America’s growing obesity problem, risk factors for fatty liver disease include obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. According to the National Library of Medicine, “as the rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol are rising in the United States, so is the rate of NAFLD.” It now affects some 25 percent of the global population.

Typically, diseases that damage the liver eventually result in cirrhosis, a swelling of the liver that is usually the result of years’ worth of damage to the liver. It can be (and often is) caused by alcoholism, but it’s also caused by hepatitis C, bile duct diseases (such as cholangitis, which West is currently suffering from), or a genetic condition such as Wilson’s disease or hemochromatosis. Exactly what sort of disease might affect a liver can be related to lifestyle, to genetics…or to gender.

Liver Disease and Women

“Women are more prone to certain types of liver disease, such as autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and toxin mediated liver injury, which includes alcohol-induced liver injury.” explains Seth Levin, DO, a gastroenterologist with the OhioHealth Physician Group. “They are also more likely to present with acute liver failure and to develop benign liver lesions.”
While (cisgender) men are considered more likely to abuse alcohol than women, women are more susceptible to its toxic effects on the liver, Levin says, regardless of how much we drink. What’s more, compared to our male counterparts, if a woman develops an alcoholic liver disease, she’s likely to see it progress more rapidly.
 

The difference in body size can’t be ignored here—and it’s one reason scientists think women are taking a bigger hit. But researchers into the gender divide in liver diseases also put the blame on our immune systems, noting differences in the way the female body reacts to toxins.
“Alcohol is toxic to the liver cells called hepatocytes,” Nephew explains. “Over time, that reoccurring damage can cause other cells to attempt to repair the damage and lay down scars. Scar or fibrosis in the liver can progress to cirrhosis.”

What’s happening? Common Symptoms of Liver Disease

Many diseases that affect the liver are asymptomatic, meaning liver disease symptoms won’t show up until someone has reached advanced stages. But if your liver is malfunctioning, there are some basic signs and symptoms of liver disease to look for.

Common symptoms of liver disease include:

• Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin)
• Swelling in the lower extremities or abdomen
• Confusion
• Unexplained weight loss
• Bloody or black stools

Some milder liver disease symptoms include itching and fatigue, Nephew says. It’s important to call a doctor immediately if you’re observing some of the common symptoms of liver disease, so your healthcare provider can run blood tests and begin treatment if necessary. Even diseases such as hepatitis C can be treated if they’re caught early enough.

Liver Damage or Liver Disease?

Unsettling as this all may sound, the liver has an amazing trick up its sleeve that’s not present in many other body organs. The liver can repair itself from certain harms.
In other words? Sometimes damage to your liver can be undone…depending on the cause and amount of liver damage.
“We describe liver diseases as acute and chronic,” Nephew explains. “Acute means that the condition is likely reversible when the cause of injury is removed. This could be alcohol, a medication, or a virus that the body quickly clears. …After an acute injury, the liver can repair and be normal again,” she continues.
Chronic liver diseases, on the other hand, are conditions that are not immediately reversible and require treatment or monitoring.
“Over time, a chronic liver disease can cause enough damage to the liver that that damage is not reversible,” Nephew says. “We call this damage fibrosis. If there is enough fibrosis present we call this cirrhosis.”

Still, there is hope with a chronic disease. Chronic liver disease does not (always) immediately lead to death. There are people walking around living with chronic liver diseases. There are people receiving treatment for chronic liver disease and living relatively normal lives. The outcome depends, once again, on the reason for the disease and sometimes on a patient’s willingness to adjust their lifestyle.
But people like West fight a stigma that comes with chronic liver disease every day.
“I get a lot of people thinking I drank a lot or have hep C,” she says. “Not all of us are alcoholics, some are born this way or develop problems over time.”
In West’s case, lifestyle changes aren’t enough. Because her liver was affected by biliary atresia, the disease she has had since birth, the development of cholangitis was a natural progression of the disease.
“Basically, it means I need a new liver, because my old one will not last very much longer,” West says.
 

West has a drain on her side for the bile that builds up in her body, bile that a healthy liver would process. She can’t work. She has to be careful when playing with her little girl because she fears the drain will fall out and she’ll land back in the hospital. Infection could kill her. Infection also pushes her down the transplant list.
This is life with a chronic liver disease. For thousands of Americans, this is the way it is. For thousands more, there’s still hope.

Ch-ch-changes

If you’re fortunate enough not to be born with a liver condition or genetic predisposition, prevention is key…and relatively simple for the bulk of conditions that affect the liver.
Because of the spike in fatty liver disease diagnoses on the horizon, lifestyle changes can make a real difference. Ask your doctor to run blood tests to determine your cholesterol levels. Keep your weight in line with your doctor’s recommendations. Address any blood pressure concerns.
If you’re on regular medications, ask your doctor if they can affect the liver. Antidepressants, in particular, are often linked to liver damage, especially those classified as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. If you’re taking an antidepressant regularly, your doctor may recommend regular blood tests to determine your liver’s health. Acute damage from a medication can be repaired, Nephew says, so it’s important to follow up on blood testing recommended by your doctor rather than putting it off because you hate needles!
If you haven’t already received the hepatitis B vaccine, the CDC recommends calling your general practitioner and scheduling the shot immediately to protect yourself from the blood-borne disease.

Hepatitis C risks, such as intravenous drug use, should be avoided for simple health reasons, but if you had a blood product transfusion before 1987, Nephew suggests asking your primary care physician to do a hepatitis C screening.  
And if you indulge in alcohol at all, it’s wise to keep your drinking in check. Although it’s not the only cause of liver damage and disease, Mommy’s wine time can quickly become a problem, not least because of the role our gender plays in risk factors.
“Women should make sure not to drink more than the recommended amount of daily alcohol,” Nephew says. “Women should know that our livers are more sensitive to the toxic effects of alcohol than men’s livers; therefore it takes a smaller amount of alcohol to damage the liver.”
The recommendations from the doctors are strict: Women should have no more than one alcoholic beverage per day, and that doesn’t mean one bottle of wine. One 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor is the limit.

“Levels higher than that can over time damage the liver,” Nephew warns.  
A final piece of advice comes from West: Be vigilant if you are noticing what you think might be symptoms of liver disease.
“I wish I would have gone to the doctor when I first got sick,” she says. “I thought I had the flu and it would pass. I was wrong. If you have any unusual symptoms, I’d suggest getting them checked—particularly, yellow skin, fevers, abdominal/back pain, flu-like symptoms.”

Help for Those Who Need It

If your liver is in good condition, you can help out those who are struggling. Most transplants come from deceased donors, but the liver is one of the few organs that can be transplanted from a living donor. That’s because only a section of the liver needs to be transplanted, as it will regrow in both the donor’s body and the transplant recipient’s body.

If you know someone who needs a liver, you could consider being tested to see if you’re a match for a living transplant. You can also sign yourself up as an organ donor to help someone after you die.  
Even if you’re not a candidate for donation, it’s important to ignore the myths about liver disease…for your sake and for those who suffer.
Someone who doesn’t exhibit the most common symptoms of liver disease isn’t necessarily abusing drugs or engaging in risky behavior. “Just because someone doesn’t look sick doesn’t mean they are not or [they don’t] have issues going on. So be nice and kind to everyone,” West says.
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How many hours in a day do you spend sitting? If you’re like many American women who work in an office, it may be enough to sabotage your health. More American women are living sedentary lifestyles than ever before. Our jobs, our neighborhoods, and the amount of time we spend interacting online have changed the way we think about physical activity.
Where activity was once built into our lives, now it’s extremely common for the walk from the house to the car, the car to the office, and then the car back to the house to be the primary physical movement we get in a day. But our bodies just aren’t built to live that way.
Never mind weight, clothing size, or judgment. What really matters is your health and happiness, and with our real, practical advice sourced directly from experts and tested by women like you, you’re closer than ever to ditching a sedentary lifestyle and feeling like your most vital self in 2018.

Are you sedentary without even knowing it?

More of us are routinely sedentary than you’d think. In fact, research says at least 25 to 35 percent of all American adults have chronically sedentary lifestyles. There are lots of ways to define a sedentary lifestyle, but one of the clearest involves a measure of the steps you take daily. If you’re routinely moving fewer than 5,000 steps a day (or the equivalent), which is about two and a half miles, your lifestyle is considered sedentary by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
That said, there’s a difference between sedentary behaviors and leading a sedentary lifestyle. We all have sedentary behaviors, like working at a desk for several hours a day, commuting in traffic, jamming out to Netflix on the couch, or (I’m looking at you, Chrissy Teigen) lying down and playing Animal Crossing on our phones.
[pullquote align=”center”]If you’re routinely moving fewer than 5,000 steps a day, your lifestyle is considered sedentary by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.[/pullquote]
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology also found that women who sit inactively for more than six hours every day are nearly twice as likely to experience life-threatening health conditions as women who sit less than three hours per day, meaning women are even more susceptible to the negative effects of sedentary life than men. Yikes.
And if you’re thinking the average female with a desk job falls into this category, you’re right: She does.

Sitting is the New Smoking (and How to Ditch the Habit)

It turns out that even women who get some regular exercise can be affected by “sitting disease,” a term coined to describe the negative impact of too much time spent sitting still in a day. In fact, the World Health Organization says, “Insufficient physical activity is one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide.” Okay, that’s definitely unnerving, but don’t freak out yet. There is hope, even if you’ve tried before and failed to change your sedentary lifestyle.
As Esther Avant, a certified nutrition coach and personal trainer, tells HealthyWay, “About 99 percent of the women I work with have been in that exact situation.” She goes on to share that she has personally witnessed hundreds of formerly sedentary women go on to kick ass and live active lifestyles by working on making small, sustainable changes, rather than focusing on quick, all-or-nothing fixes.
[pullquote align=”center”]Hundreds of formerly sedentary women go on to kick ass and live active lifestyles by working on making small, sustainable changes, rather than focusing on quick, all-or-nothing fixes.[/pullquote]
It’s so important to remember that a little movement is better than none. In fact, a 2015 study found that as little as 20 minutes of brisk walking daily can significantly reduce your risk of an early death related to physical inactivity, not to mention giving you an instant mood boost.

Self-Motivation: Bidding Self-Judgement Farewell and Embracing Positives (Even When You’ve Failed Before)

Michelle Segar, PhD, master of public health, and director of the University of Michigan’s Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center says that even though there are tons of scary statistics thrown around in an attempt to frighten people away from living a sedentary lifestyle (like worsening depression and anxiety, increasing your risk for cancer, causing blood sugar spikes, and generally increasing aches and pains), scare tactics don’t generally work to change behaviors long term.
Instead, “we want to promote [movement] for its immediate benefits,” she says. So rather than trying to shame yourself into moving more, Segar encourages women to focus on all the benefits movement can have. “Let’s tell people it will immediately generate energy and help them lift their moods. Now isn’t that a more compelling reason to get out of the chair?”
[pullquote align=”center”]Even though there are tons of scary statistics thrown around in an attempt to frighten people away from living a sedentary lifestyle, scare tactics don’t generally work to change behaviors long term.[/pullquote]
Avant agrees that focusing on the positives, like how good gentle exercise can make you feel, and avoiding pushing yourself too hard at first are the secrets to succeeding in a fitness regimen that addresses physical inactivity, even if you thought you’d never be able to. “The key to successfully going from sedentary to active is starting small, even smaller than you think,” she emphasizes.
“Start small and prove to yourself that you can do it. Set small goals and then accomplish them. That empowers you to realize that you can do a little more the next week, so maybe you add a fourth day or one day of bodyweight exercises. Each week, you build your confidence and motivation when you accomplish your goals and you do a little bit more. This sure beats the old approach of trying to change everything at once week one, falling short, getting disappointed, and quitting.”

Change your “why” for working out.

In her book, No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, Segar writes about how we’ve been taught we need to work out to lose weight, look a certain way, and avoid bad health. “But those are logical and pragmatic reasons to move,” she says, “not the type of emotional motives and hooks that [actually help women] stick with it long term.” So rather than thinking about all those “shoulds” for why we need to get exercise, what would work better? “We need to help people learn the immediate emotional and positive, feel-good benefits they’ll get from moving instead, like joy, vitality, and connection,” she emphasizes.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Let’s tell people it will immediately generate energy and help them lift their moods. Now isn’t that a more compelling reason to get out of the chair?”
—Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH[/pullquote]
So being kind to yourself works—even when trying to combat what can sometimes feel like a stigmatizing sedentary lifestyle? Sounds good to me! It seems that if you truly want to change your sedentary behavior, focusing on the potential negatives of physical inactivity rather than on how good you can feel when you’re active will likely backfire.
It’s not about weight. It’s not about appearance. It’s about remembering to give yourself the best care and nurturing that you can. It’s about body positivity, feeling healthy and vivacious, and making changes that make you feel good—both in the moment and over the long term. In many cases, the biggest barriers to addressing a sedentary lifestyle, sedentary behavior, and physical inactivity are your thought patterns, so get ready to start small—and with honest introspection—to make lasting change.

Starting Small and Winning Big: A One-Month Beginner’s Plan

Even if your starting point is a truly sedentary lifestyle and you’ve already tried (and maybe even failed) to get active, we’ve got your back. Avant designed and shared this step-by-step routine to take HealthyWay readers from deskbound and binge-watching to vital and capable movement mavens.
Here’s what she recommends:

Week 1

Pick three days when you’ll walk for 30 minutes. Pencil these walks into your calendar like important appointments so you make them happen. Shooting for three walks during the week gives you plenty of opportunities to make up a walk you might miss—so have a backup day planned in case something pops up.

Week 2

Pencil in three walks and add in one day of bodyweight exercises. A quick, total-body workout could include the following exercises performed in a circuit for two sets of 10 reps: push-ups, squats, bench (or chair!) dips, lunges, and 30-second plank holds.
[pullquote align=”center”]“We need to help people learn the immediate emotional and positive, feel-good benefits they’ll get from moving instead, like joy, vitality, and connection.”
—Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH[/pullquote]

Week 3

This week, commit to three walks and two days of the same bodyweight workout you completed once during Week 2.

Week 4

Add a third set to your bodyweight workout circuit and increase the length of your three walks by five to 10 minutes each.
Initially, you committed to 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week—by the end of the month, you’ll be up to 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week, with a combination of strength and aerobic training, which Avant calls a major improvement! Talk about busting out of your sedentary lifestyle and committing to an endorphin- and confidence-boosting routine!

Common Excuses (and High-Impact Solutions)

I asked both Avant and Segar about the most common reasons women don’t exercise, and what their most motivating responses have been. Here are some of the best motivational rebuttals inspired by the pros.
Excuse: I don’t have time.
Solution: Redefine how much time it takes to work out. If you’re truly strapped, just take a brisk one-mile walk around your neighborhood. You won’t need to change clothes or drive all the way to the gym, so you’ll save that time. And if you’re willing to be a bit introspective here, think of it this way: It’s not necessarily that you don’t have time to work out, it’s that you have other priorities that you’re putting before overcoming your sedentary lifestyle. Ask yourself: Am I willing to change around any of my priorities to address my physical inactivity? Your answer to yourself should be enlightening and may lead to a shift in priorities.
Excuse: I can’t afford a gym membership, or when I get to the gym I don’t know what to do and feel silly.
Solution: Just start with walking. You can walk outside, or even around a mall if it’s miserable out. After you’ve done that for a while, you might move on to slowly running, or following one of the many couch-to-5k programs out there (I recommend this one from famous running coach Hal Higdon, which I used once upon a time when I was a newbie to fitness). Once you gain confidence in your base fitness, go ahead and try the gym again if you can afford it. If not, troll YouTube for free no-equipment-needed workout videos or check out HealthyWay’s free Holiday HIIT series or ultra low-cost wellness plan advice.
[pullquote align=”center”]Ask yourself: Am I willing to change around any of my priorities to address my physical inactivity?[/pullquote]
Excuse: I just don’t like exercise.
Solution: Well, you may be working out too hard. Yes, really. If you hate running, for instance, you may be trying to run too fast for your current fitness level. Exercise should feel mostly good, so slow down, don’t compare yourself to others, choose activities that fit your interests, and learn to love the boost exercise can give you, especially when it means freedom from deeply entrenched patterns of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior.

Finally: 6 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Moving More

We think nearly everyone will be able to succeed by making small changes, focusing on the positive feels, and giving themselves as many chances as they need to address their sedentary lifestyle or sedentary behavior. That said, if all else fails, what’s wrong with simply fooling yourself into moving more and reaping the benefits? Here are some ways to sneak activity into your week:

1. Buy a standing desk converter. Okay, so you may not be able to control what desk your office provides for you, and you may not want to stand all day long anyway. But with an adjustable standing desk, you can convert your existing desk into a standing work station for part of the day, then just push it back into place when you need to sit back down.
2. Schedule walks with friends instead of coffee shop chats.
3. Track your movement (I love my Fitbit, which also tracks heart rate and calories burned) and share the data with friends or co-workers for a little friendly competition and support. Lots of people find that they get kind of obsessed with the data and that it keeps them motivated.
4. Make exercise a seamless part of your day by trying a human-powered commute. This won’t work in every circumstance, but if you live close to work, try walking a few days a week. If you live a little further (but not crazy far) try strapping your helmet on and riding your bike. It may take some time to start this new habit and convince yourself to leave the car keys or MetroCard on the shelf, but you can change your ways slowly by starting with doing the human-powered commute just once or twice per week. I’ve gone so far as to leave my kid’s car seat at a friend’s house so I would have no choice but to bike my daughter to and from her daycare (with helmets and kiddy bike seat, of course)!
5. Even if you can’t commit to an entirely human-powered commute, park further away and walk more. The stress of finding a spot close to the office, school, or grocery store dissipates, and you’ll get more steps in. You can also commit to avoiding your building’s elevator in favor of climbing the stairs.
6. Download an exercise motivation app like MyFitnessPal to incorporate your love of tech with your health and fitness pursuits.

Do you need a sign to inspire your commitment to making 2018 the year of you? Consider this it. We’re rooting for you.

When you think of acupuncture, what comes to mind? If you’re like most Americans, the first word you think of after hearing acupuncture is needles. Many of us have seen acupuncture portrayed in movies or other media and have formed our own skeptical or fear-based ideas about the practice. After all, don’t those needles hurt? And isn’t acupuncture some kind of outdated treatment that should have been shuttered once modern medicine came around?
Although you’ve probably seen depictions of acupuncture, most people don’t understand the theory behind the practice, or the fact that acupuncture has proven health benefits (yes, even according to Western medicine). With more Americans looking into alternative wellness and putting a focus on preventative healthcare, now is a great time to learn about acupuncture and the positive effects it can have on your life.
So, keep an open mind and read on. We promise that this treatment is about so much more than being stuck with needles! If you give it a chance, acupuncture might just become one of your favorite parts of your holistic health routine.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an approach that is part of traditional Chinese medicine. The process itself involves very intentionally stimulating certain parts of the body. Most often this is done using thin metal needles that are inserted into the skin, but there are other approaches that don’t involve needles at all (so if fear of needles is holding you back, it’s time to reconsider acupuncture).
“Acupuncture originated in China thousands of years ago as part of the region’s healthcare traditions,” says Yunuen “June” Beristain, a licensed acupuncturist and founder of Amplify Acupuncture in Los Angeles. “For thousands of years, it has remained as one of the region’s widely used therapeutic methods due to its efficacy.”
Traditional Chinese medicine is grounded in the idea that everything in nature is powered by qi, or energy, Beristain explains. This includes our bodies, which should function as a perfectly balanced system. When that system becomes disrupted or unbalanced, health ailments can emerge. Acupuncture aims to realign the system, allowing qi to flow as it should.
[pullquote align=”center”]“For thousands of years, it has remained as one of the region’s widely used therapeutic methods due to its efficacy.”
—Yunuen “June” Beristain, Amplify Acupuncture[/pullquote]
“By understanding this energy along with its functions, mechanisms, and pathways in the body, acupuncture is able to stimulate it. In doing so, it effectively stimulates the body’s own healing mechanisms,” Beristain says.
Rather than healing ailments, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine believe acupuncture allows the body to access its own healing powers and rebalance its systems.
“Our bodies know how to heal. They are constantly healing themselves. Acupuncture uses our own body’s wisdom and healing mechanisms to improve health,” Beristain says. “It works with the body, not against it. This makes acupuncture an excellent choice for natural medicine, with little to no side effects but with excellent results.”

What does Western medicine have to say?

All that talk about energy flow and natural healing sounds wonderful, but if you’re like many savvy health consumers, you probably want to know what Western medical research says about acupuncture, like how it functions and whether it works.
The short answer? It sure does.
According to research reviewed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acupuncture is an effective treatment for many ailments, particularly chronic pain and menopause-related symptoms including hot flashes, sleep interruptions, and anxiety. In fact, one study found that acupuncture reduced menopause symptoms by nearly 37 percent. Women who received acupuncture during the study also reported improved quality of life.  
When it comes to certain chronic conditions including chronic pain, one review of studies involving nearly 18,000 individuals being treated for chronic pain found that those who had acupuncture experienced less pain than people who received simulated acupuncture—a placebo situation designed to make them believe they were getting acupuncture when they weren’t.
[pullquote align=”center”]According to research reviewed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acupuncture is an effective treatment for many ailments, particularly chronic pain and menopause-related symptoms.[/pullquote]
An in-depth NIH resource on acupuncture reports that “results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture may help ease types of pain that are often chronic such as low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain. It also may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches. Therefore, acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider.”
The resource goes on to say, “The effects of acupuncture on the brain and body and how best to measure them are only beginning to be understood.”
While studies have shown that acupuncture can be effective for pain relief, Western doctors don’t entirely understand why it works so well. It is believed that acupuncture affects the electronic transmissions that take place in all areas of our bodies, explains Joseph Feuerstein, MD, director of integrative medicine at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in New York City.
“Research suggests that acupuncture is working on multiple different parts of the central nervous simultaneously, including releasing pain-modulating substances in the local area and also work[ing] at the level of the spinal cord and higher areas of the brain,” Feuerstein says.
Beristain agrees with this characterization.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Acupuncture is working on multiple different parts of the central nervous simultaneously, including releasing pain-modulating substances.”
—Joseph Feuerstein, MD[/pullquote]
“Acupuncture stimulates the minuscule electrical impulses that energize every cell, every tissue, and every function in our bodies,” she says. “For example, connectivity tissue, which is prevalent throughout the entire body, has high electric activity. By the strategic insertion and manipulation of tiny needles, acupuncture stimulates the electric activity in the body that stimulates healing.”

Who should try acupuncture?

Given your new understanding of both the Western and traditional Chinese explanations of how acupuncture operates, you might be wondering if you should give it a try. Most Americans who try acupuncture come to it when other medical options have failed to give them relief or help them heal. However, Beristain points out that in traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture is an important preventative health measure.
“You don’t have to experience any health challenges to benefit from acupuncture,” she says. “Just like a healthy diet, exercise, and mindfulness, acupuncture is a great practice to maintain your health.”
That said, since acupuncture has been shown to relieve chronic pain and alleviate symptoms of menopause, people with those conditions could benefit from therapeutic acupuncture.
Many people turn to acupuncture for help with fertility issues, too, and all the experts who spoke with HealthyWay for this piece say that acupuncture can help with fertility. However, the research is not clear-cut around this issue. One study found that acupuncture can improve coping for women who are having difficulty getting pregnant and that it may positively influence female reproductive health. Another study found that acupuncture did not increase pregnancy rates for women undergoing in vitro fertilization overall, although it did result in some improved pregnancy rates at IVF clinics with lower success rates.

What to Look for in an Acupuncture Provider

Opting for acupuncture can be scary, especially since Western medicine can’t fully account for how it works. Mysteries aside, it’s also not easy to find a person who you can trust to poke and prod you with a bunch of needles!
That’s why it’s important to find a qualified acupuncturist who can help set your mind at ease. Ralph Esposito, a naturopathic physician, licensed acupuncturist, and functional medicine doctor with offices in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and New York City, says it’s important to go with someone who is a licensed acupuncturist or LAc. Other doctors can be trained in acupuncture without understanding the basics of traditional Chinese medicine, which are essential for making acupuncture work, he says. The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine can help you find a licensed acupuncturist in your area.
[pullquote align=”center”]“Just like a healthy diet, exercise, and mindfulness, acupuncture is a great practice to maintain your health.”
—Yunuen “June” Beristain, Amplify Acupuncture[/pullquote]
Beristain points out that licensed acupuncturists have undergone years of training in order to provide you with top-notch care.
“The amount of training to become a licensed acupuncturist is vast and challenging,” she says. In California, where she practices, licensed acupuncturists have to complete a four-year program and go through a multi-level certification exam.

What to Expect

When you go for your an acupuncture appointment you can expect to spend about half an hour with your practitioner, although the first appointment will take longer as you talk about your health conditions and what brought you in.
Then, it’s time to get started. You’ll relax (usually lying down), while your acupuncturist inserts between five and 20 needles depending on the type and site of treatment. Those are left in for 10 to 20 minutes, during which time you can just sit back and relax. After that the needles are removed and you’re ready to be on your way.
One of the biggest misconceptions about acupuncture is that it hurts, Beristain says. Because acupuncture needles are very thin, they shouldn’t cause you pain when they are inserted.
“One might experience a needle that is uncomfortable, but most people are surprised at the fact that acupuncture can be virtually painless,” she says.
Esposito adds that many people believe the needles are targeting nerves, which is not the case.
“Yes, these needles are very close to specific nerves and they work on the autonomic nervous system but they don’t ‘hit’ nerves,” he explains. “That actually would be very painful.”
Instead, the needles calmly stimulate your body’s qi energy or electrical pulses, depending on whether you’re looking at it from the Eastern or Western viewpoint. Overall, the process is very gentle, so it may take a few sessions to begin experiencing relief.
“Acupuncture is gentle. It works with the body’s own wisdom to, in most cases, go to the root of the issue,” Beristain says. “Therefore, it is rarely used as a therapeutic method that one can do once and expect immediate results.”
Most people treating a specific condition will require two session a week for about six weeks. After that you’ll evaluate your needs with your practitioner and set up a maintenance plan.
It’s ok to go to your acupuncture appointment right after exercising, but it’s important to make sure you’ve eaten recently, Esposito says.
[pullquote align=”center”]Acupuncture needles calmly stimulate your body’s qi energy or electrical pulses, depending on whether you’re looking at it from the Eastern or Western viewpoint.[/pullquote]
“Acupuncture can be great to lower blood sugar and blood pressure, and doing it without any food can cause lightheadedness and low blood sugar,” he explains.
After your session light movement is suggested, but it’s best to hold off on heavier exercise for the rest of the day.

Acupuncture at Home (and on the Road)

To get the full benefits of acupuncture you have to visit a licensed practitioner who has spent years studying the complex theories behind the practice. However, there are some benefits of acupuncture that you can experience at home, no needles required.
For relief from headaches, Esposito recommends activating your large intestine point (LI4), which is located between your thumb and index finger.
“Straighten all your fingers to have them touch and there will be a bump between your thumb and index finger. This is LI4,” he says. “Press here for a few minutes for headache relief.”
Another popular acupuncture point is pericardium 6 (PC-6), also known as the Inner Pass. This is located about two inches up your forearm from the point where your wrist meets your hand, in between the two tendons. You can press on that point until you feel a pulse to relieve nausea. In fact, this is the idea behind the popular motion sickness relief bands that many people wear.
Next time you have a headache or are feeling queasy, give the principles of acupuncture a try for yourself, whether you’re at the office, in the comfort of your own home, or on the go.
Whether you’ve been fighting headaches or hormonal issues, or are just curious about how ancient healing traditions can boost your overall health and wellness, you might want to give acupuncture a try in 2018. After all, there’s got to be a reason that the treatment’s popularity has lasted for thousands of years and spread all the way around the globe.
“It is important to know what a powerful tool acupuncture is for preventative medicine,” Beristain says. “Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine focus on achieving balance in the body in order to prevent disease and maintain optimal health. Therefore, the consistent practice of acupuncture is really a great addition to the wellness regime of any person.”
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