The festivity has already begun with the smell of pumpkin latte. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve approaching, weight loss will soon be the hot topic on the table or be on the New Years resolution list for 2022.
Studies have confirmed that being overweight and obese increases the risk of deadly diseases. Although losing weight seems Mission Impossible, your body and health highly benefit from it.
Weight loss not only impacts your confidence positively but also your long-term health. While dietary plans of Keto, Atkins, South Beach, and the Mediterranean have become seasonal trends, workout exercises like yoga, Pilates, HIIT, and weight lifting are always in season. The constant weight loss phenomenon is not just in the west but also in the east.
Interestingly, Traditional Chinese Medicine has its unique take on weight loss.
Japanese physician, diabetes expert, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, Kudo Takafumi, believes that obesity is a type of physique when a body loses balance. Hence, people can become thinner by aiming to change their body shapes. Dr. Takafumi also used this method to shed 25 kg (55 Lbs), from 92 kg (202 Lbs) to 67 kg (148 Lbs).
Dr. Takafumi reckons that stress is one of the primary causes of gaining weight. Psychological stress affects the neuro system, confusing the balance of appetite in our central nervous system, which leads to binge eating.
Why cant you keep the weight off?
The emphasis is not on the pressure from work, but the doctor refers to peoples mental state such as worrying about trivial things, irritability, depression, or rage, which are all manifestations of psychological pressure
In addition, when gastrointestinal metabolism becomes abrupt, metabolism will stagnate, resulting in edema and fluid retention. Despite consuming little food, people with gastric issues often find themselves putting on extra pounds, the Japanese author said.
Dr. Takafumi also mentions that different types of obesity are signs of physical regulation imbalance. Diet control and exercises may reduce calorie intake, boost metabolism, and help lose weight in a short period. However, as soon as patients return to everyday lifestyles and busy work schedules, they regain all the weight. For many people, maintaining a healthy body weight over the long term is difficult. That is why many people give up on trying.
Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses on the overall functioning and balance of the human body, the patients physicality, and the law of nature.
Takafumi said, The role of traditional Chinese Medicine is to restore the normal functioning of the internal organs, to achieve balance.
Therefore, various types of herbal medicines will be prescribed based on the kinds of body types and obesity.
Japanese and Chinese TCM practices have many similarities. After the Tang Dynasty in 900 AD, Chinese medical theories and works were passed on to Japan, Korea, Central Asia, and West Asia.
The earliest known documentation of Traditional Chinese medicine (Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor) existed over two thousand years ago and Chinese medicine theory dates back, at least, to the Shang Dynasty more than three thousand years ago.
Japanese culture was profoundly influenced by Traditional Chinese culture, before it branched off and evolved into its own civilization, such as its own use of Chinese characters, writing, and medicine.
For obesity caused by stress and anxiety, Dr. Takafumi recommended Chaihy soup to enhance blood circulation and metabolism and improve constipation.
As for binge eating patients, he suggests Windproof Shengsa improves the overall physical metabolism, burns accumulated fat as well as suppresses appetite.
The diet expert also pointed out that the human body changes with the seasons. It is less likely to gain weight if patients consume seasonal food and change their lifestyle accordingly.,
The human metabolic rate will slow down in the summer. The Japanese doctor suggests eating more raw vegetables, fruits, fried fruit, seaweed, and natto beans.
To maximize sweating and calorie burning, Dr. Takafumi presented the following quick metabolic boost method during the slow season:
Run hot water in your bathtub. Sit there for three minutes as a warm-up. Then leave the tub. Rest for five minutes. Repeat several times.
This in-and-out method will not only make the body perspire and burn calories but will help improve blood circulation. Smooth blood circulation is crucial to sustaining an excellent metabolic rate.
Since winter days usually feel shorter due to earlier sundown, Dr. Takafumi recommends everyone go outside to absorb some sunlight more often. Sunshine provides serotonin secretion, an endocrine hormone for boosting mood and feeling joyful. That is why it is also called the happiness hormone. Serotonin affects various physical and emotional functions; it protects brain neurons and prevents brain degeneration. The happiness hormone helps stop bleeding, suppress pain, and repair cells.
A medical journal published by Oxford Academic confirms that Serotonin has emerging roles in regulating metabolism, mood, and neural and non-neural functions in the human body.
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), is key to mediating various central and peripheral functions in the human body.
The study writes, Serotonins inhibitory effect on appetite has led to the approval of receptor agonists for treating obesity. Furthermore, digestion, insulin production, and liver repair depend on peripheral serotonin-mediated signaling.
In other words, the more happiness hormones you create, the more weight you will lose.
Ellen Wan and Weber Lee contributed to this article.
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