How Do Acupuncture and Western Medicine Complement Each Other?
The complementary alternative medicine approach to fertility, whether natural or using an Assisted Reproductive Technique, is three-pronged. First, you have to deal with the nutritional deficiencies that are interfering with overall health and fertility. The critical nutraceutical elements and peaceful internal environment issues were addressed in the previous article. Second, acupuncture works as a powerful tool to assist in restoring balance to the body and channeling energy to the reproductive organs. And third, yoga comes in as the best mind-body form of exercise to complement the acupuncture and reduce stress. These article installments will delve into the ways nutrition, acupuncture and yoga can assist in restoring health and fertility, maintaining the pregnancy, and carrying the baby to full term.
Acupuncture for Fertility
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis, an acupuncture practitioner will go into a detailed history and physical exam to determine what the imbalances are in your body. This involves using two unique diagnostic tools: pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis. In TCM the causes of infertility can vary tremendously and the acupuncture points to correct the imbalances differ accordingly. Dietary choices have a huge impact, and can sometimes be the sole cause of these imbalances in the body; thus the proper nutritional management of conditions is extremely important in TCM.
In TCM, more than half the causes of infertility are due to deficiencies and the other half are due to excesses. The most common deficiency that results in infertility is a kidney deficiency, and the most common excess that results in infertility is excessive dampness and phlegm in the uterus. What does this mean and how does this correlate in Western medicine?
The most common cause of infertility is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). In TCM, PCOS is caused by dampness and phlegm against a background of kidney deficiency. Foods that cause dampness and phlegm in TCM are greasy foods. Once you get past the different terminology, it is evident that this is exactly what Western medicine research shows as contributory to PCOS. Greasy foods are excessive in refined vegetable oils and arachadonic acid, which can be a source of damaging and highly inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are precursors to inflammatory chemicals, one of which is prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2).1
We’re back to the Syndrome X backdrop; where we are in a proinflammatory state. What does proinflammatory mean? It means the body is in a chronic state of inflammation caused by the foods that are ingested; scars, cysts and tumors begin to form from the inflammatory byproducts because the body lacks the normal ability to break them down. This state is called one of hypofibrinolysis, a decreased ability to break down adhesions and scar tissue. This state not only causes PCOS, but is also associated with endometriosis, the probable second most common cause of infertility. Elevated levels of PGE2, which are otherwise absent, are found in the uterus in endometriosis. (ibid)
Although there are sometimes multiple overlapping causes of disease in TCM, I am using just one example for simplicity. Acupuncture to reduce the accumulation of phlegm and dampness in the body, along with nutrition to support this treatment, can significantly reduce contributory factors to PCOS and endometriosis.
- Bunlun SE et al. Estrogen production and metabolism in endometriosis. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2002; Mar 955:75-85