✨Acupuncture: From Woo-Woo to Woo-Hoo Vibes✨
Acupuncture
We’re delighted to be welcoming back Dr. Fatima Al-Hudaid, Senior Chinese Medicine Practitioner, as a guest contributor on our blog! Gut health plays a crucial role in overall well-being, and in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the digestive system is seen as the foundation of vitality. In this second installment with Dr. Fatima, we explore acupuncture!
Have you ever wondered how acupuncture actually works? 🤔
It’s one of the most common questions I get in clinic—and the answer often surprises people. Let me share one story that left a patient in awe after years of feeling like her health had abandoned her…
A Real-Life Story of Healing
One of my lovely patients, a woman in her 70s, came in with an enlarged spleen caused by a serious blood condition. Her daily life was impacted by:
🤢 Nausea & vomiting after meals
😣 Constant ache under the ribs from spleen enlargement
🛌 Poor, disrupted sleep
🧍🏽♀️ Nagging lower back pain
💩 Frequent loose bowels
🥱 Fatigue and brain fog
She felt stuck in a loop of pain and exhaustion. She’d never tried Chinese medicine before, but her daughter encouraged her to give it a go. 🧡
What Happened Next?
Within the first 2–3 sessions of acupuncture, she began noticing a clear reduction in symptoms. Within a couple of weeks of acupuncture and herbal medicine support, she experienced:
✨ A significant easing of pain and discomfort
✨ A major reduction in nausea and vomiting
✨ An uplifting boost in energy and overall wellbeing
She could finally enjoy meals out again—without fearing she'd be sick afterward. 🍽️💬
With ongoing specialist care, acupuncture and herbs gave her body a gentle, powerful nudge toward healing. 🍃🙏🏽
Modern Science Catches Up
While acupuncture is ancient, modern research supports its benefits, too! 🧪
According to the World Health Organization’s 2003 report:
Acupuncture relieved epigastric pain more effectively than medications like anisodamine or morphine in some trials
It’s helpful for nausea and vomiting
It may support gut conditions like IBS and ulcerative colitis as a complementary therapy
Let’s Talk Qi ⚡
Take a moment. Breathe in deeply. Breathe out however feels right. Feel that shift in your body? That’s your nervous system hitting the brakes—switching from “fight-or-flight” into the healing “rest-and-digest” mode. ✨
This is where acupuncture shines.
Why? Because Qi (pronounced "chee"), the life force in Chinese Medicine, is deeply connected to breath, energy, and vitality.
Qi Comes in Many Forms:
🩸 Ying Qi (Nourishing Qi): Circulates nutrients through vessels & meridians
🛡️ Wei Qi (Defensive Qi): Protects you from external pathogens
🧬 Prenatal Qi: Your inherited essence from your parents
🥗 Postnatal Qi: The energy you build from food, drink, air, and rest
Acupuncture: A Reset for Your Energy Flow
With over 2,500 years of use, acupuncture works like a signal booster for your Qi and blood—unblocking pathways (aka meridians) and restoring balance. 🌀
Gut Health & Acupuncture: What Research Shows
A 2022 review in Frontiers explored how electro-acupuncture (tiny electric pulses on needles) stimulates the brainstem to modulate:
Acetylcholine
Norepinephrine
GABA
This helps the nervous system shift from stress to healing mode, easing symptoms like:
💫 Nausea
💫 Bloating
💫 Motion sickness
💫 General tummy troubles
Your Personal Qi Detective 🕵️♀️
As a TCM practitioner, I look for where Qi is stuck—and gently get it flowing again. It's like resetting your body’s Wi-Fi so everything runs better:
✨ Feel lighter
✨ Sleep deeper
✨ Digest smoother
✨ Stress less
Qi in Harmony: The Small Intestine–Heart Connection ❤️
Did you know TCM has long understood what modern science now calls the Gut-Brain Axis?
In Chinese Medicine, there are 12 main meridians—paired into 6 yin-yang duos. One fascinating pair is:
🔬 Small Intestine (Yang): Sorts nutrients from waste
💡 Heart (Yin): Governs emotions, clarity, and the Shen (spirit)
When Qi flows freely between them:
✅ Digestion improves
✅ Emotions stabilize
✅ Mental clarity returns
When Qi is blocked:
⚡ Bloating, constipation, or diarrhea
⚡ Mental fog and scattered thinking
⚡ Sudden mood swings
See how it’s all connected? 🌀
Acupuncture supports your gut health by treating the whole you—not just the symptoms.
Written by Dr. Fatima Al-Hudaid, Senior Chinese Medicine Practitioner. Connect with her on LinkedIn for more insights or to chat about how acupuncture can help you or a loved one.
