FEBRUARY, 2019 | Th e HEALTH
WOMEN
25
25
Obesity aff ecting
fertility in us
Being overweight or obese will lower chances of getting
pregnant. Traditional Chinese medicine can be an option to
consider in helping you lead a healthier lifestyle and improve
your fertility
T
HE fine arts of Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM) is a complete practice
in health, as it accommodates the better-
ment from various ailments and illnesses.
Overweightness and obesity are consid-
ered ailments, which can aff ect a person’s
fertility along with overall health.
Xi Slim & Beauty TCM Centre is where you can
seek supplementary treatment for overweightness,
especially if you are looking to have a child.
What causes infertility
among the overweight and obese?
It is commonly known that being overweight or obese
will make it diffi cult to conceive, however, many of us
don’t really know the exact reason.
Ng Ai Fang, Physician and Acupuncturist at Xi
Slim & Beauty TCM Centre explains, “Th e fatty acids,
which are present more in women who are overweight,
can alter the level of hormones in our body. And the
hormonal imbalance may aff ect a women’s ovulation
as well as the quality of ovaries.”
“Moreover, high blood sugar level will produce higher
level of insulin, which can lead to higher resistance to
insulin. Some women who are overweight, with high
levels of insulin and abnormal level of testosterone
could stop ovulating altogether.”
It’s a problem for men too
And the problem, it seems, doesn’t just exist in women.
Ng also tells that overweightness and obesity in men
can lead to male infertility as well. “High level of body
fat in men may cause higher level of estrogen (female
hormones) produced in the body, which will aff ect the
quality of sperm.”
Balancing the hormones
through traditional means
Physician and acupuncturist Kelly Ang Kai Lee explains,
“Th e TCM way of implementing treatment for women
who are obese is to identify her fl ow of Qi. Most of the
time, women who are having fertility trouble caused by
obesity has stagnancy of Qi and hormonal imbalance.
Th erefore with acupuncture and herbal remedies, these
two issues can be managed.”
Applying pressure to certain ‘acupoints’ throughout
the body will relieve the fl ow of Qi, and help to balance
out hormone production.
“Th is means that it can help to lower testosterone
production in women when there is too much, encour-
age better ovulation, and also regulate the body’s
internal environment and relieve blockages of Qi,”
adds Kelly.
Acupuncture is also used to help women with their
appetite. According to Kelly, the treatment can help
them to have lesser cravings. Lesser cravings means
lesser unhealthy food, and lesser unhealthy food leads
to better weight management.
Th e same applies to male patients as well. Addition-
ally, acupuncture can also help improve sperm count
Kelly Ang Kai Lee (left) and Ng Ai Fang are two
physicians at Xi Slim & Beauty TCM Centre with
passion to help women to improve their lifestyle
and beauty.
and sperm mobility in men.
Promotes better
blood fl ow and overall health
Improving blood fl ow is also one of the main focus
of the treatment. “Good blood fl ow can help with the
overall health of the uterus and the uterine lining, and
you need healthy uterine lining for embryo to safely
attach to it. Th e quality of eggs will also improve from
good blood fl ow,” She tells.
In short, the combination of acupuncture and herbal
remedies can not only help with weight loss, but also to
improve the overall ovarian function.
Individually catered
Treatment at Xi Slim & Beauty T CM Centre is highly
personalized. Anyone wishing to try out will fi rst go
through a round of consultation to assess the problems
they face. Th en acupuncture and herbal remedies will
be prescribed as needed.
“For women looking to get pregnant but are having
problems due to being overweight, our treatment can
help promote better lifestyle habit and improve ovula-
tion. We would advise anyone wanting to get pregnant
to get treatment at least three months before the date.
Our treatment can also help supplement IVF treatment
and improve on its results,” says Ng.
Body Mass
Index is a
guideline to
help us identify
whether we are
underweight,
normal,
overweight,
obese, and
morbidly
obese.
Age is also an important factor
Having said that the treatment can improve the success
rate of IVF and women’s fertility as a whole, age is a
factor not to be taken lightly. Ng says that “women
under 35 who undergo TCM treatment can improve the
success rate of IVF by about 40 percent.” Th e percentage
gets lower as age progresses. — Th e Health
TCM can be for all
EVEN though the practice is called
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),
benefi ts of the various treatments that
makes up TCM can be brought to everyone.
The majority of women and men who go
for TCM treatments are usually Chinese,
however more and more people of other
ethnicities are starting to accept TCM
treatments.
Recently, the Xi Group TCM Centre
(Xi Fertility, Xi Women’s Health, Xi Slim &
Beauty, Xing Lin) have recorded a signifi cant
increase in numbers of Malay and Indian
patients as well as patients of other ethnic
backgrounds. Many of them are looking to
better themselves in health and wellness.
TCM is based on the understanding of natural
ingredients and materials, and how they can
improve one’s health.
Kelly Ang Kai Lee and Ng Ai Fang,
Physicians and Acupuncturists welcomes
patients from all walks of life because we are
all the same and can be benefi t from TCM as
well. “There is no singular cause for obesity.
Factors such as genetics, age, lifestyle, diet
and even emotions can lend to it. What TCM
can do for you is to help regulate your body’s
internal environment and aid with weight loss
accompanied by proper diet,” Kelly says. Just
as there are no boundaries to who can get
affected by overweightness and obesity, there
are also no boundaries to who can benefi t
through TCM treatments. And for those t
are afraid of needles? Perhaps you can even
overcome your fears of acupuncture for the
health benefi ts that comes with it.