Asian Diet: Top 9 Weight-Loss Mistakes

In Chinese medicine, sweets create dampness in the body, which leads to weight gain. Madhourse/iStock

Several years ago, I worked with Ralph, a guy in his midforties who was experiencing back and leg pain. Ralph came for acupuncture once a week for quite a while. After his treatments, his back and legs would be better for a few days, but the pain always came back.

The problem was that Ralph was carrying around a beer gut that had to weigh about 50 pounds, and it was putting an incredible strain on Ralph’s back and the back of his legs. Simple things like mowing the lawn would put enough stress on Ralph’s muscles that it would send him back to my treatment table for some pain relief.