The Acupuncturist
Acupuncture made balikbayan Dr. Noel F. Zosa come back to the Philippines for good. Seeing most of us becoming very health conscious, he made it his goal to educate the Filipino people more about its amazing benefits as it is considered one of the best and proven effective alternative medicine today.
Dr. Zosa is a Licensed Acupuncturist who grew up in California. He decided to pursue a career in Complimentary Medicine traveling to China to learn how acupuncture is being practiced in the ancient eastern culture. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Technology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1999 and graduated with a Degree of Master of Science in Acupuncture from South Baylo University in Anaheim, California in 2005.
Inspired by his father being a pediatrician who also trained on medical acupuncture, the young Dr. Zosa was always intrigued by Eastern Philosophy, Buddhism, Feng Shui, and Tai Qi. Finding out that a person can be healed only with needles and herbs motivated him to go to school for it and took up acupuncture as his field of expertise.
In an interview, Dr. Zosa described what makes a good acupuncturist and revealed how he executes his craft. “Getting the patients to experience positive results is what makes a good acupuncturist wherein he incorporates proper diet, meditation, and exercise in his patient’s program,” he said.
“My philosophy in life is to always go for the win-win situation. The fact that acupuncture is natural, safe and effective makes it the best alternative medicine. It has been around for thousands of years so you know that it is a superior form of medicine,” he added.
Illnesses are caused by an imbalance in one of the organs of the body. Acupuncture gets to the root of this problem by figuring out the affected organs. This ancient method goes beyond encouraging the body to naturally heal itself with the use of super- thin needles inserted on specific body points that produce a balanced energy flow and a feeling of comfort and relief.
Acupuncture is popularly known to bring relief in hypertension, headache, migraine, back and neck pain, skin diseases, allergies, digestive and sleeping disorders, infertility and other gynecological problems. It also helps in the treatment of weight loss, detoxification, appetite control, stress and early stage cancer, substance and alcohol addiction, post-stroke rehabilitation and weak immune system, among others.
“There are no known side effects or overdose with acupuncture and there is zero incidents of deaths with it unlike the prescription medicines that damage the liver, kidneys and other organs of the body,” he disclosed.
“Living a healthy lifestyle and being prescription drug free are just a few of the long term benefits of acupuncture. If people were to neglect their health, it's going to cost them in the long run. You figure a stroke or heart attack will run a person in the hundreds of thousands of pesos. Acupuncture is about preventive medicine so they don't end up in the ER,” he said.
According to him, acupuncturists should communicate and explain clearly which points he/she will be needling to the patient and why. What sets him apart from most medical practitioners and acupuncturist is that when he prescribes an herbal formula, he gives his patient a photocopy of what he/she will be ingesting, making him/her informed on how the recommended dosages of the formula specifically targets the affected acupuncture points to achieve the desired effects.
Weight loss patients are the most challenging and difficult health cases that he has handled because only a few of them were successful. If people were to follow his diet regimen and come in for treatment once a week, it's guaranteed they will lose weight. However, the problem with the ones who were unsuccessful is that they quit the treatment and diet program after a couple of weeks. It takes patience and perseverance just as it is with any acupuncture treatment where most of the patients accumulated too much waste for a lot of years and that it will take a lot of time for them to be removed.
In his brochure, he has a grocery list of all the fruits and vegetables that are good for losing weight. According to him, the goal for losing weight is to make it as effortless and effective as possible. Walking around the mall for a couple of hours is just as effective and will burn just as many calories as going to the gym and running on the treadmill. Trying to find a hobby or a task that will burn calories but doesn't actually seem like exercising is what he aims for.
“I'm very optimistic on the future of acupuncture here in the Philippines because the people, especially my patients are getting tired of taking prescription medication and want to live a healthy lifestyle. I had the privilege of giving lectures to a group of medical doctors in China and they were totally receptive to the effects of success of acupuncture,” he enthused.
He said: “Acupuncture is being utilized now in top medical hospitals like Harvard, Yale, and John Hopkins in coordination with mainstream modalities or treatment. They have acupuncturist working hand in hand with them in treating diseases. I can see it as an accepted form of medical treatment here in the Philippines. Besides prescription medicines are very expensive here in the country and very few people can afford to buy. In the long term, acupuncture when used with herbs has a safer and much better result.
Asked about his message to people who would like to try acupuncture, he said: “I would definitely recommend acupuncture to people who have any health concerns and wants to feel better naturally. And to answer the most commonly asked question, no it doesn't hurt!
Noel Zosa, L.Ac. created a program that extends the philosophy of healing and balance of mind, body and spirit through acupuncture, healthy diet and regular exercise. In order to expand the knowledge and appreciation of his patient’s journey to wellness, he combines acupuncture with his prescribed herbal medicine which has unique formulas for any kind of ailment and his vibration-healing music and meditation for chakra balancing and inner peace. He maintains an acupuncture clinic in Pico Rivera, California and Long Beach, California. He recently opened his new clinic in Manila, Philippines.