Ok, where was I. If you recall from Part 1 I was at my acupuncturist, Dr. Kim’s office, and he was giving me the history of constitutional acupuncture. Then we moved on to muscle testing.
Muscle Testing
Dr. Kim explained that muscle testing is part of the puzzle that will allow him the information to figure out what constitution I fall into. He said that typically if you test strong with a certain group of foods, you will test weak with another specific group. When I say test “weak” that means that when he places those particular foods in my hand or on my body, then it will essentially block the flow of electricity through my body, and cause my muscles to go weak. To test “strong” means that when those foods are in contact with my body, it will allow my muscles to not lose their strength or even become stronger.
Sounds really weird, but Google it and watch some videos on YouTube to get a better understanding. The testing is done using your arm or hands to resist pressure exerted on it by the doctor, meaning if your muscles go weak, then he can press your arm down, but if the muscles stay strong, you can resist the pressure. It’s really interesting and there is totally a scientific explanation for why this happens.
Anyway, back to the story. First he did a few trial tests with various items, I guess to make sure that my body was in a state where everything was flowing properly… not sure how else to describe it other than that. He tested two types of Scotch, yes Scotch, and I tested weak with one and strong with the other. Then he tested two types of herbs, and again I tested strong with one and weak with the other. He didn’t say much about what this meant, but I got the feeling that it proved whatever he was trying to prove, because he seemed satisfied and we moved on…
The following is a list of items that he tested on me, with the outcome of each. Brace yourselves, kiddies, I am about to rock your world.
- Leafy greens – weak
- Grapes – weak (this includes all grape products, including wine and champagne)
- Peaches – weak
- Cherries – weak
- Wheat – strong
- Coffee – strong
- CHOCOLATE – weak (tested 4x for verification… tear…)
- Dairy – strong
- Seafood – weak
- Egg whites – weak
Gasp, What Does This Mean???
According to Dr. Kim, this means, with a few tiny exceptions, these foods will always be foods that are not good for me. They will always cause me problems, because my body is not set up to digest them. These are the biggies. As my treatment with Dr. Kim continues, he will continue to add more foods to the “no good” list as he calls it, but for the most part, the foods on this list that create the weakness in my body are the ones that I really need to stay away from for optimal health.
You can imagine the combination of horror for my realization that my long-standing affair with chocolate is officially over combined with the utter elation that dairy is not the culprit for my distress, which I have thought for so long. Visions of cheeses, whey protein powder, and LATTES dancing in my head!
We chatted for a bit about the fact that my diet up to this point, and over the past 5 years has consisted of 99% of these foods. So, from now on, no spinach, no egg whites, but yolks are ok, no chocolate, not even cacao, no sushi, except he did say that I can have eel, and eventually I will be able to have a small amount of salmon. Not quite sure how this happens, but I plan to ask him more about it on a future visit. I asked him if broccoli and cauliflower are considered a leafy green, and he said no but not to eat them for now. Last, but not least, I asked him about dates, and he said no, no dates. Good-bye Larabars…
He went on to explain that he doesn’t know what my constitution is yet, but he is narrowing it down. By his explanation, I envision it like a giant funnel. We are near the top, widest rim, and as my treatment continues, and we see how I do each week with the adjustments, he will narrow it down further and further based on the results I am seeing from eliminating certain foods from my diet.
He also said that it is typical for someone who tests well with diary and coffee to test “no good” with chocolate, and vice versa. He told me how he is a meat eater, where his wife’s constitution is the total opposite, and she can only eat seafood, rice, and sea vegetables. I am soooooo thankful to be in my shoes. If I am really going to give this a go, which I am, I would much rather be able to have yogurt, and meat, and COFFEE, and CHEESE, and wheat, and nuts (I asked him about nuts and he said they are ok). I will survive without chocolate. Never in a million YEARS would I imagine myself saying that.
He finished up by doing the acupuncture… “doing the acupuncture,” that’s not right. How do I even say this correctly – performing? Anyway, he doesn’t leave the needles in like you typically see with acupuncture. He first swabs the areas between my feet and knees and my hands and elbows, and uses one little pin-like thingy to poke me in various areas on my toes, fingers, arms, legs, etc. I don’t even really feel it at all. It’s not even what I would call a pinch. If he didn’t tell me that he was pricking me, I don’t think I would have known.
Before I left I asked him if it was my gallbladder that was causing the problems and he said, “how did you know that?” And I told him that was what Dr. Jantz (my alternative doctor from Michigan) found – that my gallbladder was weak and sluggish, which was causing everything else to not work correctly. It is all interconnected. Dr. Kim said that he believes this as well and that the combo of the food guidelines and the acupuncture was going to fix that. I asked him about his opinion of the liver and gallbladder cleanses that are commonly discussed on the Internet, and he said “no good” and that I don’t need those. {Whew!}
So, that was the first visit. Still so many questions… What about acidity versus alkalinity? What about vitamins and minerals? Do I even need to take a multi-vitamin? What about my fish oils? What about chicken and turkey, if I can’t have eggs, isn’t that the same thing? What about stevia, it comes from a leaf!? And on and on.
I followed his guidelines to a T for a week and a half and felt somewhat better. Still had some digestive issues here and there, but nowhere near like before. I also noticed a difference in my complexion as well.
Visit #2
My second visit was on a Saturday, so Ryan went with me. YAY. He is afraid of needles (Ryan, your secret is out) and wanted to check it out for himself. It was cool that he went because Dr. Kim did a little impromptu muscle testing on him as well, and we found that his results were the same as mine, which makes things sooooo much easier because that means we can eat the same foods and don’t have to shop/cook for two different diets.
Dr. Kim asked me how I felt that week and I told him I was doing better however, I did have a turkey burger and a few fries on Sunday and I noticed a big difference in my digestion and skin after that. So he said to cut out all tomato and tomato products as well as potatoes. Sigh… oh ketchup, I will miss you. He said eventually I might be ok with a little bit of tomato, but not much.
I also brought some things from home for him to test. 
- Stevia – strong (YAY)
- Fish oils – weak
- My multi-vitamin – weak
I had a bottle of FIJI Water with me as well, and he said let’s test that as well, which was totally confusing to me at first because I thought he was saying “fizzy” water, and I was thinking, no it’s just plain water. It tested strong and he explained that his wife, the opposite constitution as me, can’t have it.
I asked him about some other things like POM and he said, no for me that is “no good” and lemons, and he said no, citrus is not good for me either. He said if I am to drink alcohol, beer is best, but really alcohol isn’t good period. I also asked him about the multi-vitamin and if I need to take any period, and he said, “do lions take multi-vitamins?” He makes a good point. Again, he finished up with my pinpricks, and we were on our way.
What Do I Eat?
So how have I been getting in my roughage you ask? Well, I’ve been having salads. I just leave out the greens and pile on everything else – cucumbers, carrots, green onions, sprouts, beets, peppers, etc.
I have been eating cheese, and yogurt, and fruit, and meats, protein powder, oatmeal, nuts, and nut butters, asparagus, green beans, sprouted bread…
I thought about how coffee can be good for me when I have read so much about it being acidic, and it occurred to me that maybe it is only acidic in a body that cannot digest it. So it would be acidic for someone who’s constitution is the opposite of mine, but would not be acidic in my body? Just a thought.
The Role of Mindset
As you may know, I believe that mindset is really the most important aspect of health. If you don’t feel healthy, happy, vital and alive, then you just plain and simple are not going to be healthy. Our mind is waaaaaaay stronger than many of us believe. When Dr. Kim mentioned the possibility of being able to eat certain foods once again, he said it depends on the strength of the mind. If you have a strong mind, you will be able to get away with more, if you don’t, then you are going to feel the repercussions.
I agree with him. I have noticed that health, fitness, weight loss, etc feels elegant and almost effortless when I focus my attention on empowering thoughts that make me feel happy, grateful, and good about myself and my body, rather than focusing on the things that I previously would have labeled as flaws. When we feel good mentally, I believe that transfers over into physical strength, meaning our immune system, bodily functions, etc operates at peak condition. This is why it’s so important to pay attention to the mental aspect of well-being.
A New Adventure Begins
So, we will see where this adventure leads. I am willing to be open to the process and see how it goes. I will keep you posted on my progress and let you know if I see any major changes. Please keep in mind, this is a very individual thing, so what works for me might not be what works for you. My purpose in sharing this is not to say,
“Hey this is what you need to do,”
…but instead to say…
“Hey, if you, like me, have had health challenges and can’t seem to figure out what the root cause is, maybe this is something you want to learn more about too.”
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Why can’t you have chocolate since you tested “strong” for it? All the others you tested strong for, you are able to have (dairy, wheat, etc.)
it will bs interesting to see how all if this works for you! Keep us posted!
Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out Missy. I just fixed it in the post to read correctly. I tested weak for chocolate, not strong.
Wow! VERY interesting! It kinda gets ya thinking….I am anxious to hear more!
Would be great to hear an update after all these months.?
Hi Tracy,
Around Christmas time I gave a bit of an update in the post, My Body Goals | Disclaimer. My intuition was telling me that I should have some bloodwork done as well, so that I could combine science with the holistic approach. I felt like the acupuncture may have been working, but I wasn’t seeing the results that I was looking for, and just felt like something was missing. Once I visited the new doctor, who was referred to my by a friend, I had a full panel of bloodwork done and began taking some supplements to address the areas that were low/high. I started seeing some dramatic results in just a few weeks. He also re-tested various foods on me, through muscle testing, and found that I was not allergic to chocolate, but was in fact allergic to chicken, shellfish, grapes, cruciferous veggies (broccoli), corn, and a few other things. Muscle testing is an interesting thing… I tend to wonder if the doctor who is performing the testing.. if their own energy/energy blocks could skew the results, since they are using their body to perform the testing (he is holding my arm, with his hand during the testing). That’s the only explanation in my mind as to why one doctor would find something different than another.
Anyway, I have been avoiding these foods, and have been doing really well. I’ve also incorporated monthly massages into my routine, as well as journaling and meditation, and I REALLY think these have been huge factors as well. I’ve noticed quite a difference in my stress levels, which is what the second doctor basically said was a major part of the problem. The hormonal issues I’ve been having, are directly related to my stress levels, and if I can learn to destress and teach my body to not internalize stress, then I would see dramatic improvements. And he’s right, with the combo of the supplements (which I will only be taking for a short period of time) and the other destressors, I really have seen some great results.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions!
For an update on where my journey went from here (and where I’ve found the most success of all), go to Take Your Power Back.
Hi Tracy,
It was so interesting reading your post because I just started going to Dr. Kim a couple weeks ago. Going for my 3rd visit tomorrow. I had most of the same symptoms and issues as you did and like you went to another naturopath before and he treated me with supplements and also chiropractic adjustments. The supplements helped a lot but I agree with Dr. Kim that we shouldn’t need to use supplements if we are on the proper diet for our constitution.
It’s been an interesting adventure. I’m like his wife (at least he’s pretty sure) where I can only eat seafood and veggies. Thank God he said I could have red wine or I don’t know if I could do this! But after 2 weeks on the diet I haven’t felt bloated or had stomach pains at all. My stomach is actually flat again and I’ve lost about 5 pounds. That makes it much easier to stay on the diet plan and actually all my cravings for bad stuff went away so the longer I stay on it, the easier it gets.
I’m so glad I found him. I’ve referred three other friends to him and we are all on different diets. It makes so much sense to me.
Good luck on your journey. It’s definitely an adventure!
Sorry, I meant to address it to Sheila, not Tracy!
Hi Kei,
That is so awesome that you are seeing such incredible results. Keep me posted on your progress!
I went to a Korean Doctor a few years back and found out my constitution is “Cholecystonia”, however, my doctor didn’t perform any of the strength tests like Dr. Kim did on you. He just felt my pulse in various locations to determine my consitution . The kind of accupuntcure is the same, but the determination of the body constitution was different – however, after being poked and prodded by western doctors – my Korean doctor was able to pin point a fish allergy – and I have not eaten fish in 3 years, it’s so sad, but it has really made a world of difference. Anyway – my question to you is, where did you find Dr. Kim? You mentioned you moved to California, but where in CA? While I’m grateful my doctor figured out what was one of the things in my diet causing me such grief, he was not good at explaining things or really talking much for that matter. I would like to learn more, and like you – I’d rather pay now and get my body in optimum health, rather than pay more later and G-d forbid actually get sick. I live in Los Angeles, not sure if you do too – or if you would be comfortable sharing your doctors info, but if you do – or you have referrals for me, I would greatly appreicate it. I found your blog while searching online and I must say, I’m very impressed. Thank you for your time!
Hi Nicole! I’m so glad you decided to say hello.
Dr Kim is in Beverly Hills (I’ll email you his contact info).
I’m not sure if you saw my response to one of the commenters above, but I gave a little bit of an update in Take Your Power Back about what’s happened for me personally since I wrote this post back on October of 2009. I haven’t been back to see any Dr Kim since 2009. He was very nice and super interested in helping, but I reached a point where I had so many conflicting beliefs about what was right and wrong in terms of health that I decided I needed to just stop trying so hard and being so worried about being healthy.
For me, it took “letting go” in order to let my body regulate itself and get back to a healthy place. It’s amazing the changes I’ve seen since deciding to stop following everyone else’s directions, and start carving out the path that just felt right to me. Ironically, I think the stress of feeling like there was something wrong with me, was actually a big part of what was wrong with me. Once I let the stress go, things sort of magically started fixing themselves.
I’m only saying this to let you know where I’m at now and this is just my personal experience. I’m open to chatting more about it, if you’d like. Good luck to you, and I hope that you are able to get your body back in its groove once again!
I go to Dr. Kim also (have gone 2x). Heard about him from a guy i overheard talking to a cashier about his tendon issues at Trader Joes!! We chatted and got Dr. Kim’s # from him. I kind of wonder how accurate it is…. although I sense the muscle testing is good but maybe you are on to something with wondering if Dr. Kim’s constitution affects the results. My husband did the muscle testing on me and i had diff results. I might go to Dr. Kim one more time to see what he has to say for the third visit but it’s expensive and my insurance doesnt cover it. We’ll see.
Here’s my test results:
wheat – no
beef – no (eh, dont really eat much any way)
pork – no
cheese – no!
dairy – no (waaahh!!)
corn – yes
coffee – no (thought so)
rice – yes (great, now i gotta start eating rice)
tomatoes – yes (hello spagheti sauce, on rice noodles?)
CHOCOLATE – yes!! (thank the good Lord)
onions – yes (again, so happy)
garlic – in moderation
eggs – no (what?!!? eggs are essential in making Cakes and Brownies, and Cookies. Sad. wait… wheat is essential in that too, aww man.)
beans – nope
lentils – no
berries – no
melons – ….. i dont want to write the result. its a “no”
pineapple – no
mango – yes
peaches – yes
water – no. just kidding.
Haha, your comments crack me up.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I wish you the best of luck and I really do think Dr Kim truly believes in what he does and cares about his patients. I’m sure that some people have seen great results working with constitutional acupuncture, but for me, it wasn’t the best fit… however it did help me to learn more clearly how to listen to my body over and above outside feedback.
Came cross this while googling more info on cholecystonia, because that’s what my acupunturist said was my type. Like someone else above, mine was ‘diagnosed’ mainly by feeling the pulse, but also doing the pricking thing all over to see the blood colour in different parts of the body etc. I’d actually gone in for a muscle injury but he checked this too. I’m generally a skeptic when it comes to this sort of stuff, but I couldn’t help but believe him straight away because he was telling an explaining all these things about my body and eating habits that were spot on without my having told him. The main thing was that even though my portions weren’t that much more than the average person, I weighed a lot more than most of my friends. Turned out my average diet was the complete opposite of what I should be eating.
With cholecystonia, the focus is on meat an root vegetables, and like you said, greens and seafood not so much. Well guess what my daily diet and favorite foods consist of: fish (ESP salmon!), seafood (maybe it’s the Asian in me, but I mean all seafood, even the ‘freaky’ things like sea cucumber, etc), seaweed, salads leaves, spinach, white bread, mangoes, grapes, fish, seafood, fish, seafood…. Basically everything on that list my body type can’t digest well etc, thus ending up as fat. And a lot of my weight ends up on my lower stomach, because of the weak stomach thing – I need to keep it warm otherwise the body will just compensate by creating more fat around there.
So it’s been about 3 weeks since I took a that into consideration, and been to regular acupuncture sessions, plus herbal medicine set by Dr. Sun to help with the weight loss. My diet has primarily consisted of meat (I prefer chicken and hate beef but have been trying to eat mainly beef and pork), sweet potatoes (root vegetables.. Not so keen on potatoes), carrots, rice, eggs (although I didn’t know about egg whites, so I should skip that), beans, soy milk, seeds and I’m definitely feeling much better. Not to overshare, but big improvements on the bowel movements (he said an improvement here would be v noticeable). Interestingly, the numbers haven’t reduced for my weight, which is a surprise considering how much smaller I look already – I’ve noticeably become much smaller in the face, stomach and back, which are some of the places that my weight shows up the most.
So overall it’s going pretty well for me – the beef is driving me nuts, but I’m trying. It’s been so good having an acupuncturist who actually explains things in detail, too. Just thought I’d share my experience as well, mostly because I’m now fascinated by this wholee thing, and it’s been great hearing about others’ experiences
Thank you for sharing Kat! We’d love for you to keep us updated on your progress.
is there a contact number for Dr. Kim
Hi Pat,
I just emailed you the phone number.