Ear stapling Miracle diet or dangerous fad?
Published: January 20, 2006
[What is ear stapling for weight loss?] “Oh …,” Angie Hooker says as her physician punches a small, surgical staple into the upper cartilage of her left pinna (visible part of ear).
Angie’s ear isn’t bleeding, but from her countenance it’s clear to those in the room that little about the operation is pleasant. But Hooker, like many other Independence County residents, wants to lose weight enough to undergo the unproven and potentially dangerous procedure known as ear stapling.
While the origins of the procedure are debatable, the widely-held belief is ear stapling carried over from Eastern acupuncture, an ancient practice which consists of piercing the body with numerous fine needles in certain areas known as meridian (or simply acupuncture) points. [Acupuncture for Everyone: What It Is, Why It Works, and How It Can Help You]
The points are believed to affect and heal various muscles, nerves and organs. For example, an acupuncturist may treat a patient experiencing pain in his or her head by inserting a series of needles along the back of the neck or around the temples.
Stapling the ear through the upper cartilage, some believe, provides constant stimulation for the vagus or pneumogastric nerve, a very lengthy (the word vagus means wandering) nerve that supplies motor and sensory information from the mouth and larynx down to the large intestine and colon.
Stapling proponents believe stimulating the vagus nerve through the ear not only causes a decrease in appetite but also an increase in metabolism and a total rejection of certain foods such as sweets. [How to Think About Weird Things : Critical Thinking for a New Age]
“The staple applies pressure to the stomach point, and when clients rub the staples they tell us they have a noticeable decrease in sugar cravings. … We have had clients tell us some of their favorite foods now have a metallic taste … their bodies completely reject everything about it,” Shawna Culp, president of Miracle Staple LLC., told the Guard. “If it doesn’t work it is usually the user’s fault and it is more than a mental placebo. Just try it; it is amazing.”
Culp and her mother, Glenda Vaughn, began their business in August 2005. Vaughn, a former medical professional, learned the technique from a fellow nurse and began offering the service herself in the Enid, Okla. area. According to the company’s Web site, Miracle Staple now conducts seminars and stapling sessions across the country, charging $30 to $50 for the procedure. Culp maintained the staples remain effective for two to three months and most patients lose from 3 to 5 pounds a week without exercise.
“Some lose 40 pounds in three months. After that we sometimes have to remove the staple and do the procedure again. We always encourage our clients to eat healthy and exercise, but it works regardless of diet and exercise,” Culp said, adding the staple has been used for smoking cessation as well with a near 80 percent success rate. [Change One: The Breakthrough 12-Week Eating Plan: Lose Weight Simply, Safely & Forever]
Clients are instructed to rub the staples five to 10 times a day and clean them regularly. Reportedly the more the patient rubs the staples, the more success he or she will see.
The science behind the staple isn’t as far fetched as it may seem. According to Wikipedia.org, the vagus nerve does receive some sensation from the outer ear through the Auricular branch, also known as the Alderman’s nerve. Interestingly, the nerve was so-named because Anglo-Saxon aldermen would habitually eat (binge) and then stimulate the nerve in the ear to induce vomiting, so, reportedly, they could eat more.
So while Culp said ear stapling is an acupuncture technique which traces it roots back to the Far East, the origin of the procedure as a weight loss treatment could be much more Western.
But does it work? Yes it does, according to the recently stapled Anna Beams.
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