the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in 1992, under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health, to investigate and evaluate promising unconventional medical practices. In the 21st century, it’s been picked up more widely under the concept of integrative medicine, in which conventional medical and more natural therapies are used to comple- ment one another. This encouraging development also reflects current trends among major categories of therapies that take body, mind and spirit into account.
Acupuncture/Traditional
GOES MAINSTREAM Today’s Complementary Trends Support Natural Health Care by Kathleen Barnes
ALTERNATIVE H
aven’t we all at some time shifted to more healthy foods, enjoyed a massage, consulted with a chiro- practor or naturopath, popped a vitamin C supplement or attended a yoga, Tai chi, qigong or Pilates class? Many of us also meditate regularly and pray for sick friends and relatives.
If we’ve engaged in any of these activities, we are among the nearly two-thirds of Americans that use com- plementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies each year. While these approaches to wellness have been prac- ticed for millennia, it’s only been in the past decade or so that they have begun to move from the U.S. alternative fringe into the American mainstream. The widespread use of CAM therapies is due to a confluence of three trends: a growing body of cred-
32 Collier/Lee Counties
ible scientific research that supports their effectiveness; popular demand for these natural, non-invasive and effective therapies; and growing recognition by conventional practitioners that healing is accomplished through holistic treatments that address body, mind and spirit.
Signs of the Times
Today, even the staid American Medical Association recommends a multivita- min supplement for virtually everyone; you can find a yoga class in almost any YMCA or community college; presti- gious medical schools have departments of complementary and alternative medi- cine; and some hospitals are encourag- ing their staff to become proficient in en- ergy medicine and healing techniques. The U.S. government established
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Chinese Medicine Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) requires a dramatic mental shift away from symptom- related modalities of Western medicine. Here, one’s wellness and illness is based on managing the flow of energy, or chi (pronounced CHEE), through the body. TCM has been used in China and others parts of Asia for 5,000 years. Its core concept requires that the practitioner treat the underlying causes of disease, rather than just the symptoms. TCM has now become foundational in modern thinking as well, prompting an understanding that the entire organ- ism—body, mind and spirit—must be ad- dressed in order for healing to take place. “Homotoxicology is the most exciting trend in TCM today,” says Jonathan Wald, an acupuncture physi- cian and academic dean of East West College of Natural Healing, in Sarasota, Florida. He explains: “It’s a blend of homeopathy, acupuncture and herbal medicine, with allopathic diagnostic techniques.” Homotoxicology (some- times called biopuncture) applies herb- al and homeopathic solution injections at specifically related energy meridian points to relieve various disease condi- tions or pain and rebalance the body. Another promising development is use of the Ryodaraku machine that measures electrical resistance to identify diseases in their beginning stages, afford- ing early treatment. “I think of Ryodaraku almost as a TCM form of a blood test,” says Wald. “It helps us see what’s going on and we can often correct it with a little electrical stimulation pen.” Today, TCM and Western allo-
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