healthbriefs
October 24 is Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Day T
he popularity of acupuncture in the United States is increasing steadily, according to a study of Americans’ use of the ancient Chinese energy-balancing technique, published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Researchers found that in 2007, 6 percent of adult Americans included acupuncture as part of their regular health care regimen, up 42 percent from
2002 (at that time, the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine also reported that 60 percent of adults surveyed considered acupuncture as a treatment option).
Most commonly used for pain relief, acupuncture is based on the theory that needle stimulation of specific points on the body’s energy channels, called merid- ians, corrects imbalances and helps restore health. Some Western experts believe that the needles stimulate pain-sensing nerves, which trigger the brain to release endorphins, the body’s pain-relieving chemicals.
Former President Richard Nixon is generally credited with popularizing acu- puncture in the West after he toured medical facilities during his visit to China in 1972. New York Times reporter James Reston, who was traveling with Nixon and underwent an emergency appendectomy during the trip, wrote extensively about the post-operative pain relief he experienced.
Breast Health
O
ctober is Breast
Cancer
Awareness Month, and thousands of well-meaning healthcare providers will continue to recommend mammograms.
However, a growing body of research suggests that X-ray mammography may not be the best screening approach, at least on an annual basis, and even the National Cancer Institute notes potential harms ranging from false results to overtreatment and radiation exposure.
A 2006 study published in the British Journal of Radiobiology re- vealed that the type of radiation used in X-ray-based screenings is more carcinogenic than previously be- lieved. The researchers wrote, “Recent radiobiological studies have provided compelling evidence that the low- energy X-rays used in mammography are approximately four times—but possibly as much as six times—more likely to cause mutational damage than higher energy X-rays.” Peter Gøtzsche is director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre and an author of the landmark 2001 Co- chrane systematic review, Screening for Breast Cancer with Mammogra- phy, which concludes, “Currently available reliable evidence has not shown a survival benefit of mass screening for breast cancer.” In 2011, Gøtzsche stated, “It is getting more and more difficult to argue that mammography is reasonable to [use] for breast screening.”
20 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
Screening Questioned
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64