Small News/Politics Graphic The Roots of Healing
by Peter Barry Chowka
From Natural Healthline

The five part series, called "The Roots of Healing," is airing April 28-May 2 on approximately ninety non-commercial radio stations around the country as part of a new daily hour long news magazine broadcast called "The World," produced jointly by the British Broadcasting Corporation, Minnesota-based Public Radio International (which, like National Public Radio, provides programming to stations around the U.S.), and Boston's WGBH radio.

"The World" is a truly international broadcast (but aimed primarily at a U.S. audience), produced in Boston and London by a staff of over 50, representing a host of nationalities and countries, and in the field by a network of 100 international journalists, most of them natives of the countries or regions from which they report. "The World" also airs throughout Europe on the America One channel.

A preview tape of four of the five parts of "The Roots of Healing" and a partial transcript of the fifth segment provided to me by the program's publicist allowed me to review the series before it was broadcast. The first segment features an interview with Andrew Weil, MD (author of "Eight Weeks to Optimum Health" and several other best selling books), a somewhat predictable yet appropriate choice for the only U.S.-based segment given Weil's extensive experience with transnational traditional healing modalities and his extraordinary ability to communicate broad concepts succinctly. Weil notes, for example, that "Nature is the fundamental source of healing. In our enthusiasm for technology, I think we've turned our back on nature and cut ourselves off from the roots of healing." He observes that alternative healing has long been popular in other countries, where it is typical for families to treat most ailments with natural remedies, seeking professional medical attention only for very serious conditions. This tendency is in direct contrast, Weil says, to the U.S. approach to health care.

"The Roots of Healing" continues with fascinating reports about indigenous medicine in India, Brazil, South Africa, and China. The one from India on Ayurveda, reported by Sunita Thakur, "The World's" correspondent in Delhi, opens with an interview with several patients, one of whom notes, "I've had sinusitis for the past 2-3 years. I tried allopathy but got little benefit from it. But from Ayurvedic medicine I've become a great deal better. I believe in Ayurveda and it seems to have no side effects. Ayurveda is good for long term illnesses although for surgery I think allopathy is much more advanced." In the segment from South Africa, "cultural healer" Isaac Myeng is interviewed. Myeng, according to a news release from "The World" about the series, "has a master's degree in medicinal chemistry from Columbia University but returned to South Africa to continue his cultural healing practice which combines natural remedies and spiritual rituals to cure ailments." Myeng's work provides an example, according to "The World," of "a global shift toward institutional acceptance of alternative healing."

According to the draft transcript of the segment from China, airing on May 2, correspondent Mike Laris visits China's leading acupuncture clinic, located in one of the winding alleyways of ancient Beijing. He speaks with several patients undergoing the procedure as well as the institute's head.

From the script:

(Laris): Leaving the patients to their needles, I walk upstairs to meet the head of the clinic. With his long white beard, worn blue Mao jacket and brown, rotting teeth, Professor Cheng seemed to have stepped straight out of central casting. He began to study acupuncture at the age of 11, and now, at 77, he is one of China's leading practitioners. He pulls out a rubber model of the human body which looked like a voodoo doll and runs through the basic theory of how acupuncture works. . . that there are pressure points all around the body which can be manipulated by acupuncture needles to precisely regulate the body's energy. Yet even though he has studied acupuncture all his life, he admits there is still a certain amount of mysticism that he can't explain.

(Professor Cheng): "The basis for acupuncture has still not been found. Everyone is studying this. We are studying it here in China, and acupuncturists from other countries are studying it. But there is no unified answer."

Mike Laris also speaks with Dr. Zhou Ynxian, who was trained in Western medicine, but 25 years ago switched to acupuncture.

(Dr. Zhou): "Because I understand both, it is beneficial to my patients. Let's say one of my patients has diabetes, and begins to have some sort of pathologic change. I would understand exactly what was happening. Or if there was some deterioration, I would know that is what happens with diabetes. Then I could decide how to best treat him whether with Chinese medicine or with acupuncture, or with Western medicine. I can provide more choices, which is good for the patient. Many people didn't understand acupuncture. They thought it was just some folk cure that ordinary people were using. Now many patients don't use Western medicines. They've gone to Western doctors who say, 'I can't cure this. Go get Chinese medicine or acupuncture.' "

(Laris): Ironically, as China modernizes in so many areas of life, Dr. Zhou says that people of all ages are going back to traditional healing techniques like acupuncture. And Professor Cheng says it will continue to thrive until something better is found.

(Prof. Cheng): "If in the future, modern medicine can explain the theoretical basis of acupuncture, then we'll use modern medicine. . .But as it is now, the new still can't explain it, so we'll stick with our Chinese medicine."

I put several questions about "The Roots of Healing" by e-mail to Rebecca Martin, who produced the series. (The capitalization for emphasis is hers.)

Peter Barry Chowka: What was the inspiration for producing the series?

Rebecca Martin: Alternative healing practices have become VERY popular in the United States in recent years, and many techniques were adopted from traditions in other countries. We felt it would be useful to place these trendy healing practices in context by exploring them in the countries where they originated.

PBC: What do the four reports from abroad indicate about the use of traditional (a.k.a. alternative) medicine around or in other parts of the world?

RM: The reports reveal that what we consider "alternative medicine" here in the United States is actually quite widely practiced abroad. In fact, traditional healing approaches thrive ALONGSIDE modern medicine in MANY other countries. For example, in India, the ancient practice called ayurveda is one of several healing techniques used in hospitals. It's interesting to note also that traditional healing methods like Ayurveda tend to be less expensive than modern medical approaches and therefore are more accessible to a larger population. "The Roots of Healing" presents a number of approaches to health, many of which do not work AGAINST modern medicine, but in conjunction with it. The message of many healing practitioners in other countries is that there should be a balance between these traditional approaches -- which often tap into the power of nature -- and modern medicine.

For more information:

Transcripts and cassette tapes of "The Roots of Healing" series are available through Public Broadcasting Audience Services at 303-823-8000

Public Radio International Web site
E-mail: theworld@pri.org


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