Five Reasons to Consider Acupuncture

In recent years, Oriental medicine has been growing in popularity, forcing many in the Western medical community to sit up and take notice.  Fifteen years ago, if you asked your primary care physician about acupuncture, he or she might have laughed you out of their office. Today, their responses have changed to something more accepting.  While most will readily admit they don’t understand this ancient practice, there is a growing body of research that indicates it works for many conditions.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

The practice of acupuncture originated thousands of years ago in China with the use of stones.  It operates on the theory that energy, known as “chi” in the East -- similar to bio-electricity in the West -- must flow freely in the body.  If there is a blockage, organs will not receive enough energy to function properly, leading to disease. Acupuncture seeks to open these blockages, allowing the body to heal itself.  This is done by inserting very thin needles into combinations of points along fourteen energy pathways that cover the body.  These pathways are called meridians.

Why Should You Use It?

The following five points offer compelling reasons to consider using acupuncture.

Reason 1: Efficacy

The most obvious reasons you should add a new treatment to your health care arsenal is that it works equally well as, if not better than, your current regimen, while causing fewer side-effects.  Does acupuncture meet either of those criteria?  According to a 1996 review of controlled clinical trials conducted around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that acupuncture successfully treats 28 conditions, including the number one affliction plaguing Americans -- hypertension.  The WHO also stated that acupuncture shows promise for treating 52 other conditions.

Since the WHO’s review was conducted, numerous clinical studies have been launched in the West, yielding mixed results.  Many have concluded that acupuncture is no better than “sham” acupuncture -- when patients are needled in non-acupuncture points.  Critics of these studies cite their poor study design, as well as sample sizes that are too small to reach any meaningful conclusions.  Based upon the inconclusive results, more funding needs to be allocated to research a health care modality that Americans are pursuing in record numbers.  In 2007, there were 17.5 million acupuncture visits in the U.S., for an estimated out-of-pocket expense of $1.1 billion.

Before conducting more studies, researchers need to answer two questions.  First, why are so many people looking outside of Western medicine for their answers?  Each year there are roughly one billion doctor visits in the United States. In an overburdened system, where the average doctor appointment lasts only seventeen minutes, it would seem logical that thousands, if not millions, of patients could slip through the cracks.  With so little time to render an accurate diagnosis, it’s no wonder that one in five patient visits results in a psychosomatic diagnosis.   

From the patient’s point of view, a psychosomatic diagnosis often leaves them feeling as if their doctor has marginalized their physical complaints, if not outright dismissed them. Despite classifying symptoms as having a psychological (or mental) origin, doctors are reaching increasingly for their script pads. According to the CDC, 74% of doctor visits result in some form of drug therapy.  Often, these drugs only mask the symptoms without making a dent in curing the underlying imbalance.  Patients feel frustrated by the side effects and prospect of a life dependent upon chemicals.  Soon, they see their only option for finding a lasting cure is to look outside of the current system.

The second, and more important question is, which style of acupuncture should the medical community be testing?  Similar to the many styles of martial arts that exist, there are also many styles of acupuncture. When you consider the diversity of styles, it doesn’t seem appropriate to perform clinical trials on one style and make generalizations about an entire medical practice.  Studies should first seek out the most effective styles for each condition.  Then these styles should be tested against “sham” acupuncture as well as current mainstream therapies.  Otherwise, there will never be accurate data with which to stem the growing rift between Eastern and Western medicine.

Recently, AcupunctureSurvey.com conducted a national survey of acupuncturists in the United States. Comments made by practitioners with more established practices had a common recommendation: Learn one of a handful of styles that are not currently taught in schools.  Many attributed their success in part due to learning these other styles, asserting that the superior results they yielded were responsible for the strong word-of-mouth following they enjoyed with patients.

Having been one of the many patients who slipped through the cracks of Western medicine, my own journey led me through yoga, ayerveda, chiropractic, muscle testing, naturopathy, and eventually Chinese medicine. I landed on this path after being bounced around virtually every Western specialty.  In total, I visited with more than 140 physicians over a fifteen-year period.  Living in Boston afforded me access to many of the world’s leading hospitals and physicians.  After hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, my cure was not found in Western medicine, it was found in acupuncture … a medical practice ridiculed by many of my Western physicians.  

So, is acupuncture effective?  ABSOLUTELY.  Is all acupuncture created equal?  No.  In the absence of proper medical studies, it’s up to you to do your own research through trial and error.  For me, the fourth style of acupuncture I tried was the one that brought about lasting relief.

One final point I would like to make on this topic is related to the safety of acupuncture when administered by trained professionals.  The risk of injury or death is infinitesimally low -- well below 1%.  Compare this with the fact that the third leading cause of death in the United States is the Western medical system (given as “iatrogenic causes”).

Reason 2: Economy

There are two economic reasons to consider acupuncture.  The first reason relates to your personal economic situation.  For many conditions, acupuncture is a viable economic alternative to drug therapy.  If you average the total cost of obtaining a prescription for chronic conditions (including routine doctor visits, blood tests for liver and kidney damage, and the prescription) the average weekly expense is often higher than that of acupuncture. Factor in acupuncture’s goal of curing many conditions that Western medicine merely aims to contain, and acupuncture begins looking very appealing.

It has been well-documented that job loss and illness go hand-in-hand.  As the economic crisis has rippled its way across the globe, we’ve seen millions of people lose their jobs in its wake.  Job loss bring with it a loss of employer-sponsored health insurance at the exact moment when people become more susceptible to illness.  

One viable solution is community acupuncture.  The Community Acupuncture Network is comprised of clinics that treat people in a group setting at affordable rates.  The cost per appointment ranges from $15 to $35.  At these prices, acupuncture beats most drug therapies on a price comparison.

To understand the second economic reason for using acupuncture, you need to take a macroeconomic view of the US.  During 2011, the first of the Baby Boomers began retiring.  Over the next ten years, the number of retirees is expected to grow by 80% to 72 million people.  With people living longer and the cost of health care skyrocketing, it appears unlikely that we will be able to pay for the services needed to care for the elderly.  

To put this in perspective, some economists estimate that the U.S. entitlement liabilities add to $115 trillion -- Social Security ($15T), Medicare Part D ($20T), and Medicare ($80T).  By comparison, the muc- debated national debt appears rather frivolous at $15 trillion.  

Entitlement liabilities are calculated using a net present value calculation.  As such, the expenses for current and near-term retirees (Baby Boomers) have the largest weight in the calculation.  Depending upon the interest rate, cost of living, and health care inflation assumptions used to calculate NPV, the net result is an additional cost of $1 trillion to $3.5 trillion per year over the next 30 years.  

A quick look at the money supply data published by the Federal Reserve points to a rapid and sustained increase in the monetary base long after QE2 ended in June 2011.  In the eight months following the end of QE2, the thirteen week moving averages for M1 and M2 roughly doubled to 20.4% and 10.0% year-over-year, respectively.  When compared with the annualized sequential quarterly change, the growth shows an accelerating trend reaching 32.3% and 17.5%, respectively.  It’s important to note that the numbers provided by the Fed took the sequential growth figures and simply multiplied them by four.  If the numbers were compounded, arguably a preferable method, M1 and M2 would rise to 36.4% and 18.7%, respectively.

Note: Since this article was originally authored, the thirteen week moving average growth rates for M1 and M2 have declined to 12.7% and 6.8%.

So, why should you begin using acupuncture?  Consider how the increase in entitlement spending will affect the money supply.  The average spending required for Baby Boomers ($2.25T) will expand the money supply at a rate of 25% per year.  Keep in mind that this does not include the current $1.7 trillion deficit. From the money-supply data above, it’s safe to assume that some of this growth is already being printed.  At our Greece-like debt-levels, it’s unlikely investors will want to lend us money to pay for our entitlements in the future.  To pay for it, the US. will have to print money, which sets the stage for hyper-inflation.  Businesses will find it difficult to survive, and millions more people will lose their jobs and benefits. This is the reason gold has risen to $1,700/oz.  

One way the government may decide to combat this scenario is to ration health care spending.  If you are a retiree, you are faced with not receiving care.  This will lead to higher prices.  Inflation will not only increase the cost of care, but you may see your saving erode so fast that you cannot afford care.  Since most companies view doctors as their end customer, patients are left without a voice.  With so many patients and fewer doctors expected in the future, how likely is it that your doctor will accommodate your circumstances when there are so many other paying customers they can treat?  

As previously discussed, community acupuncture offers an affordable solution to your needs.  Additionally, acupuncturists who are not beholden to insurance companies or group practices may find it easier to barter patients' goods and services for their services.  Lastly, acupuncture is a service that offers immediate healing. Writing a prescription for a drug you cannot afford is not a service that offers any healing.

Reason 3: Environment

Whether or not you believe in drug therapy, you may not have a choice if you are one of the 40 million Americans exposed to pharmaceuticals through your drinking water.  This is a testament to how prevalent pharmaceuticals have become in our daily life.  While these exposures only exist in trace amounts, they are on the rise.  There’s no telling how high they will be in twenty years.

Replacing drugs with non-toxic acupuncture will reduce the amount of stress you place on your internal and external ‘environments’.  The body was not designed to consume so many chemicals day in and day out.  As the waistlines of America have grown, so too has the storage space for these chemicals.  Many toxins find homes in fat cells, only to poison the body over lengthy periods as they are released back into the bloodstream.  This can lead to a variety of diseases.

I believe the Chinese medical pharmacy offers a viable solution for many of our maladies.  While it may not offer a cure to the ‘super bugs’ we’ve seen as of late, antibiotics are not exactly the blockbuster category that drug companies have been pushing through direct-to-consumer advertising to earn billions of dollars in profits.  For these indications--heart disease, sexual dysfunction, incontinence, cancer, and so on--Chinese herbal remedies do offer alternatives.  

It’s important to note that roughly a quarter of all pharmaceutical on the market are actually derived from herbs. However, rather than use the entire plant, science extracts what it thinks are the active ingredients without giving thought to how these chemicals interact with the discarded parts of the plant once inside the body.  The East takes a ‘wholistic’ approach to health, whereas the West takes a specialist approach.  If you are reading this article from the confines of a cubicle in a large corporation, you know how well the compartmentalized organizational structure works when departments don’t talk with each other or even know what’s happening two rows away.  This is the same reason the specialized modern medical system is failing so many people.

Lastly, herbal medicine is a sustainable resource that adds to the environment.  It needs to be cultivated, not replaced by a process that destroys our drinking water and food supply.  
 

Reason 4: Energy

As described by Chris Martenson in his video series, The Crash Course, there is a strong argument to be made that the world has already put peak oil in its rear view mirror.  What does this mean?  In the future, each barrel of oil will become increasingly expensive as it becomes more difficult to extract and refine.  We are already seeing this reflected in oil prices, which politicians are conveniently attributing to speculators.  The scary scenario comes when output dwindles to the point where supply equals demand.  Countries that produce oil will begin to hoard their resources, which will dramatically reduce the available supply of oil on the market and further increase prices.  If new energy sources are not discovered and made available on a mass scale, the world could see devastating disruptions to the food supply, not to mention health care.

Consider how much the health care system depends upon energy.  Every diagnostic test, drug, medical supply, and device requires substantial amounts of energy and petroleum to run, produce, and ship.  Now, compare that to acupuncture.  Simply put, you can administer acupuncture by candle light.  Similarly, Chinese medical diagnostic testing relies on something Western doctors have lost touch with … the patient.  The primary diagnosis is performed by palpitating the pulse, along with other body parts, and an examination of the tongue.  In addition to the patient’s history, acupuncturists take into account the patient’s body odor, appearance, and other physical and vocal observations.  Chinese medicine creates a full medical system built around the patient and what you readily have available at your disposal.

If the next crisis we encounter is an energy crisis, acupuncture could be a valuable option for solving your health care needs.


Reason 5: Experience

Transitioning from a position in marketing or accounting to become an acupuncturist is more than a simple career change, it’s a calling.  Many of the people I’ve met who made this leap did so at the end of their own journey through a health care crisis.  It’s these types of experiences that build compassion in a practitioner, which brings us back to the first question asked in Reason 1--why are so many people looking outside of Western medicine?  In addition to seeking answers to their problems, patients are looking for a level of compassion not found in Western medicine.  

Another aspect of experience is ‘age’.  When someone decides to go to medical school, it’s typically within a year or two after graduating from their undergraduate studies, if not immediately after.  They’ve hardly worked or had any real world experience, yet they choose to make an enormous investment in a career at an age when they hardly know themselves. If they don’t like their job or interacting with people, too bad.  Once you go down a path with such an large debt burden, it’s difficult to get off.  Now, fast forward ten years into their career.  If they feel stuck in the wrong career, pressured by hospital administrators to squeeze in more appointments, or have grown tired of a never ending stream of “whining patients”, then the result will be compassion-less care.

Compare that to someone who is thirty-five years old, knows him or herself very well, has worked for a number of years in various positions and companies, and endured their own health care issues.  It would appear the latter person is making a more informed decision that could lead to a happier career choice, and possibly more compassionate care.
 

Conclusion

Acupuncture offers an effective alternative for people who need help during these difficult economic times, as well as people who are interested in protecting the environment and conserving energy.  It’s important to remember that there are many different styles of acupuncture that have developed over thousands of years. For Western science to accurately test acupuncture’s efficacy against “sham” acupuncture or current Western treatments, researchers first need to find the best styles of acupuncture for a given condition. 
 



Chris Titus is a native of Boston, Massachusetts. Over the past fifteen years, he has held various investment research positions with a focus on the health care sector. His first novel, The God Complex, aims to make traditional Chinese medicine more accessible by giving it a mainstream story line. The resulting work offers readers an exciting and painless introduction to acupuncture, martial arts, and herbology. The novel draws upon his own experiences as both a patient in search of a cure and as a health care analyst. He hopes his novel will reach out to patients struggling to find a diagnosis, the families trying to understand their plight, and health care professionals. Chris plans to use the proceeds of his book to return to school and train as an acupuncturist.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/five-reasons-to-consider-acupuncture-2/

I’m very dissapointed to see the CM site go down this road. What’s next? Homeopathy? 
http://www.skeptic.com/searchresults.html?cx=018011741860882051434%3Aalihtmnfi_m&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=acupuntcure&sa=search+skeptic.com&siteurl=www.skeptic.com%2F&ref=duckduckgo.com%2Fpost.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMvMb90hem8

 As in many areas, there is evidence both for and against the effectiveness of acupuncture.  There is good evidence that it IS effective for certain conditions, however, so I don’t believe it should be automatically dismissed. For example:
A scientific review of 16 clinical trials found acupuncture to be effective against dental pain. One study in 1995 showed that pain relief after dental surgery doubled compared to patients receiving placebo or false acupuncture. Other studies in 1999 and 2000 found similar results.
New research from Italy has discovered that out of 80 women receiving acupuncture over six months, fewer reported migraine attacks than those taking painkillers.
In addition, at least 26 randomly controlled trials have shown that acupuncture is proven to be effective against headaches. In 12 of 16 trials comparing acupuncture with a placebo, acupuncture was reported to be significantly more effective.
 
 
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-149339/Acupuncture-scientific-evidence.html#ixzz1p7mvC1IO
On the other hand, there is also plenty of evidence that many traditional medical approaches are completely ineffective, but that doesn’t seem to have any effect on their (expensive and often harmful) use.
For example:
Coronary-bypass surgery consumes more of our medical dollar than any other treatment or procedure. Although it is performed less frequently than the most common abdominal and gynecological operations, it is the leader in terms of equipment and personnel, hospital space, and total associated revenues. The operation is heralded by the popular press, aggrandized by the medical profession, and actively sought by the consuming public. It is the epitome of modern medical technology. Yet as it is now practiced, its net effect on the nation’s health is probably negative. The operation does not cure patients, it is scandalously overused, and its high cost drains resources from other areas of need.
Fully half of the bypass operations performed in the United States are unnecessary. A decade of scientific study has shown that except in certain well-defined situations, bypass surgery does not save lives, or even prevent heart attacks: among patients who suffer from coronary-artery disease, those who are treated without surgery enjoy the same survival rates as those who undergo open-heart surgery. Yet many American physicians continue to prescribe surgery immediately upon the appearance of angina, or chest pain.
http://drcranton.com/chelation/cabg1.htm

[quote=Josey]I’m very dissapointed to see the CM site go down this road. What’s next? Homeopathy? 
[/quote]
Why go down this road?  Because WTSHTF, "modern medicine" will fail.  I am under no illusion that all the medical treatments currently available will become unavailable in my old age.  Without cheap and abundant oil, and cheap and abundant cash to pay for it, you can kiss all your drugs goodbye.
Besides, acupuncture has had major positive effects on my back pain, and AFAIC, you cannot compare acupuncture with homeopathy which I too consider to be hocus pocus…
Mike

There are plenty of people who will attest to homeopathy being effective (for example, the author of "When Technology Fails", Matthew Stein, has lots of anecdotal evidence to give). But, scientifically, there have been no medical trials (as far as I know) that show it to be effective (which is hardly surprising since the dilutions involved get rid of ALL molecules of the supposed active ingredient and, since earth water has been here for billions of years and mixed with everything imaginable, all water must be homeopathic). I also don’t think that there have been any medical trials that show acupuncture to have any validity.
So, here we are, with Chris happy to post something that definitely fits into the controversial and emotive bracket that he thinks climate change belongs in. I have to echo Josey’s comments.

It wasn't all too long ago that doctors were removing thyroids---or leaching patients for that matter.

All this cr#p was “cutting edge” at the time.

We have little idea how our minds work.  We don't have all the medical answers---yet.

We do know that 1n2 men and 1n3 women have cancer.

After getting to know some people recently I also realized that there is a legalized prescription drug epidemic---and let me be gross---that excretion goes somewhere where chlorine and fluoride are added to it and gets piped back into your drinking water---unless you are on a well.

Bottoms up!

This is what 8 years of advanced education in marketing and God knows what else gets society.

I would NOT bash any alternative to drinking “purified” p#$$ water filled with Prozac, testosterone, Ritalin and Viagra.

And don’t even get me going on what is injected by Monstupido  into our cows. 

Or the antibiotics we eat in chickens.

Below are some scientific economic studies, read Dr. Mercola's work on some medical studies.  Until then, for cripes sake, how about we keep an open mind.  Sometimes the "old way" is the best way.

Mishkin who teaches Economics at Columbia got paid $124,000 to write a report on praising derivatives in Iceland, after the Icelandic crash caused by derivatives he renamed his report on his CV from “Financial Stability in Iceland” to FinancialInstability in Iceland.” Link.

 

 Dr. Nouriel Roubini who decorates and sculptures his walls with female private parts, (WARNING DON'T CLICK ON THAT LINK UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE GROSSED OUT IT IS VULGAR), whose economic research firm is on the block after losing $2 million dollars and is famous for calling gold a barbarous relic as it doubled and out performs virtually every other asset class. Link, wonder why his economic research firm is 8 figures in the red?

__________________________________

If the medical/pharma industry is 1/100th as jacked as our economic brain trust then who really knows what is right or wrong.  I can assure you that 99% of professional pilots don't know what makes lift because they were taught bee-s aerodynamics.

 

 

 

What is with the negativity? Geez guys…have an open mind…
I’ve never had accupuncture, although I know a few people, including my manager, who have had it and they can vouch for it.

FWIW…I’ve had a couple of Reiki sessions recently. My elbow started bothering me last year while shoveling soil and snow and splitting wood. Thinking it’s tennis elbow, or bursa. So far, so good after 2 sessions. The throbbing or grabbing in my elbow is mostly gone. Hoping 1 more session will take care of what remains. Let’s all keep an open mind towards alternative medicine. Might not work for everyone but it has worked for me.

[quote=sofistek]There are plenty of people who will attest to homeopathy being effective (for example, the author of "When Technology Fails", Matthew Stein, has lots of anecdotal evidence to give). But, scientifically, there have been no medical trials (as far as I know) that show it to be effective (which is hardly surprising since the dilutions involved get rid of ALL molecules of the supposed active ingredient and, since earth water has been here for billions of years and mixed with everything imaginable, all water must be homeopathic). I also don’t think that there have been any medical trials that show acupuncture to have any validity.
So, here we are, with Chris happy to post something that definitely fits into the controversial and emotive bracket that he thinks climate change belongs in. I have to echo Josey’s comments.
[/quote]
So here we are with sofistek taking a potshot at Chris again.
First of all, there have been double blind studies performed showing the effectiveness of homeopathy.  Just because you don’t know about them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.  And just because homeopathy doesn’t work for the reasons its proponents claim, doesn’t mean it doesn’t work clinically.  I’m not going to repeat myself here so go search the archives for a previous discussion I had on this subject with Jim.
Your second statement about earth water being homeopathic is ludicrous.  Given your line of reasoning, you ought to be able to eat soil, water, and air and thrive because they have all the elements necessary for your survival.   
And, contrary to your certainty of the opposite, there is abundant evidence, both scientific and clinical, that accupuncture works WHEN the practitioner knows what they are doing (and I’ve seen Western accupuncturists including MDs who didn’t and there are plenty of studies performed by those who didn’t) and when it is applied to appropriate conditions and situations (which it often ISN’T).  But I guess by your line of thinking, the Chinese spent 3000 years imagining their results.
I find it interesting how people can comment with alleged authority on something that they know little or nothing about, have never had done on them, have never seen practiced firsthand, have never practiced themselves firsthand, and have never studied.
These statements remind me of the allegedly scientific claims of pharmaceutically paid prosti-docs who repeatedly rant on the MSM that  there is no benefit from various nutritional supplements, quoting one or two poorly done studies, when there are literally thousands of studies stating the opposite and attesting to their efficacy.

 I use acupuncture for general stress reduction when I’m getting beaten from pillar to post by Life.

 

I also found relief for TMJ in two sessions back in 2004 (my first experience w/acupuncture).

 

IME it’s quite effective. YMMV.
Viva – Sager

I believe that there is a lot to Eastern medicine that the West ignores because it doesn’t fit well into our scientific materialism worldview.  As others have pointed out, many are blind to the fact that,  despite our astronomical investments in medical research and technologies, our health is pretty terrible. We have traded a set of "diseases of poverty" like dysentery and pneumonia for "diseases of prosperity" like cancer and heart disease.  
My philosophy is to minimize illness through healthy living, especially with regard to nutrition.  Colin Campbell did an amazingly comprehensive study on the relationship between diet and many diseases in "The China Study."  He has a book by that title that is an enjoyable read, and there are many youtube videos on it.  Basically he found that you can nearly eliminate the occurence of many diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc) simply by keeping your animal protein consumption under 5% of your caloric intake (average in America is over 30%). Just to give you an example of how surprising his results were:  in lab experiments with rats that were dosed with very high concentrations of carcenogens, 100% of the test group eating 20% protein got cancer tumors, and a shocking 0% of the of the group eating 5% protein got cancer.  

Anyways, whether you use Eastern or Western medicine you should pay attention to nutrition!

Here’s a link to clinical trials that have demonstrated acupuncture’s effectiveness.  Note that all of these studies have been written up in major Western medical journals, passing rather rigorous peer reviews.  
http://www.godcomplexnovel.com/acupuncture-clinical-trials/

Quite right. This article itself reports that trials have been mixed. So there, presumably, must have been trials that did show some positive results. As such results are clearly not repeatable, that must give cause for concern that acupuncture is similar to homoeopathy - some people say it works, some people had no improvement. What I was highlighting was that this is clearly an emotive subject that Chris is happy to put up on his site. Why is it different from climate change, in that respect?

[quote=ao]Your second statement about earth water being homeopathic is ludicrous.  Given your line of reasoning, you ought to be able to eat soil, water, and air and thrive because they have all the elements necessary for your survival.[/quote]That’s not my reasoning at all. It is the logical conclusion of homoeopathic reasoning, not mine. If it takes thorough mixing and dilution of the active element to get an effective homoeopathic remedy, then all the water on earth is pretty much good to go. I suppose one might have to ensure that there are no measurable molecules of the active ingredient, but other than that, rain water will do the trick.

[quote=ao]I find it interesting how people can comment with alleged authority on something that they know little or nothing about, have never had done on them, have never seen practiced firsthand, have never practiced themselves firsthand, and have never studied.[/quote]I’m surprised you find that interesting. It’s pretty commonplace. Would you just try anything that someone claims was effective for them, just on their say-so, especially if you didn’t know them personally?

[quote=ao]These statements remind me of the allegedly scientific claims of pharmaceutically paid prosti-docs who repeatedly rant on the MSM that  there is no benefit from various nutritional supplements, quoting one or two poorly done studies, when there are literally thousands of studies stating the opposite and attesting to their efficacy.[/quote]Actually, there appears to be very limited eficacy of nutritional supplements, according to two books (by doctors citing lots of medical research) I’ve read recently - Gut and Psychology Syndrome and Deep Nutirition.
Tony

[quote=joemanc]
What is with the negativity? Geez guys…have an open mind…
I’ve never had accupuncture, although I know a few people, including my manager, who have had it and they can vouch for it.
FWIW…I’ve had a couple of Reiki sessions recently. My elbow started bothering me last year while shoveling soil and snow and splitting wood. Thinking it’s tennis elbow, or bursa. So far, so good after 2 sessions. The throbbing or grabbing in my elbow is mostly gone. Hoping 1 more session will take care of what remains. Let’s all keep an open mind towards alternative medicine. Might not work for everyone but it has worked for me.
[/quote]I’m actually open minded about acupucture (honestly, ao), although there doesn’t appear to be solid evidence for it (for a long time, I thought acupuncture was a well understood and accepted treatment). My points were more to do with the appearance of such a controversial subject here.
I also had an elbow problem, after pulling particularly stubborn weeds. It seemed to get worse for days. So I stopped scything, weeding and other arm heavy activities for a while and put on an elbow support. It took a few weeks but it has just about healed itself - the odd twinge left.
Tony

Jamster, agree wholeheartedly that we need to pay attention to nutrition, so I hope you don’t mind my pointing out that the Colin Campbell China study has a few problems. From this article (The China Study: Fact or Fallacy? | Denise Minger) by Denise Minger:
In sum, “The China Study” is a compelling collection of carefully chosen data. Unfortunately for both health seekers and the scientific community, Campbell appears to exclude relevant information when it indicts plant foods as causative of disease, or when it shows potential benefits for animal products. This presents readers with a strongly misleading interpretation of the original China Study data, as well as a slanted perspective of nutritional research from other arenas (including some that Campbell himself conducted).
~ s
 

Regarding the earth water and homeopathy thing, it’s obvious you don’t get it and I don’t think my explaining it more would help with your comprehension.
Regarding your claim for very limited efficacy of nutritional supplements and the two books you cite, I haven’t read the books but it does not appear that either one is written about the subject of nutritional supplements.  What is "lots of medical research" because authors from Alan Gaby to Gary Null have written books SPECIFICALLY about this subject and cite THOUSANDS of peer reviewed studies supporting nutritional supplementation.  My guess is your authors can cite no more than a handful at most.  Alan Gaby is an MD and Gary Null is a PhD.  I’ve heard Gary Null debate various MDs on the issue and, quite frankly, he made them look like idiots in their lack of familiarity with the full scope of the research out there.  Nutritional supplements are obviously no substitute for top quality food but that’s not the issue here.  That’s what they’re called SUPPLEMENTS.

I would like to clarify a couple of points here:

This article itself reports that trials have been mixed. So there, presumably, must have been trials that did show some positive results. As such results are clearly not repeatable,
The way I used "mixed results" in the article could have two meanings.  Yes, it could mean that the experiments were not repeatable.  It could also mean that acupuncture worked for some conditions and not for others.  As I referenced in the article, the WHO's report stated that acupuncture was determined to be effective for 28 conditions.  And, from my prior post here (link below), there have been conditions for which the results are repeatable.

 http://www.godcomplexnovel.com/acupuncture-clinical-trials/

Over the past twenty years, researchers have been testing acupuncture for everything.  One of the main reasons I wrote this article was to highlight that there are many different styles of acupuncture.  Not all acupuncture is equal.  Having been through several styles in my own journey, as described in the book, I can tell you that the difference between them can be night and day.  One way in which I describe the variety of styles is to liken them to martial arts.  Imagine a UFC fight that pits Tae Kwon Do against Brazilian jujitsu.  Both are martial arts.  Both will help you defend yourself against an untrained individual.  However, when compared against each other, jujitsu wins almost every time.  In my research, I found that many of the studies reporting that acupuncture was no better than "sham" acupuncture also reported that both were better than doing nothing.  So, "any acupuncture" is better than none in treating illness, just like "any martial art" is better than none in defending yourself.  When you consider that there are many styles of acupuncture with varying degrees in effectiveness, a logical conclusion might be that the style of acupuncture being tested may simply be a "sham" compared to the more effective styles … the study was literally testing "sham" against "sham".   This is why I state in my conclusion that researchers need to first determine the most effective styles of acupuncture for a condition and then test it against "sham" acupuncture, as well as current Western treatments.

I stopped shoveling too once the weather cooled down last fall…then it snowed and I shoveled again, and my elbow hurt again(although the pain and twinging never had disappeared), which caused me to seek a remedy. What works for you may not work for me, and vice versa. But at least we have options.

Because it’s his site and he doesn’t choose to.
Q:  What’s the difference between a 2 week old Golden Retriever puppy and sofistek carrying on about what subject matter Chris posts (or not) on his site?
A:  After 6 weeks the pup stops whining.

Those who have trouble accepting the "energy meridian" theory of acupuncture should read this:
http://chriskresser.com/acupuncture

Acupuncture works by promoting blood flow, reducing inflammation and restoring homeostasis.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about acupuncture research, because so-called placebo acupuncture (puncturing the skin or stimulating the skin at non-acupuncture points) is a physiologically active treatment - and thus not suitable as a control.

The community acupuncture model, where treatments are offered on a sliding scale (usually $15-$45 per treatment), is gaining strength and making acupuncture accessible and affordable to most people.

In many ways it’s an ideal modality for post-transition health care: cheap, safe, relatively low-tech (other than manufacture of the needles - but there are other options there), local and not difficult to teach and learn.

 
ROFLMAO!