Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Acupuncture tends to be in the news more when celebrities do it.  And it looks like Jennifer Aniston is the most recent news maker.  According to Response Source which is a media outlet in London, she's having acupuncture treatments for fertility.  Acupuncture can increase the likelihood of pregancy and is being used more and more, especially in women over 40.  Aniston is following in the footsteps of other newsmakers like Kate Moss who walked around with ear tacks when she was in rehab and Gwenyth Paltrow who went out in public with cup marks on her back.  I guess in the case of acupuncture, all publicity is good publicity.

http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=43635&hilite=

Sunday, November 09, 2008

The World Health Organization is once again promoting the use of traditional medicine worldwide.  This weekend the WHO held a two-day meeting in Beijing with representatives from 70 countries.  The meeting consisted of seminars on regulatory standards for folk medicine, including acupuncture, around the world.  The WHO recognizes and enourages the global trend of integrating traditional medicine into national health systems.  And the outcome of the meeting is expected to include member countries agreeing to expand traditional medicine in their health care systems.  The WHO has an interest in bringing patient's the benefits of these traditions and ensuring their safety and proper use.  In my mind, this meeting is one more sign, that the sea change of integrative medicine is taking hold. 

http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE4A60GR.html