Traditional Chinese medicine sweeps South America

Sunday, October 24, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: Brazil, Traditional Chinese Medicine, health news

(NaturalNews) Ancient Chinese medicine practices are gaining much attention and growing in popularity in the South American nation of Brazil. According to a recent report in China Daily, acupuncture in particular is fast becoming a new favorite in the country after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it cured his shoulder arthritis.

A delegation of physicians assembled in Brazil back in 2006 to teach the ways in which Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) helps treat various skin problems, menopause symptoms, insomnia, anxiety, dementia, joint pain, rheumatism, diabetes, and many other illnesses. The program showed so much promise that the committee is planing a TCM follow-up forum on health and beauty in 2011.

"We try to resolve external problems by curing the body internally," Chen Juan, vice secretary general of the committee, is quoted as saying. "Some skin problems can be tackled through herbal treatments while others may require the use of traditional techniques such as acupuncture, Chinese massage, cupping, and skin scraping."

Brazil has a long history of using its own traditional remedies for treating illness, so it makes sense that the nation is widely accepting of alternative treatments. According to the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, Brazil has roughly 10,000 physicians who specialize in acupuncture and Chinese massage, 3,000 of which are in Sao Paulo. And more than half a million Brazilians come to Sao Paulo each year to seek out TCM treatments.

Not everyone in Brazil is open to TCM concepts, though. Some still see the practice as opposing modern scientific methods, as does much of the Western world. But because many people have experienced incredible success from TCM treatments, it is gaining respect around the world, including in Australia where an act was recently passed to allow TCM practitioners to be officially licensed as doctors.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-10/20...