Jean wrote on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:04:32 -0500:

> J. Clarke wrote:
>> Jean B. wrote:
>>> Christine Dabney wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:16:25 -0800, Mark Thorson
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> But what really gets me is
>>>>> the food quackery. She'll say this is food is good
>>>>> for the joints, or that food is good for the muscles,
>>>>> or this other stuff is good for your brain.
>>>> No, it may sound like quackery to you, but it seems to me
>>>> that your knowledge of Asian medicine/foods and chi, as is it
>>>> called is deficit.
>>>>
>>>> I have heard this a lot from friends who practice
>>>> Traditional Chinese Medicine and accupuncture. In that
>>>> practice, certain foods have certain qualities, and ARE
>>>> good for certain things. And a lot of Asians (and not only
>>>> Asians) believe that the life force or chi is
>>>> in everything.
>>>>
>>>> I suggest you start reading up on Asian culture and chi and
>>>> things like traditional medicine there. A lot of folks
>>>> scoff at it, but a lot of folks get a lot of benefit from
>>>> things like accupuncture, which is based on chi and
>>>> maniupulating it. And some folks find that the
>>>> traditional medicine of Asian cultures can help
>>>> when nothing else can.
>>>>
>>>> Christine
>>> I have come to believe that complementary medicine is the
>>> best approach (of course, not including quackery). It is
>>> arrogant to believe that, e.g., Asian medicine has no basis.
>>
>> China has been civilized a long time--it would be surprising if in
>> that time they didn't grow some kind of reasonably
>> viable medical establishment. I understand that the Chinese medical
>> community is now examining tradtional medicine
>> scientifically to see what parts work and what parts don't.
>> There's a lot of it and there's not a lot of funding so it's not
>> going to happen fast. But Chinese traditional medicine
>> is not anything at all like homeopathy.
> Yes, that is about why I think we can't just dismiss Chinese
> etc. medicine. Sure, we don't want to adopt it in toto, nor
> do we want to dismiss all Western medicine. We should have an
> approach that encompasses all valid forms or medicine.

Mostly Western and I don't include homeopathy or chiropractics (tho'
massage can be helpful). I won't argue against meditation even if its
mystical premises are unlikely. Apart from natural products most others
are manifestations of the placebo effect or plain nonsense.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not