The Chinese year of the Sheep began on 19 February. Sheep are the gentlest of all the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. They are intelligent and creative and often amusing, but they like to do things slowly and quietly in their own way.

In fact, they are so slow and careful that they are… Continue reading →

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia appear to have made a breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, which is drug-free and based upon the use of ultrasound. The disease process in Alzheimer’s involves the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain that destroy synapses, resulting in the symptoms of memory loss and… Continue reading →

The Welcome Collection on Euston Road in London is a real gem. For those of you who have never been there, I would heartily recommend it. Located just around the corner from University College Hospital, this is the museum of the Welcome Trust. As well as as a vast array of texts on medicine and… Continue reading →

Former England and Chelsea footballer, Graeme Le Saux: “I’m a big fan of acupuncture and reflexology. It’s a fantastic way to relieve stress and definitely helps if I’ve got a muscle problem or neck pain.”

Former British tennis number one, Tim Henman: “When I’ve had muscle soreness or tightness in my lower back, feet, and elbows, acupuncture has been very good.”

In 1688, Louis XIV of France sent five Jesuit missionaries to China. They brought back to Europe possibly the first documents on traditional Chinese medicine to reach the west. They interested a few people in the French medical world for a short period of time, and then were largely forgotten.

Centuries later, in 1905, George… Continue reading →

In 1971 in the US, President Nixon declared war on cancer. This war has not gone well. In the US, incidence of testicular cancer has risen by 115%, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by 70%, and breast cancer by 300%. Even when adjusted for increases in longevity, the rates of cancer are far above what would be traditionally… Continue reading →

Postoperative nausea and vomiting affects 30% of general surgery patients, and in high-risk patients can occur in up to 80%. This is the leading cause of failed discharge and hospital readmission. Females are at greater risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), as are those with a history of previous incidence or motion sickness. Many… Continue reading →

It must be said that some of my colleagues who work in acupuncture and other fields of traditional Chinese medicine can sometimes be a bit dismissive of, or confrontational with, conventional western medicine. I personally have no time for this and do not see what I do as being in competition with western medicine –… Continue reading →

The electrical activity of the heart has been studied since the late nineteenth century, and ECGs are routinely used to monitor its electrical activity on the body surface. So far, so mainstream. What is less well-known is that, like all the organs in the body, the heart has an electromagnetic field which extends beyond its… Continue reading →

Whenever you have an acupuncture treatment here in the UK, as laid down in the current BSI standards publication, needles should conform to BS ISO 17218:2014 and should say ‘Sterile acupuncture needles for single use’. This standard is not currently mandatory for the manufacture of acupuncture needles, but this is the gold standard for health… Continue reading →