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My job as I see it is to be a communicator. I have written hundreds of articles on my site (The Pulse of Oriental Medicine, www.pulsemed.org) and in other magazines that have reached more than 100,000 English-speaking patients. I have books and radio appearances in
works. There's too much for any one of us to know everything, so I keep in touch with a broad range of experts - translators, scholars, MD's, authors, so that I'm speaking authentically and accurately.
AS: Do you think acupuncture offers a better treatment than allopathic medicine? If yes, then why isn't it as popular as latter?
BBC: Even in its country of origin, Chinese medicine has lost some popularity. When communists took over in 1950's, they almost destroyed traditional medicine. They wanted to catch up with west and get our approval. But when Mao Tse-Tung got facial paralysis, it was acupuncture that fixed him. So he ordered systemization of TCM. Now there are 3 branches of medicine in China: Chinese, Western, and combination of two. The latter is most interesting, and probably future of all medicine. For example, you can have an elevated Alk Phos level (a liver function test), with no western gallbladder pathology, but have symptoms of pain or discomfort along Chinese acupuncture Gallbladder channel.
I don't think we should say either acupuncture and western medicine is better. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. And to be accurate, we have to say that most of Chinese herbal medicine is allopathic, because allopathic means treating with opposites. We reduce excesses, and strengthen deficiencies, for example. What we do need to do is cooperate; practitioners of various kinds of medicine should work together for benefit of each patient. To only use one kind of medicine is more of a religion than a medical practice. Chinese medicine practitioners need to learn what western medicine is good and bad at, and vice versa. Same goes for chiropractors, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, massage, etc.
The popularity or acupuncture in west is a function of time, politics, and finance. Acupuncture has only been in America for 30 years. Now many insurances and workers compensations cover it, MD's are learning it, it's always in news, sports teams are using it. There are about 800,000 MD's, and 15,000 acupuncturists in U.S. So it'll be awhile before it's an unquestioned part of healthcare system. Even then, we'll still have to deal with some people's egos.
AS: How can one become an acupuncturist? What are qualifications required for becoming one? Is there a similar degree as an MBBS?
BBC: The average in U.S. is 3-4 years of school, graduating with a Master's of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Regulations vary by state. California has highest standards; we are tested on medicine, acupuncture, herbs, law, etc. Actually, acupuncture is only 17% of test! Again, acupuncture is only one of Chinese medicine's therapies. The standard is slowly being raised to PhD level. There are now 3 nationally approved PhD programs for Chinese medicine. All 3 are on west coast. I think eventually that will be entry level. We have to do that to get on par with chiropractors, MD's, and DO's.
AS: What do you think is future of Acupuncture? I mean rest of world.
BBC: Chinese medicine has been in Australia for more than 100 years. It's all over Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. I haven't heard much about it in South America. They have it in Canada, but I think it's not well regulated or accepted. In France, you have to be an MD to practice it. So it's different everywhere. But here in America, we are doing more and more research, and results are affirming and interesting. So I think that MD's, who hold most of political and financial cards in international medicine, will be less and less able to resist importance of acupuncture. Herbal medicine has a longer battle; because, in a way, it competes with pharmaceutical medicine. It shouldn't have to, though, because some studies we have read show that herbs ameliorate drug side effects and increase their effectiveness. This has to be done in accordance with both western and eastern medical principles, though.
I think they will merge to some degree, and work together. Western medicine has great standards and tools. Chinese medicine has valuable insights and perspectives that could even help design studies and interpret study results more effectively.
AS: Why did you become an acupuncturist? What influenced you in becoming one.
BBC: Number one, I wanted to help people. I wanted to make use of my talents. Number two, I was fascinated by fact that Chinese medicine had never separated mind, body, and emotion. I wanted to find out more about this. I've always wanted to grow and be more effective. I thought perhaps Chinese medicine could help me do that, and then I could help patients do that too.
AS: What according to you is best thing about acupuncture, meaning how and why is it better than other systems of medicine?
BBC: Acupuncture, and Chinese medicine, both look at whole person. We know how every part of your body links up with every other part. We know how lungs manifest emotionally. We know what green or blue skin means. We know what foods are best for which types of people. Western medicine is compartmentalized. They study e.g., immune system, digestive system, or psychology of individual. We know how those are related. We can take symptoms from each, diagnose a pattern, and treat all three at once. Those inter-systemic insights are one of most important contributions of Chinese medicine. Acupuncture has a normalizing, regulating effect. Chinese herbs can strengthen you, while western drugs generally just attack or reduce excesses (like viruses, bacteria, inflammation). We can strengthen and reduce at same time. We're a bit more flexible. We can almost always diagnose and treat everyone. Western medicine's approach often leaves them baffled about causes and searching for silver bullet treatments. In many situations, western surgery or drugs are superior. But there are just as many situations where they need us.
AS: Is acupuncture effective in all diseases, I mean complex ones like cancer, etc?
BBC: Acupuncture can regulate and boost immune system. This is important in cancer. However, for serious and complex illnesses, Chinese herbal medicine is better. I've written about how we can treat AIDS, cancer, lupus, etc. Acupuncture is essential right after a stroke. The sooner you do that, more function you can recover.
