Noumenal News

Acupuncture - real or sham - is more effective at treating back pain than conventional therapies, research suggests.
A German team found almost half the patients treated with acupuncture felt pain relief.
But the Archives of Internal Medicine study also suggests fake acupuncture works nearly as well as the real thing.
In contrast, only about a quarter who […]

The leaves of Aspilia africana, also known as the hemorrhage plant, have been used in African traditional medicine to stop bleeding; inhibit infection; and speed healing of wounds. The therapeutic effects have been confirmed by researchers from Nigeria who published their study in the July 10, 2007 issue of BMC Complementary and […]

Harlow Whitleigh spends her days gazing out the window of her Fishtown townhouse, eating bonbons and lounging with her best friend, a Yorkshire terrier named Rosco.
Harlow also barks. A small white bichon frise/poodle hybrid, she barks at cars, at the letter carrier, at birds, at customers coming to nearby Johnny Brenda’s tavern, and at anyone […]

Villagers in central China have been using dinosaur bones as medicine - thinking they were from dragons.
These bones have been dug up, then boiled in soup or ground down to make traditional medicines for decades.
The news emerged this week when scientists displayed some excavated bones at a museum in Henan Province.
“[People] believed that the ‘dragon […]

Taking the herbal product echinacea could reduce the chances of catching a cold by 58%, conclude authors of a Review published Online and in the July edition of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
The Review also states echinacea could reduce the duration of colds by an average of 1�4 days. It was authored by Dr Craig Coleman, […]

Taking the herbal remedy echinacea can more than halve the risk of catching a common cold, US researchers say.
They found it decreased the odds of developing a cold by 58% and the duration of colds by a day-and-a-half.
The results in The Lancet Infectious Diseases conflict with other studies that show no beneficial effect.
Experts believe echinacea, […]

WHILE New Age nutritionists wax lyrical about the benefits of Tibetan Goji berries and Acai from the Amazon it seems the greatest superfood has been lurking at the bottom of the garden all along.
The humble blackcurrant has been hailed as a miracle food after a new study reveals it has higher levels of antioxidants and […]

Dr. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres brought his expertise in curanderismo to El Camino Real International Heritage Center on June 9.
Torres gave an informative presentation of stories, slides, and information about curanderismo as it is historically and currently in Mexico and in the southwestern United States.
A curandero or curandera is a man or woman who practices healing […]

Zeke is a 2½-year-old Coton de Tulear. He is a purebred with a fluffy white coat and weighs in at about 12 pounds. He is no stranger to acupuncture.
Zeke has food allergies and, like many pets seen by Dr. Regina M. Downey at the Holistic Animal Healing Clinic in Exeter, he undergoes alternative forms of […]

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - Erik Fasick was working hard on a master’s degree at Penn State Harrisburg last spring when he developed pink eye. Both eyes crusted over. With final exams coming up, he could not see.
So the young man went to see Sal, a practitioner of powwow, the Pennsylvania German art of faith healing.
For […]