Is plant medicine still relevant in the modern age?

Mon, Feb 18, 2019

Enjoy our weekly wellness tip from Licensed Acupuncturist, Michael Savalli, from the office of Elizabeth Martin.

Traditional Medicine?  Modern Era?

A big part of Traditional Chinese Medicine lies is in herbal remedies.  I’ve been interested in herbal cures since seeing the movie Medicine Man in 1992.  In the film, a pair of doctors find a cure for cancer among the exotic plant-life of the Amazon jungle.  This peaked my curiosity about the healing powers of plants; some of which have been used for medicine since the dawn of mankind.  

 A similar story to this one, occurred recently in real-life, when TCM scientist Tu Youyou discovered a convenient cure for malaria, derived from the common sweet wormood plant (artemisia annua).  Malaria is a serious but preventable worldwide disease. In 2016 it infected 216 million people, with 445,000 deaths, (mostly children and pregnant women). Tu Youyou, for her success, was granted the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2015.

 Another lesson from that movie, was regarding ecology.  There are countless thousands of plants and animal species going extinct each year.  The movie poses the question, “how many natural miracles and cures are going extinct before we can even find them?”  Furthermore, there is the matter of traditional cultures, who possess with them a great knowledge about the healing properties of these plants.  How much of that knowledge is going extinct as well? This is part of the beauty of TCM. It preserves that knowledge for the modern age; and with it, offers up old solutions with the potential to solve modern problems.  

Meet Michael Savalli, MSOM, L.Ac

Michael is a board certified NY State Licensed Acupuncturist, who received his Masters Degree in Oriental Medicine from New York College of Health Professions.  While in this program, he also specialized in Chinese Herbal Medicine. If you or anyone you know is interested in staying healthy this season, schedule your appointment and learn how Acupuncture and herbs can boost your immunity. 

631-601-6491

Click to learn more about Michael Savalli, MSOM, L.Ac

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We Sell Products

To enhance your healthy lifestyle experience we sell all forms of Chinese herbal linaments, to pain patches and liquids that help the pain, enhance healing, and promote wellness. Each product has been carefully selected and tested. We only sell high-quality medicinal grade products. Ask your practitioner what products would be right for you!

631-601-6491

The natural world is filled with beauty and treasure!

With Love,

Liz

Elizabeth M. Martin, MSOM, L.Ac, LMT and the Staff at Hands on Acupuncture and Massage Therapy, P.C.