Another article about the growing acceptance of acupuncture from the New York Times (requires free registration):

"Acupuncture, long shunned by mainstream medicine but for centuries considered the crown jewel of alternative therapy, is slowly gaining ground in doctors' offices around the country. While some experts still question its effectiveness, studies in recent years - including one at Duke last week - have thrown scientific weight behind its benefits, supporting its usefulness in alleviating conditions from morning sickness to carpal tunnel syndrome.

In the past few years, the number of hospitals offering acupuncture and other alternative therapies has doubled. At the same time, postgraduate training programs in alternative medicine have sprung up at universities around the country, most recently at Harvard and the University of San Francisco."

....

"For other ailments, however, acupuncture has been found to work better than standard medications - and without side effects. It has been widely used for years to ease chronic pain conditions, and studies have repeatedly endorsed its usefulness.

Last week, researchers at Duke showed that it was far more effective for postoperative sickness and vomiting in a group of subjects than Zofran, a widely used antinausea drug. Roughly a quarter of all people who undergo major surgery in the United States experience retching and illness afterward, usually brought on by anesthesia. Antinausea medications offer relief, but because they sometimes cause severe headaches and cramps a number of patients are reluctant to take them, said Dr. Tong J. Gan, an author of the new study, published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia."

Research from the University of Heidelberg in Germany indicates acupuncture and herbal treatments may provide some benefit to couples trying to conceive:

"Today, more and more doctors are readily recommending acupuncture to be combined with Western medicine because first, they feel it can do no harm and second, some believe it may help implantation by increasing blood flow to the uterus.

According to a study conducted at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, acupuncture worked as well as the drug Clomiphene in inducing pregnancy. Studies have also proven that in vitro fertilization procedures are more successful in patients who get acupuncture treatment."

Research indicates that alernative therapies can be an important factor in cancer treatment patients:

"These days tens of thousands of cancer patients are using mind-body practices like conscious relaxation, talk therapy, music therapy, visualization, tai chi, qigong and prayer to help them deal with their disease. Eighty percent of cancer patients report using some kind of complementary medicine, a category that includes mind-body techniques as well as nutritional supplements and other holistic approaches. And no wonder. Scientists have found that mind-body practices help patients sleep better and cope with the pain, anxiety and depression often associated with traditional cancer treatments. Recent research has shown that mind-body practices can subtly enhance a cancer patient's immune system, too"

Many people are discovering that alternative treatments (such as taditional Chinse medicine) can be used in conjuction with standard treatment to bolster health:

"For Americans, CAM [complementary or alternative medicine] approaches include provider-based therapies, like acupuncture; chelation therapy (removing a heavy metal like lead from the bloodstream); hypnotherapy and chiropractic. There are also therapies that do not require a provider, such as use of herbs or botanical products, special diets, megavitamin therapy, and meditation and prayer focused on health or medical conditions.

Overall, the CDC survey showed that CAM use in the United States is highest among women, educated people, individuals who have recently been hospitalized and former smokers.

The most common conditions for which CAM is used include back problems, colds, neck problems, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety or depression.

Practitioners of both alternative and traditional medicine agree that the blending of the two disciplines is becoming more accepted."

A camel in the Brookfield zoo in Chicago with arthritic knees has been treated with acupuncture--with good results!

"The camel's chief keeper was skeptical. "When they said they were going to try acupuncture on Jewel, I thought, no way. This camel hates needles," said Mary Schollhamer. "She gets upset at the sight of a hypodermic injection needle."

But a couple days after Jewel's first half-hour treatment, Schollhamer became a believer. As she arrived for work in the morning, strolling up an access road to the rear of the camel enclosure, Jewel glanced up and saw the keeper coming.

"I hadn't seen this camel run for more than two years, she'd gotten so lame," said Schollhamer. "But when she saw me that morning, she ran all the way to the fence to greet me. I was so moved, I started to cry."

The moon festival is an important festival in Chinese culture:

"Moon Cake Festival: A Mid-Autumn Festival (Chung Chiu), the third major festival of the Chinese calendar, is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month. This festival corresponds to harvest festival s observed by Western cultures (in Hong Kong, it is held in conjunction with the annual Lantern Festival).

Contrary to what most people believe, this festival probably has less to do with harvest festivities than with the philosophically minded chinese of old. The union of man's spirit with nature in order to achieve perfect harmony was the fundamental canon of Taoism, so much so that contemplation of nature was a way of life."

Fortune cookies, that staple of Chinese restaurants, was actually invented by a Japanese man in San Francisco:

"Fortune cookies were the invention of Japanese aristocrat Makoto Hagiwara, who emigrated to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. First sold in San Francisco at a midwinter exhibition in 1909, today the number of fortune cookies made globally each year could number in the billions"

As in many other parts of the world, people in Britain are turning to traditional Chinese remedies:

"From aloe vera to the Chinese angelica root, the market for herbal medicine in Britain is booming.

Every year £126 million is spent on it and 20% of the population use a herbal medicinal product at least once a year.

Some people simply prefer natural products to conventional medicine or have found prescribed medication hasn’t helped them. Others don’t have time to get a prescription from a GP so look for an alternative solution to their ailment.

Whatever the reason there’s no doubt many people find herbal medicine effective in helping to cure or prevent illnesses."

Taiwan's night markets are an integral part of Taiwanese culture. Everyone goes there to shop, eat, or just hang out:

"Where can a visitor experience a true taste of Taiwan? At a Taipei night market. There's one in almost every neighborhood of this city of 3 million residents - nightly carnivals of cuisine and commerce that attract thousands of Taiwanese who come to nosh and shop and nosh some more.
``Street food is the most indicative of what Taiwanese food is,'' says Carl Chu as we make our way through the crowded walkway of the Rao He Street Night Market, one of Taipei's most popular. ``Taiwanese home cooking isn't really much of anything. If you compare the food here and the intricacies of cooking at home, it's much easier to eat here. It all happens on the street.''

An interesting article about Malay and Chinese customs for new mothers:

"In both ethnic Malay and Chinese societies here the confinement month, or "berpantang" in Malay, remains as important in the modern world as it was in ages past.

While the Malays resort to traditional massages and bodywraps to rid themselves of toxins and baby-fat, the Chinese drink lots of wine to recover from childbirth."

The use of traditional Chinese medical treatments, such as herbs and acupuncture, is becoming increasingly common for women looking to conceive. In fact:

"She sometimes worked with IVF patients and said researchers in Germany had shown that acupuncture could increase the success of IVF by 42.5 per cent."