« Acne | Fingertips Home | Massage Eases Migraines »
August 1, 2004
Immigrants Seeking Holistic Medicine
With the increased influx of Latino immigrants, the demand for traditional folk medicines from their homeland is increasing, especially among rural residents.
Curanderismo is a holistic, spiritual approach to medicine that uses the natural world to heal the mind, body and soul. Curanderas often prepare teas, creams and tinctures from herbs and plants and use massage therapies to treat many ailments.
Marco Antonio Campos Romeu, a curandero from Mexico City, will treat a baby's earache with a drop of hand-mashed garlic oil or recommend a cup of cascara sagrada tea for a patient with digestive problems.
''When using herbal remedies, people need to know when they are an effective treatment and when they are not. I worry that people who have diseases like diabetes, hypertension and arthritis are not taking proper steps to ensure proper treatment.''
Posted by linda at August 1, 2004 9:14 AM
blog comments powered by Disqus
