Alternative Home

Beauty Info

All about Pregnancy



Green Bamboo: Strength in Flexibility


Those who have watched the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" would be familiar with the imagery of bamboo: flexible yet firm, delicate yet strong. These unique qualities make the bamboo fit snugly into ancient Chinese philosophy and endow the health benefits of the bamboo with an air of wisdom and grace.

History

In China, the highly revered bamboo reflects celestial unity in ancient art, such as ethereal paintings of misty mountains with bamboo leaves, delicate bamboo weavings and bamboo baskets.

The strength of bamboo is apparent when the fury of the atomic bomb unleashed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War Two only damaged bamboo marginally. It was also one of the first plants to reappear after the deadly war, thus occupying a special place in the hearts of the Japanese. Visitors to Japan will be charmed by the melodious sound of nature when a breeze rustles through bamboo-made wind chimes.

In Hawaii, where bamboo is known as "ohe", bamboo crafts have been elevated to an art, with intricate designs of delicate tapa stamps carved from split bamboo.

Before the invention of wheels, bamboo provided stout shafts for carrying baskets woven from bamboo fibres, hence revealing its wide spectrum of uses.

Ecology

Bamboo has strong survival skills. Like grass, it grows rapidly and is able to propagate by itself. Like wood, it is strong and can be found throughout the world. Although bamboo only needs minimal water to sustain itself, as little as 20 inches of rainfall for some species, most large bamboos grow quicker when exposed to full sunlight.

Growing profusely in poverty-ridden and resource-scare areas, bamboo is like a gift to humanity, giving the most of itself during its short lifespan of a few years.

The height of bamboo varies from 30cm dwarf plants to hovering timber bamboos of over 40m.

Bamboos are classified according to the type of roots. Runners, which belong mainly to tropical bamboos, spread exuberantly while clumpers, which belong to temperate bamboos, expand slowly from the original planting. There are also root systems that combine the two types.

Bamboo leaves come in a large variety. There are soft velvety leaves, leaves with saw-toothed edges and leaves with tiny wisps of hair-like adornments around the bases of the stems and culm (stem) sheaths.

Health Notes

Bamboo, a vital element in Traditional Chinese Medicine, has a temperament that ranges from mild to cooling. So although specific health benefits differ according to the various parts and flavours of the bamboo, generally, bamboo is able to help detoxify, repel insects, eliminate heatiness, clear phlegm, curb vomiting, restore vitality and quench thirst. Small wonder then that the bamboo is the panda's favourite. In fact, with plenty of crude protein, bamboo is also used frequently as animal fodder.

Bel'Air's green bamboo essential oil is the result of comprehensive research. From the joints of bamboo stems, a beneficial essence known as bamboo sil is extracted. It contains abundant amounts of silice, which is a rich store of calcium. After aromatherapy with green bamboo essential oil, calcium would be replenished and bones would be strengthened. This innovative essential oil can also alleviate old age problems such as backache and rheumatism, as well as enhance calcium contents in children and teenagers, hence boosting their growth.


MORE RESOURCES:

Alternative medicine to be topic of lunch
Port Clinton News Herald
20 on complimentary and alternative medicine. Judy Paschen will give an overview of some of the more common practices such as massage, Reiki, ...

and more »


Important ethical issues for alternative medical practitioners
Helium
For anyone running a business in alternative medicine, there are ethical issues that arise in the treatment of patients. ...



American's Choose Alternative Treatments for Chronic Pain in Lieu of Harmful Drugs
allvoices
Currently, there has been a tremendous increase in the area of alternative medicine expenditures. Why is it that alternative medicine treatments are ...



Alternative medicine topic for luncheon talk
The Beacon
Magruder Hospital will be hosting an educational luncheon on Complimentary and Alternative Medicine at noon Sept. 20. Judy Paschen, LMT, will talk about ...



New York Times

Imagining the Prophet
New York Times
As a leader of alternative medicine who was born in India and raised as a Hindu before opening a wellness center in California, what led you to write your ...

and more »


NY1

NYer Of The Week: Vet Provides Older Dogs With Alternative Medicine
NY1
"The animals historically respond very well to these alternative treatments," says Gladstein. "It just took three sessions and after the three sessions he ...

and more »


TopNews United Kingdom (blog)

Avoiding black and white judgments on placebo effect in medical treatment
Mainichi Daily News
Alternative Medicine on Trial." One of the authors of the book, Simon Singh, is the science writer I trust the most. At the same time, however, ...
The Other Option: Explorations in Integrative MedicineLoudoun Independent

all 10 news articles »


Royal campaign
BBC News
... on teaching styles and standards (especially English: he favours a more traditional approach); on alternative medicine (he is a champion of homeopathy), ...

and more »


About My Job: The Epidemiologist
The Atlantic (blog)
There is no such thing as "alternative medicine", only "alternatives to medicine". Once something has been proven efficacious, it simply becomes medicine. ...



Probiotics: should infants get lactobacillus reuteri (American type culture ...
Examiner.com
Their column covers integrative and alternative medicine. The doctor's column today (September 5, 2010) offers information helpful for infant colic. ...


Google News

Alternative home | site map | Beauty | Massage oils | Essential Oils | Health and Pregnancy | Alternative medicine Courses
Alternative medicine © 2006