CAPÍTULO IV. RESULTADOS Y DISCUSIÓN
4.1 FASE I: SELECCIONAR LOS INDICADORES DE TRANSPARENCIA DE
1 Completethedescriptionswith the words below,and match each descriptionto a therapy.
energy stimulate
herbs heal
pressure points functioning channels
therapist a traditional Chinesemedicine b acupuncture
c musictherapy d cupping e reflexology f faith healing g reiki
h hydrotherapy
1 Putting heated cups on theskinto suckbad ____ from the body _d_
2 Theuseofhot and coldwaterand underwater exerciseto theimmune system __
3 Massaginghands and feet to unblock energy
4 Inserting needles into onthe bodyto controlthe energycalledqi(ltfi:/)
S Usingsound to help patients controlpain and improve physical andmental _
6 Usingprayer to ask a godorspirit to the patient __
7 UsingChineseknowledgeof to balance yin and yang __
8 Layingofthe 's hands on the patient to bring energy into the body __
Z Discussthese questions withyour partner.
What alternative therapiesdo you believein?
Whichare you most scepticalabout?
Alternative treatments 105
In this unit
• describing alternative treatments
• natural medicines
• Qigong
• giving reasons
• healers
• arguing for and against something
Reading
1 Discuss these questions in pairs.
Do you know any examples ofanimals using natural medicines to keep themselves healthy?
What medicinal plants or other natural medicines do you know?
J Work with apartner. Try to remember the verbs used in the article.Then readthe article again to check.
1 Grass m cats sick and cl _
their stomach of worms.
2 Chimpanzees eat certain leaves to c _ stomach aches and r tiredness.
Z Guess which natural medicine (1-5)animals use to 3 Bearsch Ligusticum roots and treat which condition (a-f).Then read the article and a the juice to wounds.
find out ifyouguessed correctly. 4 Elephants eat certain leaves before they
aromatic plants labour g b toh them
1 a
with labour.
2 clay b skin conditions
3 grass c stomach problems 5 Many animals eat clay to b
4 leaves d wounds d poisons in their stomach.
5 roots e tiredness
f worms
A lot of knowledgewhich wecall'alternative medicine'has come from watching animals,hecause notevery pharmacist isa human being - animals treat themselves with medicinestoo.Youmay have seen a dog oracat eat grass,for example.Theydo this because it makes themsick,and clears their stomachs of worms.
In Tanzania,leaves from a tree which localWaTongwe people call 'the bitter leaf tree',areeaten by chimpanzees.Both the
WaTongwe and the chimpanzees knowthatthe leaves can cure stomach aches and relieve tiredness.
Bears know about the medicinal properties of the rootofa plant called Ligusticum. Theychewitsroot,and applythe juice to wounds as anantiseptic.I.igusticumisused byNavajo Indians too.A folk story says they were told abouttheplant by bears.
When African elephantsare going to givebirth.they will walk many kilometres to eat the leavesfrom a certain tree that willhelp labour. The leavesare used by Kenyan women for the same thing.
Clay is eaten by many animals,from cows to rhinoceroses,because it breaks down poisons in the stomach.Itisalso the main
ingredient of kaolin,which is usedin treatmentsforstomach illnesses in humans.
When some birdsbuildtheir nests,they choose aromatic plants that will keeptheir babieshealthy.The plantschosen by the birds are also used by herbalists for skin problemssuch as ulcers,sores, and eczema.
Because bacteria are becomingresistantto antibiotics,it is becoming more and more important to findalternatives,and zoopharmacognosy-a word from Greek meaning'animals' knowledge of medicine', - may giveus important newinformation about very old waysof dealing with illness.
If apatientbelievesthata drug willcurethem,itoften will, even if it isjusta tablet with no activeingredient.Thisisknown astheplacebo effect.
Listening
Qigong
1 lOl
Listento this radio programme about an alternative treatment calledqigong(/tJi:'9UlJ/), and decideif these statements are true (T)or false(F).1 Qicauses illness.__
2 Qiisa treatment.__
3 A'holistic'treatment dealswiththe patient'smind, not thebody.__
4 Qigong correctsthe body'senergy balance.__
5 Externalqigong healers pass theirhands overthe patient's body.__
6 ProfessorSilveris scepticalabout qiqonq. __
7 ProfessorSilverbelievesin theplacebo effect.__
8 ProfessorSilverthinks that beliefis the most important partoftreatment. __
Z Whatis youropinion of qigong healing? Putanx somewhere on this line to show your opinion.
x---x
Istronglybelieve I am extremely
init scepticalabout it
• Language spot
Giving reasons
Wecangivereasonsforthings in a number ofways.
for+noun
Peopletake herbalmedicinesfor good health.
I see a reflexologistfor my backpain.
for+-ing
Birds use these plants for building nests.
to+infinitive
Chimpanzees eat these leavesto treatstomach aches.
I visited a healer toget relieffrom the pain.
...sothat...
Elephantseat leavessothat their labour will be easier.
...because...
Animals put ants on their skin because they produce formic acid.
...so...
Thejuice is antiseptic,sobearsput iton their wounds.
That's why ...
[use only herbal medicines-that's why I amso healthy
»
GotoGrammar reference p.1241
Matchthe beginningsand the endings ofthe sentences.Homeopathyworks a that's whyI
onanimals,~ feelso goodnow.
2 Acupuncture b forswellings.
unblocksqi c soit cannot bea placebo.
3 Weneedalotof d to makeadiagnosis.
information e forrelaxingthe body and 4 Theyuse massage mind.
5 Usean icepack f becauseyour yin and 6 Igaveup yang are notbalanced.
smoking- g sothatit can flow around
7 Youareill the body.
Z Completethesentences using for,to,sothat, because, so,and That'swhy.
1 Ihavemusictherapy improvemy memory.
2 Mymother doesn't believein modem medicine, ______ she will not see a Gp.
3 Liein the water you get the full benefit ofthe treatment.
4 Garlichas antibacterial properties. it's goodfor theimmune system.
5 Itake vitamin Ceveryday itstops you getting colds.
6 Peopleusethis herb burns.
7 Shebelievesinhomeopathy healing and relaxation.
J
Doyou use supplements,therapy,etc.to help you stay healthy? Tellyour partner whatyouuse,and why.Alternative treatments 107