Using X-Rays to Decipher the Mystery of Acupuncture

[Josh Zimmer]

http://www.harmonyhealthsrq.com

The Chinese are using their most expensive science project ever, a powerful X-Ray machine called a synchroton, to unravel the mystery of how acupuncture works.

So far, the tests are dramatic, according to news reports. Acupuncture points, the results show, are physiologically different than the rest of the body.

In testing on rabbits, researchers found higher concentrations of micro-vessels at acupuncture points than in surrounding tissue. In testing on humans, they measured higher levels of zinc, iron and copper.

"We are trying to figure out the three-dimensional structure of the acupuncture points with the light

resources," said Zhang Xinyi, deputy director with the synchrotron radiation research center at Fudan University.

The study will add to a growing body of research aimed at understanding the scientific underpinnings of acupuncture. Acupuncture is based on Qi theory, which believes good health results from balancing our energy with the universal energy around us.

Thanks to the inventors of acupuncture - the Chinese - we already know much about the physiological actions of the acupuncture points. How some influence estrogen and follicle-stimulating hormone levels. Or how others can stimulate white blood cell production. We know from research that many herbs and herbal formulas act as anti-virals, blood circulators and immune system boosters.

As for the more elusive "how and why", Harvard University researcher Vitali Napadow's work with fMRIs (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is showing how acupuncture directly affects the central nervous system. This is important, since the central nervous system regulates all of our basic body functions..

Other research highlights a strong connection between acupuncture points and dense, microscopic collections of nerve, lymphatic and vascular bodies. Acupuncture points also have higher densities of mast cells, which are critical to cell repair, according to research from Hong Kong.

All these findings will help explain why the effects of acupuncture are so profound. Stay tuned for more!