Steve Woodley Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine

16/07/2025

As Paracelsus said: "The poison is in the dose." If 3 mg/kg is WHO's maximum recommended dose, then she was taking enough for a 3/4 tonne buffalo!

Many common foods and spices have maximum doses that we are very unlikely to achieve in everyday use but are possible in highly concentrated extracts.

Green tea and turmeric are some of the worst culprits because people think they are 'just foods.'

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-jersey-katie-mohan-turmeric-liver-damage-b2789817.html

New Jersey resident Katie Mohan says her daily turmeric supplements gave her ‘impending liver failure’

16/07/2025

This Saturday, 19th July, I will be giving a talk at Chesham's Health on the High Street, entitled Chinese Medicine's Secret to Longevity.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1039009701515160/

12/07/2025

The Chinese have been refining techniques to modify their metabolism for thousands of years, resulting in a system that uses our natural resources to enhance health. It may be harder work than a pill, but it has a long, proven track record of safety and a solid basis in modern physiological sciences, as this article suggests.

In an era when training can be overcomplicated, sometimes the tried-and-tested methods are best

11/07/2025

08/07/2025

This finding of a complete acupuncture set in a Western Han Dynasty tomb pushes back the earliest date for the invention of acupuncture, linking it to the development of steel manufacture. Notably, the needles were 0.3 - 0.5 mm thick, which is comparable to modern needles.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202506/1337002.shtml

Needle-like artifacts unearthed from the famed tomb of the Marquis of Haihun in East China's Jiangxi Province have been confirmed to be the world's earliest known steel acupuncture needles, marking a pivotal moment in the history of traditional Chinese medicine, according to a document from the prov...

02/07/2025

The results of new study suggest that chronic inflammation as we get older is not inevitable but a result of industrial lifestyles. People from the Bolivian Amazon and Peninsular Malaysia did not have increased markers of inflammation as they got older, while those from Italy and Singapore did.

The takeaway seems to be that inflammation is not inevitable as we age but is really ingrained into our society's culture of diet, activity and environment that lead us to an increasingly inflammatory physiology as time passes. The solution is not a fad diet or exercise program, but a return to a way of life that is more natural and connected to the way our bodies were designed to age.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/inflammaging-aging-national-institutes-health-b2780662.html

‘It’s a warning – don’t follow the latest trends of eating foods specifically to reduce inflammation, or whatever else the trend of the week may be,’ said professor Alan Cohen

28/06/2025

Excellent article on the state of regulation for Chinese medicine. I especially liked:

"The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine, established in 1987, represents one notable attempt to foster excellence and patient protection."

https://barristermagazine.com/chinese-medicine-in-the-uk-at-a-regulatory-crossroads/

Chinese medicine has a long history of providing alternative therapeutic approaches for various health conditions, and over the past few decades, it has experienced growing popularity in the United Kingdom (‘UK’). Patients who are drawn to holistic and time-honoured treatment methods often seek ...

26/06/2025

After the wave of hype, some serious side effects are coming to light regarding the new generation on weight loss drugs. Another problem that has emerged is that the effect tends to reverse once they are stopped.

There are definitely benefits to these kinds of drugs but these problems seem to point to the fact that the underlying patterns are not being addressed. Chinese medicine has written about these issues for thousands of years and may have some insights into ways to adjust the underlying patterns. It is hard work, but so is everything worthwhile.

There have been hundreds of cases of acute pancreatitis in people who have also taken Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy.

26/06/2025

10/06/2025

As the NHS blood service calls out for 200,000 new donors, the current regulations prevent people who receive acupuncture from a professional acupuncturist from donating until four months after the date of their last treatment.

A few simple changes to the legislation can change this but, despite the changes being recommended in 2017 in the Donor Selection Criteria Report, no meaningful action has been taken.

Ian Appleyard from the BAcC summarises the current state and their proposed solution.

As reported in BBC News today, the NHS has raised significant concern over an estimated 200,000 blood donor shortfall and has urgently called for more donors to come forward. The British Acupuncture Council has consistently lobbied for a change in blood donation regulations because they are unnecess...

31/05/2025

I will be presenting a short talk at the BAcC / RCHM conference on Sunday 8th June entitled Mitochondria in Chinese Medicine.

My PhD research focused on using mitochondrial function as a tool for assessing herbal medicines and detecting subtle adulterations in medicinal herbal teas. In this short presentation, I will explain why mitochondrial function was chosen as a biological parameter by which to measure the action of medicinal herbs. This will be achieved by demonstrating the central role mitochondria play in health and disease, preventative medicine, ageing and biological fate, with a particular focus on Chinese medicine, alchemy and longevity practices.

20/05/2025

Written by my PhD supervisor, assessing the evidence for the health benefits and potential harms of coffee and matcha tea.

Looking for a caffeine boost without the crash? Here’s why matcha could be a coffee alternative – minus the jitters.