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Article: With Drugs Scarce, Cuba Tries Natural Cures; Alternative- Medicine Clinics Provide Herbs and Homeopathic Remedies
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 29, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Swaying awkwardly to traditional Chinese music, an elderly woman
practices the age-old art of tai chi -- in her case, to treat the
neurological disorder known as Parkinson's disease.
Down the hall at the Clinic of Traditional and Natural Medicine,
patients with circulatory problems place their hands and bare feet on
large blocks of cobalt, a metallic element with supposedly curative
properties.
On another floor, a man receives acupuncture treatment, which --
along with doses of pumpkin seed extract -- is intended to shrink a
tumor in his prostate. Elsewhere in the clinic, doctors extol the
virtues of passion flower as a treatment for high blood pressure,
basil and garlic for diabetes and ...