The FDA has acknowledged that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is part of an efficacious and complete medical system as involving “whole systems of theory and practice that have evolved independently from or parallel to allopathic (conventional) medicine.”
The newly-released Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and their Regulation by FDA had not included traditional medicine in its compilation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) but now traditional medicine including TCM has finally gained the same level of respect as conventional Western medicine.
TCM is a whole health care system that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbs, dietary therapy, Qigong, massage, exercise and meditation.
Steven Sonmore, LAc is a licensed acupuncturist in Minneapolis, Minnesota with over 20 years experience of health care and pain management.