By Peter Hilton
peter@newsroom.byu.edu
Detecting heart disorders and thyroidal problems can be as easy as getting a manicure.
Specially trained doctors can know of possible health problems long before they happen simply by looking at their finger nails, said Doug Eggett, sales representative for Dr. Chi's health clinic,.
'This is a preventative medicine. We don't diagnose, we just give suggestions,' Eggett said.
Eggett was one of the hundreds of alternative health providers who gathered in Provo last week for the Utah Valley Health Congress. His focus was on the healing properties of Chinese medicine.
Eggett gave an example of this technique by saying that if someone has small to no moons (white semicircles at the base of fingernails) on their fingernails it usually means they have a low immunity, while those who have large moons rarely get sick.
This is nothing new to the world. For thousands of years the Chinese have practiced these techniques.
Unlike some alternative health providers, this system in no way replaces doctors, Eggett said. It is a system that many doctors use simply to avoid malpractice suits.
'It allows them to look down the road,' Eggett said.
Dr. Wilcher, a BYU post-graduate in food sciences, said that 80 percent of the world uses these types of techniques. They are strange to the U.S. because the west approaches medicine from a mechanical perspective, while those who practice Chinese medicine approach it by looking at the energy or spirit of the body, he said.
'The energy or spirit of the body is what controls our bodies. If this energy is out of balance then our bodies will be out of balance too,' Wilcher said.
Acupuncture is another Chinese practice that was presented at this conference and is viewed as being extremely alternative in nature.
Acupuncture is a Chinese technique where needles are inserted into specific acupuncture points on the body to cure diseases or relieve pain.
According to Eggett over 10,000 doctors are now using many of these techniques.