Long before there were pharmacies and prescription drugs, people treated illnesses with remedies taken from their local environment. Many of these traditional medicines are plant based– papaya, for example, is used to treat a stomach ache. But, as we’ll hear today, insects have also proved useful to traditional healers. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.
Peter Menzel is a photographer and co-author of Man Eating Bugs, a book which looks at cultures around the world where insects form a regular part of the diet.
“In Mexico we met Crisenzia Rodriguez Nieves, a forty three year old medical doctor who lived in Puebla. She is bringing back traditional medicine. She prescribes western medicine to some people and to other people she prescribes traditional medicines. And she is able to treat goiters with stink bugs because they’re rich in iodine and goiter is caused by iodine deficiency. She treats anemia with grasshoppers. Rheumatism with beeswax, eye cysts with flies and the range of her medical applications was enormous. She worked in a hospital, had a room attached to her house where she did traditional healing. And she kept a lot of dried insects and other animals as medicine.”
We’d like to hear about the folk remedies or seasonal observances that are a part of your culture or family tradition. Please call our toll-free number, 1-877-PULSE-99. That’s toll free 1-877-PULSE 99.
Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.