Prince Charles urges a holistic approach to medicine

May 23, 2006, 14:46 GMT

Geneva - Britain's Prince Charles Tuesday insisted that alternative medicine has a critical role to play in the health of future generations, and urged governments to adopt a more integrated approach to medicine using acupuncture and herbal remedies.

Speaking to a packed chamber at the World Health Assembley in Geneva, he said: 'Patients should be able to gain the benefit of the best of both worlds - complementary and orthodox.'

He feared the world had lost touch with many traditional treatments and cures. 'Much of this knowledge, often based on oral traditions, is sadly being lost yet, orthodox medicine has so much to learn from it,' he told the conference.

It was essential, he said, to redress the fragile, but vital balance between man and nature.

The world was plagued by chronic illnesses that were responsible for around two-thirds of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organizations own figures.

Surely it was time, he added, to consider multi-dimensional solutions from how we farm the land to how we build our cities and how we care for our precious natural heritage.

The prince said there was clear evidence that acupuncture worked for conditions such as osteoarthritis of the knee, while the plant St Johns Wort had proved successful in treating non-severe depression in 30 clinical trials.

Central to his beliefs was the view that poor health could not be viewed in isolation. 'If we poison and pollute our earth, we poison and pollute ourselves,' he added, referring to chemicals from food colourings to pesticides.

He threw down a challenge to the governments attending the assembley to develop their own plan for an integrated health strategy.

A proper mix of proven complementary, traditional and modern remedies could, he said, create 'a powerful healing force for our world.'