Krou Khmer Naturopathy
This Khmer traditional medicine is a form of naturopathy using natural remedies, such as roots, barks, leaves and herbs to motivate the body’s vital ability to heal and maintain its18elf. It has been used to treat various diseases for centuries, the Khmer people first formulating this medical lore during the Angkor period. Practitioners are known as Krou Khmer and offer a holistic approach avoiding the use of surgery and drugs.
In recent years traditional Khmer doctors have moved into mainstream practice and are receiving recognition and training from the government at the National Center of Traditional Medicine. Medical books in Pali text have been gathered from all the pagodas throughout the country; collated and interpreted into the Khmer language at the center. The center welcomes traditional healers from across the kingdom to share knowledge and train healers to a uniform level and to assimilate their localized knowledge.
Rejuvenate with a Glass of Jamu
Jamu is a famous Javanese herbal drink and traditional medicine used throughout Indonesia to rejuvenate the body and mind. It is made using natural materials such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves and fruits that grow in the wild. While it can be found throughout Indonesia, it is most prevalent in Java, where Mbok Jamu, traditional costume wearing young to middle-aged Javanese woman carry bamboo baskets filled with bottles of Jamu on their back. In many large cities, hawkers can be found selling Jamu herbal medicine on the street with its bitter taste sweetened by adding honey or palm sugar.
Old-fashioned Drug Making in Toyama City
Toyama is a city located in the Hokuriku region, an area once famous as the Japanese capital of medicine-making when Toyama pharmacists would travel around the country, transporting their products to local doctors and patients. There are still a few traditional pharmaceutical labs in operation that produce traditional drugs based on herbs and other natural ingredients. At the old Ikedaya Yasubei Shoten pharmacy, visitors can visit the idle and abandoned laboratory to try their hand at shaping medicinal paste into ball-shaped lozenges using antiquated machinery. You cannot take the meds home with you for safety reasons, but they will give you a packet of the same product as a souvenir!
Fito Museum Opens the Lid on Traditional Medicine
Vietnam has a long-standing medical tradition that has served its people well for thousands of years. From the use of herbs and natural compounds to the development of acupuncture, Vietnamese people have been incredibly astute in the development of natural therapies.
Experts in traditional medicine from Vietnam have collected 1,863 species of 238 families of herbs which can be used as medicine. They also have collected approximately 40,000 prescriptions handed down from generation to generation, which were dedicated and prescribed by 12,513 physicians. With the purpose to help those who desire to study and research Vietnamese traditional medicine, the pharmaceutical company FITO PHARMA opened FITO Museum. The museum houses a traditional physician’s medicine store, a model of a royal medical clinic and a small cinema to show the history of traditional medicine. Visitors discover a whole array of traditional techniques and local treatments, many of which were concocted by the great physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac, a local legend in traditional Vietnamese medicine.