Healer also takes part in Istiqlal gala

JAKARTA (JP): Suffering from high-cholesterol or hemorrhoids? Boil some peanut shells and drink the water. Bothered by pimples, constipation or allergies? Boil some betel leaves and drink the water.

Experiencing a wane in your sex drive? Eat some red rice porridge and expect some improvement.

These tips were given yesterday by noted traditional healer Dr. Hembing Wijayakusuma in a discussion held as part of the ongoing Istiqlal Festival of Islamic Arts and Culture at the Grand Mosque Istiqlal.

Hembing, who has a weekly show on RCTI private television station, explained the superiority of traditional health remedies over modern ones, including their accessibility.

Modern medical treatment is expensive, he said, whereas alternative health techniques such as acupuncture, massage and the use of herbal medicine are as effective as they are inexpensive.

In addition, "The materials for traditional treatment can easily be found in our environment, sometimes for free," said Hembing, who is also an acupuncturist.

Hembing, a former lecturer at the University of North Sumatra's Medical School in Medan and a professor of oriental medicine, took his doctorate degree in Malaga, Spain.

Among the awards he received was from the Sweden's Dag Hammerskjold Foundation for his works in developing alternative medicines for low-income people.(31)