Body & Soul: AIDS, Jaundice, Anti-Aging (2004)

Doctors explore what happens when traditional medicine and Mapuche healing walk together hand in hand. In 2003, leading pop stars joined forces in a remarkable concert in Capetown to launch Nelson Mandela’s campaign to call attention to Africa’s frightening AIDS epidemic. While many fair-skinned Caucasians pursue the tanned glow, many darker-skinned people look for ways to lighten their skin, but the products they use often carry risks. A new fitness trend is samurai sword fighting. Thailand looks to reduce its unacceptably high fatality rate in auto accidents. An electronic implant works to control epilepsy seizures and it also helps combat depression. Acupuncture can be an effective fertility treatment. When the Adkins Diet made potatoes undesirable, researchers found a way to develop a new kind that reduced carbohydrates by one-third. Proton beams offer the possibility of fighting tumors without the challenging side effects of traditional radiation therapy. An herbal remedy to combat the painful effects of jaundice, kept a secret but offered free, is causing long lines in New Delhi. A brewery in Germany has created the world’s first anti-aging beer.