Last week I spoke on the radio in small town Iowa. A DJ with Energy 106.7, Scott Wozinski (who goes by the nickname "Wazz"), called me about an interview.

As it turned out, nearby Marshalltown, Iowa is home to only 2 acupuncturists, David Cheung and Irene Dougherty. I called and surprised David with news of my upcoming radio appearance. He was beside himself with excitement, and told me all about practicing Chinese Medicine in Marshalltown.

"The people of Marshalltown are very receptive," said David. "People there really get it, because Chinese medicine is based on metaphors from observing nature, and Marshalltown is an agricultural community, so they're immersed in that all the time."

There are only 24 other acupuncturists in all of Iowa, and there are nearly 3 million Iowans. As in many parts of America, that's hardly enough acupuncturists to handle so many patients. "Some patients drive several hundred miles to see us," said David.

"We treat allergies and physical pain more than anything else here," he said. For allergies they used NAET (which is not chinese medicine, but a system developed by a chiropractor/acupuncturist - you can learn more at www.naet.com). For pain they use acupuncture, especially the style taught by Richard Tan. They also employ Chinese herbal formulas, which can treat a wide variety of complaints.

"We love it here," said David. "It's different- there's no sushi bar, or anything- but now that I've been here, I'd never go back to big city life."

When DJ Wazz on Energy 106 introduced me, he asked, "Is this Brian Carter, the acupuncture god?" Somewhat surprised, and definitely not wanting to make any claims to deity, I laughed, "This is Brian Carter, yes."

"Acupuncture is your thing, right?" he asked.

"Actually, it's Chinese medicine," I said. "Acupuncture is just one of the therapies we use in Chinese medicine."

"Ok. What other therapies are there?" he asked.

"Well, there's Chinese herbal medicine, diet modification, lifestyle suggestions, and we can even recommend the right exercises for you. Not every exercise is good for every type of person."

"That makes sense," Wazz agreed.

"Right, so we use the same diagnosis or pattern discrimination for all of these therapies. That tells us what acupoints, herbs, exercises, and foods will balance you."

Then Wazz asked about the Pulse website, so I gave the web address, www.pulsemed.org, and that was all the time he had. I suppose Energy 106.7 has to keep their energy up, so they can't spend too long on any one topic, but perhaps Wazz'll invite me back sometime. When he thanked me, I replied, "Anytime."