A holistic approach to weight loss - If you're trying to shed some pounds this new year, you may want to give acupuncture a try.  Terry Bannon wants to drop 30 pounds. "As soon as I can get into the skinny jeans that I have at home, that I'm hoping to get into, I know I'll feel better about myself," she said.  As a wife and mother of four, Bannon hopes acupuncture will help her lose the weight. "I was a little skeptical but I've always wanted to try acupuncture of some sort to help with weight loss," she said.  Dr. Henri Roca of Greenwich Hospital recommended ear stapling.


   Cape clinic offers group acupuncture - With teaching hospitals like Massachusetts General offering acupuncture, and actor Matt Damon being photographed this summer with acupuncture needles in his ear, there is little doubt the ancient Chinese healing practice is going mainstream.  With average costs ranging from between $60 and $200 per session, what acupuncture has not become is affordable, says West Dennis acupuncturist Diana DiGioia.


  Insurers Now Cover Range of Alternative Therapies - On a national scale, insurers are steadily broadening the types of services that receive coverage, from alternative medicine and mental health care to elective procedures like gastric bypass and vision correction surgery. Nearly 50% of plans included acupuncture in 2004, for example, compared with less than 20% in 2000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health researcher.


  Wrestling to beat Lyme disease - Grand Avenue Elementary School fifth-grader Eddie Smith was overwhelmed by a groundswell of fund-raising support in his fight against Lyme disease at the Eagle wrestling Invitational tournament Jan. 5.  Eddie has battled Lyme disease with the support of his family for almost five years and the family has turned to a combination of alternative treatments in its mission to eradicate the disease.


  'Ringing In The Ears' May Be Caused By Overactive Nerves; Acupuncture May Help, Study Suggests - Do your ears ring after a loud concert? Nerves that sense touch in your face and neck may be behind the racket in your brain, University of Michigan researchers say.


  Hayden undergoing acupuncture to heal hamstring - Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden has turned to acupuncture to try to save his immediate Test future but concedes he could be out for a month with a mysterious hamstring injury, the Australian media reported here Friday.  Hayden has had several sessions of acupuncture this week to try to speed up his recovery.


  Acupuncture can pinpoint problems other treatments miss - To the Western ear, asking someone to stick dozens of needles in your skin might sound like something no one would do willingly. But Oriental societies have practiced acupuncture for thousands of years. In the U.S., however, it's been in just the past 40 years that acupuncture has gained credence as an alternative medicine that works.