Alternative therapies dietary therapy

Complementary and alternative medicine therapies, such as acupuncture, biofeedback, chiropractic manipulation, dietary supplements, herbal therapy, and homeopathic preparations, are used by individuals with allergic rhinitis.29,30 Use of bromelain, gingko, ginseng, licorice, quercetin, and Urtica dioica has been reported, but large-scale studies documenting efficacy are lacking.31,32 Caregivers should inquire routinely about patients use of alternative therapies and counsel patients about the lack of validated data to support such practices.12... 

Complementary and alternative medicine CAM. Forms of treatment that are used in addition to (complementary) or instead of (alternative) standard treatments. These practices are not considered standard medical approaches. CAM includes dietary supplements, megadose vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, massage therapy, magnet therapy, spiritual healing, and meditation. [NIH]... 

The following is a list of alternative therapies for diarrhea it includes dietary supplements and herbal products for which there are either reliable scientific data to support their use or those being studied ... 

MedWatch program. The FDA recently established the Special Nutritionals Adverse Event Monitoring System, a searchable database including information about suspected adverse events associated with dietary supplements or nutritional products. This database includes reports that have been submitted to MedWatch and can be accessed via the Internet (http //vm.cfsan.fda.gov/ dms/ aems.html). Continued efforts by health-care professionals to recognize and report suspected interactions between prescription medications and herbal and other alternative therapies should ultimately increase knowledge and awareness of interactions and improve the quality of patient care (see Heck et al., 2000 Izzo, 2004 Butterweck, 2004 Chan, 2005). 

Drug-Alternative Therapy Interactions Alerts of drug interactions with herbals, dietary supplements, and other alternative-therapy agents. 

Women use herbal and dietary supplements at higher rates than men do. This rise in use of alternative therapies places women at increased risk of significant drug interactions, specifically drug-herb and drug-nutrient interactions (83 9). For instance, St. John s wort, a popular antidepressant, contains at least seven groups of chemical compounds. These include naphthodianthrons (hypericin and pseudohypericin), flavonoids (quercetin, hyperoside, and rutin). 

Postmenopausal hormone therapy is a subject of major interest in the field of women s health. Treatment of menopausal symptoms can be managed effectively in some women with lifestyle modifications, including exercise, weight control, smoking cessation, and a healthful diet. More recently, however, dietary supplements and nonpharma-cologic therapies have been promoted as complementary medicine alternatives to hormone therapy. To date, there is little to support the use of such nonprescription products, which include various herbal remedies and soy-based supplements. 

Many patients today are using alternative therapies to manage their diseases, and it is difficult for health care practitioners to keep up with this evolving field. Moreover, especially in the area of dietary supplements, the science behind the perceived benefits is lacking. This book is presented as an effort to provide a scientific perspective on the use of phytopharmaceuticals in battling cancer. 

Patients who do not respond to the tricyclic anti-depressants have two alternative therapies available, both of which increase the availability of neurotransmitter amines in the brain. The monoamine oxidase inhibitors (Section 9.4, p. 359) are highly effective but impose dietary restraints and have often caused dangerous surges in blood-pressure. Electroconvulsive therapy, which may sound brutal, but is actually painless to the patient, can achieve lasting improvement (Green, Heale and Grahame-Smith, 1977). 

An alternative dietary therapy developed by Richard Doll Involved the use for up to 3 weeks of continuous milk drips through a nasogastric tube, with or... 

Complementary and alternative medicines A group of practices and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine, including alternative medical systems (e.g., homeopathic medicine and naturopathic medicine), mind-body interventions (e.g., meditation and mental healing), biologically-based therapies (e.g., dietary supplements, vitamins, herbs, and other natural products), manipulative body-based methods (e.g., acupuncture and massage), and energy therapies (e.g., therapeutic touch and bioelectromagnetic-based therapies). 

In the United States, the use of products, including botanicals, thought to fall within the realm of complementary and alternative medicine is very common. It is difficult to obtain reliable estimates of use or to compare many of the current publications in this area because of diverse definitions for categorizing these products (e.g., dietary supplement, food supplement, herbal medicine, natural remedy, traditional medicine, etc.) in both the United States and elsewhere. A recent report on the use of complementary and alternative medicine by U.S. adults in 2002 indicated that approximately 19% of the population used nonvitamin, nonmineral, and natural products, 19% used folk medicine, and 3% used megavitamin therapy in the past 12 months (1). 

Two general principles that the student should remember are (1) that all substances can under certain circumstances be toxic, and the chemicals in botanicals (herbs and plant extracts) are no different from chemicals in manufactured drugs except for the proportion of impurities and, (2) that all dietary supplements and all therapies promoted as health-enhancing should meet the same standards of efficacy and safety as conventional drugs and medical therapies. That is, there should be no artificial separation between scientific medicine and "alternative" or "complementary" medicine. 

Striving to understand the patient s previous experiences with Western-based medications and comparing these experiences (in simple terms) with what is necessary and can be expected with psychotropic therapy can minimize confusion. Practical and direct questioning aimed at getting the patient to restate instructions and to detail the use of alternative healing practices and customary dietary intake is prudent. Probing to assess compliance accurately and monitoring blood levels, when possible, are extremely useful... 

Most patients with malabsorption will require pancreatic enzyme supplementation and a reduction in dietary fat in order to achieve satisfactory nutritional status and become relatively asymptomatic. An initial prandial dose of 30,000 international units of lipase (uncoated tablet, capsule, or powder) is recommended to be given with each meal (see Fig. 34—5). Alternatively, the use of microencapsulated enteric-coated dosage forms may be used. The total daily lipase dose should be titrated to reduce steatorrhea. In some patients a reduction in dietary fat may be necessary. The addition of an antisecretory drug should be reserved for patients resistant to enzyme therapy (see Fig. 39-5). If these measures are ineffective, documentation of the diagnosis and exclusion of other diseases should be undertaken. 

To date, there have been no pharmacoeconomic evaluations of the different pharmacotherapeutic alternatives to manage hypokalemia. The most economical source of potassium is from the diet. Thus patients receiving diuretic therapy should be instructed to increase their dietary intake of potassium-rich foods. By doing so, they may avert the need for exogenous potassium therapy. Additionally, oral potassium supplementation is much less expensive than intravenous supplementation by virtue of its ease of administration and lack of need... 

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