Integrating Therapeutic and Complementary Nutrition PDF

Preface

The use of complementary and alternative medicine, also known as CAM, continues to increase worldwide as consumers are actively exploring and incorporating complementary and alternative practices into their lifestyles. The growing popularity of these practices is changing mainstream healthcare. In the United States, the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was established to investigate and evaluate promising unconventional medical practices as a result of the increasing interest and usage of CAM therapies by Americans. By October of 1998, the OAM was officially changed to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Today, many are calling for a convergence of traditional and complementary healthcare, in other words, integrating care to achieve the best positive clinical outcomes. The use of CAM therapies by individuals and patients reportedly does not reflect negative attitudes toward conventional medical care, but rather an orientation to self-care in the optimization of their health and well-being. However, fraudulent and dangerous CAM practices and therapies must be avoided as individuals apparently turn to CAM therapies as their health begins to decline. In order for healthcare providers to assist individuals in making safe, appropriate, and informed choices, practitioners in all settings must be aware of the indications and potential adverse interactions associated with CAM modalities.

Many CAM therapies such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy, mind– body, botanical, and dietary supplements are commonly used to prevent certain diseases, enhance quality of life, and for healing purposes. Evidence is accumulating that many integrative therapies including nutrition can enhance conventional medical practice. Numerous research studies now support the critical role of nutrition in disease prevention and management.

Our goal was to create a text that integrates therapeutic and complementary nutrition and also serves as a preeminent resource for healthcare practitioners in all settings. This text will also provide a framework for integrating conventional nutrition together with complementary and alternative practices. Utilizing an evidence-based approach, an understanding of the pathophysiology and the integrated therapies recommended for disease prevention and management is provided. The chapters focus on the various stages of the life cycle, and the key functional processes that support wellness and the prevention or ameliorating dysfunction are also discussed. Through practice perspectives and case studies, the reader is presented with options for integrating conventional and alternative practices.