Reviewed by Karin
Evans - Consumer
Health Interactive
When I picked up
The New York Times'
rather thick guide
to alternative health,
I expected to find
rigorous scientific
studies, a conservative
selection of topics,
and a rather dry
approach. Not a
bad trade-off for
some definitive
information, I thought.
I was more than
pleasantly surprised
to encounter not
only a rich, reader-friendly
collection of essays
on a range of expected
topics, but numerous
delightful and useful
excursions into
the unexpected.
The promises of
alternative medicine
But first, consider
the information
for human patients.
The book begins
with some enlightening
background on the
promises and problems
of alternative medicine,
laying out the respective
territories of alternative
vs. mainstream and
pointing out some
of the dilemmas
and contradictions
between the two
approaches.
Why the attraction?
Part of the answer,
the authors report,
seems to lie in
the fact that patients
long to be treated
not as a list of
symptoms, but as
whole persons, able
to actively participate
in their own healing
and to collaborate
with someone who
genuinely cares
about their well-being.
According to numerous
surveys, this is
what people say
they are getting
from alternative
practitioners.
Yet there's a substantial
downside to some
of the methods and
substances within
the wide range encompassed
by alternative health
care. Treatments
and substances that
bask in anecdotal
praise may be backed
up by no definitive
tests at all. Some
potions can be downright
risky. So it's high
time for some reliable
guidance.
The book, a compilation
of published articles
by The Times' personal
health columnist
Jane E. Brody and
other writers at
the newspaper, leads
the reader artfully
through thickets
of conflicting information.
In the process of
spelling out the
available research,
the book manages
to be both highly
entertaining and
informative.
Blueberries and
ginkgo
There are entries
on storefront massage,
blueberries, prayer
and laughter, ginkgo
candy bars, ayurvedic
medicine, and hands-on
healing during cardiac
surgery. The writing
is engaging, often
amusing. One chapter
bears the title:
"Americans Need
a Better Diet: This
Is News?" Even better,
the reader comes
away with a good
understanding of
how alternative
methods and substances
are evaluated --
or, in all too many
cases, not evaluated
-- and what the
chances are of a
supplement or herb
doing harm. Many
devotees of herbal
medicine, for example,
may be unaware that
the Food and Drug
Administration does
not require safety
testing for herbs
and supplements.
There's inside information
on how the Food
and Drug Administration
operates, what constitutes
a good study, and
why some studies
are so hard to perform.
One interesting
chapter examines
the turnabout on
beta-carotene --
from early enthusiasm
for the supplement's
reputed ability
to stave off cancer
to later research
suggesting it had
no benefit and might
even cause harm.
As one researcher
concludes, "The
major message is
that no matter how
compelling and exciting
a hypothesis is,
we don't know whether
it works without
clinical trials."
If there's a downside
to the book it's
this: Since the
information is organized
and presented in
essay-like form
for the most part
-- grouped in 10
major sections ranging
from alternative
medicine as a social
trend to food as
medicine -- it can
be frustrating to
look for information
on a particular
ailment. A reader
who looks in the
index under "diabetes,"
for instance, will
find passing mention
of its association
with iron overload
and the contributing
factor of the love
affair with fast
food, but no information
on any number of
substances -- vanadium
or stevia, for starters
-- that are often
touted as alternative
treatments.
Off the beaten
track
Still, the book
covers a huge expanse
of territory and
provides an exhaustive
amount of critically
important information
on any number of
topics, some of
them well off the
beaten track. And
perhaps its best
contribution of
all is the scope
of the material
and background.
It covers proven
therapies as well
as unregulated supplements
and downright scams,
and in doing so
ranges from the
mundane to the esoteric.
Excursions into
meditation, hypnosis,
and the programs
offered at mainstream
institutions such
as Columbia Presbyterian's
Center for Meditation
and Healing, for
instance, show how
far alternative
medicine has come.
The reporting is
balanced, responsible,
up-to-date, and
even quirky -- but
does not always
result in a tidy
conclusion. The
reality is that
for many alternative
treatments, there
is no bottom line,
just anecdotal evidence
of one kind or another.
In an examination
of the value of
glucosamine and
chondroitin sulfate
for arthritis, for
instance, writer
Brody reports that
both she and her
dog are taking the
supplement. The
dog, an old-timer
of 13, is free of
pain and stiffness.
Brody herself is
playing tennis,
skating, and walking.
But she balances
her own anecdotal
success with information
on the drawbacks
of the remedy. It
doesn't do the job
for everyone and
doesn't work when
cartilage is completely
worn away. And,
she cautions, one
woman and her dog
do not a study make.
Consumer's
Guide to Alternative
Health: A Consumer
Reference
By Jane E. Brody,
Denise Grady, and
reporters of The
New York Times
Henry Holt and Company
Inc.
Paperback 448
Here are a few places
you can find this
book:
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