Essentials of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Bys: Jeffrey S. Levin and Wayne B. Jonas

Concerned with complementary and alternative medicines, this text offers insights into the social and scientific foundations in the field, the safety and efficiency of alternative products and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068330674X
• ISBN13: 9780683306743
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Williams & Wilkins
• Length: 605 Pages
• Weight: 2.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 1.5" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

A Must Have Resource

This book will be appeal to anyone interested in all the alternative treatments available other than the traditional Western Medicine. It is written in simple, easy to understand language with tons of research references explaining each treatments and evidence for its effectiveness. It covers a diverse rang of alternative treatment options, including Bio-Feedback, Hypnosis, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Homeopathy and Nutritional biotherapy. Ali Hashemian, Ph.D.

Excellent overview of CAM systems

This is an excellent book for the health care professional who is interested in learning about different Complementary and Alternative systems. Each chapter is written by a leader in the reviewed field and is quite comprehensive. I am an Osteopathic Pediatrician, and I found the description of Osteopathic Medicine one of the best that I have ever read. If you are looking for a book that includes specific treatments, however, this is not the book for you. It includes excellent chapters on History of CAM, ethics, how to evaluate the safety/efficacy of particular types of CAM, and overviews many types of CAM including Native American Medicine< Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naturopathy, Massage Therapy, Qigong, Orthomolecular Medicine, Meditation, Ayurveda, etc. There is also an appendix which includes suggested readings, organizations, an indications and precautions chart with clinical trials, and a glossary (which might be the shortcoming of the book - apitherapy is not defined, even though it is mentioned several times throughout the book, for example). All in all, a very comprehensive overview, and recommended.

Great resource for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

This book is a good introduction to the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). I like that Dr. Jonas presents both the common features and differences between allopathic medicine and CAM. It's fascinating to see that healers have been effectively using CAM for thousands of years. The organization of the book is into three main parts is very good. The portion about safety is excellent. So many of our patients today use CAM, so it is important to know the affects. The chapter, "How to Practice Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine" addressed many of these ideas. The overview of 20 specific disciplines of CAM was very informative and will be a good resource for medical students and practicing health professionals. The chapters on Ayurvedic Medicine and Medicinal Acupuncture where especially enjoyable.