Essentials of. Complementary and. Alternative. Medicine eBook-een

safe, efficacious complementary and alternative therapies into the mainstream of primary care practice. 

Wayne B. Jonas M.D. 

Jeffrey S. Levin Ph.D., M.P.H. 

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

This book is the result of many minds, hearts, and souls who have shared a vision of healing with me. It 

would not exist without them. It began when Lance Sholdt, then at the Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences, asked if I would work with him to put together a course in complementary and 

alternative medicine for the medical students. His careful construction of this course helped us outline the 

contents of the book. This book is the brainchild of Jeff Levin. He was t he first to suggest that a textbook 

like this was needed and could be written. His heartfelt work and attention to detail kept things moving 

when I was bogged down. Janette Carlucci is the soul of the book, managing both the special features and 

the day-to-day contact with the many authors. To her, a special thanks on this journey. Ron Chez provided 

a much needed balance for the book. He was always ready and willing to assist with a critical eye and 

keep us anchored to how this book could be of benefit for patients. I would also like to thank the editors, 

Jane Velker, Beth Goldner, and Joyce Murphy, for understanding the complexity of the topic and for a 

commitment to quality over deadlines. And Tim Hiscock for finally saying that we were going to press—

ready or not. I would just as soon have worked another three years on it as finish. 

W B J 

Many thanks are due to so many people whose hard work and dedication made this book possible. Wayne 

Jonas has already mentioned the staff at Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and his assistant, Janette Carlucci. 

My job would have been impossible without their tireless efforts. I must also thank Christine Boothroyd, my 

former secretary at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Christine coordinated all of my work on this book for 

nearly two years, and I am forever in her debt. My former department chairman, Dr. Terence C. Davies, 

also could not have been more supportive as I devoted considerable time to writing, editing, reviewing, 

and corresponding. Finally, thanks are due to Wayne for agreeing to tackle this project with me. At times, I 

imagine he, like me, must have wondered what in the world we had gotten ourselves into, but we somehow 

managed to complete our task. Wayne's breadth of clinical knowledge in complementary and alternative 

medicine and his wisdom and expertise in matters related to this field are what really made this book 

possible. 

J S L 

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INTRODUCTION: MODELS OF MEDICINE AND HEALING 

Wayne B. Jonas 

Jeffrey S. Levin 

PHYSICIANS ARE FACED DAILY WITH DISEASE, ILLNESS, SUFFERING, AND DEATH. THE MEDICAL 

PROFESSION AIMS TO HELP CURE, TREAT, COMFORT, AND SAVE THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO SEEK 

HELP. MOST PHYSICIANS MUST ALSO PERSONALLY FACE ILLNESS AT SOME TIME IN THEIR LIVES 

OR CARE FOR A LOVED ONE WHO IS ILL. WHETHER PROFESSIONALLY, PERSONALLY, OR WITH 

FAMILY, WHEN ILLNESS COMES ALL PRACTITIONERS WANT BASICALLY THE SAME THING–RAPID, 

GENTLE TREATMENT THAT CAN CURE US OR AT LEAST ALLAY OUR FEARS AND ALLEVIATE OUR 

SUFFERING. IN 1996, AN INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF HEALTH SCHOLARS AND PRACTITIONERS 

RECLARIFIED THE TRADITIONAL GOALS OF ALL MEDICINE (1). THESE GOALS ARE: 

1.

THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE AND INJURY AND PROMOTION AND MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH. 

2.

THE RELIEF OF PAIN AND SUFFERING CAUSED BY MALADIES. 

3.

THE CARE AND CURE OF THOSE WITH A MALADY, AND THE CARE OF THOSE WHO CANNOT 

BE CURED. 

4.

THE AVOIDANCE OF PREMATURE DEATH AND THE PURSUIT OF A PEACEFUL DEATH. 

 

 

IT IS TOWARD THESE GOALS, THEY URGED, THAT ALL MEDICAL EDUCATION, RESEARCH, 

PRACTICE AND HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SHOULD BE AIMED. 

Despite these common goals, practitioners' responses to disease and illness are remarkably varied, and 

opinions about these differences in approach are often strongly held. Who we trust to our care, what we 

decide is the best treatment, how we evaluate success, and when we look for alternatives depend on many 

factors. These factors include how one understands the nature of health and disease, what is believed to 

have gone wrong and why, the type and strength of the ev idence supporting various treatments, and who 

is consulted when obtaining help. In short, our choice of medical modalities depends on our models and 

perceptions of the world, the preferences and  values we share, and the believed benefit that may come 

from a certain treatment, system of practice, or individual. Even in an age of modern science when medical 

decisions can be made on a more objective basis than ever before, these decisions are a complex social 

process. To understand what shapes our behavior toward  health care, we must carefully examine these 

social forces. The rise in interest and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) reflects social 

changes in our models, values, and perceived benefit from  modern health care practices in the last several 

decades. 

THE RISING INTEREST IN COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE 

MEDICINE 

Public and Professional Adoption of CAM 

Two identical surveys of unconventional medicine use in the United States, one done in 1990 and the other 

in 1997, showed that during that time frame CAM use had increased from 34% to 42%. Visits to CAM 

practitioners went from 400 million to more than 600 million visits per year, and the amount spent on these 

practices rose from $14 billion to $27 billion–most of it not reimbursed (2). As increased use of the phrase 

of “integrated medicine” for the CAM field suggests, these practices are now being integrated into 

P.2

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