Many patients want to use components of both traditional medicine and complementary medicine in their treatment. For that to happen, physicians and doctors need to know how to integrate the two approaches.
Three years ago, the Alexian Brothers Hospital System and I established the nation's first continuous physician education program in complementary and alternative medicine. Since then, we have seen a steady, increased interest by the medical community.
Several months ago, physicians in a number of different departments at the hospital requested an educational program on alternatives to traditional hormone replacement therapy.
Their request was answered last week, when more than 70 physicians gathered at Alexian Brothers Medical Center to listen to one of the country's leading authorities on alternatives to HRT, Tieraona Low Dog, M.D.
Dr. Low Dog is a very interesting and qualified physician. She is on staff at the Universities of New Mexico and Arizona. She also chairs the U.S. Pharmacopocia on dietary supplements and botanicals and advises both the National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary/Alternative Medicine and the NIH Center for Botanical Research at the University of Illinois.
In addition, Dr. Low Dog has an active medical practice in New Mexico.
She told the physicians that there are some simple things, as well as a number of herbs and dietary supplements, that can help. Regular exercise, including weight lifting, is instrumental in reducing bone loss. Medical research has shown that we do not get everything we need from our diets. Therefore, a good multivitamin, calcium, magnesium and vitamin D also are necessary.
Dr. Low Dog also recommended stress reduction, plenty of sleep and consumption of dietary omega 3 fats. Improvements in these areas can reduce stress and inflammation, often reducing symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and fatigue.
Dr. Low Dog presented the latest information on a number of herbs. Physicians learned that phytoestrogens found in soy and red clover might be beneficial but that there is not enough information to recommend concentrated dietary supplements.
Other botanicals were recommended. Black cohosh has no estrogenic activity, but might help ease menopause symptoms by binding to receptors in the brain. Less common botanicals like chastetree, motherwort and mugwort also have been found helpful. All were reviewed for the physicians in the context of "is it effective?", "is it safe?" and "how does it interact with medications?"
Physicians also were very interested in hearing which dietary supplement manufacturers adhere to good manufacturing standards and which products are readily available to their patients.
More than 70 local physicians attended this lecture, indicating a growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine. Not all of them will significantly integrate complementary and alternative treatments into their medical practices. However, it is apparent that medicine is changing - becoming more open to new ideas and approaches. I look forward to the day when there is no "traditional" or "nontraditional" medicine, only good medicine regardless of its origins.
Patrick Massey MD, PhD
Medical Director, Integrative Medicine, Alexian Brothers Hospital Network.
President, ALT-MED Medical and Physical Therapy
