A specialist in alternative medicine spoke about unconventional treatment methods, including nutritional and prayer therapy, to a sparse crowd in Dartmouth Hall Tuesday night.
Dr. Joseph Jacobs, newly appointed director of the Alternative Medicine Division of the National Institutes of Health, said alternative medicine can be divided into six categories ranging from diet and nutrition to mind body control. He also discussed Native American herbal and spiritual treatments.
Many of the alternative forms of medicine deal with the mental treatment of the patient, Jacobs said. He added that some breast cancer patients found relief through group and prayer therapy.
The ancient medicinal practices of China and Native American herb treatments are also included in the field of alternative medicine, Jacobs, a Native American, said.
"Many of these treatments have been used for thousands of years and you have to give respect to so many years of trial and error," Jacobs said.
"My mother was very enterprising in that she tried to get the best of both worlds ... be it traditional 'white man' medicine or traditional herbal or spiritual treatments," he said.
