Herbal therapy. Homeopathy. Acupuncture. Energy healing. Yoga. Therapeutic
touch.
These are just a few of the many new health care alternatives that have recently
joined the more established practices of chiropractic care, massage, weight-loss
programs and vitamin therapy. Today alternative medicine is not only mainstream
but also very big business.
Some surveys show that there are as many patient visits to alternative health
care providers each year as to traditional providers. Two of the best-known
advocates of new perspectives on health, Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra, each
sell millions of books and enjoy prime-time media attention.
How should you evaluate these new options? Is alternative health care simply a
fad--or is it here to stay? What are the benefits and risks of nontraditional
therapies? Do some health care alternatives have spiritual underpinnings at odds
with Christian faith and practice?
Medical doctor Paul Reisser, former alternative health care practitioner Dale Mabe
and writer Robert Velarde team up to answer these questions in Examining
Alternative Medicine. Sound, frank and even-handed, their book is essential
reading for anyone seeking new roads to health.
Reisser, M.D., has practiced family medicine in southern California for more
than twenty years. He recently served as chief of staff at Los Robles Regional
Medical Center, and he is primary author of The Focus on the Family Complete
Book of Baby and Child Care (Tyndale). Mabe, D.O., currently practices family medicine in North Carolina. Previously he
served on the faculty of the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic
Medicine. He has also served on the staff of one of the largest holistic health clinics
in the South. Velarde, a writer and editor based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is primary
author of The Power of Family Prayer. He is pursuing graduate studies in
philosophy of religion at Denver Seminary.