By
Ayse Guner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The method would decrease medication costs
Integrative medicine might help in alleviating the emotional symptoms of mental illnesses and should be added into medical school curriculum, said Dr. Andrew Weil, the director of UA integrative medicine program.
As integrative medicine - an appropriate use of conventional and alternative methods to heal the body - becomes more widely accepted, it is also limited by lack of funds and support from the members of medical field to be fully trained by doctors, Weil said.
The increase of medication costs along with the decline in doctor and patient interaction, the overall patient satisfaction have decreased. Therefore, the integrative medicine should be studied and should be offered to patients to cut medication costs, Weil added.
"What people want is doctors with time who will not just push drugs and surgeries, but are willing to look at other systems (integrative medicine)," Weil said.
However, medical schools aren't training its doctors to use alternative treatments, he said.
Weil said he doesn't define integrative medicine as alternative medicine, but as "good medicine" that could help alleviate many symptoms and provide a healthier combination of body and mind.
"Good" medicine can also be studied to treat mental illnesses, Weil said.
Lifestyle management, physical activity, and well-balanced nutrition could heal some of the mental illness symptoms such as anxiety or depression, he said. "Breathing is the most powerful and safe method of any kind (in controlling anxiety)," Weil said, who learned the forms of breathing from practicing yoga.
Omega-3 fatty acids also work as anti-depressants and could be found in oily fish nutrients such as salmon or soy beans. Omega-6 fatty acids, on the other hand, work as the opposite, leaving the brain weak, he said.
Omega-6 is in vegetable oils and usually obtained through meat consumption.
Herbs could also work as effective as some of the anti-depressant medicines, however, the Food and Drug Administration should monitor herbs, dietary supplements and vitamins to facilitate consumer safety, Weil said.
St. John's Wort could prevent disturbed sleep, anxiety and have less toxins than mainstream drugs.
Even though integrative medicine can provide inexpensive solutions and treat some types of illnesses, it cannot treat "tough" mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, Weil said.
Alan Gelenberg, UA psychiatry department head, said he agrees that there is an over emphasis on highly technical medical solutions and integrative medicine could contribute to the patient's emotional symptoms such as panic disorders.
Gelenberg also expressed his concerns in terms of the diminishing connection between doctor and patient.
"As the time gets compressed, there is no way doctors will assess their patients," he said. Five or 10 minutes is not an enough time to make judgment about a patient's medical conditions, Gelenberg added.
Spirituality, on the other hand, does not require any scientific evidence and would allow the doctor to recognize and respect the individual, he said.
With integrative medicine, physicians can understand "valuing of the soul and experiencing pain and suffering, which are not something that the last century of physicians tried to understand."
Weil and Andrew's speech, "Examining the Role of Integrative Medicine in the treatment of Mental Illness" was held at 7 p.m. yesterday at Christ Presbyterian Church, 6565 E. Broadway Blvd.
