Biofield therapeutics refers to laying on of hands on or near a patient's body and is also known as healing touch, therapeutic touch, and shen therapy. Herbal medicine includes the use of plants and plants products found in the folk medicine traditions found in all cultures. Diet and nutrition in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease is an alternative to the Federal government's approach to dietary intervention. In contrast, many alternative dietary approaches contend that no amount of manipulation of the typical American diet is enough to promote optimum health or prevent eventual chronic illness. These alternative approaches represent a continuum of philosophies ranging from the concept that supplementing the typical American diet lies somewhat beyond the RDA necessary to promote optimum health, to the concept that supplementation well beyond the RDA is often required to reverse the effects of long-term deficiencies.
Orthomolecular medicine is the therapeutic use of high-dose vitamins to treat chronic disease.
It promotes improving health and treating disease by using the optimum concentration of substances normally present in the body. More than two dozen medical schools and hospitals have developed programs or departments for the study of alternative therapies. At least 30 medical schools in the United States offer courses on alternative medicine, and many others provide lectures or ongoing informal programs. At least five journals devoted to alternative medicine intended for physicians and other health professionals were launched in 1995. The OAM now funds 10 Alternative Medicine Centers at US universities, which represent the major research effort of their office.