Practitioners of other forms of alternative medi-
cine, such as Therapeutic Touch and Reiki, believe
that human energy may be used as a healing
modality and can be directed, modulated, balanced,
and interfaced with other modalities. With their
techniques, they pursue the concept that the trans-
fer of energy from one human being to another is
not only a natural event, but a continuous one,
whether it is intended to be or not. Intentionality
adds to the healing power of energy transfer.
See also AYURVEDA; ELECTROACUPUNCTURE; ELEC-
TROMAGNETIC FIELD; ENERGY MEDICINE; REIKI; THERA-
PEUTIC TOUCH; VIBRATIONAL MEDICINE; YIN-YANG.
energy medicine A form of treatment for pain
and various illnesses that employs electrical cur-
rents. In mainstream medical practice, electroen-
cephalograms (EEGs), electrocardiograms (ECGs),
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and transcuta-
neous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) energy
medicine may be thought of as energy medicine. In
alternative practice, electroacupuncture, auricular
acupuncture, cymatics, light therapy, sound therapy,
and microcurrent electrical therapy are some of the
available treatments. People who have pacemakers
or bleeding disorders or who are pregnant should
not consider certain forms of energy medicine.
Microcurrent electrical therapy involves placing
electrodes over painful areas of the body (or areas
opposite where the pain occurs) and running an
electrical current into them in order to relieve the
pain. The TENS technique is reported to stimulate
the body’s natural production of endorphins
(chemically similar to morphine) and to prevent
the brain from perceiving pain sensations. TENS
has been used in the treatment of pain associated
with arthritis, sciatica, neuralgia, shingles, chronic
back pain, and dental, musculoskeletal, cancer,
angina, menstrual, migraine, carpal tunnel, and
nerve damage pain.
See also CYMATICS; ELECTROACUPUNCTURE; LIGHT
THERAPY; RADIONICS; SOUND THERAPY; VIBRATIONAL
MEDICINE.
energy transmutation See ENERGY.
environmental medicine Treatment modalities
geared toward disorders, including allergies, ear
infection, and sinus headache, that are believed to
be caused by environmental factors, such as pollu-
tion and toxins. Treatments may involve nutrition
and modification of diet, detoxification techniques
such as chelation therapy and heat depuration
(high-temperature saunas to encourage excretion
of toxins through the skin), immunotherapy (any
method used to boost the immune system), and
desensitization, particularly enzyme potentiated
desensitization (EPD), which relies on small doses
of the allergen combined with beta glucoronidase,
a natural enzyme, administered orally or intra-
venously to recondition the immune system to
fight the allergic reaction. A long time may elapse
before the desensitization process becomes effec-
tive. Among other (and controversial) environ-
mental treatments are the administration of the
solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and the hor-
mone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
See also CHELATION THERAPY; DETOXIFICATION.enzyme therapy The administration of supple-
ments, enzymes including Donnazyme, Cotazyme,
Creon, zymase, Ultrase, Pancrease, and other con-
ventional substances, for the treatment of enzyme
deficiency that results from cystic fibrosis,
Gaucher’s disease, and celiac disease, among other
ailments. Digestive problems such as lactose intol-
erance and chronic intestinal gas may be helped by
certain over-the-counter enzyme products.
Produced by living cells, an enzyme is an organic
catalyst that cannot perform independently but is a
complex protein that can initiate change in other
substances without being changed itself. Enzymes
are found throughout the body, such as amylases in
saliva and in the intestine; ptyalin, also in the
mouth; pepsins and lipase in the gastric juices,
trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase in
pancreatic juices; and intestinal juices; including
enteropeptidase, maltase, lactase, sucrase, and
nucleosidases. Each enzyme has a specific action;
rennin is an enzyme that coagulates milk; throm-
bin, an enzyme that is formed in shed blood and
leads to the formation of fibrin for clotting. Other
enzymes work to split fats, starches, sugars, amino
acid compounds, mucoproteins, and proteins; to
join enzymes; and to aid in the process of oxidation,
fermentation, and chemical conversions. Cellulase,enzyme therapy 39