Amanda Cochrane (London and San Francisco:
Thorsons, 1995).
See also AUSTRALIAN FLOWER REMEDIES; BACH
FLOWER REMEDIES.
folk medicine A term coined in 1878 referring to
the traditional medicine of a particular culture as
practiced by physicians and nonprofessional health
providers. Folk medicine most often involves the
extensive use of foods and herbs as remedies for a
multitude of ailments, many of which have been
adopted into the Western mainstream as alterna-
tive and complementary medicine options. Treat-
ments may also include spiritual or religious
rituals, diagnostic and healing techniques in accor-
dance with a society’s specific beliefs and lifestyle,
and psychological counseling.
See also CURANDERISMO; FAITH HEALING; KAHUNA;
NATIVE AMERICAN HEALING PRACTICES; SANGOMA.
fomentations, herbal In Ayurvedic medicine
warm, moist applications that are infused or
treated with herbs.
food therapy Food nutrients, herbs, and various
diets considered to be therapeutic or healing. Heal-
ing foods have always been known to humankind.
Oranges, for example, were known centuries ago
as treatment for respiratory disorders such as aller-
gies and asthma, infections, aging (Arabs of the
17th century applied dried, oil-soaked oranges to
discourage graying of hair), and indigestion (the
peel was made into a tonic). Grapefruit and its vari-
eties, such as pomelo, are reported to improve cir-
culation and prevent breast cancer. Among
common foods considered both nourishment and
remedy are papaya (for excess stomach acidity);
honey (for inhibition of bacterial infection, ulcers,
and acne and promotion of healing); tuna, salmon,
and other fatty fish (for rheumatoid arthritis and
other inflammation); cranberry (for urinary tract
infection); garlic (for high blood pressure, high
cholesterol level; cancer, and infection); brazil nuts
(for asthma); fava beans (for Parkinson’s disease);
yogurt (for yeast infections); rice (for diarrhea);
broccoli (for colon cancer); watercress (for lung
cancer and smoking-related diseases); bran (for
constipation); savoy cabbage (for prevention of
cancer); apricots (for low libido); and milk (for
insomnia and anxiety). Hundreds of foods are
believed to help counteract the symptoms and
processes of hundreds of ailments. Food therapy
also includes a multitude of diets and dietary
restrictions or specifications according to individual
need. One of the best-known diseases that requires
a highly specified diet is diabetes. Food therapy
complements herbal therapy, the use of vitamins
and mineral supplements, and bodywork.
See also MACROBIOTICS; NATUROPATHY; NUTRITION.Freud, Sigmund The Austrian neurologist
(1856–1939) long credited as “the father of psy-
choanalysis.” During the years 1892 to 1895, Freud
introduced the technique of free association to the
practice of psychiatry. He went on to develop theo-
ries on dream interpretation, repression, sexual
deviation, guilt, the unconscious, psychosomatic
pain, and many other groundbreaking psychody-
namic methods and concepts that are considered
important in contemporary psychiatric practice.
Freud’s ideas contribute significantly to the foun-
dation of the mind-body philosophy related to var-
ious alternative and complementary medicine
modalities. In A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine
(New York: Quill/HarperCollins Publishers, 2000,
p. 113), Richard Gerber, M.D., wrote: “There is no
question that there is often a deeper meaning
behind illness, relationships, and the simple events
of everyday life. We must learn to walk that fine
line between understanding the meaning of our
lives on the physical plane while still paying atten-
tion to our spiritual roots in the multidimensional
worlds that underlie and energize physical energy.”
See also ART THERAPY; DRAMA THERAPY; HYPNOSIS.fu zhengtherapy In traditional Chinese medi-
cine, the fortification of one’s constitution, typically
administered as a tonic soup made of astragulus
root, codonopsis root, tangerine peel, polygonatum
rhizome, poria fungus, lycii berries, red dates, black
or shiitake mushrooms, seaweed, vegetable or
chicken stock, yams, leeks, and scallions.fu zhengtherapy 47