Alternative diet therapy for elderly patients. Unique concerns for a high-risk population.

Many elderly individuals accept or even seek alternative or complementary therapies, including dietary and nutritional treatments. Medical practitioners, nutritionists, and marketing strategists must recognize the special concerns regarding ADT use by the elderly and advise them accordingly. These concerns about the use of alternative diet therapies include social, physical, medical, psychologic, and ethical factors. Many elderly individuals struggle with chronic illnesses that cannot be completely ameliorated by conventional treatments. Thus, the possibility that alternative approaches may help reduce these symptoms needs to be explored. To do so with an appropriate level of safety, it is recommended that these alternative treatments be attempted as part of a complementary treatment protocol. That is, the physician, nutritionist, and other traditional health care professionals should team with providers of alternative products and treatments to offer guidance to elderly patients who wish to use these therapies.

Duke Scholars

Author Connie Watkins Bales Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care