Center adds naturopathic medicine to treatment list

There’s more to medicine and being healthy than traditional medicine can prescribe, according to the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine. To keep in step with this belief, the center has added naturopathic medicine to the list of treatments it offers.

UCI is the first university in Southern California to add naturopathy to its specialties.

The difference between naturopathic medicine and traditional treatments is largely in the assessment, Suzanne Tang, a naturopathic doctor and licensed acupuncturist who is leading the program, said.

Tang and her colleagues do a thorough physical evaluation that takes about an hour and a half.

“We really spend time getting to know every possible physical obstacle to their health,” Tang said.

She said naturopathy is not always a substitution for traditional treatments, and she works with a patient’s doctor to ensure the patient is getting the best possible treatment.

For more information about the new offerings or the medical center, go to www.sscim.uci.edu or call (949) 824-5763.

— Amanda Pennington