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medicine,alternative medicine
Alternative Medicine
My trusty three
Wednesday 15th September 2010
Foolishly went into work today. That didn’t go well. Was not up for it! Or rather my body really wasn’t. The result me crashing in the evening, making my room smell like eucalyptus, tea tree and thyme aromatherapy oils. I’m a big believer in alternative medicine!
medicine,alternative medicine
Article by Cutegirl
Types of Alternative Medicine Many Possibilities of Holistic Healing:Alternative Medicine:The terms ‘alternative medicine,’ ‘complementary medicine,’ or ‘unconventional medicine’ refer to diagnostic methods, treatments and therapies that appear not to conform to standard medical practice, or are not generally taught at accredited medical schools. The scope of alternative medicine is broad, with widespread use among the American public of a long list of treatments and practices, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, relaxation techniques, and herbal remedies. In an editorial about alternative practices in the New England Journal of Medicine, Murray and Rubel comment, ‘Many are well known, others are exotic and mysterious, and some are dangerous.’1 This report will help to clarify and categorize the alternative medical systems most often used, create a context to assess their utility (or lack thereof), and discuss how physicians and the medical profession might deal with the issues surrounding these unconventional measures in health and healing. At the turn of the last century, the effort led by the American Medical Association (AMA) to improve the quality of medical education and bring quality controls to curricula ultimately led to the landmark report by Flexner in 1910.Types of Alternative MedicineMany Possibilities of Holistic Healing:”There are thousands paths to health,your path leads to your health”Many known types of alternative medicine came from folk wisdom, empirical researches, and experiments – over centuries, every culture has developed different therapeutic practices based on natural and traditional methods.In old days people were closer to nature and used natural healing abilities of herbs, life forces such as water, sun light, music, and the body itself.Unfortunately, they did not have scientific explanation of the nature of treatments and attained a reputation of charlatanic practices. However, today more and more new researches discovered a solid scientific base behind old alternative care health practices.All types of alternative medicine have one common approach – they don’t heal just symptoms, the whole system of the living being is taken into consideration – they restore energy-iformational and physical balance simultaneously.What would work for you? You need to understand principles and main characteristics of different healing modalities, to choose the best option for your particular situation and preferences.There is no universal practice that can cure every illness every time in everyone.You might need to try different types of alternative medicine to find what resonates with you and brings the most benefits to you.Eastern Types of Alternative Medicine:Acupuncture: the most recognisable alternative healing practice in the West thanks to successful and tangible results obtained through a treatment, and results and research of doctors who succeeded in showing the pathways of meridians. Chinese medicine is derived from Tao philosophy and based on the theory of Yin and Yang, five elements, eight principles, which is not quite understood by Western people.Acupressure: a component of traditional Chinese medicine, the form of massage by stimulating particular points of the body. This simple, non-aggressive technique demonstrates significant efficiency in treating a wide range of diseases, though the theory behind it remains controversial from the point of traditional medicine.Ayurvedic Medicine: the complex system based on ancient Vedic texts (Chakras Samhita) inspired by divinity Brahma. It has a holistic approach that focuses on the patient more than the illness, and uses several methods of treatment (detoxication, diet, exercises, etc.)Reiki: the information we have on Reiki dates back to the 18th century and Mikao Usui, a Japanese Christian theologian who dedicated his life to understanding the spiritual healing forces of Christ. This force is called Reiki, which represents the universal energy of life.Naturopathic Types of Alternative Medicine:Naturopathy: this is a modern global health reform movement. It appeared spontaneously and simultaneously in the 19th century in the United States, Central Europe, Scandinavia and Great Britain. It is a fundamental science that includes the study, knowledge, teaching and practice of the laws of life, which keep the human body healthy by using natural means.Homeopathy: natural medicine founded by Samuel Hahnemann. The fundamental principle of homeopathy is that “like cures like” – a remedy that is given to a healthy person will produce the specific symptoms, but when given to a person who already shows these signs, the remedy will cure these same symptoms.Aromatherapy: the use of essential oils for medical purposes. Concentrated aromatic plant extracts have relaxation, soothing, healing affect on the body. The influence of aromas on the state of mind is unquestionable – through inhalation, skin application or digestion of essential oils, the brain gets stimuli that cause to react with feelings.Chromotherapy: known as color therapy, technique that aims to rebalance energies by projecting the colors of body’s chakras. This is based on the intuitive detection of missing frequencies in ill person. This method acts on all levels: physical, mental and psychological. It helps to restore lost harmony.Light Therapy: a method treating illnesses using artificial light. Treatments with a full spectrum of light – from infrared to ultraviolet – have a beneficial therapeutic effect in various diseases.Flower essences: healing flowers are natural products, first introduced by Dr. Bach, based on simple flowers and spring water that restore the individual balance and emotional harmony. By acting on emotions, the elixirs facilitate the regeneration and balancing processes.Phytotherapy (herbs): medical plans have been used for ages, and each culture has its own tradition involving them. Many herbalists believe that the therapeutic effect of the use of the herbs is explained by healing inherent in plants, rather than some chemical components.Apitherapy: the use of various bee products for therapeutic purpose such as honey, bee pollen, propolis.Electromagnetic Therapy: energy type of therapy based on the transmission of electric current or magnetic impulses through tissues for stimulation. These types of energy medicine demonstrate greatest effect from decreasing “energy” and increasing “informational” components of applications.Manipulative Types of Alternative Medicine:Osteopathy: there are two different aspects that lead to two different practices: Structural osteopathy deals with the structural elements of the body such as the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues.Cranial osteopathy is directed at the cephalorachidian liquids contained in the cranium.Philosophy of osteopathy goes far beyond just joint manipulation, bones and muscles adjustments. This is a complete medical care system that assists the body and the person as a unite access self-healing power and higher state of well-being through the body itself. In case of osteopathy the interrelationships of physical, mental, emotional, and higher being starts from physical – stay fit and be healthy.Chiropractic: medicine – has the same origin and philosophy as osteopathy with the difference focusing on the spine healthy state as a primary coordinator of the nervous system. As nervous system is connected to every tissue and organ in the body, the overall optimal health can be boosted with aligning the spine which promotes an optimal nervous system balance and free flow of blood to tissues and organs.Massage: this is probably the oldest and most spontaneous therapeutic action there is. The body is stimulated by using different manipulative techniques (hands, massage tools) and re-establish natural functions. Thanks to Per Henrik Ling, a Swedish gymnast, massage became a therapeutic practice (that’s how we adopted “Swedish massage” term). Don’t miss an opportunity to have regular massage sessions, there is an unexplainable magic in touch – it’s nurturing, healing, pleasant, and hence the word “touching”.Psycho-Educational Types of Alternative Medicine:Spiritual Healing: it simply can be described as transferring energy between the practitioner and the subject. These energies don’t belong to the healer, but come from an external source – invisible and divine.Hypnotherapy: the psychotherapist acts upon subconscious in order to correct and modify behaviour, thought-patterns formed by behaviour. In many cases it helps ease suffering, get rid of distractive programming. Experience of the practitioner is very important when considering a deep hypnotherapy. There are many other techniques that work effectively, yet gentle for erasing distractive programming with the patient remained in full consciousness.Art Therapy: painting, singing, drawing, dance and theatre are powerful forms of self-expression. Today artistic activities are recognised as forms of therapy, especially for the rehabilitation with mental and emotional issues.Holistic Healing with Informational Medicine: a form of new medicine that has come into the stage recently based on scientific concepts that there are more subtle energy field than known electromagnetic fields. Diseases took place in this informational field far before it manifested into the physical. Healing doesn’t depend on time and space, as there is no time and space in the informational field.It’s almost impossible to mention all types of alternative medicine that exist – every culture may have its own forms and types of alternative medicine, healing, practice, and modalities.Some of them are more popular than others – it’s not the question of effectiveness of particular modality – they are all use a unique personalized approach, have many benefits to offer, and many effective remedies that really work.The effectiveness depends on each person responsiveness and resonance to a specific type of alternative medicine.
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Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, Updated and Expanded
Alternative Medicine – click on the image below for more information.
Alternative Medicine
The most complete resource of its kind on alternative medicine * Herbal remedies, dietary supplements, and alternative therapies Their specific uses Which ones really work (and which ones don’t) What to watch out for * Christian versus non-Christian approaches to holistic health * Clinically proven treatments versus unproven or quack treatments * Truths and fallacies about supernatural healing * Ancient medical lore: the historical, cultural, and scientific facts * And much, much more
Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook, Updated and Expanded
Click on the button for more Alternative Medicine information and reviews.
San Jose Alternative Medicine, Eternal Health Wellness Center Offers Summer …
Alternative Medicine
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Alternative Medicine question by Think.: What makes you think alternative medicine is effective?
Indeed, western medicine can be risky. But alternative medicines are not usually backed by any kind of science. Which is not to say that science does not study nature and plants in relation to human health. Aspirin was discovered in the bark of a type of tree.
But with such concrete science backing western medicine and next to no science behind alternative medicine, why should I believe it’s effective?
Alternative Medicine best answer:
Answer by Can of Beans
there is science to some alternative medicine and many are attempts at extracting the ingredients yourself, which is silly if you can buy better stuff for your needs but is a tradition that should be remembered like moon shining and home brew. .
Filed under: Alternative Medicine · Tags: Medicine, medicinealternative
awww you are seriously very ill…….
like the idea….:)
get well soon
I hope you feel better soon!
Okay, then I will be wishing for your wellness. Nice photo of the ‘trusty 3".
Updated Book still great!,
The ambitious project by Doctors O’Mathuna and Larimore that I read in
2001 exceeded my expectations. Their updated version keeps the same high
standards.
Starting with overviews and definitions of alternative and conventional
medicine, they acknowledge the limitations of both types of medicine and
explore some follies perpetrated over the centuries in the names of both
orthodoxy and alternatives. They then move on to discuss Christian
principles of health. Their definition of holistic health does not
narrowly view it as the pursuit of physical health solely, but as part of
the means to a successful life that includes physical, emotional, social
and spiritual aspects. They also offer well-researched biblical
explanations for illness and suffering. Lastly, they offer advice on how
to pursue good health. I found all of their listed suggestions to be very
reasonable. It is hard to argue with advocates of preventative health care
visits, exercise and balanced diets.
The authors’ spiritual analysis of each therapy, measuring each against a
bible-based standard, sets this book apart from others. Such information
is important because of the current trend to equate some health behaviors
with spiritual maturity, or to presume that “anything that works must be
good (or from God).” O’Mathuna and Larimore carefully look at each
treatment or supplement to evaluate possible spiritual implications, using
as much of the original source materials in each area as possible. They
also present both the overt and covert spiritual worldviews of the
therapies’ practitioners. Some of these are incompatible with biblical
truth, and Christians must steer clear of them. However, both authors also
acknowledge that sometimes one’s choice of health behaviors (e.g. dietary
choices) comes down to a personal conviction and not a biblical command.
Before diving into their evaluation of each specific therapy, they present
how they objectively evaluate them to determine effectiveness and safety.
Their concise primer on the scientific method and statistics is helpful
for any reader unskilled in critically evaluating the medical literature.
They briefly discuss their statistical methods, why and how the methods
originated, and then freely acknowledge the limitations and weaknesses
statistical methods have and their need for continued refinements.
If you are looking for a sweeping condemnation of all alternative
medicine, you will be disappointed (and shame on you anyway). They clearly
state when there is good evidence for the effectiveness of alternative
therapies, even if it ruffles the feathers of some conventionalists.
Conversely, they are willing to sternly warn of the ineffectiveness,
wastefulness, and potential dangers of therapies that do not meet their
objective standards. They base their reviews on the best international
literature available. This use of international literature is particularly
important given that many of the best studies available, and in some cases
the only studies done, were not performed in the United States or
published in English-based journals.
The book’s major section succinctly evaluates 56 herbal remedies, vitamins
and dietary supplements. The `medicinal herbs’ reviewed include ones
familiar and foreign to me, such as: aloe, ephedra, milk thistle,
pennyroyal, vitamin C, and zinc. They neither trample on nor trumpet any
given supplement, but apply consistent standards and report their results.
O’Mathuna and Larimore’s research helps patients and practitioners alike
to avoid alternative therapies that are medically dangerous, drains to
their pocketbooks, and in some cases, spiritually worrisome. On the other
hand, for modalities or supplements of proven value, they inform the
reader as to what specific condition(s) they treat and how to determine
how much active element an herbal or vitamin product contains.
This is an excellent, readable resource for health practitioners and
patients alike. Alternative medicines and therapies are used by up to 40
percent of patients. Most patients and practitioners alike are woefully
uneducated about the data that supports or disapproves the efficacy of
these non-conventional approaches. Similarly, most Christians are unaware
of the spiritual significance the practitioners of some of these therapies
ascribe to them, with possible attendant dangers. In my opinion, neither
the giver nor the receiver of health care can afford to be without this
valuable reference.
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|very helpful,
I found the historical background of such common alternatives as homeopathy and chiropractic to be interesting reading. There are detailed guidelines to help differentiate proven products from those that are questionable or downright dangerous. Clear explanations are provided as to why products may or may not work, based on a four-level evidence rating system.
There are 322 pages that rate most of the popular alternative therapies, herbs, vitamins, and dietary supplements. This represents the bulk of the authors’ material and the part of the book that I will be referring to time and again if I have questions on Ginko and Ginseng or Wild Yam and Willow Bark.
Then at the back of the book is a list that summarizes the effectiveness of various alternative choices on certain common conditions such as allergies, arthritis, anxiety, etc. This volume is going to occupy a prominent place in my shelf of ready sources of information.
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|update is even better than the original,
End the confusion; finally an easy to use MD analysis of alternative medicine
I always wondered if vitamins really helped improve health and mood. Thankfully, now I know due to the exhaustive work of Larimore and Mathuna in their updated version of “Alternative Medicine-the Christian Handbook”.
It is amazingly simple to use, and covers every topic imaginable. (The section on diets was especially interesting with lots of useful sidebars). It presents both sides of the issues in a very readable fashion from a sound medical perspective. If you want to end the confusion about which alternative medicine techniques really work, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this practical reference guide.
Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor and Certified Life Coach, Orlando, FL
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|I have battled nerve damage from an accident for the past three years. Conventional medicine had so many side effects, it made me miserable. The actual studies have shown that western medicine has serious limitations to easing nerve damage.
Since I found a good accupunturist, who is also an RN, I have finally found some relief.
Like western medicine, not every doctor or accupuncturist is the same. Care and medicines are subjective. I have felt like a guiniea pig for these meds for three years. I’d rather have the pain and keep my faculties.
Alternative medicine is just as effective as the research you put into it. That is the same with western medicine. In this day of specialists that only want to cope with their specific area, you almost have to self diagnose to get to the right type of Doctor. How is this more scientific.
I have come to the conclusion that the scientific part, is an illusion.
I used to be a 100% sceptic, having been brought up on conventional western medicine. Then, I decided to give some forms of alternative medicine a try. To my amazement, they really worked. I still hang on to believing parts of western medicine but no longer pooh pooh at alternative medicine.
Whether it is backed by statistics or not, what matters is that it works for you. Alternative medicine do have a science behind it but it is just that some times, wellness or wellbeing is hard to measure in quantitative terms.
You won’t know unless you try them yourself. Some are of course more “believable” than others. You still need to apply some logic to the theory behind them.
What makes me KNOW it is effective is my understanding of the self healing abilities of the human body. I look upon alternative medicine as natural means to help my body heal itself. Western medicine largely deals with symptom control otherwise known as alleviating the symptom but not addressing the cause. Concrete science takes allot of money to research and prove the efficacy. How can this be done with natural herbs or medicines that cannot be patented. Who will pay for these “scientific ” studies. Kevin Trudeau has an interesting book out that deals with this topic. it is one of the many I have read regarding this issue and I recommend it.
Hello,
First, I would suggest you change your thinking pattern. ALL treatments, whether or not they involve drugs, supplements, herbs, exercise, medidation, crystals, homeopathic, or “typical Western medicine” are ALL “alternative”. In the Mid and Far East and in Africa, “Western medicine would be considered to be “alternative”. What determines your definition of “standard” and “alternative” depends on your point of origin and comparison.
Even within the field of “typical Western medicine”, literally hundreds to thousands of alternatives exist. Most medications known to Western medicine are actually naturally occurring products from bacteria, fungi, plants, roots, flowers, leaves, animals, etc. Many “folk” remedies are the source of now standard and commonly used prescription drugs. For example, people who suffered from high blood pressure were told to chew on a bay leaf. Well, there is a natural substance in bay that is now marketed as a prescription anti-hypertensive drug. Also, the commonly used heart medicine Digoxin (used to treat irregular heart beat) is derived from a common “weed” known as foxglove. Famously, Penicillin, one of the wonder drugs in the entire history of medicine is derived from simple bread mold. As another person wrote you, Aspirin is derived from the bark of a particular tree. Curare, used to cause muscle paralysis during surgery, is a naturally occurring substance, as is Warfarin, used to prevent blood clotting.
The point of this “lecture” is that what we in the U.S.A. consider to be “standard” medicines are rarely manufactured from nothing inside some sterile “mad scientist” laboratory. Most are based on naturally occurring substances found in the soil or from other living creatures. Chamomile tea has, for centuries, been known to help calm an excited person. Chamomile contains a natural “tranquilizer”. St. John’s Wort contains a substance which increases the blood and brain level of serotonin, as do many newer anti-depressants such as Prozac and its cousins. Turkey makes us sleepy because it contains a high level of one amino acid, tryptophan (which was marketed for a few years as a prescription sleeping aid).
What Westerners typically consider “alternative” treatments, beyond herbal preparations, include things such as acupuncture, acupressure, massage, aromatherapy, meditation, chanting, prayer, religious ritual, exorcism, visualization, guided sensory imaging, sensory deprivation, achieving “higher” levels of consciousness, use of crystals and healing stones, etc. Do these work? Yes, for a great many people, all across the world. If they didn’t provide some benefit, why would they have lasted thousands of years? How and why do they work? There are as many theories as there are alternative methods of treatment. Any method of increasing concentration and focus force our brains and bodies to make a choice. You cannot be both physically and mentally calm and nervously anxious and upset at the same time; it’s simply not possible. So, meditation, chanting, seeking “oneness” or enlightenment, prayer, ritual, etc., all put us in that “choice” mode. We cannot be focused and concentrate on peace, tranquility and reaching a “higher plane” and at the same time focus on our pain or misery, so we feel better. And, the more we practice these things, the better tools they become. As we become more calm and peaceful, our bodies and minds relax, which allows our own internal healing mechanisms to work more effectively, and have been shown to improve the overall functioning of the immune system.
So, can we “think” our way to feeling better? Of course we can, since we can also “think” our way to feeling ill. Many people experience nausea, fluttery stomach, queasy feelings before a test, having to perform, or before doing something new to us. Yet, once we are into the test, performance, etc., our “bad” feelings and symptoms go away. Was there anything really “wrong” with us before the test? Yes, we were anxious and stressed. So why do we feel better when we dive in? Because we’ve made the choice, and now there’s no further need for the “defensive” device to “protect” us and it goes away. So, if we can literally make ourselves sick before something as simple as a school quiz or test because of the way we think, it makes perfect sense that changing our thinking pattern can make us feel better and not become “ill”. Whatever tool or method you use to achieve this, whether “standard” or “alternative” is probably of little importance. It is the choice to use “something” that permits us to feel better. How many times has your head stopped hurting immediately after taking a couple Tylenol? The medicine can’t possibly have even gotten into your bloodstream, so why does the headache go away? Because we “know” we’ve done “something” that will give us relief, and don’t need the warning symptom of pain that led us to take the tablets in the first place, so it stops. So, did we really need the Tylenol? My response would be, “Does it really matter? It worked, didn’t it?”. Could you have gotten the same result from prayer, herbal tea, or meditation? Certainly. So, which is the “standard” and which is the “alternative”?
Hey Guys, Andromeda has it totally bagged, in a nutshell so to speak………….. I am absolutely astounded at his clarity and ability to so succinctly get his message across………. I mean to say, even the most dim witted of us should need no further encouragement to ditch the chemically obsessed, symptom eliminators of today?????
…………. :0)
PEACE
Because alternative medicine has helped me out of several different binds. Three incidents immediately leap to mind.
1980; I was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, and given 6 months to live.
1996 I fell breaking two bones in my right foot and just about grinding my ankle into hamburger. Dr. Ahern suggested amputating the foot above the ankle, I still have my right foot and it is as strong as it ever was.
1998 a tumor on my pituitary gland caused my pituitary gland to completelt shut down, and the doctor put me on life sustaining drugs, and told me that I would have to take those meds for the rest of my life. I placed an amethyst under my pillow and carried an amethyst in my pocket, Four years later I was able to take myself off those medications with their caustic side effects I did this very gradually; but it did happen.
Alternative medicine works for me. I take 900 milligrams of St. John’s Wort every day, and it really does help to prevent stress. Some people take it for depression. Who knows? It might work for depression too. Doctors don’t seem to have a pill that prevents depression 100 percent of the time. So, St. John’s Wort might help people with depression. I like St. John’s Wort because it doesn’t have any side effects. Almost all prescription drugs have side effects.
Evidence of effectiveness in a certain treatment is always subject to scrutiny. You hear of western medicine’s successes due to the abundance of available data (usually promoted by profit-oriented industry despite it’s effectiveness), along with accepted means of research. You rarely hear of alternative medicine’s successes because the data is not readily accepted by western medical advocates, the distributors of medicinal info, therefore not prone to as wide spread publication that is deemed trustworthy. If it’s not FDA approved, it’s considered bogus, even if it does posess some medicial value.
There is also implication of competition between alternate treatments and the western med populous that stands to lose millions in traditional (and future) public investment. That’s not generally publicized but well known. Mostly, the lack of acceptable research evidence is a negative factor keeping the proper data on alternatives from wide spread publication. And there is plenty of bogus crap out there too that promotes predudice. But there is plenty of reliable info on the internet if you’re interested to do the fingerwork finding it.
Concrete scientific evidence takes testing, and that takes time and money. Lots and Lots of money. And for many advocates of alternatives, that means many lives lost or negatively affected waiting for the American Journal of Medicine to say, “Hey, this really does work. Let’s spend another 20 years killing monkeys developing it into a time-release pill”. So most importantly, an interest by western researchers toward testing is the draw back.
While it is true that many medicines have come from natural sources, plants mostly, there are far many more medicinals out there (plant and animal/insect species) already well known by indigenous groups as well as western alternate-affiliated groups who use them for their profound medicinal properties that have not been tapped by western interest. Most western med developement from medicinal plants (such as you mentioned, Asprin) started with research into source uses by indigenous peoples of the regions those sources came from – where the practices of what we deem alternate are common, as they’ve been for many generations (like say the bark made into tea for body aches that we now commonly know as Asprin in pill form).
Medicinals and treatments are often backed by the history of effective use by the people who use it, and you won’t find that evidence published in Time without a western research foundation backing it. Such treatments often developed by their ancestors hundreds if not a thousand or more years prior and handed down through the generations. Timelines that vast using a product is not typically prone to ignorance of evidence toward medicinal reliability. In my ancestry, heart disease and Diabetes (though practically non-existent until the Spanish conquest) was and still is treated with what are now (and were then) common household pantry spices. The latest western medicinal research into such treatment reflects that these spices do have profoundly effective medicinal properties toward modern treatment for high cholesterol and diabetes. But of course more research should be done before you’ll hear more about it, and that takes lots of time and money as mentioned. And who has time for that when expensive cholesterol and blood pressure drugs and insulin for diabetes have been the norm (and source of great profit) for so long already. Meanwhile, I (and all those I’ve shared the obscure info with) have perfect blood pressure, normal cholesterol levels, and no signs of the diabetes I was born with despite eating what I want. If you like nasty side-effects of concretely researched and accepted western drugs, and the annoyances and expense of a treatment regimen, that’s your choice. Hurray for scientific journalism.
In many cultures it’s the medicine man or woman who administers the treament, and too often western physicians scrap their use because of the ‘witch doctor’ scenarios that often accompany treatment. But who can blame them. The idea of a half naked man or woman in feathered ritual head gear murmering ancient tongue while waving a smudge stick around the patient’s head to clense the hut of bad animal spirits before administering the medicinal plant potion that will cure their ailment is not seductive to the ‘cleanly civilized’ proper white-coat mentality western thinking has been mounted onto like the crisp gold seal on a physicians framed and feather dusted training certificate. But one must understand that religious practices have always been indrenched into any culture’s medicinal efforts, and western medicine’s origins once shared in obscure religious rituals and old wive’s mis-informations from tabloidal church garb intertwined in it’s developement and adminitration. Hell, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that western physicians got the idea that washing their friggin hands before treating ‘the next patient’ might help save their life instead of contribute to their demise. But it wasn’t long before that physicians regarded illnesses as posession by the devil and administered prayer services, as well as torturous ones for the cure. But even some old-world ‘western’ ideas are being re-introduced these days (as yet still Alternative medicine). Take leeches and fly larvea for example. What was once deemed witch-doctory now has concrete medicinal value in modern treatment, and it’s positive uses are spreading fast.
There are always risks involved trying alternative treatments. But the worst risk is in mis-information. So it’s important to do the homework, on the specific properties and side effects as well as proper uses of any product for treatment. And while you’re at it, get to know your own medical history (allergies, etc), as well as the background of therapists distributing those treatments before taking alternate courses. People offer horror stories of alternative treatments damaging their beings. But many naive people throw themselves into the hands of snake oilers out of desperation too (remember the apricot pit injections for Cancer in Mexico, and the magnetic bracelets still sold today for arthritis relief – who’s making that $ 20,000,000). Just like knowing what you’re getting into using traditional western methods of treatment, and knowing the training and ability (and history of liablility) of the western physician administering it. As alternates go, it helps if you’re already affiliated with certain cultures that use alternates, and have some knowledge or know people who do. But if you don’t, research is the key. Waiting for the medical associations to offer concrete scientific evidence on the other hand is like waiting for the oil mongers to tell us there is a brighter future in corn.
The best evidence you’ll find that alternate meds, suppliments and treatments work is if you try them. Plenty are as effective as side-effect prone traditional products without the nasty effects. But be warned, there are lots of products available in and out of the US and Europe that are mis-labeled or all together bogus, and possibly hazardous (not all that is All Natural is good for you – take Arsenic for example…), like with plant products, there are many differing species within a species that are similar to the medicinal ones but potentially hazardous, and there are particular doses one must carefully weigh with certain products, and finding a reputable source for products and product info can be mind boggling for the impatient. But on the internet, it really only takes as much time and effort as it does finding a decent western doctor.
The problem with your question is that it lumps ALL alternative therapies under one umbrella. There have been many studies of specific alternative therapies that have shown them to be of value.
But the researchers with the REALLY deep pockets are being funded by pharmaceutical companies that are looking for NEW treatments that they can patent. They have no vested interest in proving something that has been used for centuries, because it represents no financial benefit to them. People doing studies of alternative therapies find it difficult to get that kind of funding, so it just isn’t done as much.
Bottom Line: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are very valuable alternative therapies out there. You just have to do your “due diligence.”