Alternative Medicine

he broad spectrum of alternative medicine encompasses healing processes that have roots in religion, spirituality, metaphysics or are untried or don't belong to Western medical traditions.

This is not to say that Western medicine does not under certain circumstances adopt certain alternative medicine practices. This is usually only done once a alternative medicine process has been tested and proved to be a healing process. This is when "conventional" medicine and alternative medicine merge. This is especially true when it comes to herbal supplements and remedies. Herbal drugs and herbal supplements have flooded the market. It is hard to distinguish what works among the many, many claims being made by manufacturers of these supplements. Doctors have a hard time figuring out which ones are fraudulent and which ones actually serve any purpose. Many manufacturers succeed in reaching into your pockets anyway. Thankfully now there are ways to protect yourself from such frauds.

The first line of defense is to check the label of the supplement. Is there a stamp of approval from an agency you can trust? What you are looking for is a validating stamp from either the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) or the NSF International. It is highly recommend that you do not purchase or use any supplement that does not have this stamp. If the stamp isn't on the label then that implies that it did not meet the standards of these organizations and therefore you could be a victim of fraud. Top universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke have made it possible for you to be protected thanks to their in depth research. The research of alternative medicine that these three universities have done is aimed at finding herbal remedies that actually work and then figuring out how they work. This research has already helped prove scientifically the benefits of acupuncture and the use of glucosamine to relieve pain as well the use of calcium, magnesium and guided imagery to relieve certain PMS symptoms. The disadvantage is that it takes time for these supplements to work; some times it can take 6 to 8 weeks.

It is always advised that before you take an alternative supplement or use an alternative remedy you consult a specialist in the field. Alternative medicine practitioners should belong to the Consortium for Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. Much like a manufacturer can rip you off, so can a "practitioner" if they have not had the education that is needed to be considered a practitioner. The importance of consulting a valid practitioner is that they can help you use the correct remedy in the correct manner to actually help you. If you do not want to use a validated practitioner then at least make sure the herbal supplement that you are using has the stamp of the USP or NSF.

Proponents of alternative medicine are also known to be opponents of regulating agencies such as the FDA, these agencies are seen as restrictive and controlling moguls. The reason is that the advocates feel that agencies such as the FDA, NSF or USP delay the potential to help people with their strict guidelines. However they also feel that if these agencies do find fraud then these agencies should punish the individual manufacturers. Universities are already offering bachelors degrees in Naturopathy. In India, research into these treatments is carried out by AYUSH, the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. Make sure you don't fall for treatments that do not have any basis or validation.

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