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{{Alternative medical systems
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'''Alternative medicine''' is any practice that is put forward as having the healing effects of [[medicine]], but is not based on [[evidence]] gathered with the [[scientific method]].<ref>{{cite web | quote = alternative medicine refers to all treatments that have not been proven effective using scientific methods | title = Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding Science Fiction and Pseudoscience - Belief in Alternative Medicine | publisher = [[National Science Foundation]] | url = http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm }}</ref> Alternative medicine is usually based on [[religion]], tradition, [[superstition]], belief in [[supernatural]] energies, [[pseudoscience]], [[fallacy|errors in reasoning]], propaganda, or fraud.<ref name=NSF_altmed>[[National Science Foundation]] survey: [http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding. Science Fiction and Pseudoscience.]</ref><ref name=ATRAMM>{{cite doi | 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb23138.x }}</ref><ref name=AMCER>{{cite pmid | 11242572}}</ref><ref name="psycnet.apa.org">Other sources:
*''Nature Medicine'', September 1996, Volume 2 Number 9, p1042
*''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal'', Hines, Terence, ''American Psychological Association'', [http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2003-02869-000]
*''The Need for Educational Reform in Teaching about Alternative Therapies'', ''Journal of the Association of Medical Colleges'', March 2001 - Volume 76 - Issue 3 - p 248-250
*''The Rise and Rise of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: a Sociological Perspective'', Ian D Coulter and Evan M Willis, ''Medical Journal of Australia'', 2004; 180 (11): 587-589
*''Ignore Growing Patient Interest in Alternative Medicine at Your Peril - MDs Warned'', Heather Kent, ''Canadian Medical Association Journal'', November 15, 1997 vol. 157 no. 10
*''The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'', [[Carl Sagan]], Random House, ISBN 0-394-53512-X, 1996</ref> Alternative therapies lack [[scientific validation]], and their effectiveness is either [[Scientific method|unproved]] or [[Scientific evidence|disproved]].<ref name=ATRAMM /><ref name=IGPIAMAYP>''Ignore Growing Patient Interest in Alternative Medicine at Your Peril - MDs Warned'', Heather Kent, ''Canadian Medical Association Journal'', November 15, 1997 vol. 157 no. 10</ref><ref name=NP>Goldrosen MH, Straus SE. [http://www.nature.com/nri/journal/v4/n11/pdf/nri1486.pdf "Complementary and alternative medicine: assessing the evidence for immunological benefits."] ''Nature Perspectives'', November 2004 vol. 4, pp. 912-921.</ref> The treatments are those that are not part of the conventional, science-based healthcare system.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam>{{cite web| url=http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/| title=What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)? |accessdate=2006-07-11 |publisher=[[NCCAM|National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]]| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5C1oRX8Qq | archivedate = 2005-12-08| deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name=Zollman>{{cite journal |author= Zollman C, Vickers A|title= ABC of complementary medicine What is complementary medicine? |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=319 |issue=693 |pages= 693|year=1999 |month= |pmid= |doi=10.1136/bmj.319.7211.693 |url=/}}</ref><ref name=IOM/><ref name=WHO>{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/medicines/areas/traditional/definitions/en/index.html |title=Traditional Medicine: Definitions |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |pages= |year=2000 |quote= |accessdate=2012-11-11}}</ref>

'''Complementary medicine''' is what alternative medicine is called when used together with science-based medicine, in a belief that it increases the [[efficacy|effictiveness]], or "complements", the science-based medical treatment.<ref name="whccamp.hhs.gov">{{cite web |title=White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy |url=http://whccamp.hhs.gov/fr2.html |date=March 2002| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/61C8iiefX | archivedate = 2011-08-25| deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=[[Edzard Ernst|Ernst E.]] |title=Complementary medicine: common misconceptions |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine]] |year=1995 |volume=88 |issue=5 |pages=244–247| pmid = 7636814|pmc=1295191 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Joyce CR |title=Placebo and complementary medicine |journal=[[The Lancet]] |year=1994 |volume=344|issue=8932 |pages=1279–1281 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(94)90757-9}}</ref> '''CAM''' is the abbreviation for '''Complementary and alternative medicine'''.<ref name=ernstinterview>{{cite web |url=http://www.harcourt-international.com/ernst/interview.cfm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070311015608/http://www.harcourt-international.com/ernst/interview.cfm |publisher=Elsevier Science |title=Interview with [[Edzard Ernst]], editor of ''The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine'' |year=2002 |archivedate=2007-03-11}}</ref><ref name=CassilethDeng2004>{{cite journal |author=Cassileth BR, Deng G |title=Complementary and alternative therapies for cancer |journal=[[The Oncologist]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=80–9 |year=2004 |pmid=14755017 |doi=10.1634/theoncologist.9-1-80}}</ref> [[Integrative medicine]] (or integrative health) is the combination of the practices and methods of alternative medicine with [[evidence-based medicine]].<ref name=BMJ_May>{{cite journal | journal=British Medical Journal | volume=343 | doi=10.1136/bmj.d4372 | date=12 July 2011 | title=College of Medicine: What is integrative health? | author=James May | url=http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4372.full | pages=d4372 | pmid=21750063}}</ref> Critics say the expression “alternative medicine” is deceptive because it implies there is an effective alternative to science-based medicine, when there is not. They say the term “complementary” is deceptive because the word implies that the treatment increases the effectiveness of (complements) science-based medicine, when it does not.<ref name=ATRAMM/><ref>Carroll RT. [http://www.skepdic.com/compmed.html "complementary medicine"] at ''The Skeptic's Dictionary''</ref><ref name=APNEJM>Acupuncture Pseudoscience in the New England Journal of Medicine, Science Based Medicine, Steven Novella, [http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=6391 Science-Based Medicine » Acupuncture Pseudoscience in the New England Journal of Medicine]</ref><ref name="Credulityabout">Credulity about acupuncture infiltrates the New England Journal of Medicine, Science Based Medicine, David Gorski, [http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=6381 Science-Based Medicine » Credulity about acupuncture infiltrates the New England Journal of Medicine]</ref>

Alternative medicine practices and beliefs are diverse in their foundations and methodologies. Methods may incorporate or base themselves on [[traditional medicine]], [[Home remedy|folk knowledge]], spiritual beliefs, ignorance or misunderstanding of scientific principles, errors in reasoning, or newly conceived approaches claiming to heal.<ref name=ATRAMM/><ref name=AMCER/><ref>{{cite book |author=Acharya, Deepak and Shrivastava Anshu |year=2008 |title=Indigenous Herbal Medicines: Tribal Formulations and Traditional Herbal Practices |publisher=Aavishkar Publishers Distributor |location=[[Jaipur]] |isbn=978-81-7910-252-7 |page=440}}</ref> [[Prayer]] to heal is the most common alternative medicine in many western countries, and [[faith healing]] is a part of many religions. Some believe that [[meditation]] affects health. [[Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine|Yoga]] as a healing practice involves stretching, exercise and meditation related to the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] religion, and makes claims to healing in the spiritual realm. [[Traditional Chinese medicine]] and the [[Ayurvedic medicine]] of India are complex systems developed over thousands of years, both based on regional supernatural belief systems and traditional use of herbs and other substances. [[Acupuncture]] is a part of Traditional Chinese medicine in which needles are inserted in the body to alter the flow of supernatural energy believed to propel the blood and influence health. [[Chiropractic]] manipulation of the spine was developed in the United States, and involves manipulating the spine to influence supernatural energies believed to cause disease. [[Homeopathy]] was developed in Europe before the existence of science of chemistry, which has subsequently proven the premises of homeopathy to be false. Magnets and light are used in therapies based on a misunderstanding of [[electricity]] and [[magnetism]]. Dietary supplements that are unproven by science are considered alternative medicines. African, Caribbean, Pacific Island, Native American, and other regional cultures have traditional medical systems as diverse as their diversity of cultures.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/>

Many of the claims regarding the efficacy of alternative medicines are controversial. Research on alternative medicine is frequently of low quality and methodologically flawed.<ref name=IOM2005/> The safety of alternative medicine is also controversial. Some alternative treatments have been associated with unexpected side effects, which can be fatal. Where alternative treatments are used in place of conventional science-based medicine, even with the very safest alternative medicines, failure to use or delay in using conventional science-based medicine has resulted in deaths.<ref name='Lilienfeld_2002'/><ref name=ineffecive/> Many voluntary health agencies focused upon health fraud, misinformation, and quackery as public health problems, are highly critical of alternative medicine.<ref>"voluntary health agency focused upon health fraud, misinformation, and quackery as public health problems", notably [[Wallace Sampson]] and [[Paul Kurtz]] founders of [[Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine]] and [[Stephen Barrett]], co-founder of [[The National Council Against Health Fraud]][http://www.ncahf.org/about/mission.html] (NCAHF) and webmaster of [[Quackwatch]]</ref> That alternative medicine is on the rise "in countries where Western science and scientific method generally are accepted as the major foundations for healthcare, and 'evidence-based' practice is the dominant paradigm" has been described as an "[[enigma]]" in the Medical Journal of Australia.<ref name=RRCAM/>

==Examples and classes of alternative medicines ==
{{Further2|[[List of branches of alternative medicine]]}}
[[File:Botanica.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A [[Botanica]] of traditional Hispanic medicines may look like a pharmacy of science based medicines. The difference is not in their appearance, but in the basis for belief that the medicines have a healing effect.]]

Alternative medicine practices are diverse in their foundations and methodologies.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> Methods may incorporate or base themselves on traditional medicinal practices of a particular culture, folk knowledge, supersition,<ref name=HTAMHP>Healing Traditions: Alternative Medicine and the Health Professions, Bonnie Blair O’Conner, p2</ref> spiritual, belief in [[supernatural]] energies ([[antiscience]]), [[pseudoscience]], [[fallacy|errors in reasoning]], propaganda, fraud, new or different concepts of health and disease, and any bases other than being proven by scientific methods.<ref name="NSF_altmed"/><ref name="ATRAMM"/><ref name=AMCER>{{cite pmid | 11242572}}</ref><ref name="psycnet.apa.org"/> Alternative therapies lack [[scientific validation]], and their effectiveness is either [[Scientific method|unproved]] or [[Scientific evidence|disproved]].<ref name=ATRAMM /><ref name="IGPIAMAYP"/><ref name="NP"/> Different cultures may have their own unique traditional or belief based practices developed recently or over thousands of years, and specific practices or entire systems of practices. Alternative medicine practices may be classified by their cultural origins or by the types of beliefs upon which they are based.<ref name=NSF_altmed /><ref name="ATRAMM"/><ref name=AMCER>{{cite pmid | 11242572}}</ref><ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/>

===Complete systems===
Complete medical systems can be based on traditional ethinic practices, or an underlying belief system.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/>

====Traditional ethnic systems====
[[File:Dhanvantari-at-Ayurveda-expo.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Indian [[Ayurvedic medicine]] includes a belief that the spiritual balance of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] influences disease.]]
[[File:ColouredChakraswithDescriptions.jpg|thumb|right|150px|In Japanese [[Reiki]], it is believed that supernatural energies flow from the palms of the healer into the patient near [[Chakras]], influencing disease.]]

Whole medical systems may be based on traditional practices, such as [[Traditional Chinese medicine]], [[Ayurveda]] in India, or practices of other cultures around the world.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> In both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, the thousands of years of traditional use in the respective cultures may be cited as part of the basis of belief, or of claims of efficacy and validity.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

=====Ayurvedic medicine=====
[[Ayurvedic medicine]] is a traditional medicine of India. It includes a belief that healing can be done through use of traditional herbs and having the spiritual balance of the religions of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]]. For example, by not suppressing natural urges of food intake, sleep, and sexual intercourse, and at the same time by not overindulging in them, but to keep them in balance. Ayurveda stresses the use of plant-based medicines and treatments, with some animal products, and added minerals, including [[sulfur]], [[arsenic]], lead, [[copper sulfate]]. Safety concerns have been raised about Ayurveda, with two U.S. studies finding about 20 percent of Ayurvedic Indian-manufactured [[patent medicine]]s contained toxic levels of heavy metals such as [[lead]], [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] and [[arsenic]]. Other concerns include the use of herbs containing toxic compounds and the lack of quality control in Ayurvedic facilities. Incidents of [[heavy metal poisoning]] have been attributed to the use of these compounds in the United States.<ref>The Roots of Ayurveda: Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings, D. Wujastyk, p xviii, 2003, ISBN 0-14-044824-1</ref><ref>Underwood, E. Ashworth; Rhodes, P. (2008). "Medicine, History of". Encyclopædia Britannica (2008 ed.)</ref><ref>Scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies, Lakshmi Chandra Mishra, CRC Press, 2004; ISBN 0-8493-1366-X, p. 8</ref><ref name="APHO">{{cite journal|last=Valiathan|first=M. S.|title=Ayurveda: Putting the House in Order|journal=Current Science|volume=90|issue=1|pages=5–6|year=2006|publisher=[[Indian Academy of Sciences]]|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jan102006/contents.htm}}</ref><ref>Catherine A. Hammett-Stabler, ''Herbal Supplements: Efficacy, Toxicity, Interactions with Western Drugs, and Effects on Clinical Laboratory Tests'' (John Wiley and Sons, 2011; ISBN 0-470-43350-7), pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=oNrIvxlFG1sC&pg=PA204&dq=%22Rasa+shastra%22&hl=en&ei=Z_FcTsKgCMy2tgfZtJXTAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=%22Rasa%20shastra%22&f=false 202-205]</ref><ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5326a3.htm CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Lead Poisoning Associated with Ayurvedic Medications — Five States, 2000–2003]</ref><ref name="Saper2008">{{cite journal |last=Saper|first=R. B. |title=Lead, Mercury, and Arsenic in US- and Indian-manufactured ayurvedic Medicines Sold via the Internet |journal=Journal of the American Medical Association |volume=300 |issue=8 |pages=915–923 |year=2008 |pmid=18728265 |doi=10.1001/jama.300.8.915 |pmc=2755247 |author2=Phillips, R. S. |last3=Sehgal |first3=A. |display-authors=2 |last4=Khouri |first4=N. |last5=Davis |first5=R. B. |last6=Paquin |first6=J. |last7=Thuppil |first7=V. |last8=Kales |first8=S. N.}}</ref>

=====Traditional Chinese Medicine=====
[[Traditional Chinese Medicine]] is a combination of traditional practices and beliefs developed over thousands of years in China, together with modifications made by the Communist party. Common practices include herbal medicine, [[acupuncture]] (insertion of needles in the body at specified points, massage (Tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy. The practices are based on belief in a supernatural energy called [[qi]], considerations of [[Chinese Astrology]] and [[Numerology#Chinese_numerology|Chinese numerology]], traditional use of herbs and other substances found in China, a belief that a map of the body is contained on the tongue which reflects changes in the body, and an incorrect model of the anatomy and physiology of internal organs.<ref name=ATRAMM/><ref name=TMPC>{{cite journal | url = http://www.csicop.org/si/show/china_conference_1/ | title = Traditional Medicine and Pseudoscience in China: A Report of the Second CSICOP Delegation (Part 1) | first = BL | last = Beyerstein | coauthors = Wallace Sampson| volume = 20 | issue = 4 | year = 1996 | journal = [[Skeptical Inquirer]] | publisher = [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] }}</ref><ref name=CLHRAM>Celestial lancets: a history and rationale of acupuncture and moxa, Needham, J; Lu GD, 2002, Routledge, ISBN 0-7007-1458-8</ref><ref>Tongue Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine, G Cia, 1995, Eastland Press. ISBN 0-939616-19-X.</ref><ref name=Matuk2006>{{cite journal |title=Seeing the Body: The Divergence of Ancient Chinese and Western Medical Illustration |author=Camillia Matuk |journal=Journal of Biocommunication |volume=32 |issue=1 |year=2006 |url=http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/docs/publications/6074956944509ac426aaa6.pdf |pmid= |doi= }}</ref><ref name=MTACI>Medieval Transmission of Alchemical and Chemical Ideas Between China and India, Vijay Deshpande, Indiana Journal of History of Science, 22 (1), pp. 15-28, 1987</ref>

The [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]] Chairman [[Mao Zedong]], in response to the lack of modern medical practitioners, revived acupuntcute and its theory was rewritten to adhere to the political, economic and logistic necessities of providing for the medical needs of China's population.<ref>{{cite book |author=Crozier RC |title= Traditional medicine in modern China: science, nationalism, and the tensions of cultural change |publisher= [[Harvard University Press]] |location= Cambridge |year=1968 |isbn= |oclc= }}{{Page needed|date=March 2011}}</ref> In the 1950s the "history" and theory of [[Traditional Chinese Medicine]] was rewritten as communist propoganda, at Mao's insistence, to correct the supposed "bourgeois thought of Western doctors of medicine" (p.&nbsp;109).<ref>{{cite book | last = Taylor | first = K | title = Chinese Medicine in Early Communist China, 1945–63: a Medicine of Revolution | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-415-34512-X | publisher = RoutledgeCurzon }}</ref> [[Acupuncture]] gained attention in the United States when President [[Richard Nixon]] visited China in 1972, and the delegation was shown a patient undergoing major surgery while fully awake, ostensibly receiving acupuncture rather than [[anesthesia]]. Later it was found that the patients selected for the surgery had both a high [[pain tolerance]] and received heavy indoctrination before the operation; these demonstration cases were also frequently receiving [[morphine]] surreptitiously through an [[intravenous therapy|intravenous drip]] that observers were told contained only fluids and nutrients.<ref name=TMPC/>

====Systems based on beliefs====
Whole medical systems can be based on a common belief systems that underly the system of practices and methods, such as in [[Naturopathy]] or [[Homeopathy]].<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/>

Homeopathy is a system developed in a belief that a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people.<ref name="Hahnemann">{{cite book | title=The Homœopathic Medical Doctrine, or "Organon of the Healing Art" | publisher=W.F. Wakeman | author=Hahnemann, Samuel | authorlink=Samuel Hahnemann | year=1833 | location=Dublin | pages=[http://books.google.com/books?id=EnEFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR3 iii], [http://books.google.com/books?id=EnEFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA48 48–49] | quote=Observation, reflection, and experience have unfolded to me that the best and true method of cure is founded on the principle, ''[[similia similibus curentur]].'' To cure in a mild, prompt, safe, and durable manner, it is necessary to choose in each case a medicine that will excite an affection similar (''{{lang|el|ὅμοιος πάθος}}'') to that against which it is employed. | translator=Charles H. Devrient, Esq.}}</ref> It was developed before knowledge of the existence of atoms and molecules, and of basic chemistry, which showed that the repeated dilutions of the substance in homeopathy produced only water, and so homeopathy was false.<ref name="pmid12492603">{{Citation |last1=Ernst |first1=E. |title=A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy |journal=British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=577–82 |year=2002 |pmid=12492603 |pmc=1874503 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2125.2002.01699.x}}</ref><ref name=inquiry_cfm>UK Parliamentary Committee Science and Technology Committee - [http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/inquiries/homeopathy-/ "Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy"]</ref><ref name="shang">{{Citation |last1=Shang |first1=Aijing |last2=Huwiler-Müntener |first2=Karin |last3=Nartey |first3=Linda |last4=Jüni |first4=Peter |last5=Dörig |first5=Stephan |last6=Sterne |first6=Jonathan AC |last7=Pewsner |first7=Daniel |last8=Egger |first8=Matthias |title=Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy |journal=The Lancet |volume=366 |pages=726–732 |year=2005 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67177-2 |pmid=16125589 |issue=9487}}</ref><ref name="nih overview">http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy "Homeopathy: An Introduction" a NCCAM webpage</ref> Within the [[medicine|medical community]] homeopathy is now considered to be [[quackery]].<ref name="pmid17719708">{{Citation |last1=Wahlberg |first1=A |title=A quackery with a difference—New medical pluralism and the problem of ‘dangerous practitioners’ in the United Kingdom |journal=Social Science & Medicine |volume=65 |pages=2307–16 |year=2007 |doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.07.024 |pmid=17719708 |issue=11}}</ref>

Naturopathic medicine is based on a belief that the body heals itself using a supernatural [[vitalism|vital energy]] that guides bodily processes,<ref>Sarris, J., and Wardle, J. 2010. Clinical naturopathy: an evidence-based guide to practice. Elsevier Australia. Chatswood, NSW.</ref> a view in conflict with the paradigm of [[evidence-based medicine]].<ref name=Naturo2006>{{cite journal |journal= J Altern Complement Med |year=2006 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=323–8 |title=Evidence-based medicine and naturopathy |author=Jagtenberg T., Evans S., Grant A., Howden I., Lewis M., Singer J.|doi= 10.1089/acm.2006.12.323 |pmid=16646733}}</ref> Many naturopaths have opposed [[vaccination]],<ref name=Ernst-2001>{{cite journal |journal=Vaccine |year=2001 |volume=20 |issue= Suppl 1 |pages=S89–93 |title=Rise in popularity of complementary and alternative medicine: reasons and consequences for vaccination |author=Ernst E |doi=10.1016/S0264-410X(01)00290-0 |pmid=11587822}}</ref> and "scientific evidence does not support claims that naturopathic medicine can cure [[cancer]] or any other disease".<ref name=ACS>
{{Cite web | title =Naturopathic Medicine | publisher =[[American Cancer Society]] | date =01 Nov 08 | url =http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/MindBodyandSpirit/naturopathic-medicine | accessdate =20 Nov 10 }}</ref>

===Supernatural energies and misunderstanding of energy in physics===
Bases of belief may include belief in existence of supernatural energies undetected by the science of physics, as in biofields, or in belief in properties of the energies of physics that are inconsistent with the laws of physics, as in energy medicine.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/>

====Biofields====
[[File:Acupuncture1-1.jpg|thumb|right|150px|In Chinese [[acupuncture]] it is believed that insertion of needles affects the flow of a supernatural energy influencing disease.]]
[[File:Chiropractic spinal adjustment.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Chiropractic]] was developed in the US in the belief that manipulation of the spine affects a supernatural [[vitalism|vital energy]] that influences health and disease.]]

[[Energy (spirituality)#Biofields|Biofield]] therapies are intended to influence energy fields that, it is purported, surround and penetrate the body.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> Writers such as noted astrophysicist and advocate of skeptical thinking ([[Scientific skepticism]]) [[Carl Sagan]] (1934-1996) have described the lack of empirical evidence to support the existence of the putative energy fields on which these therapies are predicated.<ref>Demon Haunted World, Carl Sagan</ref>

[[Acupuncture]] is a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In acupuncture, it is believed that a supernatural energy called [[qi]] flows through the universe and through the body, and helps propel the blood, blockage of which leads to disease.<ref name=CLHRAM/> It is believed that insertion of needles at various parts of the body determined by astrological calculations can restore balance to the blocked flows, and thereby cure disease.<ref name=CLHRAM/>

Chiropractic was developed in the belief that manipulating the spine affects the flow of a supernatural [[vital energy]] and thereby affects health and disease.

In the western version of Japanese [[Reiki]], the palms are placed on the patient near [[Chakras]], believed to be centers of supernatural energies, in a belief that the supernatural energies can transferred through the palms of the practitioner, to heal the patient.

====Energy medicines====
[[Bioelectromagnetism|Bioelectromagnetic]]-based therapies use verifiable electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, alternating-current, or direct-current fields in an unconventional manner.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> [[Magnetic healing]] does not claim existence of supernatural energies, but asserts that magnets can be used to defy the laws of [[physics]] to influence health and disease.

===Holistic health and mind body medicine===
[[Mind-body medicine]] takes a holistic approach to health that explores the interconnection between the mind, body, and spirit. It works under the premise that the mind can affect "bodily functions and symptoms".<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> Mind body medicines includes healing claims made in [[Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine|yoga]], [[meditation]], [[deep-breathing exercises]], [[guided imagery]], [[hypnotherapy]], [[progressive relaxation]], [[qi gong]], and [[tai chi]].<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/>

Yoga, a method of traditional stretches, excercises, and meditations in [[Hinduism]], may also be classified as an energy medicine insofar as its healing effects are believed by to be due to a healing "life energy" that is absorbed into the body through the breath, and is thereby believed to treat a wide variety of illnesses and complaints.<ref>Psychophysiologic Effects of Hatha Yoga on Musculoskeletal and Cardiopulmonary Function: A Literature Review, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, J. A. Raub, (2002), 8(6): 797-812. doi:10.1089/10755530260511810.</ref>

===Herbal remedies and other substances used===
Substance based practices use substances found in nature such as herbs, foods, non-vitamin supplments and megavitmins, and minerals, and includes traditional herbal remedies with herbs specific to regions in which the cultural practices arose.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> "Herbal" remedies in this case, may include use of nonherbal toxic chemicals from a nonbiological sources, such as use of the poison [[lead]] in Traditional Chinese Medicine.<ref name=NIHNGS>According to a New Government Survey, 38 Percent of Adults and 12 Percent of Children Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NIH, [http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2008/121008.htm]</ref> Nonvitamin supplements include [[fish oil]], [[Omega-3 fatty acid]], [[glucosamine]], [[echinacea]], [[flaxseed oil]] or pills, and [[ginseng]], when used under a claim to have healing effects.<ref name=NIHNGS/>

===Body manipulation===
Manipulative and body-based practices feature manipulation or movement of body parts, such as is done in [[chiropractic]] manipulation.

===Religion, faith healing, and prayer===
[[File:Fallerjfa.JPG|thumb|right|150px|Christian priest [[Faith healer]] laying hands on sick girl in belief in divine healing.]]

Religion based healing practices, such as use of [[prayer]] and the laying of hands in [[Christian]] [[faith healing]], rely on belief in divine intervention for healing.

In the United States, the 1974 [[Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act]] (CAPTA) required states to grant religious exemptions to [[child neglect]] and [[child abuse|abuse]] laws in order to receive federal money.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Merrick |first=Janna |year=2003 |month=June |title=Spiritual Healing, Sick Kids and the Law: Inequities in the American Healthcare System |journal=American Journal of Law & Medicine |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=269–299 |accessdate=2009-02-27}}</ref> Thirty-one states have child-abuse religious exemptions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/define.pdf |title=Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect |accessdate=2009-02-27 |publisher=Child Welfare Information Gateway |year=2007}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

===Exploitation of ignorance and flawed reasoning===
Some alternative medicine practices may be based on pseudoscience, ignorance, or flawed reasoning.<ref name=Beyerstein2/> This can lead to fraud.<ref name=ATRAMM/> [[Homeopathy]] was developed prior to knowledge of the theory of [[molecules]] and basic [[chemistry]], which proved that its "remedies" contained nothing more than distilled water.<ref name="pmid12492603"/><ref name=inquiry_cfm/><ref name="shang"/><ref name="nih overview"/> Practitioners of electricity and magnetism based healing methods may deliberately exploit a patient's ignorance of physics in order to defraud them.<ref name=NSF_altmed/>

==Criticism==
Scientists and others have criticized complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on a number of grounds. The name "alternative medicine" has been criticized as being an invention to deliberately mislead sick people into thinking there is an effective alternative to science based medicine. The science community criticizes CAM on the grounds that it is ineffective, is based on ignorance of basic science, is based on incorrect reasoning, and refuses to admit to when it is disproved. It has been criticized as being unethical and used for fraud. There is criticism that it takes research funds from testing more scientifically plausible methods. [[Integrative medicine]] has been criticized in that its practitioners, trained in science based medicine, deliberately mislead patients by pretending [[placebo]]s are not. "[[Quackademic medicine]]" is a pejorative term used for “[[integrative medicine]]”, which is considered to be an infiltration of quackery into academic [[science-based medicine]].<ref name="Credulityabout"/>

===Misleading use of terminology ===
Proponents of alternative medicine often use terminology which is loose or ambiguous to create the appearance that a choice between "alternative" effective treatments exists when it does not, that there is effectiveness or scientific validity when it does not exist, to suggest that a dichotomy exists when it does not, or to suggest that consistency with science exists when it may not. The term "'''alternative'''" is to suggest that a patient has a choice between effective treatments when there is not. The use of the word "'''conventional'''" or "'''mainstream'''" is to suggest that the difference between alternative medicine and science based medicine is the prevalence of use, rather than lack of a scientific basis of alternative medicine as compared to "conventional" or "mainstream" science based medicine. The use of the term "'''complementary'''" is to suggest that purported supernatural energies of alternative medicine can add to or complement science based medicine. The use of "'''Western medicine'''" and "'''Eastern medicine'''" is to suggest that the difference is not between [[evidence based medicine]] and treatments which don't work, but a cultural difference between the Asiatic east and the European west. The use of the term "'''integrative'''" is to suggest that supernatural beliefs can be consistently integrated with science and the result has scientific validity.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sampson|first=Wallace|title=Antiscience trends in the rise of the "alternative medicine" movement|journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences|date=1 June 1995|volume=775|issue=1|pages=188–197|doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb23138.x|pages=189–191}} [[Wallace Sampson]]</ref>

"'''Alternative medicine'''" refers to any practice that is put forward as having the healing effects of [[medicine]], but is not based on [[evidence]] gathered with the [[scientific method]],<ref name=NSF_altmed /> when used independently or in place of medicine based on science.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/><ref name=NationalCancerInstitute>{{cite web| url=http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cam-cancer-treatment/patient/page2| title=Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Treatment |accessdate=2012-12-11 |publisher=National Vancer Institute| archiveurl = | archivedate = | deadurl=}}</ref><ref name=Borkan>{{cite journal|last=Borkan|first=Jeffrey|title=Complementary alternative health care in Israel and the western world |journal=Isr J Health Policy Res|year=2012|volume=1|issue=8|pages=|doi=10.1186/2045-4015-1-8|pmid=22913745}}</ref><ref name=Kong>{{cite journal |author=Kong SC, Hurlstone DP, Pocock CY, Walkington LA, Farquharson NR, Bramble MG, McAlindon ME, Sanders DS. |title=The Incidence of self-prescribed oral complementary and alternative medicine use by patients with gastrointestinal diseases |journal=J Clin Gastroenterol |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=138–41 |year=2005 |month= |pmid=15681910 |doi=}}</ref> "'''Complementary medicine'''" refers to use of alternative medicine alongside conventional science based medicine, in the belief that it increases the effectiveness.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/><ref name=NationalCancerInstitute/><ref name=Borkan/> "'''CAM'''" is an abbreviation for "complementary and alternative medicine". "'''Integrative medicine'''" ("integrated medicine") is used either to refer to a belief that medicine based on science can be "integrated" with practices that are not, or that a combination of alternative medical treatments with conventional science based treatments that have some scientific proof of efficacy, in which case it is identical with CAM.<ref name=BMJ_May/> “'''Whole medical systems'''” either refers to a spiritual belief, that “'''spiritual wholeness'''” is the root of physiological and physical well-being,<ref name=Oxford>{{cite book|title=Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare.|year=2012|publisher=Oxford Univ press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-957139-0|pages=191–196|first=Margaret|last=Stuber|chapter=Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine|coauthors=Brandon Horn|editor=Cobb, Puchalski, and Rumbold|page=192}}</ref> [[Ayurveda]], [[Chinese medicine]], [[Homeopathy]] and [[Naturopathy]] are cited as examples<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam>{{cite web |url=http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/ |title= What is CAM? |publisher=NCCAM |year=2007 |accessdate=2008-09-10}}</ref> or to differentiate widely comprehensive systems from either specific components of the system or from practices that claim to heal only a limited kind of specific medical conditions.

There is a debate among medical researchers over whether any therapy may be properly classified as 'alternative medicine'. Some claim that there is only medicine that has been adequately tested and that which has not.<ref name=Angell>{{cite journal |author=Angell M, Kassirer JP |title=Alternative medicine--the risks of untested and unregulated remedies |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |volume=339 |issue=12 |pages=839–41 |year=1998 |month=September |pmid=9738094 |doi=10.1056/NEJM199809173391210 |url=http://kitsrus.com/pdf/nejm_998.pdf |quote=It is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a free ride. There cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative. There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work. Once a treatment has been tested rigorously, it no longer matters whether it was considered alternative at the outset. If it is found to be reasonably safe and effective, it will be accepted. But assertions, speculation, and testimonials do not substitute for evidence. Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no less rigorous than that required for conventional treatments.}}</ref> ''"There really is no such thing as alternative medicine--only medicine that has been proved to work and medicine that has not."'' - Arnold Relman, editor in chief emeritus of ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]''.<ref>The New England Journal of Medicine, July 1995.</ref>{{full|date=November 2012}} Speaking of government funding studies of integrating alternative medicine techniques into the mainstream, [[Steven Novella]], a neurologist at Yale School of Medicine wrote that it "is used to lend an appearance of legitimacy to treatments that are not legitimate." [[Marcia Angell]], former executive editor of ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' says, "It's a new name for snake oil."<ref name="HttpwwwwashingtonpostcomwpdyncontentarticleARhtml" /> They feel that healthcare practices should be classified based solely on [[evidence-based medicine|scientific evidence]]. If a treatment has been rigorously tested and found safe and effective, science based medicine will adopt it regardless of whether it was considered "alternative" to begin with.<ref name=Angell/> It is thus possible for a method to change categories (proven vs. unproven), based on increased knowledge of its effectiveness or lack thereof. Prominent supporters of this position include [[George D. Lundberg]], former editor of the [[Journal of the American Medical Association]] (JAMA).<ref name=Fontanarosa>{{cite journal |author=Fontanarosa PB, Lundberg GD |title=Alternative medicine meets science |journal=JAMA |volume=280 |issue=18 |pages=1618–9 |year=1998 |month=November |pmid=9820267 |doi= 10.1001/jama.280.18.1618|url=}}</ref>

===Criticism on scientific grounds===
An editorial in the ''[[The Economist|Economist]]'' characterized alternative medicine as mostly "[[quackery]]" and described the vast majority as offering nothing more than the [[placebo]] effect (the effect of taking a sugar pill and thinking it is medicine). It suggested that, "Virtually all alternative medicine is bunk; but the placebo effect is rather interesting."<ref>{{cite news|title=Leader: Virtually all alternative medicine is bunk, but the placebo effect is rather interesting|url=http://www.economist.com/node/18712290|accessdate=8 March 2012|newspaper=The [[The Economist{{!}}Economist]]|date=19 May 2011}}</ref>

[[Stanford University]] medical professor [[Wallace Sampson]], former chairperson of the [[National Council Against Health Fraud]], advisor to the California Attorney General and numerous district attorneys on medical fraud, and editor of [[Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine]], writes that CAM is the "propagation of the absurd". He argues that ''alternative'' and ''complementary'' have been substituted for ''quackery'', ''dubious'' and ''implausible''.<ref name=absurd/>

[[Richard Dawkins]], an evolutionary biologist, defines alternative medicine as a "set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested, or consistently fail tests."<ref name=Dawkins>{{cite book | last = Dawkins | first = Richard | author = Richard Dawkins | year = 2003 | title = A Devil's Chaplain | publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson | isbn = 978-0-618-33540-4}}</ref> He also states that "there is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work."<ref name=Dawkins2>{{cite book |title=A Devil's Chaplain |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2003 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=United States |isbn=978-0-618-33540-4 |page=58}}</ref> He says that if a technique is demonstrated effective in properly performed trials, it ceases to be alternative and simply becomes medicine.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/feb/15/scienceandnature.highereducation1 |title=Review: A Devil's Chaplain by Richard Dawkins |work=The Guardian |accessdate= 2010-04-23| location=London | date=2003-02-15| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100411001657/http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/feb/15/scienceandnature.highereducation1| archivedate= 11 April 2010 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

====Based on incorrect reasoning====
A letter by four Nobel Laureates and other prominent scientists deplored the lack of [[reason|critical thinking]] in research on alternative medicine that was supprted by the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH).<ref name=Cassileth_evaluating>{{cite journal |author=Cassileth BR |title=Evaluating complementary and alternative therapies for cancer patients |journal=CA Cancer J Clin |volume=49 |issue=6 |pages=362–75 |year=1999 |pmid=11198952 |doi= 10.3322/canjclin.49.6.362|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.49.6.362/full}}</ref>

====Based on ignorance of basic scientific facts====
In 2009 a group of scientists made a proposal to shut down the [[National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]]. They argued that the vast majority of studies were based on fundamental misunderstandings of [[physiology]] and [[disease]], and have shown little or no effect.<ref name=Brown>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031602139.html?hpid=sec-health |title=Scientists Speak Out Against Federal Funds for Research on Alternative Medicine|work=Washingtonpost |date=March 17, 2009 | first=David | last=Brown | accessdate=2010-04-23}}</ref>

==== Ineffective and misleading statements on efficacy====
The United States' [[National Science Foundation]] has defined alternative medicine as "all treatments that have not been proven effective using scientific methods."<ref name=NSF_altmed/> Proponents of an [[Evidence based medicine|evidence-base for medicine]], such as the [[Cochrane Collaboration]] take a position that ''all'' treatments, whether "mainstream" or "alternative", ought to be held to the standards of the scientific method.<ref name="UMM">{{cite web |url=http://www.compmed.umm.edu/cochrane.asp |title=Cochrane CAM Field: Integrative Medicine |work= |accessdate=}}</ref> [[Stephen Barrett]], founder and operator of [[Quackwatch]], argues that practices labeled "alternative" should be reclassified as either genuine, experimental, or questionable. Here he defines genuine as being methods that have sound evidence for safety and effectiveness, experimental as being unproven but with a plausible rationale for effectiveness, and questionable as groundless without a scientifically plausible rationale.<ref name=Quackwatch/> [[Edzard Ernst]], a professor of complementary medicine, characterizes the evidence for many alternative techniques as weak, nonexistent, or negative.<ref name=goodbadugly>{{cite web |url=http://www.healthwatch-uk.org/awardwinners/edzardernst.html |title=Complementary medicine: the good the bad and the ugly |work=Edzard Ernst |accessdate=}}</ref> Ernst has concluded that 95% of the alternative treatments he and his team have studied, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and reflexology, are, according to ''[[The Economist]]'', "statistically indistinguishable from placebo treatments."<ref>''[[The Economist]]'', "[http://www.economist.com/node/18710090 Alternative Medicine: Think yourself better]", 21 May 2011, pp. 83–84.</ref>

====Unfalsifiable====
Wallace Sampson points out that CAM tolerates [[falacy|contradiction]] without thorough reason and experiment.<ref name=absurd>{{cite journal |author=Sampson W, Atwood Iv K |title=Propagation of the absurd: demarcation of the absurd revisited |journal=Med. J. Aust. |volume=183 |issue=11–12 |pages=580–1 |year=2005 |pmid=16336135 |doi= |url=}}</ref> Steven Barrett points out that there is a policy at the NIH of never saying something doesn't work only that a different version or dose might give different results.<ref name="$2.5 billion"/>

====Using plausibility of one practice to support implausible other practices====
Steven Barrett also expressed concern that, just because some "alternatives" have merit, there is the impression that the rest deserve equal consideration and respect even though most are worthless, since they are all classified under the one heading of alternative medicine.<ref name=Quackwatch>{{cite news|first=Stephen|last=Barrett|title=Be Wary of "Alternative" Health Methods|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/altwary.html|work=[[Stephen Barrett|Stephen Barrett, M.D.]]|publisher=[[Quackwatch]]|date=February 10, 2004 |accessdate = 2008-03-03}}</ref> A group of prominent scientists argued before the federal government that plausibility of interventions such as diet, relaxation, yoga and botanical remedies, should not be used to support research on implausible interventions based on superstition and belief in the supernatural, and that the plausible methods can be studied just as well in other parts of NIH, where they should be made to compete on an equal footing with other research projects.<ref name=Brown/>

===Taking resources from real medical research, abuse of medical authority ===
The [[National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine|NCCAM]] budget has been criticized<ref name="HttpwwwwashingtonpostcomwpdyncontentarticleARhtml">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031602139.html Scientists Speak Out Against Federal Funds for Research on Alternative Medicine – washingtonpost.com]</ref> because, despite the duration and intensity of studies to measure the efficacy of alternative medicine, there had been no effective [[Complementary and Alternative Medicine|CAM]] treatments supported by scientific evidence as of 2002 according to the QuackWatch website.<ref name="HttpwwwquackwatchorgQuackeryRelatedTopicsnccamhtml">[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/nccam.html Why the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Should Be Defunded]</ref> Despite this, the [[National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]] budget has been on a sharp sustained rise to support complementary medicine. In fact, the whole CAM field has been called by critics the SCAM.<ref name="HttpwwwquackwatchorgQuackeryRelatedTopicsnccamhtml" />

There have been negative results in almost all studies conducted over ten years at a cost of $2.5 billion by the NCCAM.<ref>[http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/ Research Results of Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM Research&#93;]</ref> R. Barker Bausell, a research methods expert and author of "Snake Oil Science" states that "it's become politically correct to investigate nonsense."<ref name="$2.5 billion">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31190909/ |title=$2.5 billion spent, no alternative cures found – Alternative medicine- msnbc.com |work=MSNBC |date=June 10, 2009}}</ref> There are concerns that just having NIH support is being used to give unfounded "legitimacy to treatments that are not legitimate."<ref name=Brown/>

Use of placebos in order to achieve a [[placebo effect]] in integrative medicine has been criticized as “diverting research time, money, and other resources from more fruitful lines of investigation in order to pursue a theory that has no basis in biology”.<ref name="Credulityabout" /><ref>Acupuncture Pseudoscience in the New England Journal of Medicine, Science Based Medicine, Steven Novella [http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=6391 Science-Based Medicine » Acupuncture Pseudoscience in the New England Journal of Medicine]</ref>

===Ethics, dangerous misinformation, fraud===
Speaking of [[ethics]], in November 2011 [[Edzard Ernst]] stated that the "level of misinformation about alternative medicine has now reached the point where it has become dangerous and unethical. So far, alternative medicine has remained an ethics-free zone. It is time to change this."<ref name=ernst-ethics>[[Edzard Ernst]]. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/nov/08/alternative-medicine-ethics-free-zone "Alternative medicine remains an ethics-free zone."] ''[[The Guardian]]'' 8 November 2011</ref> Ernst requested that [[Prince Charles]] recall two guides to alternative medicine published by the Foundation for Integrated Health, on the grounds that "[t]hey both contain numerous misleading and inaccurate claims concerning the supposed benefits of alternative medicine" and that "[t]he nation cannot be served by promoting ineffective and sometimes dangerous alternative treatments."<ref name=Henderson>Mark Henderson, Science Editor, "[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/alternative_medicine/article3760857.ece Prince of Wales's guide to alternative medicine 'inaccurate']" ''Times Online'', April 17, 2008</ref> In general, he believes that CAM can and should be subjected to scientific testing.<ref name="UMM" /><ref name=goodbadugly /><ref name="brit_gen_prac">"Complementary medicine is diagnosis, treatment and/or prevention that complements mainstream medicine by contributing to a common whole, by satisfying a demand not met by orthodoxy or by diversifying the conceptual frameworks of medicine." Ernst et al. ''British General Practitioner'' 1995; 45:506.</ref>
Ernst requested that [[Prince Charles]] recall two guides to alternative medicine published by the Foundation for Integrated Health, on the grounds that "[t]hey both contain numerous misleading and inaccurate claims concerning the supposed benefits of alternative medicine" and that "[t]he nation cannot be served by promoting ineffective and sometimes dangerous alternative treatments".<ref name="UMM" /><ref name=goodbadugly /><ref name="Henderson"/><ref name="brit_gen_prac"/>

[[Marketing]] is part of the medical training required in [[chiropractic]] educaion, and propoganda methods in alternative medicine have been traced back to those used by Hitler and Goebels in thier promotion of pseudoscience in medicine.<ref name=ATRAMM /><ref name=CGAM>Butler K (1992). A Consumer's Guide to "ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE": A close look at Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Faith-healing and other Unconventional Treatments</ref>

=== Integrative medicine practitioners intentionally mislead patients===
Academic proponents of [[integrative medicine]] sometimes recommend misleading patients by using known placebo treatments in order to achieve a placebo effect.<ref>''"real acupuncture treatments were no more effective than sham acupuncture treatments. There was, nevertheless, evidence that both real acupuncture and sham acupuncture were more effective than no treatment, and that acupuncture can be a useful supplement to other forms of conventional therapy for low back pain"'', ''Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain'', New England Journal of Medicine, 2010; 363:454-461, Brian M. Berman, M.D., Brian M. Berman, founder of the [[Center for Integrative Medicine]], [[University of Maryland School of Medicine]], and Helene M. Langevin, M.D., Claudia M. Witt, M.D., M.B.A., and Ronald Dubner, D.D.S., Ph.D., [http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMct0806114 MMS: Error] {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/60ZN1jBD9|date =2011-07-30}}</ref> However, a 2010 survey of family physicians found that 56% of respondents said they had used a placebo in clinical practice as well. Eighty-five percent of respondents believed placebos can have both psychological and physical benefits.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kermen R, Hickner J, Brody H, Hasham I| pmid = 20927672 | title=Family physicians believe the placebo effect is therapeutic but often use real drugs as placebos| journal=Fam Med. |year=2010 |month=Oct|volume=42|issue=9|pages=636–42}}</ref><ref>http://www.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2010/October/Rachel636.pdf</ref>

==Use and regulation==

===Prevalence of use===
[[File:Bangladesh Prayer.jpg|200px|thumb|Studies show that prayer is a common "complementary" practice, in the belief it might increase the efficacy of science based medicine.]]

About 50% of people in developed countries use some kind of complementry and alternative medicine other than prayer for health.<ref name=Ernst>{{cite journal |author=Ernst E |title=Obstacles to research in complementary and alternative medicine |journal=The Medical Journal of Australia |volume=179 |issue=6 |pages=279–80 |year=2003 |month=September |pmid=12964907 |url=http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_06_150903/ern10442_fm-1.html}}</ref><ref name=pmid15188733>{{cite journal |author=Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL |title=Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002 |journal=Advance Data |volume= |issue=343 |pages=1–19 |year=2004 |month=May |pmid=15188733 |url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad343.pdf}}</ref><ref name=CAM_reason>[http://nccam.nih.gov/news/images/camreason_large.gif Reasons people use CAM.] [[NCCAM]]</ref><ref name="Astin"/> About 40% of cancer patients use some form of CAM.<ref name=Horneber>{{cite journal |author=Horneber M, Bueschel G, Dennert G, Less D, Ritter E, Zwahlen M. |title=How many cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine: a systematic review and metaanalysis |journal=Integr Cancer Ther |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=187–203 |year=2011 |month=September |pmid=22019489 |doi= 10.1177/1534735411423920|url=}}</ref> The use of alternative medicine in developed countries is increasing,<ref name=NSF_altmed /><ref name="Eisenberg_trends"/><ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/123/12301.htm House of Lords report on CAM] {{WebCite|url=http://www.webcitation.org/5EsdOV0Sd|date =2006-04-03}}</ref> with a 50 percent increase in expenditures and a 25 percent increase in the use of alternative therapies between 1990 and 1997 in America.<ref name=tamuus>"Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990–1997: Results of a Follow-up National Survey." Journal of the American Medical Association, Eisenberg, D.M., R.B. Davis, S.I. Ettner, et al, 280: 1569–75, 1998</ref> Americans spend many billions on the therapies annually.<ref name=tamuus/> Most Americans used CAM to treat and/or prevent musculoskeletal conditions or other conditions associated with chronic or recurring pain.<ref name=pmid15188733/> In America, women were more likely than men to use CAM., with the biggest difference in use of [[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#Mind-body interventions|mind-body therapies]] including prayer specifically for health reasons".<ref name=pmid15188733/> In 2008, more than 37% of American hospitals offered alternative therapies, up from 26.5 percent in 2005, and 25% in 2004.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/20/health/webmd/main1823747.shtml Alternative Medicine Goes Mainstream] CBS News. Published July 20, 2006. Retrieved June 13, 2009.</ref><ref name=LSSMHOCAMS/> More than 70% of the hospitals offering CAM were in urban areas.<ref name=LSSMHOCAMS>{{cite web|url=http://www.aha.org/aha/press-release/2008/080915-pr-cam.html |title=Press Release : Latest Survey Shows More Hospitals Offering Complementary and Alternative Medicine Services |publisher=American Hospital Association |date=2008-09-15 |accessdate=2009-11-18}}</ref>

The phenomena of how alternative medicine can be on the rise “in countries where Western science and scientific method generally are accepted as the major foundations for healthcare, and ‘evidence-based’ practice is the dominant paradigm" has been described as an "[[enigma]]" in the Medical Journal of Australia.<ref name=RRCAM>The Rise and Rise of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: a Sociological Perspective, Ian D Coulter and Evan M Willis, Medical Journal of Australia, 2004; 180 (11): 587-589</ref> Use of alternative therapies was found to be higher among those who had attended college and had higher incomes.<ref name=tamuus/> A survey of Americans found that 88 percent agreed that "there are some good ways of treating sickness that medical [[science]] does not recognize".<ref name=NSF_altmed/> Use of magnets was the most common tool in [[energy medicine]] in America, and among users of it, 58 percent described it as at least “sort of [[scientific method|scientific]]”, when it is not at all scientific.<ref name=NSF_altmed/> In 2002, at least 60 percent of US medical schools have at least some class time spent teaching alternative therapies.<ref name=NSF_altmed/> "Therapeutic touch," was taught at more than 100 colleges and universities in 75 countries before the practice was debunked by a nine-year-old child for a school science project.<ref name=NSF_altmed/><ref name="NSF_altmed" /><ref>"A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch." Journal of the American Medical Association, Rosa, L., Rosa, E., Sarner, L., and Barrett, S. 279(13): 1005–10, 1998</ref> In Austria and Germany complementary and alternative medicine is mainly in the hands of doctors with [[Medical degree|MDs]],<ref name="ernstinterview"/> and half or more of the American alternative practitioners are licensed MDs.<ref name=Cassileth1996>{{cite journal |author=[[Barrie R. Cassileth|Cassileth, Barrie R.]] |url=http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/1/3/173 |title=Alternative and Complementary Cancer Treatments |journal=The Oncologist |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=173–9 |date = June 1996|pmid=10387984}}</ref> In Germany herbs are tightly regulated: half are prescribed by doctors and covered by health insurance.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines |author=Marty |url=http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/281/19/1852 |journal=J Amer Med Assoc |year=1999 |volume=281 |pages=1852–3 |pmid= |doi=10.1001/jama.281.19.1852 |issue=19}}</ref>

In [[developing country|developing nations]], access to essential medicines is severely restricted by lack of resources and [[poverty]]. [[Traditional medicine|Traditional remedies]], often closely resembling or forming the basis for alternative remedies, may comprise primary healthcare or be integrated into the healthcare system. In Africa, traditional medicine is used for 80% of primary healthcare, and in developing nations as a whole over one-third of the population lack access to essential medicines.<ref name='WHO_trad'>{{cite web|url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs134/en/ |title=Traditional medicine |accessdate = 2008-03-06 |date=2003-05 |work=Fact sheet 134 |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5Zeyw2hfS | archivedate = 2008-07-28| deadurl=no}}</ref>

A 1997 survey found that 13.7% of respondents in the United States had sought the services of both a medical doctor and an alternative medicine practitioner. The same survey found that 96% of respondents who sought the services of an alternative medicine practitioner also sought the services of a medical doctor in the past 12 months. Medical doctors are often unaware of their patient's use of alternative medical treatments as only 38.5% of the patients alternative therapies were discussed with their medical doctor.<ref name=Eisenberg_trends>{{cite journal |author=Eisenberg DM |title=Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990–1997: results of a follow-up national survey |journal=JAMA |volume=280 |issue=18 |pages=1569–75 |year=1998 |month=November |pmid=9820257 |doi=10.1001/jama.280.18.1569 |author-separator=, |author2=Davis RB |author3=Ettner SL |display-authors=3 |last4=Appel |first4=S |last5=Wilkey |first5=S |last6=Van Rompay |first6=M |last7=Kessler |first7=RC}}</ref> A British telephone survey by the BBC of 1209 adults in 1998 shows that around 20% of adults in Britain had used alternative medicine in the past 12 months.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thomas KJ, Nicholl JP, Coleman P |title=Use and expenditure on complementary medicine in England: a population based survey |journal=Complementary Therapies in Medicine |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=2–11 |year=2001 |month=March |pmid=11264963 |doi=10.1054/ctim.2000.0407}}</ref>

====Prevalence of use of specific therapies====
The most common CAM therapies used in the US in 2002 were prayer (45.2%), [[herbalism]] (18.9%), [[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#Breathing Meditation|breathing meditation]] (11.6%), [[meditation (alternative medicine)|meditation]] (7.6%), [[chiropractic medicine]] (7.5%), [[yoga (alternative medicine)|yoga]] (5.1%-6.1%), [[body work (alternative medicine)|body work]] (5.0%), [[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#Diet-based therapy|diet-based therapy]] (3.5%), [[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#Progressive Relaxation|progressive relaxation]] (3.0%), [[Orthomolecular medicine|mega-vitamin therapy]] (2.8%) and [[Visualization (cam)|Visualization]] (2.1%)<ref name=pmid15188733/><ref>[http://nccam.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/news/nhsr12.pdf/]</ref>

In Britain, the most often used alternative therapies were [[Alexander technique]], [[Aromatherapy]], Bach and other flower remedies, Body work therapies including massage, Counselling stress therapies, [[hypnotherapy]], [[Meditation]], [[Reflexology]], [[Shiatsu]], [[Ayurvedic medicine]], Nutritional medicine, and [[Yoga]].<ref>House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology. 2000. Complementary and Alternative Medicine. London: The Stationery Office.</ref>

According to the [[National Health Service (England)]], the most commonly used complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) supported by the NHS in the UK are: acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, homeopathy, massage, osteopathy and clinical hypnotherapy.<ref>[http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/wider-healthcare-team/careers-in-the-wider-healthcare-team/clinical-support-staff/complementary-and-alternative-medicine-(cam)/ NHS complementary provision]</ref>

"Complementary medicine treatments used for pain include: acupuncture, low-level laser therapy, meditation, aroma therapy, Chinese medicine, dance therapy, music therapy, massage, herbalism, therapeutic touch, yoga, osteopathy, chiropractic, naturopathy, and homeopathy."<ref>[http://www.stoppain.org/main_site/content/glossary.asp Glossary], Continuum Health Partners, 2005.</ref>

====Palliative care====
Complementary therapies are often used in [[palliative care]] or by practitioners attempting to manage chronic pain in patients. Complementary medicine is considered more acceptable in the interdisciplinary approach used in palliative care than in other areas of medicine. "From its early experiences of care for the dying, palliative care took for granted the necessity of placing patient values and lifestyle habits at the core of any design and delivery of quality care at the end of life. If the patient desired complementary therapies, and as long as such treatments provided additional support and did not endanger the patient, they were considered acceptable."<ref>Allan Kellehear, Complementary medicine: is it more acceptable in palliative care practice? MJA 2003; 179 (6 Suppl): S46-S48 [http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_06_150903/kel10295_fm-2.html online]</ref> The non-pharmacologic interventions of complementary medicine can employ [[mind-body intervention|mind-body]] interventions designed to "reduce pain and concomitant mood disturbance and increase quality of life."<ref>{{cite journal | author = Menefee LA, Monti DA |url=http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/content/full/105/suppl_5/S15#SEC5 | title=Nonpharmacologic and complementary approaches to cancer pain management| volume = 105 |issue= suppl 5|month= November |year=2005|pages= S15–20 |pmid=16368903 | journal=J Am Osteopath Assoc}}</ref>

===Regulation===
{{Further|Regulation of alternative medicine}}
Some fields of alternative practice are regulated in a manner similar to that governing science-based medicine, and some have no regulation at all. Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine ranges widely from country to country, and state to state.

Government bodies in the USA and elsewhere have published information or guidance about alternative medicine. One of those is the [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA), which mentions specifically [[homeopathic]] products, [[traditional Chinese medicine]] and [[Ayurvedic]] products.<ref>http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm207747.htm FDA, Drugs, information for consumers]</ref> A document which the FDA has issued for comment is headed ''Guidance for Industry: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration'', last updated 04/06/2012.<ref>[vhttp://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/ucm074360.htm]</ref> The document opens with three preliminary paragraphs which explain that ''in the document'':

: - "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) are being used to encompass a wide array of health care practices, products, and therapies which are distinct from those used in "conventional" or "allopathic" medicine.

: - some forms of CAM, such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, have been practiced for centuries, and others, such as electrotherapy, are of more recent origin.

: - in a publication of The [[Institute of Medicine]] it has been stated that more than one-third of American adults reported using some form of CAM and that visits to CAM providers each year exceed those to primary care physicians (Institute of Medicine, Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States, pages 34-35, 2005).

: - no mention (in the document) of a particular CAM therapy, practice or product should be taken as expressing FDA's support or endorsement of it or as an agency determination that a particular product is safe and effective.

== Efficacy ==
Alternative therapies lack [[scientific validation]], and their [[efficacy|effectiveness]] is either [[Scientific method|unproved]] or [[Scientific evidence|disproved]].<ref name=NSF_altmed/><ref name=ATRAMM/><ref name="IGPIAMAYP"/><ref name="NP"/> Many of the claims regarding the efficacy of alternative medicines are controversial, since research on them is frequently of low quality and methodologically flawed.<ref name=IOM2005/> [[Publication bias|Selective publication of results]] (misleading results from only publishing postive results, and not all results), marked differences in product quality and standardisation, and some companies making unsubstantiated claims, call into question the claims of efficacy of isolated examples where herbs may have some evidence of containing chemicals that may affect health.<ref name=Sarris>{{cite journal |author=Sarris Jerome |title=Current challenges in appraising complementary medicine evidence |journal=The Medical Journal of Australia |volume=196 |issue=5 |pages=310–311 |year=2012 |url=https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/196/5/current-challenges-appraising-complementary-medicine-evidence#3 |pmid=22432660 |doi=10.5694/mja11.10751}}</ref> ''The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine'' points to confusions in the general population - a person may attribute symptomatic relief to an otherwise-ineffective therapy just because they are taking something (the [[placebo effec]]); the natural recovery from or the cyclical nature of an illness (the [[regression fallacy]]) gets misattributed to an alternative medicine being taken; a person not diagnosed with science based medicine may never originally have had a true illness diagnosed as an alternative disease category.<ref>James Alcock PhD, ''Alternative Medicine and the Psychology of Belief'', The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, Fall/Winter 1999 Volume 3 ~ Number 2. [http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/altpsych.html available online]</ref>

==Testing==
In 2003, a project funded by the CDC identified 208 condition-treatment pairs, of which 58% had been studied by at least one [[randomized controlled trial]] (RCT), and 23% had been assessed with a [[meta-analysis]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Katz DL |title=The evidence base for complementary and alternative medicine: methods of Evidence Mapping with application to CAM |journal=Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=22–30 |year=2003 |pmid=12868249 |author-separator=, |author2=Williams AL |author3=Girard C |display-authors=3 |last4=Goodman |first4=J |last5=Comerford |first5=B |last6=Behrman |first6=A |last7=Bracken |first7=MB}}</ref> According to a 2005 book by a US [[Institute of Medicine]] panel, the number of RCTs focused on CAM has risen dramatically. The book cites Vickers (1998), who found that many of the CAM-related RCTs are in the Cochrane register, but 19% of these trials were not in MEDLINE, and 84% were in conventional medical journals.<ref name=IOM2005/>{{rp|133|date=November 2012}}

As of 2005, the [[Cochrane Library]] had 145 CAM-related Cochrane systematic reviews and 340 non-Cochrane systematic reviews. An analysis of the conclusions of only the 145 Cochrane reviews was done by two readers. In 83% of the cases, the readers agreed. In the 17% in which they disagreed, a third reader agreed with one of the initial readers to set a rating. These studies found that, for CAM, 38.4% concluded positive effect or possibly positive (12.4%) effect, 4.8% concluded no effect, 0.69% concluded harmful effect, and 56.6% concluded insufficient evidence. An assessment of conventional treatments found that 41.3% concluded positive or possibly positive effect, 20% concluded no effect, 8.1% concluded net harmful effects, and 21.3% concluded insufficient evidence. However, the CAM review used the 2004 Cochrane database, while the conventional review used the 1998 Cochrane database.<ref name=IOM2005/>{{rp|135-136|date=November 2012}}

Lists of the Cochrane Reviews on alternative medicine including summaries of the results sorted by type of therapy (updated monthly) are made available at ViFABs (Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicines) home page, see the lists here: http://www.vifab.dk/uk/cochrane+and+alternative+medicine

Most alternative medical treatments are not [[patent]]able, which may lead to less research funding from the private sector. In addition, in most countries, alternative treatments (in contrast to pharmaceuticals) can be marketed without any proof of efficacy—also a disincentive for manufacturers to fund scientific research.<ref name=Ernst2005>{{cite journal |author=Ernst E |title=The efficacy of herbal medicine--an overview |journal=Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=405–9 |year=2005 |month=August |pmid=16011726 |doi=10.1111/j.1472-8206.2005.00335.x}}</ref> Some have proposed adopting a [[prize]] system to reward medical research.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Horrobin DF | year = 1986 | title = Glittering prizes for research support | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 324 | issue = 6094| page = 221 |bibcode=1986Natur.324..221H|doi=10.1038/324221a0}}</ref> However, public funding for research exists. Increasing the funding for research on alternative medicine techniques is the purpose of the [[US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]]. NCCAM and its predecessor, the Office of Alternative Medicine, have spent more than $2.5 billion on such research since 1992; this research has largely not demonstrated the efficacy of alternative treatments.<ref name="$2.5 billion"/><ref name='nccam_$'>{{cite web|url=http://nccam.nih.gov/about/budget/appropriations.htm |title=NCCAM Funding: Appropriations History |accessdate=2008-04-02 |date=2008-01-09 |publisher=[[NCCAM]] | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5hSlSj9d5 | archivedate = 2009-06-11| deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="Atwood2003">{{cite news | first=Kimball C. | last=Atwood | coauthors= |authorlink= | title=The Ongoing Problem with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine | date=2003-09 | publisher= | url =http://www.csicop.org/si/show/ongoing_problem_with_the_national_center | work =Skeptical Inquirer | pages = | accessdate = 2009-11-18 | language = | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20091116142044/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/ongoing_problem_with_the_national_center| archivedate= 16 November 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

In the same way as for conventional therapies, drugs, and interventions, it can be difficult to test the efficacy of alternative medicine in [[clinical trial]]s. In instances where an established, effective, treatment for a condition is already available, the [[Helsinki Declaration]] states that withholding such treatment is unethical in most circumstances. Use of standard-of-care treatment in addition to an alternative technique being tested may produce confounded or difficult-to-interpret results.<ref>{{cite pmid|12356597}}</ref>

Cancer researcher Andrew J. Vickers has stated:

:Contrary to much popular and scientific writing, many alternative cancer treatments have been investigated in good-quality clinical trials, and they have been shown to be ineffective. In this article, clinical trial data on a number of alternative cancer cures including Livingston-Wheeler, Di Bella Multitherapy, antineoplastons, vitamin C, hydrazine sulfate, [[Laetrile]], and psychotherapy are reviewed. The label "unproven" is inappropriate for such therapies; it is time to assert that many alternative cancer therapies have been "disproven."<ref name=Vickers_disproven>{{cite journal | doi = 10.3322/canjclin.54.2.110 | author = Andrew Vickers PhD | year = 2004 | title = Alternative Cancer Cures: "Unproven" or "Disproven"? | url = http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.54.2.110/full | journal = [[CA Cancer J Clin]] | volume = 54 | issue = 2| pages = 110–118 | pmid=15061600}}</ref>

== Safety ==
{{See also|List of herbs with known adverse effects}}

=== Adequacy of Regulation and CAM Safety ===
One of the commonly voiced concerns about complementary alternative medicine (CAM) is the manner in which is regulated. There have been significant developments in how CAMs should be assessed prior to re-sale in the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) in the last 2 years. Despite this, it has been suggested that current regulatory bodies have been ineffective in preventing deception of patients as many companies have re-labelled their drugs to avoid the new laws.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Colquhoun|first=Professor David|title=Regulation of Alternative Medicine ‐ why it doesn’t work.|journal=Scottish Universities Medical Journal|year=2012|month=October|volume=1 (EPub series)|issue=16|pages=1–9|url=http://sumj.dundee.ac.uk/data/uploads/epub-article/016-sumj.epub.pdf|accessdate=25 November}}</ref> There is no general consensus about how to balance consumer protection (from false claims, toxicity, and advertising) with freedom to choose remedies.

Advocates of CAM suggest that regulation of the industry will adversely affect patients looking for alternative ways to manage their symptoms, even if many of the benefits may represent the placebo affect.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Connelly|first=P|title=The Ethics of Acupuncture|journal=Scottish Universities Medical Journal|year=2012|month=August|volume=1|issue=2|pages=165–169|url=http://sumj.dundee.ac.uk/data/uploads/volume2/sumjv1i2p.165-169.pdf}}</ref> Some contend that alternative medicines should not require any more regulation than over-the-counter medicines that can also be toxic in overdose (such as paracetamol).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Malcolm|first=Dr R|title=Small but Intriguing - The Unfolding Story of Homeopathic Medicine|journal=Scottish Universities Medical Journal|year=2012|month=October|volume=1 (EPub series)|issue=15|pages=1–7|url=http://sumj.dundee.ac.uk/data/uploads/epub-article/015-sumj.epub.pdf|accessdate=2012-11-30}}</ref>

==== Interactions with conventional pharmaceuticals ====

Forms of alternative medicine that are biologically active can be dangerous even when used in conjunction with conventional medicine. Examples include immuno-augmentation therapy, shark cartilage, bioresonance therapy, oxygen and ozone therapies, insulin potentiation therapy. Some herbal remedies can cause dangerous interactions with chemotherapy drugs, radiation therapy, or anesthetics during surgery, among other problems.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite journal |author=Cassileth BR, Deng G |title=Complementary and alternative therapies for cancer |journal=The Oncologist |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=80–9 |year=2004 |pmid=14755017 |doi=10.1634/theoncologist.9-1-80}}</ref> An anecdotal example of these dangers was reported by Associate Professor Alastair MacLennan of Adelaide University, Australia regarding a patient who almost bled to death on the operating table after neglecting to mention that she had been taking "natural" potions to "build up her strength" before the operation, including a powerful anticoagulant that nearly caused her death.<ref name='BenHills'>{{cite web|url=http://benhills.com/articles/articles/MED06a.html |title=Fake healers. Why Australia's $1 billion-a-year alternative medicine industry is ineffective and out of control. |accessdate = 2008-03-06 |last=Hills |first=Ben |work=Medical Mayhem }}</ref>

To ''ABC Online'', MacLennan also gives another possible mechanism:

:And lastly {{sic}} there's the cynicism and disappointment and depression that some patients get from going on from one alternative medicine to the next, and they find after three months the placebo effect wears off, and they're disappointed and they move on to the next one, and they're disappointed and disillusioned, and that can create depression and make the eventual treatment of the patient with anything effective difficult, because you may not get compliance, because they've seen the failure so often in the past.|<ref name='ABC_Maclennan'>{{cite news | first=Norman | last=Swan | coauthors= | title=Alternative Medicine – Part Three | date=2000-10-02 | publisher=ABC Radio National | url =http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s195441.htm | work =The Health Report | pages = | accessdate = 2008-03-06 | language = | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080306230537/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s195441.htm| archivedate= 6 March 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>

==== Potential side-effects ====

Conventional treatments are subjected to testing for undesired [[Adverse effect (medicine)|side-effects]], whereas alternative treatments, in general, are not subjected to such testing at all. Any treatment – whether conventional or alternative – that has a biological or psychological effect on a patient may also have potential to possess dangerous biological or psychological side-effects. Attempts to refute this fact with regard to alternative treatments sometimes use the ''[[appeal to nature]]'' fallacy, i.e., "that which is natural cannot be harmful".

An exception to the normal thinking regarding side-effects is [[Homeopathy]]. Since 1938, the [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) has regulated homeopathic products in "several significantly different ways from other drugs."<ref name=Stehlin>Isadora Stehlin. "[http://web.archive.org/web/20071012070120/http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/096_home.html Homeopathy: Real Medicine or Empty Promises?]" – FDA Consumer magazine (December 1996)</ref> Homeopathic preparations, termed "remedies," are extremely dilute, often far beyond the point where a single molecule of the original active (and possibly toxic) ingredient is likely to remain. They are, thus, considered safe on that count, but "their products are exempt from good manufacturing practice requirements related to expiration dating and from finished product testing for identity and strength," and their alcohol concentration may be much higher than allowed in conventional drugs.<ref name=Stehlin/>

==== Treatment delay ====

Those having experienced or perceived success with one alternative therapy for a minor ailment may be convinced of its efficacy and persuaded to extrapolate that success to some other alternative therapy for a more serious, possibly life-threatening illness.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/354/7/731 |title=NEJM – Drug-Related Hepatotoxicity |doi=10.1056/NEJMra052270 |publisher=Content.nejm.org |date=2006-05-18 |accessdate=2009-12-16|last1=Navarro|first1=Victor J.|last2=Senior|first2=John R.|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=354|issue=7|pages=731–9|pmid=16481640}}</ref> For this reason, critics argue that therapies that rely on the placebo effect to define success are very dangerous. According to mental health journalist Scott Lilienfeld in 2002, "unvalidated or scientifically unsupported mental health practices can lead individuals to forgo effective treatments" and refers to this as "[[opportunity cost]]". Individuals who spend large amounts of time and money on ineffective treatments may be left with precious little of either, and may forfeit the opportunity to obtain treatments that could be more helpful. In short, even innocuous treatments can indirectly produce negative outcomes.<ref name='Lilienfeld_2002'>{{cite journal|title=Our Raison d'Être|journal=The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice|year=2002|first=Scott O.|last=Lilienfeld|coauthors=|volume=1|issue=1|pages=|url=http://www.srmhp.org/0101/raison-detre.html|accessdate = 2008-01-28 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5QcyAPtwV | archivedate = 2007-07-26| deadurl=no}}</ref>

Between 2001 and 2003, four children died in Australia because their parents chose ineffective naturopathic, homeopathic, or other alternative medicines and diets rather than conventional therapies.<ref name=ineffecive>{{cite news
| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12060507
| date = 23 December 2010
| author = Dominic Hughes
| newspaper = BBC News
| title = Alternative remedies 'dangerous' for kids says report }}</ref> In all, they found 17 instances in which children were significantly harmed by a failure to use conventional medicine.
<!--

HIDING THIS SECTION FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION
Secondary metabolites in thousands of plants are regularly tested by drug companies in search of new therapies. [[Atropa belladonna|Deadly nightshade]] contains atropine, a potent (and dangerous) substance useful in the treatment of a number of disorders, including as an antidote for nerve agents. Chemicals isolated from [[Foxglove]] are used in the treatment of epilepsy; [[Opiates]] derived from poppies are highly effective painkillers, and [[THC]], found in [[cannabis sativa]], is used to counter the effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy itself owes some of its constituent drugs to [[Chemotherapy#Plant alkaloids and terpenoids (L01C)|plant alkaloids]]. These name just a few of the most prominent classes of drugs derived from natural sources that have been adopted as treatments by alternative therapies.

In the US, many medical insurers and some hospitals integrate chiropractic and massage therapy as adjuncts to mainstream medical care.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}
-->

==== Unconventional cancer "cures" ====

Perhaps because many forms of [[cancer]] are difficult or impossible to cure, there have always been many therapies offered outside of conventional cancer treatment centers and based on theories not found in [[biomedicine]]. These alternative cancer cures have often been described as "unproven," suggesting that appropriate clinical trials have not been conducted and that the therapeutic value of the treatment is unknown. However, many alternative cancer treatments have been investigated in good-quality clinical trials, and they have been shown to be ineffective.
<ref name=Vickers>{{cite journal |last1=Vickers |first1=A. |title=Alternative Cancer Cures: 'Unproven' or 'Disproven'? |journal=CA |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=110–8 |year=2004 |pmid=15061600 |doi=10.3322/canjclin.54.2.110 | url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.54.2.110/full }}</ref>

=== Research funding ===

Although the Dutch government funded CAM research between 1986 and 2003, it formally ended funding in 2006.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Renckens CN |title=A Dutch view of the ''science'' of CAM 1986--2003 |journal=Eval Health Prof |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=431–50 |year=2009 |month=December |pmid=19926606 |doi=10.1177/0163278709346815 |url=}}</ref>

===History===
Fueled by a nationwide survey published in 1993 by [[David Eisenberg]], which revealed that in 1990 approximately 60 million Americans had used one or more complementary or alternative therapies to address health issues.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Eisenberg DM |year=1993|title=Unconventional Medicine in the United States – Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use|journal= N Engl J Med|volume= 328|pages=246–252|doi=10.1056/NEJM199301283280406 | pmid=8418405 | author-separator = , | display-authors = 1 | last2 = Kessler | first2 = Ronald C. | last3 = Foster | first3 = Cindy | last4 = Norlock | first4 = Frances E. | last5 = Calkins | first5 = David R. | last6 = Delbanco | first6 = Thomas L. | issue = 4 }}</ref> A study published in the November 11, 1998 issue of the [[Journal of the American Medical Association]] reported that 42% of Americans had used complementary and alternative therapies, up from 34% in 1990.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Eisenberg DM |year=1998|title= Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990–1997: results of a follow-up national survey |journal=JAMA|volume= 280 |issue=18|pages=1569–75|pmid=9820257 |doi=10.1001/jama.280.18.1569 | author-separator = , | author2 = Davis RB | author3 = Ettner SL | display-authors = 3 | last4 = Appel | first4 = S | last5 = Wilkey | first5 = S | last6 = Van Rompay | first6 = M | last7 = Kessler | first7 = RC}}</ref> However, despite the growth in patient demand for complementary medicine, most of the early alternative/complementary medical centers failed.<ref name=bestpractices>Best Practices in Integrative Medicine: A Report from the Bravewell Clinical Network. Published 2007. The Bravewell Collaborative. Page 4.</ref>

==Appeal==

A study published in 1998<ref name="Astin">{{cite journal |author=Astin JA |title=Why patients use alternative medicine: results of a national study |journal=JAMA |volume=279 |issue=19 |pages=1548–53 |year=1998 |month=May |pmid=9605899 |doi=10.1001/jama.279.19.1548}}</ref> indicates that a majority of alternative medicine use was in conjunction with standard medical treatments. Approximately 4.4 percent of those studied used alternative medicine as a replacement for conventional medicine. The research found that those having used alternative medicine tended to have higher education or report poorer health status. Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine was not a meaningful factor in the choice, but rather the majority of alternative medicine users appear to be doing so largely because "they find these healthcare alternatives to be more congruent with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and life." In particular, subjects reported a holistic orientation to health, a transformational experience that changed their worldview, identification with a number of groups committed to environmentalism, feminism, psychology, and/or spirituality and personal growth, or that they were suffering from a variety of common and minor ailments – notable ones being anxiety, back problems, and chronic pain.

Authors have speculated on the socio-cultural and psychological reasons for the appeal of alternative medicines among that minority using them ''in lieu'' of conventional medicine. There are several socio-cultural reasons for the interest in these treatments centered on the low level of [[scientific literacy]] among the public at large and a concomitant increase in [[antiscience|antiscientific]] attitudes and [[new age]] [[mysticism]].<ref name=Beyerstein /> Related to this are vigorous [[advertising|marketing]]<ref name=Weber>{{cite journal |author=Weber DO |title=Complementary and alternative medicine. Considering the alternatives |journal=Physician Executive |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=6–14 |year=1998 |pmid=10351720}}</ref> of extravagant claims by the alternative medical community combined with inadequate media scrutiny and attacks on critics.<ref name=Beyerstein2>{{cite journal |author=Beyerstein BL |title=Alternative medicine and common errors of reasoning |journal=Academic Medicine |volume=76 |issue=3 |pages=230–7 |year=2001 |month=March |pmid=11242572 |doi=10.1097/00001888-200103000-00009}}</ref><ref name=Beyerstein>{{cite journal|author=Beyerstein BL|url=http://www.sram.org/0302/bias.html|title=Psychology and 'Alternative Medicine' Social and Judgmental Biases That Make Inert Treatments Seem to Work|journal=The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine|year=1999|volume=3|issue=2|accessdate=2008-07-07}}</ref>

There is also an increase in [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] toward conventional medicine and pharmaceutical companies, mistrust of traditional authority figures, such as the physician, and a dislike of the current delivery methods of scientific biomedicine, all of which have led patients to seek out alternative medicine to treat a variety of ailments.<ref name=Beyerstein2/> Many patients lack access to contemporary medicine, due to a lack of private or public [[health insurance]], which leads them to seek out lower-cost alternative medicine.<ref name=pmid15188733/> Medical doctors are also aggressively marketing alternative medicine to profit from this market.<ref name=Weber/>

In addition to the social-cultural underpinnings of the popularity of alternative medicine, there are several psychological issues that are critical to its growth. One of the most critical is the [[placebo effect]], which is a well-established observation in medicine.<ref>{{cite journal |author=van Deventer MO |title=Meta-placebo: do doctors have to lie about giving a fake treatment? |journal=Medical Hypotheses |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=335–9 |year=2008 |month=September |pmid=18485613 |doi=10.1016/j.mehy.2008.03.040}}</ref> Related to it are similar psychological effects such as the will to believe,<ref name=Beyerstein /> [[cognitive bias]]es that help maintain self-esteem and promote harmonious social functioning,<ref name=Beyerstein /> and the ''[[post hoc, ergo propter hoc]]'' fallacy.<ref name=Beyerstein />

Patients can also be averse to the painful, unpleasant, and sometimes-dangerous [[adverse effect|side effects]] of biomedical treatments. Treatments for severe diseases such as [[cancer]] and [[HIV]] infection have well-known, significant side-effects. Even low-risk medications such as [[antibiotics]] can have potential to cause life-threatening [[anaphylactic]] reactions in a very few individuals. Also, many medications may cause minor but bothersome symptoms such as cough or upset stomach. In all of these cases, patients may be seeking out alternative treatments to avoid the adverse effects of conventional treatments.<ref name=Beyerstein2/><ref name=Beyerstein/>

Schofield et al., in a systematic review published in 2011, make ten recommendations which they think may increase the effectiveness of consultations in a conventional (here: oncology) setting, such as "Ask questions about CAM use at critical points in the illness trajectory"; "Respond to the person's emotional state"; and "Provide balanced, evidence-based advice". They suggest that this approach may address "... concerns surrounding CAM use [and] encourage informed decision-making about CAM and ultimately, improve outcomes for patients".<ref>{{cite pmid| 19783116}}</ref>

CAM's popularity may be related to other factors which [[Edzard Ernst]] mentions in an interview in ''[[The Independent]]'':

: Why is it so popular, then? Ernst blames the providers, customers and the doctors whose neglect, he says, has created the opening into which alternative therapists have stepped. "People are told lies. There are 40 million websites and 39.9 million tell lies, sometimes outrageous lies. They mislead cancer patients, who are encouraged not only to pay their last penny but to be treated with something that shortens their lives. "At the same time, people are gullible. It needs gullibility for the industry to succeed. It doesn't make me popular with the public, but it's the truth.<ref name="Con?">{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/complementary-therapies-the-big-con-813248.html |title=Complementary therapies: The big con? – The Independent |work= |accessdate= 2010-04-23| location=London | date=2008-04-22 |deadurl=yes| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100417080412/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/features/complementary-therapies-the-big-con-813248.html| archivedate= 17 April 2010}}</ref>

In a paper published in October 2010 entitled ''The public's enthusiasm for complementary and alternative medicine amounts to a critique of mainstream medicine'', Ernst describes these views in greater detail and concludes:

: [CAM] is popular. An analysis of the reasons why this is so points towards the therapeutic relationship as a key factor. Providers of CAM tend to build better therapeutic relationships than mainstream healthcare professionals. In turn, this implies that much of the popularity of CAM is a poignant criticism of the failure of mainstream healthcare. We should consider it seriously with a view of improving our service to patients.<ref>{{cite pmid| 20846193}}</ref>

Physicians who practice complementary medicine usually discuss and advise patients as to available complementary therapies. Patients often express interest in mind-body complementary therapies because they offer a non-drug approach to treating some health conditions.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sobel DS |title=The cost-effectiveness of mind-body medicine interventions |journal=Progress in Brain Research |volume=122 |issue= |pages=393–412 |year=2000 |pmid=10737073 |doi=10.1016/S0079-6123(08)62153-6 |series=Progress in Brain Research |isbn=978-0-444-50049-6}}</ref> Some mind-body techniques, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, were once considered complementary medicine, but are now a part of conventional medicine in the United States.<ref>[http://www.webmd.com/balance/tc/complementary-medicine-mind-body-interventions Complementary Medicine – Mind-Body Interventions], WebMD, Inc., 2007</ref>

==Efforts at abstract characterizations==
There is no clear and consistent definition for either alternative or complementary medicine.<ref name=IOM2005>{{cite book |author=Institute of Med |title=Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States |publisher=National Academy Press |location= |year=2005 |pages= |isbn=978-0-309-09270-8 |oclc= |url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11182 |accessdate=}}</ref>{{rp|17|date=November 2012}}

===Self-characterization===
The US [[National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]] (NCCAM) defines CAM as "a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products, that are not currently part of conventional medicine”, in a context where conventional medicine is that which is scientifically proven.<ref name=NCCAMwhatiscam/> This definition of CAM is widely known and used and is inclusive of many different types of therapies and products.<ref name=Toupin>{{cite journal |author=Toupin April K, Moher D, Stinson J, Byrne A, White M, Boon H, Duffy CM, Rader T, Vohra S, Tugwell P. |title=Measurement properties of questionnaires assessing complementary and alternative medicine use in pediatrics: a systematic review |journal=PLoS One |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages= e39611|year=2012 |month= |pmid=22768098 |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0039611|pmc=3387262 |editor1-last=Phillips |editor1-first=Robert S}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11182&page=19|title=Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States: Definition of CAM |publisher=United States [[Institute of Medicine]] |pages=19 |date=12 January 2005 |quote= |accessdate=2012-12-15 }}</ref>

The Danish Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine an independent institution under the Danish Ministry of the Interior and Health (Danish abbreviation: ViFAB) uses the term “alternative medicine” for:
* Treatments performed by therapists that are not authorized healthcare professionals, where authorized healthcare professionals are those practicing what is proven by science.
* Treatments performed by authorized healthcare professionals, but those based on methods otherwise used mainly outside the healthcare system, which is based on science in Denmark. People without a healthcare authorisation must be able to perform the treatments.

===Institutions===
The World Health Organization defines complementary and alternative medicine as a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country's own tradition and are not integrated into the dominant health care system.<ref name="WHO"/>

In a consensus report released in 2005, entitled ''Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States'', the [[Institute of Medicine]] (IOM) defined complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as the non-dominant approach to medicine in a given culture and historical period.<ref name=IOM>{{cite web |url=http://iom.edu/Reports/2005/Complementary-and-Alternative-Medicine-in-the-United-States.aspx |title=Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States |publisher=United States [[Institute of Medicine]] |pages=16–20 |date=12 January 2005 |quote=Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad domain of resources that encompasses health systems, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period. CAM includes such resources perceived by their users as associated with positive health outcomes. Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and the domain of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed. |accessdate=2011-01-18 }}</ref> A similar definition has been adopted by the Cochrane Collaboration,<ref name=Zollman/><ref name=Cochranedefinition /> and official government bodies such as the UK Department of Health.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthimprovement/Complementaryandalternativemedicine/index.htm |title=Complementary and alternative medicine : Department of Health – Public health |work=Department of Health |accessdate=}}</ref> The [[Cochrane Collaboration]] Complementary Medicine Field definition is "complementary medicine includes all such practices and ideas that are outside the domain of conventional medicine in several countries and defined by its users as preventing or treating illness, or promoting health and well-being."<ref name=Cochranedefinition>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clabout/articles/CE000052/frame.html |title=Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field |work=Cochrane COllaboration |accessdate=}}</ref> While some herbal therapies are mainstream in Europe, but are alternative in the United States.<ref name=CompAltMentalHealth>{{cite book |author=Walter R., PhD. Frontera; DeLisa, Joel A.; Gans, Bruce M.; NICHOLAS E. WALSH |title=Physical medicine and rehabilitation: principles and practice |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year=2005 |pages=Chapter 19 |isbn=978-0-7817-4130-9 |oclc= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=1sWk1GYCvKoC&printsec=frontcover |accessdate=}}</ref>

===Special terminology used by selected individuals===
According to Roberta Bivens, alternative medical systems can only exist when there is a identifiable, regularized and authoritative medical orthodoxy, such as arose in the west during the nineteenth-century, to which they can function or act as an alternative.<ref name="Bivins2007p171">{{cite book|last=Bivins|first=Roberta|title=Alternative Medicine? A History|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199218875|url=http://books.google.ie/books/about/Alternative_Medicine_A_History.html?id=_x1zg5GPgxgC&redir_esc=y|year=2007|page=171}}</ref> Two advocates of integrative medicine claim that it also addresses alleged problems with medicine based on science, which are not addressed by CAM; [[Ralph Snyderman]] and [[Andrew Weil]] state that "integrative medicine is not synonymous with complementary and alternative medicine. It has a far larger meaning and mission in that it calls for restoration of the focus of medicine on health and healing and emphasizes the centrality of the patient-physician relationship."<ref name=Snyderman>{{cite journal |author=Snyderman R, Weil AT |title=Integrative medicine: bringing medicine back to its roots |journal=Archives of Internal Medicine |volume=162 |issue=4 |pages=395–7 |year=2002 |month=February |pmid=11863470 |doi=10.1001/archinte.162.4.395}}</ref> <!-- WE CAN'T USE PROJECTIONS SEVERAL YEARS AFTER THE FACT; ALSO, THE ESTIMATE IS UNCITED In 2002, the growth estimate during the years 1995 to 2005 in the USA and other developed countries for the number of chiropractors, acupuncturists, naturopaths, and other nonphysician clinicians was double that of physicians.<ref name=Cassileth>{{cite journal | author = Cassileth, Barrie R. | title = The Role of Complementary & Alternative Medicine: Accommodating Pluralism | journal = NEJM | volume = 347 | pages = 860–861 | year = 2002 | doi = 10.1056/NEJM200209123471123 | issue = 11}}</ref>-->

== Academic resources ==
* [http://www.vifab.dk/uk/cochrane+and+alternative+medicine Cochrane and alternative medicine] (full lists of updated reviews found on [http://www.vifab.dk/uk Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine])

== See also ==
* [[Alternative cancer treatments]]
* [[Health freedom movement]]
* [[History of alternative medicine]]
* [[List of branches of alternative medicine]]
* [[Program for Evaluating Complementary Medicine]]
* [[Shakoor v Situ]]
* [[Traditional medicine]]
* [[Folk medicine]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book
| last = Bausell | first = R. Barker
| year = 2007
| title = Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Complementary and Alternative Medicine
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|isbn = 978-0-19-531368-0
}}
* Benedetti F, Maggi G, Lopiano L. "Open Versus Hidden Medical Treatments: The Patient's Knowledge About a Therapy Affects the Therapy Outcome." ''Prevention & Treatment'', 2003; '''6'''(1), [http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/pre/6/1/1a/ APA online]
* Bivins, Roberta "Alternative Medicine?: A History" Oxford University Press 2008
* Diamond, J. ''Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations'', 2001, ISBN 978-0-09-942833-6 , foreword by [[Richard Dawkins]] reprinted in Dawkins, R., ''A Devil's Chaplain'', 2003, ISBN 978-0-7538-1750-6 .
* {{cite journal |author=Downing AM, Hunter DG |title=Validating clinical reasoning: a question of perspective, but whose perspective? |journal=Manual Therapy |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=117–9 |year=2003 |month=May |pmid=12890440 |doi=10.1016/S1356-689X(02)00077-2}}
* {{cite journal |author=Eisenberg DM |title=Advising patients who seek alternative medical therapies |journal=Annals of Internal Medicine |volume=127 |issue=1 |pages=61–9 |year=1997 |month=July |pmid=9214254 |doi=10.1059/0003-4819-127-1-199707010-00010}}
* {{cite journal |author=Gunn IP |title=A critique of Michael L. Millenson's book, Demanding medical excellence: doctors and accountability in the information age, and its relevance to CRNAs and nursing |journal=AANA Journal |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=575–82 |year=1998 |month=December |pmid=10488264}}
* {{cite book |author=Hand, Wayland Debs |year=1980 |chapter=Folk Magical Medicine and Symbolism in the West |title=Magical Medicine |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |pages=305–19 |isbn= 978-0-520-04129-5 |oclc=6420468}}
* {{cite book |authorlink=Ivan Illich |author=Illich, Ivan |title=Limits to medicine : medical nemesis : the expropriation of health |publisher=Penguin |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-14-022009-4 |oclc=4134656 }}
* {{cite book |author=[[Mayo Clinic]] |title=Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine: The New Approach to Using the Best of Natural Therapies and Conventional Medicine |location=Parsippany, New Jersey |publisher=[[Time Inc]] Home Entertainment |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-933405-92-6}}
* {{cite journal |author=Phillips Stevens Jr. |month=November/December |year=2001 |title=Magical Thinking in Complementary and Alternative Medicine |work=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] Magazine }}
* {{cite book |author=Planer, Felix E. |year=1988 |title=Superstition |edition=Revised |location=Buffalo, New York |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-0-87975-494-5 |oclc=18616238}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.cwru.edu/med/epidbio/mphp439/Sources_of_Healthcare.htm |author=Rosenfeld, Anna |title=Where Do Americans Go for Healthcare? |publisher=[[Case Western Reserve University]] |location=[[Cleveland, Ohio]] |year=circa 2000 |accessdate=23 September 2010}}
* {{cite book | last=Singh | first=S | authorlink =Simon Singh | coauthors=[[Edzard Ernst|Ernst E]] | year = 2008 | title = [[Trick or Treatment|Trick or treatment: The undeniable facts about alternative medicine]] | isbn =978-0-393-06661-6 <!-- isbn-status = May be invalid – please double check -->|oclc=181139440 | publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company|Norton]] }}; [http://books.google.com/books?id=bZjlC2LELlIC preview at [[Google Book Search|Google Books]] ]
* {{cite journal |author=Tonelli MR |title=The limits of evidence-based medicine |journal=Respiratory Care |volume=46 |issue=12 |pages=1435–40; discussion 1440–1 |year=2001 |month=December |pmid=11728302}}
* {{cite book |editor=Trivieri Larry, Jr. |editor2=Anderson, John W. |title=Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide |location=Berkeley |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-58761-141-4}}
* {{cite book |author=Wisneski LA, Anderson L |title=The Scientific Basis of Integrative Medicine |publisher=CRC Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8493-2081-1 }}
* {{cite journal|author=Zalewski Z |title=Importance of philosophy of science to the history of medical thinking |journal=[[CMJ]] |year=1999 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=8–13 |url=http://www.bsb.mefst.hr/cmj/1999/4001/400102.htm |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20040206092548/http://www.bsb.mefst.hr/cmj/1999/4001/400102.htm |archivedate = 2004-02-06}}

=== World Health Organization publication ===
* [http://apps.who.int/bookorders/anglais/detart1.jsp?sesslan=1&codlan=1&codcol=15&codcch=614 WHO Global Atlas of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine]

=== Journals dedicated to alternative medicine research ===
* Alternative therapies in health and medicine. Aliso Viejo, CA : InnoVision Communications, c1995- NLM ID: [http://locatorplus.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v2=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=9502013&Search_Code=0359&CNT=20&SID=1 9502013]
* Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic. Sandpoint, Idaho : Thorne Research, Inc., c1996- NLM ID: [http://locatorplus.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v2=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=9705340&Search_Code=0359&CNT=20&SID=1 9705340]
* [http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882 BMC complementary and alternative medicine]. London : BioMed Central, 2001- NLM ID: [http://locatorplus.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v2=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=101088661&Search_Code=0359&CNT=20&SID=1 101088661]
* Complementary therapies in medicine. Edinburgh ; New York : Churchill Livingstone, c1993- NLM ID: [http://locatorplus.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v2=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=9308777&Search_Code=0359&CNT=20&SID=1 9308777]
* [http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/ Evidence based complementary and alternative medicine]
* [http://www.openmindjournals.com/EBInteg.html Evidence Based journal of Integrative medicine]
* [http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=JournalHome&ProduktNr=224242 Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine]
* [http://www.jintmed.org/ Journal of Integrative medicine.]
* [http://www.liebertpub.com/products/product.aspx?pid=26 Journal for Alternative and Complementary Medicine] New York, NY : Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., c1995
* [http://www.sram.org/index.html Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine (SRAM)]

==External links==
* [http://nccam.nih.gov/ The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]: U.S. [[National Institutes of Health]]
* [http://www.cancer.gov/cam/ The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine]: U.S. [[National Cancer Institute]], National Institutes of Health
* [http://www.vifab.dk/uk Knowledge and Research Center for Alternative Medicine]: Denmark, the Ministry of the Interior and Health
*[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/content/eto_5_3x_guidelines_for_using_complementary_and_alternative_methods.asp Guidelines For Using Complementary and Alternative Methods]: from the [[American Cancer Society]]
* [http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ Complementary and Alternative Medicine Index]: from the [[University of Maryland, Baltimore|University of Maryland Medical Center]]
* [http://www.fammed.wisc.edu/integrative/modules Integrative Medicine Podcasts and Handouts]: Teaching modules from the [[University of Wisconsin]] Integrative Medicine Program
* [http://www.open2.net/alternativemedicine/index.html "Alternative Medicine"]: A BBC/Open University television series that examines the evidence scientifically
* [http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alternative-medicine/PN00001 "Complementary and alternative medicine: What is it?"]: from the [[Mayo Clinic]]
* [http://www.naturalstandard.com/ Natural Standard Research Collaboration]
* [http://www.medicalvideos.us/alternative-medicine/ Alternative Medicine Health Directory]
* [http://www.pbs.org/saf/1210/index.html A Different Way to Heal?] and [http://www.pbs.org/saf/1210/video/watchonline.htm Videos]: from [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] and [[Scientific American Frontiers]]
* [http://www.pbs.org/kcet/closertotruth/explore/show_11.html Who Gets to Validate Alternative Medicine?]: from [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]

===Criticism===
* [http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/remedy.html Davis, Adam Brooke. "A Few Words About Folk Medicine/"] Folklorist argues against uncritical use of traditional healing practices, especially by non-members of the cultures which generate the traditions
* [http://www.theness.com/what-is-complementary-and-alternative-medicine/ What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine?] – [[Steven Novella]], MD
* [http://www.skepdic.com/althelth.html "Alternative" health practice] – [[Skeptic's Dictionary]]
* [http://www.quackwatch.org Quackwatch.org] – [[Stephen Barrett]] (See also: [[Quackwatch]])<!--- DO NOT REMOVE! DOCUMENTATION FOR QUACKWATCH AS A RELIABLE SOURCE ABOUT CAM: Among many other sources listed on the Quackwatch article, the [[American Cancer Society]] lists Quackwatch as one of ten reputable sources of information about Alternative and Complementary Therapies in their book "Cancer Medicine",<ref name=ACS>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?indexed=google&rid=cmed6.table.18497 Reputable Sources of Information about Alternative and Complementary Therapies] – [[American Cancer Society]] {{Wayback|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?indexed=google&rid=cmed6.table.18497|date =20090306160714}}</ref> and lists it as one of four sources for information about Alternative & Complementary Therapies in an article about on-line cancer information and support.<ref name=ACS_info>[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ESN/content/ESN_2_4X_Cancer_information_and_support_available_online.asp Cancer Information & Support Available Online] – [[American Cancer Society]] {{Wayback|url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ESN/content/ESN_2_4X_Cancer_information_and_support_available_online.asp|date =20110605180613}}</ref> It also uses Quackwatch as a reference in a long series of articles on many forms of alternative medicine.<ref name=ACS_altmed_series>[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GWYE_enUS238US238&q=quackwatch+site%3Acancer.org&btnG=Search A Google search lists a long series of articles] on many forms of alternative medicine on the [[American Cancer Society]] website that use Quackwatch as a source.</ref> -->
* [http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=4690&cn=452 ''Healing, Hype, or Harm? A Critical Analysis of Complementary or Alternative Medicine'', by Edzard Ernst (Editor) (2008), reviewed in ''Metapsychology''.]
* [http://whatstheharm.net/ What's the harm?] Website listing cases of people harmed by various alternative treatments.

{{Traditional Medicine}}
{{Medicinal herbs & fungi}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alternative Medicine}}
[[Category:Alternative medicine| ]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]

[[ar:طب بديل]]
[[bg:Алтернативна медицина]]
[[ca:Medicina alternativa]]
[[cs:Alternativní medicína]]
[[da:Alternativ behandling]]
[[de:Alternativmedizin]]
[[et:Alternatiivmeditsiin]]
[[el:Εναλλακτική ιατρική]]
[[es:Medicina alternativa]]
[[eo:Alternativa medicino]]
[[eu:Medikuntza alternatibo]]
[[fa:پزشکی جایگزین]]
[[fr:Médecine non conventionnelle]]
[[ko:대체의학]]
[[hi:वैकल्पिक चिकित्सा]]
[[hr:Alternativna medicina]]
[[it:Medicina alternativa]]
[[he:רפואה אלטרנטיבית]]
[[kn:ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಔಷಧ]]
[[ka:ალტერნატიული მედიცინა]]
[[lt:Alternatyvioji medicina]]
[[hu:Alternatív gyógymód]]
[[ms:Perubatan alternatif]]
[[nl:Alternatieve geneeswijze]]
[[ja:代替医療]]
[[no:Alternativ medisin]]
[[pl:Medycyna niekonwencjonalna]]
[[pt:Medicina alternativa]]
[[ro:Medicină complementară și alternativă#Terapiile alternative]]
[[ru:Нетрадиционная медицина]]
[[simple:Alternative medicine]]
[[sl:Zdravilstvo]]
[[sr:Алтернативна медицина]]
[[sh:Alternativna medicina]]
[[fi:Uskomuslääkintä]]
[[sv:Alternativmedicin]]
[[th:การแพทย์ทางเลือก]]
[[tr:Alternatif tıp]]
[[uk:Альтернативна медицина]]
[[zh:替代医学]]

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