Alternative medicine describes practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. Complementary medicine describes alternative medicine used in conjunction with conventional medicine. The term complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is an umbrella term for both branches. Alternative medicine includes practices that incorporate spiritual, metaphysical, or religious underpinnings; non-European medical traditions or newly developed approaches to healing.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines complementary and alternative medicine as "a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine". It also defines integrative medicine as "mainstream medical therapies and CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness" . Ralph Snyderman and Andrew Weil state "integrative medicine is not synonymous with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). 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" [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11863470 PMID 11863470.

Proponents of evidence-based medicine regard the distinction between conventional and alternative medicines as false, preferring "good medicine" with provable efficacy and "bad medicine" without. "Bad medicine" is any treatment where the efficacy and safety of which has not been verified through peer-reviewed, double blind placebo controlled studies, regarded as the "gold standard" for determining the efficacy of a compound. It is thus possible for a method to change categories in either direction, based on increased knowledge of its effectiveness or lack thereof. Richard Dawkins, Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, argues that alternative medicine should be defined as that set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested or consistently fail tests. He also states that "There is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work."

More on [ Alternative medicine ]

Alternative Medicine - Twitter Search

The Alternative Medicine Cabinet: Ginger - http://bit.ly/3sgIGp
egbonedoc (Dr. Eric Eakin, DC) Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:32:40 -0000
The Alternative Medicine Cabinet: Ginger - http://bit.ly/3sgIGp
Elvis curing sick people over 30 yrs after his death ...: Parapsychology and alternative medicine forum. Part of.. http://bit.ly/3h1d5a
Reikimastering (Miranda Greer) Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:32:38 -0000
Elvis curing sick people over 30 yrs after his death ...: Parapsychology and alternative medicine forum. Part of.. http://bit.ly/3h1d5a
Mercolia ~ Natural Health Products that Work!! http://Mercolia.com #natural #health #alternative #medicine
discountproduct (Product Promotions) Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:31:08 -0000
Mercolia ~ Natural Health Products that Work!! http://Mercolia.com #natural #health #alternative #medicine
Americans Spend Billions on Alternative Medicine: http://ow.ly/v4Sb
IngerJLAc (Inger Johnson, L.Ac.) Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:01:46 -0000
Americans Spend Billions on Alternative Medicine: http://ow.ly/v4Sb
Alternative Medicine: Different Approaches to Overall Better ... http://bit.ly/BcSyy
BalanceUrHealth (Liisa Freystatter) Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:38:04 -0000
Alternative Medicine: Different Approaches to Overall Better ... http://bit.ly/BcSyy
Alternative Medicine €” What Works And Doesn't Work? http://bit.ly/2DYC8L
tweetfreeleads (TweetMeLeads) Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:11:48 -0000
Alternative Medicine €” What Works And Doesn't Work? http://bit.ly/2DYC8L

Subscribe to Alternative_Medicine RSS feed