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What are the benefits of alternative medicine therapies?
One of the major advantages of using alternate treatments is the holistic approach of healing that these treatments usually follow. Holistic medicine treats the whole body and tries to bring about an overall improvement of the patient's health instead of just treating symptoms. Alternative medicine involves you in your own healing process and stimulates the natural healing capabilities of the body. Alternative therapies offer a wide variety of cure options that are not found in conventional treatments. These therapies are also generally thought to be safe and effective - but you should do your homework and research any option that you may be considering as part of your healthcare and well-being. Not all alternative therapies are safe or as carefully regulated as conventional drugs are.
Do alternative treatment methods really cure?
The effectiveness of alternative medicine has been the subject of many studies. Some of these therapies are effective in curing chronic diseases and in relieving stress. Others have not undergone any rigorous scientific evaluation. This does not imply that these are ineffective but merely that their effectiveness has not been proved. According to the studies carried out by the American Medical Association, alternative medicine visits in the US increased from 427 million in 1990 to 629 million in 1997.
We know that there is no cure for cancer. There are conventional therapies like chemotherapy, radiation, which mainly control the spread of the disease. Alternate medicine however helps to control some of the symptoms of certain cancer types. For instance a person often suffers from nausea, pain and fatigue, when diagnosed with colon or breast cancer. Acupuncture (a type of alternate medicinal therapy) helps to find relief from these discomforts. The conclusion follows from studies conducted by NCCAM. The latter also supported the fact that acupuncture indeed helps to relieve the headaches and neck pain linked with brain tumor and throat cancer surgery.
Many believe that alternate medicinal cure is brought about by the belief of the person in the treatment. This effect, known as placebo effect generates a positive feeling. The patient believes he/she can be cured. It is this "faith" in a treatment method that is believed to trigger the healing process. A person's faith in the treatment motivates his body to fight the medical condition that he is suffering from. However there is no conclusive evidence of this healing theory.
There is no conclusive evidence that proves that alternate medicine can indeed cure ailments. Nor are there evidences to suggest that it cannot cure. There are instances when alternative therapies have provided relief. There are still other instances where no "miracle cures" have been worked by alternative medicines.
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