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'''Manisha Koirala''' is a [[Bollywood]] actress. She was born in [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]] on [[August 16]], [[1970]], and studied at the [[Army Public School]], in [[New Delhi]]. Koirala is also an accomplished [[Bharatnatyam]] and [[Manipuri]] dancer.
'''Alternative medicine''' broadly describes methods and practices used in place of [[medicine|conventional medical]] treatments. It may also be described as "diagnosis, treatment, or therapy which can be provided legally by persons who are not licensed to diagnose and treat illness" — although practitioners are frequently so licensed.
Koirala was born into the politically powerful [[Koirala]] family; her father, grandfather, and two of her great uncles were Prime Ministers of Nepal. Her first movie was the Subhash Ghai directed "saudagar" . She later went on to become a [[Maniratnam]] favourite starring in two of his movies [[Bombay]] and [[Dilse]]. Her inability to be choosy among films has almost damaged her career.
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==External link==
The definition of what is and is not 'alternative' changes with time, generally as the result of research and public acceptance. This change in status can work in either direction.
* {{imdb name|id=0463539|name=Manisha Koirala}}
{{Nepal-stub}}
'''Complementary medicine''' uses "alternative" methods and practices alongside conventional medical treatment. '''Integrative medicine''', as defined by the [[National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]], combines conventional medical treatments and alternative treatments for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of their safety and effectiveness [http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/#3]. Collectively, these variations on alternative medicine are often referred to as '''complementary and alternative medicine''' (or simply as '''[[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#CAM|CAM]]''').
{{India-actor-stub}}
[[Category:1970 births|Koirala, Manisha]]
==Overview==
[[Category:Nepalese actors|Koirala, Manisha]]
[[sv:Manisha Koirala]]
Some kinds of alternative [[medicine]] can be [[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#Self-care Modalities|practiced by the individual]] without the need for an alternative medicine practitioner. Others need to be carried out through [[Terms and concepts in alternative medicine#Professionalized Modalities|alternative medicine clinics, GPs or businesses]] which advertise such services. When the service is performed by a conventional physician it is called ''complementary'' or ''integrative'' medicine.
Legal [[jurisdiction]]s differ as to which branches of alternative medicine are legal, which are regulated, and which (if any) are provided by a government-controlled [[health service]]. Regulation does not, however, reflect the effectiveness of the methods used. Some practitioners and branches of alternative medicine have been investigated by governmental agencies for [[quackery|health fraud]], and in a few cases criminal charges have been brought. No branch of medicine is free of [[medical ethics|ethical]] violations.
==Branches of alternative medicine==
The most often used [[branches of alternative medicine]] in the [[United States]] are (Eisenberg ''et al.'', 1998):
# [[acupuncture]]
# [[biofeedback]]
# [[Chinese medicine]]
# [[chiropractic]]
# [[homeopathy]]
# [[hypnotherapy]]
# [[massage therapy]]
# [[naturopathy]]
Psychologists provide alternative medical services when they use [[biofeedback]], [[hypnotherapy]], or [[cognitive behavior therapy]] to treat a [[medical condition]]. A relatively new field in [[psychology]] is [[health psychology]].
Diagnostic specialties of alternative medicine include:
{|
|valign=top|
*[[Applied kinesiology]]
*[[Astrology]]
*[[Auriculotherapy]]
*[[Chinese pulse diagnosis]]
*[[Electrodermal screening]]
*[[Energy diagnosis]]
*[[Hair analysis]]
*[[Herbal crystallization analysis]]
*[[Iridology]]
*[[Medical intuition]]
*[[Phrenology]]
*[[Tongue diagnosis]]
*[[Vega Machines]]
|}
Other branches of alternative/complementary medicine include:
{|
|valign=top|
*[[Alexander Technique]]
*[[Apitherapy]]
*[[Aromatherapy]]
*[[Auriculotherapy]]
*[[Ayurveda]]
*[[Bowen Technique]]
*[[Chelation therapy]]
*[[Chinese medicine]]
*[[Colon Hydrotherapy (Colonics)]]
*[[Color Therapy]]
*[[Craniosacral therapy]]
*[[Crystal healing]]
*[[Ear Candling]]
*[[Faith healing]]
*[[Fasting]]
*[[Feldenkrais]] Method
*[[Flower Essence Therapy]]
*[[Herbal Therapy]]
*[[Isopathy]]
*[[Juicing (Alternative Medicine)|Juicing]]
|valign=top|
*[[Macrobiotic lifestyle]]
*[[Magnetic healing]]
*[[Medical Qigong]]
*[[Medieval medicine|Medieval Western Medicine]]
*[[Metallic Tractors]]
*[[Natural Health]]
*[[Orthomolecular medicine]]
*[[Osteopathy]]
*[[Wilhelm Reich|Orgonomy]]
*[[Radionics]]
*[[Rebirthing-Breathwork]]
*[[Reflexology]]
*[[Reiki]]
*[[Rife Machines]]
*[[Rolfing]]
*[[Shamanism]]
*[[Somapractic]]
*[[Therapeutic Touch]]
*[[Trepanning]]
*[[Urine therapy]]
|}
== Criticism and support for alternative medicine ==
===Criticisms===
Some people define alternative medicine in a derogatory way. [[Richard Dawkins]], professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, defines alternative medicine as ''"that set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested or consistently fail tests"'' (See Diamond 2003). Some feel that the very term "alternative medicine" is misleading, on the belief that these treatments are not a true alternative to regulated conventional medicine.
There is no strict definition as to what constitutes "conventional" or "mainstream" medicines, as opposed to the tag "alternative." One possible definition is that "conventional medicine" is that which is recognized as valid medicine by the majority of the scientific and the health community in the [[Western world]], which aims for standards of proof of efficiency based on [[double-blind]] studies and explanations as to the workings of drugs based on [[biology]] and [[biochemistry]]. Another is that "conventional medicine" is what is licensed as valid medicine by the local governing authority.
There is a concern that patients may delay seeking conventional medicine that could be more effective, whilst they undergo alternative therapies, potentially resulting in harm. <!-- This para probably should go somewhere else, I'm not sure where-->
====Lack of proper testing====
Many forms of alternative medicine are rejected by conventional medicine because the efficacy of the treatments has not been shown through [[double-blind]] [[randomized controlled trial]]s. Where alternative methods provide temporary symptomatic relief, this has been explained by Barry L. Beyerstein, Ph.D as being due to the [[placebo effect]], or to natural healing, or to the cyclic nature of some illnesses.
====Poor diagnosis====
One of the most important concerns of mainstream medical doctors is that alternative medical practitioners sometimes fail to correctly diagnose illnesses, and therefore do not provide safe therapies every time. William T. Jarvis, Ph.D contends in the web article "How Quackery Harms Cancer Patients" that "Dubious therapies can cause death, serious injury, unnecessary suffering, and disfigurement" and gives an example of how an unlicenced naturopath caused a severe disfigurement of a patient. [http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/harmquack.html]
====Criticisms differ for the various branches====
Criticisms of alternative medicine are complicated by the wide variety of alternative medical practices. Critics have been known to dismiss the entire field of alternative medicine based on the failure of one particular method.
However, many of the branches of alternative medicine that have been tested have failed scientific tests. Homeopathy was tested by the team at the [[BBC]]'s [[Horizon]] program. There was a 1 million dollar prize money up for grabs. It failed . Iridology has undergone several tests and failed them all. Naturopathy has been investigated by the [[Australian Committee of Enquiry]] with a view to regulating the industry. The committee concluded, "The Committee does not recommend licensing of naturopaths as a vocational group as it considers that such licensing may give a form of official imprimatur to practices which the Committee considers to be unscientific and, at the best, of marginal efficacy." (See Eisenberg 1997, and Dillard & Ziporyn 1998)
One concern regarding herbal remedies is the toxicity of a few ([[ephedra]] and [[St. John's Wort]], for example) and the assumption by patients that herbal remedies are not as strong as synthetic drugs, resulting in misdoses. [http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/ephedra/december2003/] [http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/special_reports/depression/stjwort.htm] [http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/07/chrisenter.htm] [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/2002/2002_56e.htm]
====Regulation====
Practices terming themselves "alternative medicine" have caused deaths indirectly when patients have used alternatives in attempts to treat such conditions as [[appendicitis]] and failed. Proponents of alternative medicine say that people should be free to choose whatever method of healthcare they want. Critics agree that people should be free to choose, but when choosing people must be certain that whatever method they choose will be safe and effective. People who choose alternative medicine think they are choosing a safe, effective medicine, while they may only be getting [[quackery|quack]] remedies. This can be a particular issue in the treatment of children and animals.
====Testing and studies====
The scientific community argues that many studies carried out by alternative medicine promoters are flawed, as they often use testimonials and [[hearsay]] as evidence, leaving the results open to observer bias. They argue that the only way to counter observer bias is to run a double blind experiment, where neither the patient nor the practitioner knows whether the real treatment is being given or if a [[placebo]] has been administered. This research should then be reviewed by peers to determine the validity of the research methodology.
Testimonials are especially useless in this procedure, because by chance alone some people will get cured and will be able to testify that the method really helped them. Furthermore, if the majority of people using a method do not notice any benefit or even get worse, there will still be a minority that can testify that the method really helped for them. [http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/altbelief.html]
Nonetheless, many mainstream doctors and scientists are open to revising their views of any specific new treatment, if new peer-reviewed evidence comes available. A review of the effectiveness of certain alternative medicine techniques for cancer treatment (Vickers 2004), notes that several studies have found evidence that the [[psychosocial treatment]] of patients by [[psychologist|psychologists]] is linked to survival advantages, but comments that these results are not consistently replicated. The same review also cites studies indicating that several complementary therapies can provide health benefits by affecting cancer-related symptoms, for example, by reducing pain and improving the mood of patients.
Some argue that less research is carried out on alternative medicine because many alternative medicine techniques cannot be patented, and hence there is little financial incentive to study them. Drug research, by contrast, can be very lucrative, which has resulted in funding of trials by pharmaceutical companies. Many people, including conventional and alternative medical practitioners, point out that this funding has led to corruption of the scientific process for approval of drug usage, and that ghostwritten work has appeared in major [[peer review|peer-reviewed]] medical journals. (Flanagin ''et al.'' 1998, Larkin 1999).
===Support===
Advocates of alternative medicine point to a number of different arguments that tend to support the validity of using alternative methods of treatment to treat specific medical conditions.
====Some conventional doctors support CAM====
Many physicians who talk about alternative medical treatments methods do so in a more positive way. In a recent newspaper interview, Dr. Russell Greenfield, said: ''"I tell them 'I'm one of you' and that we have the data - we have the studies, we're not making this up,"'' when talking to other physicians. Dr. Greenfield was referring to published studies on the beneficial effect of [[saw palmetto]] on enlarged [[prostate]]s, and how body work, or [[massage therapy]], is effective for treating [[low back pain|lower back pain]]. Another example from this interview is physician Dr. Karen Koffler who said : ''"I've learned how to balance the intellectual processes of medicine with an intuitive understanding of what this person, this patient really needs to gain strength for healing. That is never taught in medical school and is lost entirely from medicine now."'' (See McClain 2004).
====Alternative medicine is not dangerous, if it is complementary====
The primary objection of the medical community to alternative medicine is that it is done in place of conventional medical treatments. As long as alternative treatments are used along side standard conventional medical treatments, most physicians find complementary medicine acceptable (see comments about alternative versus complementary medicine in Vickers 2004).
Those physicians that practice complementary medicine must obviously see some added value in alternative forms of treatments for their patients. Further, the boundary lines between alternative and mainstream medicine have changed over time. Methods once considered alternative have later been adopted by conventional medicine as physicians gradually incorporate effective branches of alternative medicine of treatment into their conventional medical practices. Supporters of alternative methods suggest that much of what is currently called alternative medicine will be similarly assimilated by the mainstream in the future.
====Scientific research on alternative therapies====
A search on PubMed reveals that there are over 370,000 research papers classified as alternative medicine published in Medline-recognized journals since 1966 in the National Library of Medicine database (such as Kleijnen 1991, Linde 1997, Michalsen 2003, Gonsalkorale 2003, and Berga 2003). There are no publicly available statistics on exactly how many of these studies were controlled, double-blind peer-reviewed experiments or how many produced results supporting alternative medicine or parts thereof.
Specific alternative treatment methods have been shown to be effective for specific medical conditions in recently published research (such as Michalsen 2003, Gonsalkorale 2003, and Berga 2003). Favorable research has been published in research journals recognized by [[Medline]].
In the [[United States]], the [[National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine]], a division of the [[National Institutes of Health]], provides funding and other support for research in alternative medicine. This neither approves or negates CAM, as the NIH often funds speculative research that eventually has no practical value. It does demonstrate that CAM is being seriously considered and evaluated.
The scientific basis of alternative medicine is not as lacking as some critics represent it to be (Ernst 2003) because, conventional medicine has not been as science-based as it is publicly represented to be (Zalewksi 1999). ''Michael L. "Millenson decries the lack of scientific-based medical practice and medicine's failure to wake up due to its own historical studies. He cites data that 85% of current conventional medical practice has not been scientifically validated despite medicine's claims of the physician-scientist."'' (Gunn 1998) Proponents of alternative medicine argue that the mere fact that evidence-based medicine is promoted speaks historically to a practice of medicine that was not completely based on science.
====Alternative medicine as an alternative for the public searching for complementary services====
Alternative medicine can provide the buying public with services not commonly available from conventional medicine. This argument covers a range of areas, such as [[patient empowerment]], alternative methods of [[pain management]], treatment methods that support the [[biopsychosocial model]] of health, cures for specific health concerns, stress reduction services and other preventative health services that are not typically a part of conventional medicine.
====The placebo effect====
The [[placebo effect]] is a problem only when conducting research. In the treatment of patients, the placebo effect always benefits the patient (Benedetti ''et al.'' 2003). Alternative medicine tries to capitalize on the positive effects of the placebo effect.
==Contemporary use of alternative medicine==
[[Edzard Ernst]] wrote in the [[Medical Journal of Australia]] that "''about half the general population in developed countries [use] complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)''" (Ernst 2003), <!-- This is an argument for?!: and it is certainly true that physicians that are subject to disciplinary actions of state licensing boards do offer alternative medicine services to their patients.-->
Increasing numbers of medical colleges have begun offering courses in alternative medicine. For example, the [[University of Arizona]] College of Medicine offers a program in [[Integrative Medicine]] under the leadership of [[Andrew Weil|Dr. Andrew Weil]] which trains physicians in various branches of alternative medicine which "''neither rejects conventional medicine, nor embraces alternative practices uncritically.''" [http://www.ahsc.arizona.edu/opa/horizons/1997/integrate.htm]
===Issues of regulation===
In countries where healthcare is state-funded or funded by medical insurance, alternative therapies are often not covered, and must be paid for by the patient. Further, in some countries, some branches of alternative medicine are not properly regulated. So there is no governmental control on who practices, and no real way of knowing what training or expertise they possess in these countries.
====The current regulatory system and alternative medicine====
Many alternative medicine advocates chafe at the restrictions of government agencies which approve medical treatments (such as the American [[Food and Drug Administration]]) and the agencies' adherence to experimental evaluation methods. They claim that this impedes those seeking to bring new ideas and methods to the public more rapidly, and protest that their contributions and discoveries are unfairly dismissed, overlooked or suppressed. The alternative medicine industry argues that health fraud, when it occurs, should be dealt with appropriately.
===Other issues===
A point often overlooked by some critics of alternative medicine is that their criticisms need not apply to all the different branches — it is not valid to lump all the branches together.<!--POV, needs rephrasing-->
Several health research authors have voiced criticisms of evidence-based medicine (Tonelli 2001, Downing 2003), in effect supporting the value of eclectic branches of alternative medicine which place great value upon the clinical experience of the practitioner.
Alternative medicine may provide health benefits through [[patient empowerment]], by offering more choices to the public, including treatments that are simply not available in conventional medicine. Any positive effects that such alternative medicine treatments offer, even if they are only based on [[placebo effect|placebo effects]], still provide benefits to overall patient health that traditional medicine might not have provided.
== References ==
===Dictionary definitions===
*[http://www.bartleby.com/61/21/A0232125.html Alternative Medicine]
*[http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=Complementary+medicine&action=Search+OMD Complementary medicine]
*[http://www.ahsc.arizona.edu/opa/horizons/1997/integrate.htm Integrative Medicine]: "Program Goals-Train physicians to combine the best ideas and practices of conventional 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://www.catchword.com/titles/10755535.htm The journal of alternative and complementary medicine : research on paradigm, practice, and policy.] New York, NY : Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., c1995- NLM ID: [http://locatorplus.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v2=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=9508124&Search_Code=0359&CNT=20&SID=1 9508124]
* Journal of alternative & complementary medicine. London : Argus Health Publications, c1989- NLM ID: [http://locatorplus.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v2=1&ti=1,1&Search_Arg=9883124&Search_Code=0359&CNT=20&SID=1 9883124]
=== Research articles cited in the text ===
# Kleijnen, J., Knipschild, P., ter Riet, G. Clinical trials of homoeopathy. BMJ. 1991 Feb 9;302(6772):316-23. Erratum in: BMJ 1991 Apr 6;302(6780):818. PMID: 1825800 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1825800&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Linde, K., Clausius, N., Ramirez, G. Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials. Lancet. 1997 Sep 20;350(9081):834-43. Erratum in: Lancet 1998 Jan 17;351(9097):220. PMID: 9310601 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9310601&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Michalsen, A., Ludtke, R., Buhring, M. Thermal hydrotherapy improves quality of life and hemodynamic function in patients with chronic heart failure. Am Heart J. 2003 Oct;146(4):E11. PMID: 14564334 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14564334&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Gonsalkorale, W.M., Miller, V., Afzal, A., Whorwell, P.J. Long term benefits of hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome. Gut. 2003 Nov;52(11):1623-9. PMID: 14570733 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14570733&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Berga, S.L., Marcus, M.D., Loucks, T.L. Recovery of ovarian activity in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea who were treated with cognitive behavior therapy. Fertility and Sterility , Volume 80, Issue 4, Pages 976-981 (October 2003) [http://www.fertstert.org/article/PIIS0015028203011245/abstract Abstract]
# Eisenberg, D.M., Davis, R.B., Ettner, S.L. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997. JAMA. 1998; 280:1569-1575. PMID: 9820257 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9820257&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Ernst, E. Obstacles to research in complementary and alternative medicine. [[Medical Journal of Australia]]. 2003 Sep 15;179(6):279-80. PMID: 12964907 [http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_06_150903/ern10442_fm-1.html MJA online]
# Zalewski, Z. Importance of Philosophy of Science to the History of Medical Thinking. CMJ 1999; 40: 8-13. [http://www.bsb.mefst.hr/cmj/1999/4001/400102.htm CMJ online]
# Downing, A.M., Hunter, D.G. Validating clinical reasoning: a question of perspective, but whose perspective? Man Ther. 2003 May;8(2):117-9. Review. PMID: 12890440 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WN0-487KJXH-3&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2003&_alid=110095405&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=6948&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=8da5eb9e5359691e31c6cee489724da8 Manual Therapy Online]
# Tonelli, M.R. The limits of evidence-based medicine. Respir Care. 2001 Dec;46(12):1435-40; discussion 1440-1. Review. PMID: 11728302 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11728302&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Gunn, I.P. 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. AANA J. 1998 Dec;66(6):575-82. Review. PMID: 10488264 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10488264&dopt=Abstract Abstract]
# Flanagin, A., Carey, L.A., Fontanarosa, P.B. Prevalence of articles with honorary authors and ghost authors in peer-reviewed medical journals. JAMA. 1998 Jul 15;280(3):222-4. [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/280/3/222 Abstract]
# Larkin, M. Whose article is it anyway? Lancet. 1999 Jul 10;354(9173):136. [http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol354/iss9173/full/llan.354.9173.news.3708.1 Editorial]
# Vickers, A. Alternative Cancer Cures: "Unproven" or "Disproven"? CA Cancer J Clin 2004 54: 110-118. [http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/54/2/110 Online]
# Benedetti,F., Maggi,G., Lopiano, L. Open Versus Hidden Medical Treatments: The Patient's Knowledge About a Therapy Affects the Therapy Outcome. Prevention & Treatment, Volume 6, Article 1, posted June 23, 2003. [http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume6/pre0060001a.html APA online]
# Eisenberg DM. Advising patients who seek alternative medical therapies. Ann Intern Med. 1997; 127:61-69. PMID: 9214254 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9214254 Abstract]
=== Other works that discuss alternative medicine ===
* Diamond, J. ''Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations'' 2001 (ISBN 0099428334), foreword by Richard Dawkins reprinted in Dawkins, R. ''A Devil's Chaplain'' 2003 (ISBN 0753817500).
* [http://www.cwru.edu/med/epidbio/mphp439/Sources_of_Healthcare.htm WHERE DO AMERICANS GO FOR HEALTHCARE?] by Anna Rosenfeld, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
*Planer, Felix E. 1988 ''Superstition'' Revised ed. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books
*Hand, Wayland D. 1980 ''Folk Magical Medicine and Symbolism in the West'' in ''Magical Medicine'' Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 305-319.
*Phillips Stevens Jr. Nov./Dec. 2001 ''Magical Thinking in Complementary and Alternative Medicine'' Skeptical Inquirer Magazine, Nov.Dec/2001
* Illich I. Limits to Medicine. Medical Nemesis: The expropriation of Health. Penguin Books, 1976.
* Dillard, James and Terra Ziporyn. ''Alternative Medicine for Dummies''. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., 1998.
==External links==
=== General information about alternative medicine ===
* [http://nccam.nih.gov/ The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine].
* [http://www.ebook2u.com/web/Health/Alternative/ Alternative Medicine Information]
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=Limits&DB=PubMed Entrez PubMed] (medical research paper database).
=== Advocacy of alternative medicine ===
*[http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/Chinese-medicine.html Alternative Medicine: Chinese medicine]
*[http://tutorials.naturalhealthperspective.com/history.html A History of Western Natural Healing Practices]
*[http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/Chinese-medicine-diabetes-background.html Modern Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine - Diabetes]
*[http://www.westonaprice.org/ Weston A. Price Foundation]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/ghostwriting/faq.html Ghostwriting - the basics]
*[http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/alternative-medicine-why-so-popular.html Alternative Medicine] - Why so Popular (an article)
*[http://www.reiki-experts.com Reiki Experts]
* Carla McClain, [http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/printDS/6529.php Weil's integrative medicine gathering steam], ''Arizona Daily Star'', Published: 01-20-2004.
=== Critiques of alternative medicine ===
*[http://www.skepdic.com/tialtmed.html Skeptic's Dictionary: Alternative Medicine]
*[http://www.canoe.ca/HealthAlternative/home.html Alternative medicine: A Skeptical Look]
*[http://www.quackwatch.org/index.html Quack watch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions]
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[[de:Alternativmedizin]]
[[es:Medicina complementaria y alternativa]]
[[nl:Alternatieve geneeswijze]]
[[ja:代替医療]]
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