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An Overview Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine

What is complementary and alternativecomplementary and alternative medicine
medicine? Complementary and alternativepractitioner sees himself or herself as a
medicine usually refers to practices that areteacher and mentor to guide you. You are the
not integrated into conventional medicine.one  who  does  the  healing.
Treatments in the category of complementary
and alternative medicine are constantlyThere are five broad categories the National
changing. Treatments change when studiesInstitute of Health uses for classification
prove  them  to  be  effective  or  not.of therapies used by complementary and
alternative medicine practitioners, they are:
Some of the treatments used in complementary
and  alternative  medicine  are:Â-  Healing  Systems
Â-  HomeopathyÂ-  Mind-Body  Connections
Â-  AyurvedaÂ-  Dietary  Supplements  and  Herbs
Â-  AcupunctureÂ-  Manipulation  and  Touch
Â-  HerbsÂ-  Energy  Therapies
Are the treatments safe and will they work?Contrary to what you might think, most
Educate yourself before starting any newdoctors are not opposed to complementary and
complementary and alternative medicinealternative medicine. About half the doctors
treatment, and always tell your doctor whichin the United States refer people to
ones  you  are  trying.complementary  and alternative practitioners.
The two terms complementary and alternativeOn the dark side is that some alternative
are often grouped together; however, they aremedicine practitioners make exaggerated
not  necessarily  the  same  thing.claims about curing disease. They may ask you
to forsake treatment from your conventional
An example of a complementary treatment woulddoctor to use their unproven treatments. It
be something used along with the conventionalis true also that some forms of alternative
therapies  your  doctor  prescribes.medicine can even hurt you. It is wise to
educate yourself before using treatments, and
Alternative therapies are generally somethingalways discuss your plans to use alternative
used instead of conventional methods. Anand/or conventional treatments with your
example of an alternative therapy orpersonal physician. Your doctor most likely
treatment might be seeing a homeopath oris the best source to help you sort out the
naturopath  instead  of  your regular doctor.good  from  the  bad.
Some complementary and alternative medicineSource:  Mayo  clinic  (2006)
practitioners use similar principles to what
your conventional doctor might do. OthersDisclaimer: *These statements have not been
might be quite different. The basicevaluated by the Food and Drug
philosophies of complementary and alternativeAdministration. This article is not meant to
medicine  include:diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health
problem. Always consult with your health care
Â-  Your  body  heals  itselfprovider  about any kind of a health problem.
Â- Prevention is the most importantThis article is FREE to publish with the
elementresource box. This article was written
(2-2007).
Â- Learning and healing go together. The



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