The term alternative medicine describes therapies that do not use the scientific method and do not have biological plausibility, testability or repeatability. Such practices are often based on anecdotes, superstition, religion, tradition, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, and other unscientific sources. Source :https://familyintegrativemedicine.com/
Alternative medicines include herbal and dietary supplements, such as vitamins and minerals; acupuncture; homeopathy; and some mind-body treatments like tai chi and yoga. These practices can be used along with conventional medicine or as a replacement for it. When combined with conventional medicine, the practice is called complementary or integrative medicine. People who choose only alternative medicine may call it holistic or natural medicine.
Nature’s Remedies: Embracing Holistic Healing with Alternative Medicine Practices
A large number of people in the United States use alternative medical practices. Some are looking for something to cure them of a specific illness, while others are interested in general wellness or spiritual healing. Others are disappointed with the results of conventional medical treatment.
Researchers, such as epidemiologists, clinical statisticians and pharmacologists, use clinical trials to reveal whether a therapeutic solution is effective for a particular condition. Physicians can then offer patients a therapy best known to work. Alternative practitioners, however, either reject clinical trials or make them difficult to conduct.
Some practitioners of alternative medicine claim that their practices are based on sound principles and that they have been tested by generations of practitioners. Other practitioners use testimonials, anecdotes and beliefs in supernatural “energies”, to support their claims. Individuals who experience success with one form of alternative medicine for a minor health problem may be convinced that other forms of alternative therapy will also be effective for them and extrapolate those successes to other ailments. Scientifically unsupported health practices can be expensive and deprive individuals of other, more effective treatments.