Question: What alternative medicine has been proven to be the most effective?

(Posted by: on 2011-11-20 18:11:46)

I understand different types of alternative medicine are used to treat different ailments. But in general what type of alternative medicine is the most effective at treating what it purports to cure? For your answer can you give an example of the type of ailment and what it is exactly that the alternative medicine does to cure it so I have a better understanding?

Posted by: Gary Y on 2011-11-20, 18:34:38

"BETHESDA, Md. — Ten years ago the government set out to test herbal and other alternative health remedies to find the ones that work. After spending $2.5 billion, the disappointing answer seems to be that almost none of them do. Echinacea for colds. Ginkgo biloba for memory. Glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis. Black cohosh for menopausal hot flashes. Saw palmetto for prostate problems. Shark cartilage for cancer. All proved no better than dummy pills in big studies funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The lone exception: ginger capsules may help chemotherapy nausea. " msnbc.msn.com/ id/ 31190909/ #.Tsm47rLhdtM ------- EDIT: @playground love - SJW has not been "proven " effective. From the NCCAM: "Studies suggest that St. John's wort is of minimal benefit in treating major depression. A study cofunded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) found that St. John's wort was no more effective than placebo in treating major depression of moderate severity. There is some scientific evidence that St. John's wort is useful for milder forms of depression. " Also: neuroskeptic.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 07/ st-johns-wort-perfect-antidepressant-if.html However, it may well be the "alternative medicine has been proven to be the most effective ", as asked. Naturopathy may be evidence based, but that does not mean the evidence is any good. Numerous naturopaths all over the world offer homeopathy.

Posted by: playground love on 2011-11-20, 20:55:25

Lol @ person quoting msn Well for one, Nutrition is a big part of Naturopathy. Nutrition does not need to be proven - we already know a lot of facts about vitamins, minerals etc. There are also supplements relating to nutrition like pro biotics, enzymes, antioxidants etc etc which are proven. Herbal medicine is also a big part. Many herbal medicines have been proven. You need to look on quality peer reviewed journals - use PubMed and find research articals/ clinical trials if you really want to know. St Johns Wort has been proven to be as effective as antidepressant on mild to moderate depression for example. There are alternative therapies like homeopathy, reiki, etc... called "vibrational medicine " which have not been proven and are not evidence based medicine. However Naturopathy is evidence-based medicine and is a Health Science degree.

Posted by: 134 on 2011-11-20, 21:59:58

Vitamin c , this is just one example Native Americans had concocted the first cure for scurvy. They drank a tea consisting of pine bark and needles. Jacques Cartier, a French explorer who had lost 25 members of his crew before the natives taught him this remedy, brought this marvelous cure back to France in 1536 where it was immediately dismissed by the medical profession who knew better than a bunch of wild savages. = = = = = = = = = = = = = I can give you my personal brief story of a staph infection I had , I was taking vitamin d for a flu , a high dose for 3 days , it got rid of the flu and sore throat , at that time I already had a staph infection on my leg and after a few days of the vitamin d it began to go away and in a couple of weeks it was gone , it was a large boil , I had no idea vitamin d would do that . I still take vit d = = = = = = = = = = = not all but many diseases are nutritional deficiencies ,

Posted by: thenoseknows on 2011-11-22, 03:38:49

Homeopathy. See extraordinarymedicine.org There is no other medical discipline that has such a traceable history of cured clinical cases. It's the second largest form of medicine practised worldwide.

Posted by: Rohini on 2011-11-23, 05:27:53

Ayurveda ha proved to be the most effective alternative treatment. Ayurveda treats the root cause of the disease with minimal chances of recurrence. Ayurveda can treat most of the chronic diseases. Check the list of disease that can be treated with ayurveda at AyurVAID Hospital, India's 1st and only NABH ccredited Ayurveda hospital and also learn their treatment procedure.ayurvaid.com/ diseases-conditions