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Arthritis Treated with Alternative Medicine - Alternative Medicine sayno2arthritis.com | Alternative Medicine Quiz | Discover Whether You're An Expert... naturalhealers.com | Center - Alternative, Preventive Medicine & chelation therapy in... drmaulfair.com |
Introduction | Topics | Selected Article | Selected Picture | Contemporary Use of CAM | Quotes| | Did you know? Complementary and Alternative Medicine Alternative medicine describes practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. Complementary medicine describes practices used in conjunction and cooperation with conventional medicine, while integrative medicine is viewed as the best of complementary medicine by its advocates. The list of therapies included under CAM changes over time. If and when an approach regarded as "unproven therapy" is proven to be safe and effective, it may be adopted into conventional health care and over time may cease to be considered "alternative". Definitions and descriptions"Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period. CAM includes all such practices and ideas self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being. Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and the domain of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed." [1] The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines complementary and alternative medicine as "a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine". It also defines integrative medicine as "[combining] mainstream medical therapies and CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness".[2] CAM has been described as comprising "a diverse group of treatments, ranging from symptomatic interventions to be used in conjunction with traditional therapies—therapeutic touch or meditation—to unique treatments meant to replace conventional chemotherapy or surgery. CAM includes complex and longstanding fields of study, such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, and homoeopathy, but can also be as straightforward as taking a specific dietary supplement to lower blood pressure or blood lipid concentrations."[3] Ralph Snyderman and Andrew Weil state "integrative medicine is not synonymous with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It has a far larger meaning and mission in that it calls for restoration of the focus of medicine on health and healing and emphasizes the centrality of the patient-physician relationship".[4] TopicsLooking for a specific topic in CAM?Any branch or form of complementary and alternative medicine can be classified into one of the following commonly used classification systems.
If you are looking for a biography or are not sure what you are looking for then you might prefer to browse the following annotated lists.
Selected ArticleHerbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medicinal botany,[5] medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy. Sometimes the scope of herbal medicine is extended to include fungi and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Many plants synthesize substances that are useful to the maintenance of health in humans and other animals. These include aromatic substances, most of which are phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such as tannins. Many are secondary metabolites, of which at least 12,000 have been isolated — a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. In many cases, these substances (particularly the alkaloids) serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and herbivores. Selected Picture Contemporary Use of CAMThe popularity of CAM therapies is extensive. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine, what was used, and why it was used in the United States during 2002.
Quotes"Avoid nostrums and patent medicines. The habitual use of any drug is harmful. The most eminent physicians are now agreed that very few drugs have any real curative value. The essential thing is right habits of life." John Harvey Kellogg The Simple Life in a Nutshell 1921 Selected BiographySamuel Thomson (born 1769-02-09, died 1843-10-05 in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American herbalist and the founder of the "Thomsonian System" of medicine. As naturopathic physician and author Stan Malstrom has stated. "Samuel Thomson has probably contributed more to the science of herbalogy than any other individual in the history of the United States," although he had no formal medical training.[6] His influence was such that a substantial portion of American families used his medicine and it went on to influence more professional medicine. [7] At a time when so-called "regular doctors" used mercury, arsenic, strychnine, antimony, salt peter, opium and other poisonous materials to induce vomiting or purgation, botanical remedies like lobelia which were cathartic but without toxicity had an attraction. References
Did you know?The 10 most commonly used CAM therapies in the United States during 2002 when use of prayer is excluded. [Full Text pdf, table 1 on page 8]
WikiProjectsWikiProjects that may be of interest to you. Things to do
The WikiProject on Alternative Medicine and Portal A few good places to start would be:
CategoriesCategories are probably Wikipedia's most comprehensive classification system. The major sub-categories overlap each other. Alternative MedicineNCCAM classificationsAlternative medical systems
Biologically based therapies
Energy therapiesManipulative therapyMind-body interventionsOther CategoriesAlternative detoxificationConcepts in alternative medicineLife extensionNatural environment based therapiesOrthomolecular medicineOsteopathic medicinePeople in alternative medicine
Supernatural healingTraditional medicineVitalismWhole medical systemsRelated PortalsWikimedia |
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