I need to get into this. I think I'm going to start grinding up my lawn clippings and shove them into capsules to "help one balance their chi."

I had to try it out since the 800B that I spent on traditional western medicine didn't seem to help me, at all!

@PSUSkier: I would so become an alternative "medicine" practitioner if I were less ethical and wanted to get rich off of the stupid.

Not everything that is lumped into alternative or complimentary medicine is snake oil. The people asking you to send them $79.95 for the miracle cure of mystery ingredients or claiming to detox your liver are certainly the snake oil salesmen.

The exact exercises and stretching given to me by multiple western medicine doctors and physical therapists are also yoga moves.

So is "alternative medicine/treatments" defined as anything that is not approved by the FDA to treat, diagnose, or cure a disease or ailment (referencing the fine print at the bottom of TV commercials for unregulated products)?

I, personally, have problems sleeping and was not willing to go on a Rx sleep aid for this problem. Cost and side effects were a big factor for me. Instead, I adjusted my night-time rituals/habits and take 6mcg of melatonin 45 min before bed. Out like a light every time and no side effects. (I'm speaking personally about my own experience - I know other people may not have had much luck with it.)

@bohemian: No, but the vast majority of it is. Particularly homeopathy. :P

@Vanilla5: Melatonin is a human hormone... I wouldn't lump it in with herbs and sugar pills.

@jmurphy42: Sure. But this particular figure is including OTC stuff that doctors frequently recommend (fish oil, glucosamine), modalities that actually score above placebo in blinded tests (acupuncture for pain relief), and specific kinds of exercise, which is, you know, exercise.

If you're just looking at the sociological phenomenon, it makes sense to lump those together with chakra adjustment and toxin-removing footpads, but from an actual health standpoint, it's worth paying attention to the individual item and not just the overall category.

It's not just alternative medicine. It's also the search for the new exotic fruit with miracle healing powers.

A few years ago, it was pomegranate, then it was mangosteen. Now it is acai berry.

You can string these wack jobs along for years if you stay up to date.

Are Cheerios included in this figure?

@bohemian: My ENT told me that using a neti pot and regular old salt is a great idea, and to keep going.

@Vanilla5:
It's nice that it worked for you... that doesn't mean it's not snake oil. The placebo effect is real, powerful, and works even on people who are skeptical.

Again, I'm not saying it didn't work for you - clearly, it did. But correlation is not causation.

(sigh) his chakras are fading....

@dohtem: Yes, these are all just substitutes for eating a low fat, lower carb, un(or less)processed, balanced and varied diet. It's a food version of get rich quick scheme.

@jmurphy42: Yoga, Meditation, accupuncture, certain chiropractic adjustments, neti pots, glucosamine, fish oil, bromelain, massage and many other things that are considered alternative have some well founded research and are regularly prescribed by western medicine doctors.

Homeopathy ranks up there with toxic removing foot pads and getting your liver detoxed. There is a wide variety of things all lumped together. Homeopathy is not on par with the many things proven to work.

@Laura Northrup: The Neti Pot is one of the best products I've ever used.

@jmurphy42: Yes, but it's considered alternative anyway.

Also, who considers sugar pills alternative therapy?

@Vanilla5: Valerian root is an herb but will knock many people out as well as Valium. It has far fewer side effects than Ambien. I have not heard of anyone waking up in the middle of the night sleep driving to work naked

@bohemian: um on Valerian Root.

@jmurphy42: Well, that's why I'm trying to figure out what they mean by "alternative medicine." Sure, it's a hormone that the body produces naturally, but an imbalance of it can throw off your circadian rhythm, causing serious sleep problems. It's also found in the vitamins & supplements aisle - much like the aisle in the above picture.

@tungstencoil: That's why I disclaimed that this is how I fixed my own problem. And I lied - one side effect: VERY vivid dreams. No night terrors/nightmares though. It's really interesting, actually.

If only we could reallocate some portion of that $34B to soaps and deodorant ...

If by alternative medicine, you mean vodka, then hell yes I have been.

@bohemian: I'd heard about valerian root but wasn't as familiar with it as I was with melatonin. I've heard it does have opiate or narcotic-like effects but wasn't sure if it had addictive properties or if it couldn't be mixed with alcohol (meaning, I didn't really do a whole lot of homework on it).

Granted, the label says you shouldn't mix alcohol and melatonin either - but a half a glass of wine and my dose of melatonin is deep sleep city for me on nights where I just can't get to sleep fast enough. (I, of course, don't advocate this or use it as a general way to use it).

So does that mean you drive to work naked while not on valerian root? Just curious.

Population of the US: 307 million.
GDP of the US: $14 Trillion.

The total annual consumption of anything in this country is going to be a big number.

@Laura Northrup: I've been told to try out the neti pot but it looks horribly uncomfortable.

I prefer working WITH docs & orthopods & rheumatologists. They screen my clients for serious health problems out of my scope of practice.

I worked in Europe for about 6 years and celebrated the day the Swiss health system stopped paying for homeopathy. They still pay for manual therapy of many kinds, because it's been proved cheaper than surgeries for neck pain & carpal tunnel problems.
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Back in the US, the basic lack of education in terms of the physics of the human body appalls me. I can relieve sciatica in one session, using my elbow. Carpal tunnel is another problem which responds to manual therapy more reliably than surgery.
[www.vilain.com]

Go here to learn how to vet Alt practitioners:
[nccam.nih.gov]

People come to bodyworkers because the "drugs & surgery" routine doctors are taught is expensive, not always effective, and liable to serious side effects. Even DOs who have access to simple manual techniques which can solve these problems, tend not to use them.
Why?
There are no stockholders for manual therapists. Except for chiropractors, most of us are operating in some kind of organizational shadow.

There are no stockholders for manual techniques. No one makes money off a drug or device.
No alternative practitioner who keeps to their ethics, doesn't sell supplements or succumb to marketing crap, is going to get filthy rich.

Sorry.
Compost your lawn clippings, and call me in the morning.

Emily D-G

Those faith healers charge a lot.

If only stupidity was fatal...the idiots who believe this crap, and other wackos like Jenny McCarthy, wouldn't be able to continue to piss in our gene pool.

Sadly, these magnificent morons live plenty long enough to squander ridiculous amounts of money on pure bullshit "alternative" stuff, and frequently breed and pass on their morony to their spawn.

The only thing that "alternative" medicine is an "alternative" to is reality. If you can't deal with reality, just drink heavily like the rest of us, and stop pretending your Ginkoba-Acai-MyOwnUrine-Magnet therapy is doing anything other than labeling you as an idiot of biblibal proportions. Speaking of which...

There is no such thing as "alternative" medicine.

If it is a product that actually cures an illness or alleviates pain, then regardless of origin, it is medicine.

If it doesn't do these things - i.e., it DOESN'T WORK and any relief is essentially due to a placebo effect - then it isn't medicine. Period. And it doesn't matter whether it's Astro-Zeneca or your friendly neighborhood homeopathic supplier who made it.

And, oh yeah, there really isn't a better method than a double-blind controlled study to determine what works and what doesn't.

But isn't that substantial after you subtract the $33.9B spent on marijuana.

@bohemian:

If it's demonstrated to work, it's not "alternative medicine" any more, it becomes normal medicine at that point.

I know I could say something about government run health care and alternative medicines both being voodoo, but they include things like Chiropractors in this study so it makes me wonder what else they added to this...

@PSUSkier: I've been meaning to sell our leftover sawdust as "natural exfoliant"

@thegirls: BOOM! head shot!

@YouDidWhatNow?: If I want to spend money on it then it is my choice; the Gov sure as hell isn't covering any of it and neither is my insurance provider. If you want to bitch about health care dollars being squandered than picket your local fast food chain not the natural health clinics...

There's no difference between the 'moron' buying a freakin' Acai drink mix on QVC and the 'moron' that starts taking aspirin daily because a Bayer commercial tells them "it's good for your heart?" Both are uninformed and looking for a quick fix...

@highpitch_83:

Ummm, no. There are documented, properly researched reasons why it may be a good idea to regularly take aspirin. There is categorically no properly researched reason why you should even think about acai, or any of that other BS.

...here's your sign.