Consumer health basics (13)
- Organ donation: Don't let these 10 myths confuse you
- How to cut your medical costs: Do's and don'ts
- Clinical trials: A chance to try evolving therapies
- see all in Consumer health basics
Alternative medicine (9)
- Hypnosis: Another way to manage pain, kick bad habits
- Complementary and alternative medicine: What is it?
- Alternative medicine: Evaluate claims of treatment success
- see all in Alternative medicine
Medications (5)
- Medication errors: Cut your risk with these tips
- Pain medications: Read the label before you buy
- Buying prescription drugs online: The do's and don'ts
- see all in Medications
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
continued:
Complementary and alternative medicine: What is it?
Why is there a lack of evidence about complementary and alternative treatments?
One reason for the lack of research in complementary and alternative treatments is that large, carefully controlled medical studies are costly. Trials for conventional medications or procedures are often directly or indirectly funded by the government or drug companies, giving conventional treatments more resources to do studies. CAM trials are more difficult to fund, so there are fewer trials. Nonetheless, a number of studies are under way on CAM treatments ranging from herbs to yoga. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is the lead U.S. agency that supports research into complementary and alternative treatments, and it makes research findings available on its Web site.
Talk to your doctor about risks and benefits of complementary and alternative treatments
Work with your conventional medical doctor to help you make informed decisions regarding complementary and alternative treatments. Even if your doctor can't recommend a specific complementary and alternative treatment, he or she can help you understand possible risks and benefits before you try a treatment. Though some of these treatments can be helpful, many have side effects and can cause problems with certain medications or health conditions. A final piece of advice: Don't forget to tell your primary care doctor if you're using any alternative therapies. And don't stop or change your conventional treatment — such as your prescription medications — without talking to your doctor first.
Previous page(2 of 2)
- Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2009/073009.htm. Accessed Sept. 22, 2009.
- CAM basics. National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/overview.htm. Accessed Sept. 22, 2009.
- About NCCAM. National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/about. Accessed Sept. 23, 2009.
- 'Miracle' health claims: Add a dose of skepticism. U.S. Federal Trade Commission. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/health/hea07.shtm. Accessed Sept. 22, 2009.
