Alternative Medicine :: essays papers

Alternative MedicineThroughout recorded history, nation of various cultures have relied on what westbound medical practitioners today holler out alternative medicate. The termalternative medicine covers a broad range of healing philosophies,approaches, and therapies. It frequently describes those treatments and health get by practices that are outside mainstream Western health electric charge.People use these treatments and therapies in a variety of ways. Alternativetherapies used alone are often referred to as alternative when used in combination with other alternative therapies, or in addition to conventionaltherapies they are referred to as complementary. Some therapies are farthestoutside the realm of accepted Western medical theory and practice, but some,like chiropractic treatments, are instantly established in mainstream medicine.Worldwide, only an estimated ten to xxx percent of human health kick isdelivered by conventional, biomedically oriented practitioners ( pa lm ofPractice). The remaining seventy to ninety percent ranges from self-careaccording to folk principles, to care given in an organized health caresystem based on alternative therapies (Fields of Practice). Many cultureshave folk medicine traditions that include the use of plants and plantproducts. In ancient cultures, people methodically collected information onherbs and developed well-defined herbal pharmacopoeias. Indeed, well intothe 20th century much of the pharmacology of scientific medicine wasderived from the herbal lore of native peoples. Many drugs commonly usedtoday are of herbal transmission line one-quarter of the prescription drugs dispensedby fraternity pharmacies in the United States contain at least one activeingredient derived from plant material (Fields of Practice).Twenty years ago, hardly a(prenominal) physicians would have advised patients to take folicacid to prevent birth defects, vitamin E to promote a healthy heart, orvitamin C to bolster their immune systems. save today, doctor and patientalike know of the lifesaving benefits of these vitamins. Twenty years ago,acupuncture, guided imagery, and therapeutic touch were considered outrightquackery. Now, however, in clinics and hospitals around the country,non-traditional therapies are gaining wider acceptance as testimonials andstudies report success using them to treat such chronic maladies as backpain and arthritis.The number of people availing themselves of these alternative therapies isstaggering. In 1991 about blackjack million Americans made four cytosine andtwenty-five million visits to practitioners of these types of alternativemedicine more than the estimated three hundred and eighty-eight millionvisits made to general practitioners that year (Apostolides). The U.S.Department of Education has accredited more than twenty acupuncture schoolsand more than thirty medical schools now offer courses in acupuncture(Lombardo Smith). As the number of Western medical institutions r esearchingalternative therapies increases, the legitimacy of at least some alternativetherapies will overly increase.Alternative Medicine essays papersAlternative MedicineThroughout recorded history, people of various cultures have relied on whatWestern medical practitioners today call alternative medicine. The termalternative medicine covers a broad range of healing philosophies,approaches, and therapies. It generally describes those treatments andhealth care practices that are outside mainstream Western health care.People use these treatments and therapies in a variety of ways. Alternativetherapies used alone are often referred to as alternative when used incombination with other alternative therapies, or in addition to conventionaltherapies they are referred to as complementary. Some therapies are faroutside the realm of accepted Western medical theory and practice, but some,like chiropractic treatments, are now established in mainstream medicine.Worldwide, only an estimated ten to thirty percent of human health care isdelivered by conventional, biomedically oriented practitioners (Fields ofPractice). The remaining seventy to ninety percent ranges from self-careaccording to folk principles, to care given in an organized health caresystem based on alternative therapies (Fields of Practice). Many cultureshave folk medicine traditions that include the use of plants and plantproducts. In ancient cultures, people methodically collected information onherbs and developed well-defined herbal pharmacopoeias. Indeed, well intothe twentieth century much of the pharmacology of scientific medicine wasderived from the herbal lore of native peoples. Many drugs commonly usedtoday are of herbal origin one-quarter of the prescription drugs dispensedby community pharmacies in the United States contain at least one activeingredient derived from plant material (Fields of Practice).Twenty years ago, few physicians would have advised patients to take folicacid to prevent birt h defects, vitamin E to promote a healthy heart, orvitamin C to bolster their immune systems. Yet today, doctor and patientalike know of the lifesaving benefits of these vitamins. Twenty years ago,acupuncture, guided imagery, and therapeutic touch were considered outrightquackery. Now, however, in clinics and hospitals around the country,non-traditional therapies are gaining wider acceptance as testimonials andstudies report success using them to treat such chronic maladies as backpain and arthritis.The number of people availing themselves of these alternative therapies isstaggering. In 1991 about twenty-one million Americans made four hundred andtwenty-five million visits to practitioners of these types of alternativemedicine more than the estimated three hundred and eighty-eight millionvisits made to general practitioners that year (Apostolides). The U.S.Department of Education has accredited more than twenty acupuncture schoolsand more than thirty medical schools now offer course s in acupuncture(Lombardo Smith). As the number of Western medical institutions researchingalternative therapies increases, the legitimacy of at least some alternativetherapies will also increase.