Archive: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Alternative Medicine Spending Soars
The amount of money that Americans are shelling out for herbal supplements, meditation, acupuncture and other forms of "alternative" medical care is continuing to skyrocket, according to a new government data out today. Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on "complementary and alternative" or CAM therapies in 2007, according to the...
By Rob Stein | July 30, 2009; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (10)
Life's Big Questions: What Should My Stool Look Like?
In ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system, one seeks to balance one's doshas, or basic life energies, to achieve physical and psychological health. A good way to determine whether those doshas -- known as vata, pitta and kapha -- are out of balance is to look carefully at what you...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | May 19, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
Does Acupuncture Help Your Back?
Lots of people swear by acupuncture for all sorts of things, including relieving back aches. Well, there's an interesting new study out this week that raises some provocative questions about how well acupuncture really works. Daniel Cherkin of the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle and his colleagues...
By Rob Stein | May 14, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (19)
One Miracle Berry That Lives Up to Hype
I've just had the sweetest, most delightful afternoon snack. First, I ate two slices of lemon. Then a spoonful of sour cream. And a drop of hot sauce, followed by a taste of unsweetened cocoa. Finally, the piece de resistance: a hunk of red bell pepper. The lemon and pepper...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | March 31, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
A Conversation about Constipation
Let's chat about constipation. That invitation alone ought to provide a certain relief to some of the estimated 4 million Americans who suffer from recurrent constipation. After all, for such a common problem, it's not one we discuss much. As they say, misery loves company.... I got to thinking about...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | March 24, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
A New Wind A-Blowin' for Medical Marijuana?
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Wednesday that federal law-enforcement officials will no longer go after providers of marijuana that's used for medicinal purposes in the 13 states in which medical marijuana is legal unless that service is just a front for unlawful activities. That announcement will no doubt...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | March 20, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (29)
Do We Need NCCAM?
I was just about to start writing this blog about yesterday's thought-provoking article regarding some legislators' calls to eliminate the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). But before I got going I remembered I wanted to do a bit of preliminary research in preparation for next Tuesday's...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | March 18, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (11)
Green Tea Setback?
Green tea has a growing reputation as a health-promoting dietary supplement. Research in recent years has shown that it may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and several kinds of cancer, for instance. Many people use green tea to help cope with chemotherapy's side effects. But a new study casts a...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | February 9, 2009; 07:30 AM ET | Comments (7)
Are There Toxins in Your Herbs?
There's some disturbing news for those who use ayurvedic medicine: Many of the herbal products sold on the Internet for ayurveda contain dangerous leavels of lead, mercury and arsenic, according to a new study. Ayurveda is an ancient form of medicine that orginated in India and uses herbal products, including...
By Rob Stein | August 28, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Unwittingly Practicing CAM?
A study to appear in the September 1 issue of Cancer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) journal, found that many cancer survivors use some form of complementary medicine -- treatments that aren't fully supported by science and that lie outside traditional Western medicine. ("Complementary" means they're being used along with...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | August 13, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
Is Soy Safe -- or Scary?
A study I reported on briefly in yesterday's health section suggests a possible link between men's soy intake and reduced sperm concentration. The Soyfoods Association of North America quickly issued a statement debunking that study. This isn't the first time soy's risk/benefit ratio has been called into question. In fact,...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | July 30, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (27)
How Well Do You Know Your Massage Therapist?
Besides the obvious horrors the recent arrest of Radovan Karadzic dredged up, it was really freaky to find out that the Butcher of Bosnia, murderer of a reported 8,000 men and boys, has apparently for years been practicing complementary medicine in Belgrade under the pseudonym Dragan Dabic. Among the...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | July 23, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (6)
The NIH and The Woo-Woo Thing
Any yoga enthusiast (including me) will tell you that the ancient practice of yoking breath to bodily motion is good for your body, mind, and soul. But it's taken the mainstream medical community some time to view yoga as a demonstrably effective treatment for illness or tool for preventing disease....
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | May 21, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
Laughter Yoga. No Joke!
I don't normally find yoga all that funny, except sometimes when I tip over during tree pose and fall in a heap on the floor. But then again, I've never tried laughter yoga. Devised in India in the mid-1990s by Madan Kataria and brought to the U.S. by a handful...
By Jennifer LaRue Huget | May 9, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
