Are Alternative Therapies Truly Helpful?

Recent headlines in the news question the effectiveness of 'natural' supplements and other alternative therapies. But are alternative remedies really helpful or are we just wasting our money? The answer is 'yes' and 'no' at the same time.

'Yes' in that many herbs, supplements, and alternative therapies may work as intended because of appropriate application and dosage, purity and quality of substance, considering other existing physical conditions, care when mixing with other ingested substances, and especially one's state of mind.

'No' in that many herbs, supplements, and alternative therapies don't work as intended because of inappropriate application and dosage, impurity and low quality of substance, not considering other existing physical conditions, improper mixture with other ingested substances, and especially one's state of mind.

In other words, healing is relative to so many unique and individual factors that to put any kind of therapy under the microscope or observe in a laboratory may be a futile exercise. They can be effective or ineffective depending on an infinite number of influences.

Accompanying one of the articles about the ineffectiveness of alternative therapies was a poll that asked, "How do you feel about alternative remedies?" After I clicked on the link and answered the question, I saw the results that showed the breakdown of the responses:

• 16.5 percent think it's 'great' used in conjunction with traditional Western medicine.
• 6.5 percent claim they are big believers in alternative remedies and use them exclusively.
• 76.1 percent were skeptical.
• 0.9 percent didn't know.

Many respondents stated they want proof that alternative remedies work as promised. Because of the public's desire to have efficacy claims validated, the U.S. government has spent $2.5 billion over the past 10 years to test for results. And after testing, results showed most of them don't work any better than placebo. The ones researchers claim as useless for their intended purposes include:

• Echinacea
• Black cohosh
• Saw palmetto
• Ginkgo biloba
• Glucosamine and chondroitin
• Shark cartilage
• Distance healing
• Magnets

With so many factors involved in recovering from illness, it's no wonder many treatments are proven ineffective. And how did some of these remedies, such as magnets, gain a reputation for working miracles? If they never worked, why did people ever bother to buy them?

One explanation could be the placebo phenomenon, and that any initial therapeutic results actually stem from the power of our own minds in conjunction with our 'naïve' belief in the substance or practice as something miraculous. Over time, as its popularity grows and usage increases, more inquiring minds who are less prone to experiencing the placebo effect insist on more laboratory-produced proof as to why and how it works. When research repeatedly dispels rumors of effectiveness, fewer people are then less likely to believe in its curative abilities and therefore becomes less effective.

Ones that U.S. government researchers found effective include ginger for nausea, acupuncture for certain conditions, and yoga, meditation, and massage to relieve pain, anxiety, and fatigue. The positive therapeutic benefits from mindful relaxation techniques that arose from the U.S. government's studies also point to the power of the mind as a reliable, powerful form of healing.

As more of these mind-over-matter types of healing results continue to be documented, more research is being conducted on the placebo phenomenon to help increase awareness of the true healing mechanism that ultimately occurs, such as the pioneering studies undertaken by Fabrizio Benedetti, Professor at the University of Turin Medical School in Italy.

Until we reach that point of understanding about our own abilities to shape the outcome of our lives, the majority of us will continue to invest in what medical authorities say is most effective — regardless of the side effects or cost. And as pharmaceutical companies observe us embracing alternative remedies and witness the accompanying growing profits, they're now jumping into the 'alternative remedies' stream and flowing with the wave of the latest trend in healing.

This text by Linda Sue Anderson of HolisticFuture.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.