When some people hear "alternative health", their tendency is to scoff. Often, those whose scorn for this viable option is loudest are those who have no experience with alternative health. While some might think that herbal remedies and "natural" medicine is "just for my hippie neighbor" or "my deadhead brother", many of the methodologies and treatment options offered by alternative health care (known also as holistic medicine or naturopathy) are quite effective, especially for those who may have tried many different modern medical treatments without success. Natural medicine is a legitimate course of study at many medical institutions, and can be a helpful addition to a healthy lifestyle and regular medical checkups. So, what exactly does alternative health entail, and how is it different from what we think of as the norm of modern medical practice? Read below for the answers to these and other important questions.

What we think of as alternative medicine can also often be described quite accurately as Chinese or Eastern medicine. Our western counterpart (doctors, hospitals, and clinics) has been the mainstream choice for so long that we forget many other parts of the world take an entirely different approach to staying healthy. For example, the most common treatment in China for localized pain relief (localized meaning located in a particular place such as hip, back, knee, or neck pain) is acupuncture, something that has only begun to become popular in the West in the past few decades. Acupuncture is the ancient eastern art of inserting needles into particular areas designated as "pressure points" that have a large cluster of nerve endings and then running an electric current into those needles to essentially "jump start" the nerves. Although this might seem primitive or even barbarous, it works, as a majority of people who have experienced it would attest. Often, patients with chronic pain find relief from acupuncture after spending years taking all sorts of western drug therapies to no avail. This might seem surprising, but the concept makes sense when you boil it down to the basics: nerves work using electrical impulses, so theoretically an electric current from a good conductor like a needle, when placed properly, should short circuit pain signals sent to the brain. It is more than a theory, however, it has worked for many people, and it continues to provide relief from a variety of ailments from fibromyalgia to cancer.

Another type of alternative medicine also has its roots in the so called far east. Herbal remedies, many of which are now proven to positive effects on the human body, originated in china thousands of years ago. This notwithstanding, herbal treatments are a powerful supplement to modern western medicine. Herbs such as St. Johns Wart have been proven effective at modifying brain chemistry in a similar way to modern anti-depressants do. Herbs such as Milk Thistle have been show to have positive effects on liver and kidney function. In fact, there seems to be an herb, fruit, or plant that effectively assists in treating all variety of common ailments, from digestive health (cranberry fruit and leaf) to insomnia (valerian root and kava root).

The reason it has taken so long for herbal therapy to catch on in the west is that these therapies are cheap alternatives to modern drugs that can make millions of dollars for western drug companies. Therefore these companies have discouraged the use of herbs as treatment by paying doctors and hospitals to prescribe their drugs rather than use cheaper herbal remedies that essentially provide the same function in the human body. This is not to say that modern drugs such as anti-biotics should be replaced with herbal treatments, but rather that often, herbs can provide a helpful addition to modern medicine in many cases.

While you can find a literal flood of information on the internet regarding herbal remedies and home cures, you can be sure that any website that is also selling herbal products would like to make you believe that their methods work, even if they don't. So make sure you take any website like that with a grain of salt. If you really want to find out what sort of herbal, natural treatments will aid productively in your health and even help prevent disease, you should seek the expert advice of a certified Naturopath. In fact, many doctors recommend naturopathy to their patients these days, knowing that the holistic approach naturopathy provides can greatly aid their own efforts. Also, a certified naturopath will understand that many herbs and natural remedies can have adverse interactions with common drugs, and will know when to caution patients against such interactions. That is why it is so important to have the expert medical advice of your primary care practitioner and a naturopathic expert to make sure you won't end up the victim of an adverse reaction.

So, to answer the two questions posed at the beginning of this article, alternative medicine is just that: an alternative option to modern medicine involving things such as acupuncture, herbal remedies, chiropractic treatments, or therapeutic massage such as shiatsu or Swedish. It is different than traditional western medicine in that it stems from eastern origins and often takes a more holistic approach (treating a patients mind, body, and spirit etc.) than modern western medicine does. It also often costs significantly less than doctors appointments and modern drug therapies, and can often be covered by health insurance providers if you receive a referral from your doctor.