CDC: Alternative Medicine Gains Popularity

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CDC: Alternative Medicine Gains Popularity

By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - Alternative medicine ‹ including yoga, meditation, herbs and the

Atkins diet ‹ appears to be growing in popularity in the United States,

perhaps because of dissatisfaction with conventional care, the government

said Thursday.

More than a third of American adults used such practices in 2002, according

to the government survey of 31,000 people, the largest study on

non-conventional medical approaches in the United States.

If prayer is included, about 62 percent of U.S. adults used some form of

alternative medicine.

The results seem to indicate more people are turning to alternative

medicine, though the 2002 survey could not be directly compared to previous

studies because of differences in size and survey methods, health officials

said.

The top alternative therapies included prayer (43 percent of adults),

natural products (19 percent), meditation (8 percent) and diets such as

Atkins, Ornish, or the Zone (4 percent).

More people also are using natural products such as herbs or enzymes to

treat chronic or recurring pain, said Nahin of the National Center

for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes

of Health (news - web sites).

" Many conditions are not easily treated with conventional medicine, " Nahin

said. " It may be the public is turning to complementary and alternative

medicine because it's not getting relief from conventional medicine. "

But people should not be turning away from conventional treatments that are

proven safe, said Dr. Straus, director of the alternative medicine

center.

" People are making individual decisions to neglect those therapies and we

have concerns about those choices, " he said.

Health officials said they were concerned that 13 percent of those surveyed

said they turned to alternative medicine because regular medicine is too

expensive.

" It needs to be explored ‹ we need to find out whether they were insured or

not, " Nahin said.

Health officials also were surprised that 6.6 percent of those surveyed used

the supplement kava kava, which has been associated with liver disease.

" People make the assumption that because something is natural that it's

safe, " Nahin said. " But a number of studies have shown that natural products

can be unsafe when used inappropriately or with other drugs. "

He said people considering using alternative medicine should consult their

doctor first.

[Guest guest]

> CDC: Alternative Medicine Gains Popularity

> ATLANTA - Alternative medicine ‹ including yoga, meditation, herbs

and the

> Atkins diet ‹ appears to be growing in popularity in the United

States,

I see a chiropractor, massage therapist, Reiki healer, and

acupuncturist on a regular basis. I practice gentle yoga, Qigong, and

meditation. I take supplements and am a co-op shopper; I'm meticulous

about eating well.

I also take Plaquenil, Vioxx, and Methotrexate and have confidence in

mainstream medicine.

It works for me!

Sierra