Only a decade ago, alternative medicine in America was a bunch of unrecognized theories used by hippies and New Age enthusiasts. Like the environmental movement alternative medicine has now become an accepted part of mainstream culture. The rise in interest in alternati

With all of the benefits of alternative medicine it is surprising that conventional medicine has not been abolished already. The problem is that most people do not know about the alternatives that are available to them. Medical doctors need to be educated in the field of alternative medicine so they can better help their patients. Also many people are afraid to try something new, especially treatments that are not recognized by the medical community. More research and promotion needs to be put into alternative medicine in order to show society the option that they posses. Taking drugs seems a lot easier to most then trying to have a better mental state. With the promotion of alternative medicine conventional medicine will be a thing of the past.

Holistic medicine in another main entity in alternative medicine. The extreme specialization of conventional medicine has caused many people to seek out alternative practitioners who will see them as whole human beings, as opposed to an organ. Holistic practitioners consider that the mind, body and spirit to be one, and in order to heal the body one must first understand and heal the mind. Practitioners of holistic medicine do not use medication because they believe that the body can heal itself through the mind. Good health is a positive state, not merely an absence of disease. Prevention is the first priority. They teach to pay more attention to the impact of the environment on the body, examining more thoroughly the kind of food you are eating, whether of not you smoke, how much you drink, how much you exercise, and how happy you are in life. Conventional medicine does look at some of these aspects, but in treating the body medical doctors often wound their patients by not looking at them on an emotional and spiritual level. When a patient visits a holistic doctor, they not only receive help for their physical body but for their mind as well. It is common knowledge that our mind controls our body. We see this through our everyday actions, such as walking or eating. So if our mind is directly connected to our body, we must make sure that our mind is well so our body can survive. Medical science, although it does not condone holism, has proved the mind/body connection with the use of placebos. Placebos do not contain any medical ingredients, but are in fact in most cases made up of sugar. Medical doctors prescribe these to patients who have not responded to former treatment and are just searching for another drug. In most cases the patient is cured by this "pill" because their m

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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)