Apparently, conventional physicians deliver only about ten to thirty percent of human health care. The remaining seventy to ninety percent ranges from self-care, to care given in an organized health care system based on alternative therapies. Many cultures have folk medicine traditions that include the use of plants and plant products. In ancient cultures, people methodically collected information on herbs and developed well-defined herbal pharmaceutics. In fact, even in the first half of twentieth century much of the pharmacology of scientific medicine was derived from what we today call - unconventional medicine. Many drugs (almost one-quarter)

Twenty years ago, not many physicians would have advised patients to take such things as folic acid, vitamins or minerals. Medicines like "Hizukit" and "Protek", so popular today in Israel, would not have become nations' number one anti-flue remedy. Thirty years ago, acupuncture and mind-body healing were considered taboo. Now, in clinics and hospitals around the country, non-traditional therapies are becoming more acceptable, as many studies prove them to be successful in treating some chronicle diseases, which couldn't be cured by conventional medicine.

Another very popular technique of alternative medicine is homeopathy. Founded in the eighteenth century by German physician Samuel Hahnemann, it is based on the idea that micro-doses of substances, known in large amounts to cause illness, can treat that illness by stimulating the body's own natural defenses and curative powers. A substantial number of American doctors have been trained in homeopathy, as have countless nurses and even veterinarians. While critics say that homeopathic remedies are no better than water at worst and self-persuasion at best, a research published in the British Medical Journal a few years ago indicates their positive efficacy in treating fever, respiratory infections, digestive diseases, migraine and a form of rheumatic disease. Many doctors say that there are certainly situations where modern medicine is appropriate and lifesaving, but perhaps modern medicine has gone too far toward technology and standard pharmaceuticals and not enough toward some of the early healing methods that have a good record in many cultures.

The last example of alternative medicine techniques is chiropractic science, which is dealing with the relationship between the human body's structure (primarily of the spine) and the functions of many organs. Chiropractic medicine applies such knowledge to diagnosing and treating structural dysfunctions that can affect the nervous system. Chiropractic physicians use manual procedures, not surgical or chemotherapeutic ones. According to some scientific magazine in the U.S., more than 45,000 licensed chiropractors were practicing in the United States. Although chiropractic clearly has some disadvantages, its use of

Some common words found in the essay are:
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