What resources do you use to determine safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine

 

As with any treatment prior to using complementary health products and practices, it is important to consider safety. Protection depends on the particular treatment and it is important to recognize each complementary product or practice on its own.

For example, mind and body practices such as meditation and yoga are commonly considered safe in healthy individuals when properly practiced. Natural products such as herbal medicines or botanicals are often advertised as dietary supplements and are readily available to customers, but we do not know much about the protection of many of these products,partly because before it is available to the public, a manufacturer does not have to show the safety and efficacy of a dietary supplement.

Below are some resources used to determine safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine:

• The possibilities of drug interactions—for example, research has shown that St. John's wort interacts with drugs such as antidepressants in ways that may interfere with their expected effects.
• Supplements have been found to contain secret prescription medications or other compounds, particularly in dietary supplements advertised for weight loss, sexual health, including erectile dysfunction, and athletic performance or body building.
• Integrative medicine is an approach to medical care that combines standard medicine with CAM practices that have shown through science to be safe and effective. This approach often stresses the patient's preferences, and it attempts to address the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of health.
• Health professionals who hold an M.D. are practicing standard medical treatment. (Medical Physician) or D.O. Degree (Doctor of Osteopathy) Many health care practitioners, such as physical therapists, physician assistants, psychologists, and registered nurses, also do it. Biomedicine, or allopathic, Western, mainstream, orthodox, or regular medicine, can also be called standard medicine. CAM practitioners are also some standard medical care practitioners.
• Along with standard medical care, alternative medicine is used but is not considered standard treatment by itself. The use of acupuncture to help alleviate certain side effects of cancer treatment is an example.

• Instead of standard medical care, alternative drugs are used. Instead of cancer medications administered by an oncologist, one example is using a special diet to treat cancer.