Alternative Medicine Research Sponsored By Government
To help the pubic better understand the effects of complimentary and alternative medicine, a national center covers all alternative medicine research and concludes the benefits of any new type of medicine or treatment. Any new practice or procedure that offers positive benefits are distributed to patients, practitioners and the public by the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. Research is also controlled by the organization, which offers grants for additional studies.
Virtually any type of treatment or medicine not fully embraced by the mainstream medical community is considered an alternative practice and many of the treatments they use are the result of hundreds of years of alternative medicine research. Ancient Chinese medical practice, ancient Indian medicine and those developed in Ancient Egypt are often the base for today's alternative therapies. Continuing alternative medicine research into the use of botanicals in medicine continues to find new uses for the herbs and spices that have been is use for centuries.
There are numerous claims being made by manufacturers of herbal medicines and the purpose of alternative medicine research is party to determine the accuracy of the claims. Most treatments containing only natural ingredients are not governed by the Food and Drug Administration and some fear that many of the products being sold do not live up to the promises or worse, really have no benefit whatsoever.
Research Searches For Botanical Options
Virtually all synthetic medicines have the potential for side effects, as anything foreign entering the body may be unrecognizable by the system and simply ignored. By ending up in fatty tissue or other tissues in the system it is not metabolized and passed through in a timely manner. Some stay in the system for months after the initial treatment has stopped. Through alternative medicine research, ingredients are assured of being metabolized and removed from the system through natural processes, without causing adverse side effects.
Some individuals may be susceptible to allergic reactions to certain synthetic formulations and alternative medicine research seeks to provide natural compounds that can treat the symptoms without causing the negative reactions. Based on ancient theories, alternative medicine research can also differentiate between viable medical treatments and a bottle of snake oil.
Regardless of the discipline of alternative medicine, research attempts to prove or disprove any benefits claimed by the distributor of various products. It can also determine the effectiveness of the certain products compared to claims and how they may be beneficial to other issues as well.