- Alternative medicine consists of wide range of health care
practices, products and therapies.
- It is a claim to heal that is
not based on scientific method.
- Alternative medicine practises
are diverse in theit foundations and methodologies
- Alternative medicine practises may be classified by their
cultural origins or by the types of beliefs upon which they are
based.
- Methods may incorporate or be based on traditional medicinal
practises of a particular culture, folk knowledge, superstition,
spiritual belief in supernatural energies, pseudoscience, errors in
reasoning propaganda, fraud, new or different concepts of health
and disease, and any bases other than being proven by scientific
methods.
- Different cultures may have their own unique traditional or
belief based practices.
- Alternative medical systems may be based on traditional
medicine practices, such as traditional chinese medicine, Ayurveda
in india or practices of the other cultures around the world.
- since ancient times, in many parts of the world a number of
herbs reputed to possess abortifacient properties have been uses in
folk medicine.
Alternative medicine, such as using naturopathy
or homeopathy in place of conventional medicine, traditional
chinese medicine, ayurveda would be a type of healthcare delivery
system based on belief systems not grounded in science.
- NATUROPATHY: Naturopathic medicine is based on
a belief that the body heals itself using a supernatural vital
energy that guides bodily processes.
- HOMEOPATHY: Homeopathy is a belief that a
substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people
cures similar symptoms in sick people.
- Traditional chinese medicine:
accupuncture(insertion of needles in body at specified
points), massage, exrecise and diet therapy
- AYURVEDA: Ayurveds believes in the existence
of three elemental substances, the doshas called vata, pitta and
kapha