This is not to say that Western medicine does not under certain circumstances adopt certain alternative medicine practices. This is usually only done once a alternative medicine process has been tested and proved to be a healing process. This is when "conventional" medicine and alternative medicine merge. This is especially true when it comes to herbal supplements and remedies.



There probably isn't any other alternative healing process that put Western medicinal practitioners in such a bind. They struggle with the validity of the claims made by different manufacturers of these herbal supplements. Doctors want to make sure that you are taking something that is going to help you and not hurt you. As much as we don't want to admit it, there are companies out there that just want to get our money, and then we are victims of fraud. Proof that it is working is the influx of herbal remedies and supplements on the market. There has to be a way for consumers to be protected.

The first line of defense is to check the label of the supplement. Is there a stamp of approval from an agency you can trust? What you are looking for is a validating stamp from either the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) or the NSF International. It is highly recommend that you do not purchase or use any supplement that does not have this stamp. If the stamp isn't on the label then that implies that it did not meet the standards of these organizations and therefore you could be a victim of fraud. Top universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke have made it possible for you to be protected thanks to their in depth research.

The goal of their research is to find the herbal supplements and remedies that actually work and to figure out how they work. This has helped prove the benefits of alternative healing processes such as acupuncture and glucosamine for the treatment of pain as well as guided imagery and various other supplements to help treat the side effect of PMS. While supplements such as calcium and magnesium do help, know that they also take time to work in some cases 6 to 8 weeks.

You should consult valid practitioners of alternative medicine when you want to use particular herbal supplements. Valid practitioners are those who belong to the Consortium for Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. They have studied alternative treatments and can help you find the right medicines and treatment plans for you. When you don't seek professional advice you should at least check that the product has the NSF or USP stamp on it.

There are some proponents of alternative medicine that are actually opposed to the agencies such as the FDA, NSF and USP regulating herbal supplements. The reason behind their complaints is that they feel that the guidelines these agencies use are so restrictive that they are actually preventing help to those people that need it. At the same time that they do not want herbal remedies and such to be regulated they also want the FDA to punish manufacturers of fraudulent products.

Universities are already offering bachelors degrees in Naturopathy. In India, research into these treatments is carried out by AYUSH, the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy. Make sure you don't fall for treatments that do not have any basis or validation.