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COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS: NATUROPATHY AND OTHER THERAPIES
Naturopathy
Naturopaths believe that illness results from violations of natural principles of life in modern societies. They view diseases as the body\'s effort to ward off impurities and harmful substances from the environment. Naturopathic treatment uses substances and forces found in nature: water, magnets, gravity, heat, crystals and minerals, herbs, and even the sun. Practitioners argue that returning to a natural, purified state will restore health.
Thorough training is provided at three naturopathic medical schools in the United States and Canada, and those who receive a naturopathic doctor (N.D.) degree from one of these schools have been through a four-year graduate program that emphasizes humanistically oriented family medicine. As with all practitioners, N.D.s should be checked out.
Some Complementary and Alternative Therapies
Many other therapies exist, including reflexology, iridology (light therapy), aromatherapy, and auramassage, to name a few. Because of a historical bias in the United States against non-allopathic medical treatments along with a general bias toward traditional Western medicine, little has been researched about the effectiveness of CAM treatments. This is changing, however, as public interest in CAM therapies increases and a growing number of scientifically controlled studies examine alternate interventions for common clinical problems. Some of the studies have looked at the treatment of tension headache with chiropractic, deep massage, and acupuncture; the treatment of nicotine withdrawal with electroacupuncture; the treatment of Alzheimer\'s disease with extract of ginkgo biloba; the treatment of cardiovascular disease with garlic-extract therapy; the treatment of the common cold with two echinacea extracts; and the self-treatment of HIV with varying complementary medical strategies. Someone considering CAM treatments should maintain a balance of informed consumerism and some skepticism, all the while remaining open to new possibilities.
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GENERAL HEALTH
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