The Latest Survey Will Be Misused By The Alternatives To Medicine Folks

"Any use of treatments and products that are not based on reasonable scientific evidence and plausibility is a complete waste of money, most of which is out of pocket. These treatments can also distract from actually effective treatments, or use up limited resources so that patients do not have the money for effective treatments. There is real harm to relying on nonsense for health care.

"But the numbers are not as bad as the headlines make it seem, because they are grossly inflated by “gray zone” products and services, and basic lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, and relaxation.

"Alternative medicine, in other words, remains on the fringe. Proponents, however, have made unfortunate progress in infiltrating the health care system, largely through inflating its apparent popularity."

Update on Use of Alternative Medicine