Be Wary of Alternative Health Methods

Under the rules of science, people who make the claims bear the burden of proof. It is their responsibility to conduct suitable studies and report them in sufficient detail to permit evaluation and confirmation by others. Instead of subjecting their work to scientific standards, promoters of questionable "alternatives" would like to change the rules by which they are judged and regulated. "Alternative" promoters may give lip service to these standards. However, they regard personal experience, New England Journal of Medicine
subjective judgment, and emotional satisfaction as preferable to objectivity and hard evidence. Instead of conducting scientific studies, they use anecdotes and testimonials to promote their practices and political maneuvering to keep regulatory agencies at bay. As noted in a recent New England Journal of Medicine editorial:

What most sets alternative medicine apart . . . is that it   has not been scientifically tested and its advocates largely   deny the need for such testing. By testing, we mean the marshaling   of rigorous evidence of safety and efficacy, as required by the   Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the approval of drugs   and by the best peer-reviewed medical journals for the publication   of research reports. Of course, many treatments used in conventional   medicine have not been rigorously tested, either, but the scientific   community generally acknowledges that this is a failing that   needs to be remedied. Many advocates of alternative medicine,   in contrast, believe the scientific method is simply not applicable   to their remedies. . . . .

Alternative medicine also distinguishes itself by an ideology   that largely ignores biologic mechanisms, often disparage modern   science, and relies on what are purported to be ancient practices   and natural remedies (which are seen as somehow being simultaneously   more potent and less toxic than conventional medicine).
Accordingly,   herbs or mixtures of herbs are considered superior to the active   compounds isolated in the laboratory. And healing methods such   as homeopathy and therapeutic touch are fervently promoted despite   not only the lack of good clinical evidence of effectiveness,   but the presence of a rationale that violates fundamental scientific   laws -- surely a circumstance that requires more, rather than   less, evidence [5].
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