More people are seeking out traditional forms of medicine, from acupuncture to herbal medicines. The WHO is working to develop standards to make these healing practices implementable on a wide scale.
Many elite athletes turn to alternative therapies to improve performance and enhance recovery. But are these treatments helping or hindering their quest for sporting success?
Australian parents who visit complementary health practitioners are less likely to vaccinate their kids. But could these practitioners be best placed to educate sceptical parents about vaccination?
Ken Harvey, Monash University dan Bruce Baer Arnold, University of Canberra
There is currently a weak process of checking claims made in advertisements for medicines, to ensure they don’t mislead or deceive consumers -this could be abandoned if a bill passes parliament.
Would you trust a complementary medicine described as “vermifuge”, “vulnerary” or “emmenagogue”? That’s what new labelling proposes and not everyone’s happy about it.
If the Therapeutic Goods Administration implements new proposals to regulate complementary medicines, you can be more confident they actually do what they say on the packet.
Protein supplements are all the rage for fitness fanatics and those hoping to boost their muscles – but do they contain as much protein as they claim to?
There is nothing more likely to raise the hackles of any self-respecting rationalist than to be confronted with the latest celebrity story about the miraculous healing power of homeopathy or some other…
Recent German research found that more than 70% of people with cancer supplement their regular hospital treatment with complementary and alternative medicine. More worryingly, many do so without advising…
PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Aromatherapy is based on the idea that aromatic substances, usually the essential oils of plants…