Another motivation is the increasing cost of health care — without an increase in the quality of the care, says Dr. Roger Jahnke, doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, chairperson of both the Qigong Department at the Santa Barbara (Calif.) College of Oriental Medicine and the National Qigong Association, and author of "The Healer Within."

A third driver, says Edelberg, is that conventional doctors are coming around to accepting alternative therapies: "More papers are appearing on alternative medicine in conventional medicine journals; there's a National Institutes of Health division on it; and they themselves are experiencing it.

We regularly have doctors coming into our clinic for chiropractic or acupuncture or sending their patients over...Cardiologists are taking antioxidants and vitamins, and psychiatrists are beginning to realize that St. John's wort actually works."

Choosing Safe and Effective Alternative Therapies
Edelberg says attitudes toward alternative medicine still vary greatly by region, but that chiropractic is relatively common as is acupuncture. Usually, the more studies that have confirmed the efficacy of a particular therapy, the greater its acceptance.

For instance a number of controlled studies have proven the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating a variety of conditions, from osteoarthritis to migraine headaches. Other studies have shown positive results in pain management and drug addiction — two areas where conventional medicine is limited.

But as with anything else, it pays to be a careful consumer when it comes to alternative medicine. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, harmful alternative treatments include DMSO, laetrile, snake venom, coffee enemas, ozone generators, and ephedra (also known as ma huang).

Studies have also shown some remedies to be harmless — but not necessarily effective. These include dong quai and wild yam. The latest research on using garlic to reduce blood pressure indicates the effect only lasts several months.

Insurance Coverage for Alternative Medicine
Though popular with the masses, alternative medicine has yet to be embraced by health insurers. In his 1987 testimony to the U.S. Senate, Dr. David Eisenberg described a patient who defined it as "therapies I have had to pay for out of pocket."