What Is The Alternative Medicine Foundation?
Decisions about your health care are important--including decisions about whether to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)A group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine.
There is some misinformation and baseless fears about alternative therapies. There also isn’t as much regulation as there is for modern medicine. As modern medicine becomes more and more complicated and synthesized, there is a growing interest in the effective medical practices of the past. Herbs, aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture, Rieki – all of these are considered alternative therapies. The non-profit Alternative Medicine Foundation hopes to make true information available for anyone deciding on or going through alternative therapies. The Alternative Medicine Foundation does NOT seek to replace one kind of medicine with another – rather, they seek to combine the best of both worlds.
Quick History Of The Alternative Medicine Foundation
The Alternative Medicine Foundation began in Bethesda, Maryland in 1998 in response to the increasing demand of patients who wanted a gentler and safer alternative to harsh medicines with rough side effects. They hope not to just better educate the public about alternative therapies, but the modern medical profession as well.
Modern medicine is a business, and business tends not to like competition…unless their customers demand it. And Westerners have increasingly demanded access to alternative therapies. Some alternative therapies such as hypnotherapy and acupuncture can even be partially covered by some health insurance plans. Check with your particular health insurance plan just to be sure.
The Alternative Medicine Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, formed to:
With so much information about alternative treatments in the media and on the World Wide Web, many people have become skilled at doing their own research and cross checking with friends, family or on-line chat groups. Healthcare consumers nowadays often inform their own physicians about new treatment and trends.
Respond to the public and professional need for responsible and reliable education, information, and dialogue about the integration of alternative and conventional medicine. To conserve and respect the knowledge and practice of indigenous therapies and systems of healthcare. And to promote novel ways to blend ancient practice and modern science for the promotion of health. And to advance the ethical and sustainable development of alternatives to standard care.
The Alternative Medicine Foundation also publishes the journal The Townsend Letter, which is about –surprise, surprise—alternative medicinal therapies. It is written by scientists, researchers, doctors and those in the alternative health field. They do not always claim that alternative therapies are the way to go, but suggest to whom alternative therapies would best benefit.
Alternative Medicine Foundation Offers Free Services
The Alternative Medicine Foundation does not just sponsor talks, classes and a magazine about alternative therapies. It also maintains a website with information free to the public. They also publish free or low cost books available at Amazon.com. They have different rates for medical professionals and for the general public.
Topics included for all minds that need to know are Tibetan Traditional Medicine, Ayurveda, Choosing a Practitioner (of alternative therapies), and topics devoted to specific illnesses such as cancer, autism, women’s health issues and cardiovascular disease.
Some claim that we are currently living in the Information Age. Information is power. And information about something is as important as your health should be easily available to all who ask. That is the goal of the Alternative Medicine Foundation.
Alternative And Complimentary Medicine Organizations
Click Here For The Alternative Medicine Website http://www.amfoundation.org/
Click Here For The National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at National Institutes of Health http://nccam.nih.gov
Who Do You Believe?
There are many warnings in the media about misleading or false information. Several government information clearinghouses and web sites have been developed to guide patients. However, this is not always appropriate for alternative and complementary medicine as these practices are often outside of officially accepted medical practice. On the other hand there are increasing numbers of commercial resources. Books about products or commercial web sites (.com) are developed with the aim of selling particular products, therapies, or practitioners. It is important to be wary of the information they provide. The Resource Guides of the Alternative Medicine Foundation are designed to help you make sense of all the information out there.
The sole purpose of this web site is to provide information about the tradition of alternative medicine. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, prevention or cure of any disease. If you have any serious, acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively.