Alternative Medicine

Systems of medical care that are based on methods of treatment or theories of disease that differ from those taught in recognized western-oriented medical schools.

Sub-headings:

Acupuncture

Chiropractic

Resources in this category:

About.Com: New Age & Metaphysics
http://altreligion.about.com/od/newage1/New_Age_Metaphysics....

"Learn about the varied beliefs and philosophies known collectively as 'New Age.'" Explore esoteric topics such as astral travel, out-of-body experiences, chakras, auras, channeling, spiritism, dream interpretation, Fourth Way, Theosophy, Urantia and weird science.

The Alternative Medicine Homepage
http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html

A well annotated guide to Internet resources, mailing lists and newsgroups, and bibliographic databases relating to alternative medicine.

Alternative Mental Health Online
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/

"The mission of Safe Harbor is to assist and promote non-harmful, alternative (non-psychiatric) methods and practitioners for helping the mentally disturbed." The site includes links to articles about various mental health problems, events & seminars, local chapter information, a support group listserv, and much more.

American Botanical Council Online
http://www.herbalgram.org/

"The American Botanical Council (ABC) was incorporated in November 1988 as a nonprofit education organization. ABC's goals are to educate the public about beneficial herbs and plants and to promote the safe and effective use of medicinal plants." This site provides a nice Herbal FAQ section, as well as links to related sites.

Ask Dr. Weil
http://www.drweil.com/drw/ecs/ask_dr_weil/index.html

An interactive site that features daily health questions from users. Old questions are archived by date or subject. The site also has a searchable directory of local holistic practitioners and a vitamin adviser that takes users through a series of online questions before making recommendations about the kinds of vitamins from which they may benefit.

The Backrubs FAQ
http://www.kjartan.org/backrubfaq/

The six sections of this FAQ are divided into administrivia and acknowledgements, general questions, basics of massage, novice questions, professional massage, and other sources of information. It includes definitions of different types of massage and bodywork.

Christopher Hobbs - Herbal Website
http://www.christopherhobbs.com/

This is a classy, but useful, herbalism site, with a nice bundle of articles on individual herbs and actions, a short history of herbalism, and short descriptions of herbs and remedies for common symptoms.

Health Information-- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/

This page is part of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) website. The page contains links to information for consumers on specific alternative medical treatments. Information is organized under the following headings: Understanding Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Alerts and Advisories, Treatment Information, and additional resources.

Henriette's Herbal Homepage
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/

This is one of the best herbalism sites on the Internet. The large amounts of data include, FAQs about the medical and culinary use of herbs, mailing lists and alt.folklore.herbs archives, and a huge collection of her favorite herbalism links.

Herbal Bookworm
http://www.herbological.com/

This fun book review site focuses primarilly on works of medical herbalism. There are so many books on herbalism, and many of them are of questionable quality. Use this fine site as a guide to separate the wheat from the chaff.

HerbMed
http://www.herbmed.org/

HerbMed is an interactive, electronic herbal database available for professionals, researchers, and the general public, providing links to the scientific data underlying the use of herbs for health. Search for information or browse through an alphabetical list of herbs.

Homeopathy Home Page
http://www.homeopathyhome.com/

Large collection of information on the net relating to homeopathic medicine, including a FAQ.

Howie Brounstein's Home Page
http://home.teleport.com/~howieb/howie.html

Amongst other interesting herbal treats, this site has much information on Wildcrafting herbs (This is a respectful and ecologically aware practice and approach to harvesting herbs). There are also many links to botanical databases.

Medherb.com from Medical Herbalism
http://www.medherb.com/

This large and valuable site includes a great span of material, from discussion boards to journals to school listings and anatomy sites. Also in the medical herbalism site is a fine page giving links to brief histories of herbalism. Sections include, North America, Classic Herbals, Western Medicine, Chinese, Ayurvedic.

Michael Tierra's Planetary Herbology
http://www.planetherbs.com/

One can find great articles by Tierra on this site, as well as extensive links to excellent resources on the practice and history of herbalism.

A Modern Herbal
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html

This classic text, first published in 1931, by Mrs. M. Grieve, is now available online.

National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
http://nccam.nih.gov/

This is the homepage of the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is an institute of the National Institutes of Health which is "dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals." This site includes links to information on alternative medicine and consumer health, research, clinical trials, news and events, and training.

The New Medicine
http://thenewmedicine.org/

A site based on the PBS documentary by the same name, it focuses on integrative medicine and includes video interviews on health issues, a free online health planner, and a history of integrative medicine.

QuackWatch
http://www.quackwatch.org/

"Guide to health fraud, quackery, and intelligent decisionmaking." Browsable collection of articles includes sections on: Questionable Products and Services; Questionable Advice; Consumer Protection; Health Promotion/Consumer Decisions; Consumer Education.

Richters Herbs - Medicinal, Culinary, Aromatic - Plants & Seeds
http://www.richters.com/

This place has a nice "Education and Events" section, including an online seminar on planting seeds and a lecture series that is posted on the site. Also, in the "News and Info" section, the Richters HerbLetter is a great up-to-date news letter on the herbalism scene.

Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute
http://www.rmhiherbal.org/

"RMHI, a private educational and research organization, has offered professional training in Chinese herbal sciences since 1987 (since 1992 in Hot Springs, Montana)." This site has great articles on Chinese and Western herbalism, as well as free access to their online Traditional Chinese Medicine database and library.

The Temple of Yehwe
http://www.vodou.org/

Discussion of Haiti and the Vodoun belief system, the use of herbs and energies in medicine in Haiti, and African presence in the New World.

The World Wide Online Meditation Center
http://www.meditationcenter.com/

This site contains general information on meditation, core meditations on relaxation and stress reduction, and healing meditations using color healing meditation, energy healing meditation, etc. It also provides many links to other meditation-related sites.

Yoga Journal
http://www.yogajournal.com/

Offers an incredible number of articles on yoga practice and philosophy, along with a searchable database of poses. Yoga blogs, newsletters, and videos can also be found here.