Americans Spend Billions on Alternative Medicine

By Rachel Stockton (rachels@foodconsumer.org) 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Thursday that Americans spent 34 billion dollars in 2007 on alternative medicine.

A cross section of the 70,000 people were queried on how much they spent on such things as organic foods, yoga, massage, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and various supplements.

The question that begs to be asked in this regard is why are Americans turning to alternative forms of treatment when the United States is considered a world leader when it comes to progressive health care?

Dr. Karen Dees, board certified nutritionist in Boston, MA would tell you it's because American patients are becoming more aware of the fact that while healthcare in the United States is fairly effective in fighting disease, it's not particularly savvy when it comes to preventing degenerative and chronic health conditions from actually appearing in the first place.

When it comes to healthcare, we are reactionary, suggests Dees. By this she means that we want to know how to feel better once we've misused our bodies to the point of illness, yet we typically don't have a clue on how to prevent the illness altogether.

Dees also suggests that we are even reactionary once we discover alternative methods; we throw herbs, vitamins and supplements at our health issues once we become ill, but not before.

The NIH survey suggests that Americans are learning to trust the process of regeneration; which, simply put, means that taking care of our bodies needs to be a priori, not something we do merely when things go wrong.

In a recent health care symposium on CNBC, a spokesman for the Milken Institute revealed that 70% of all doctor visits are lifestyle related. For example, America has become increasingly overweight; obesity leads to a plethora of health crises such as diabetes, joint and muscle pain, and some forms of cancer. While the NIH numbers are a mere drop in the bucket when it comes to overall health care expenditures (which is close to $2.2 trillion), some Americans seem to be making the connection between prevention and quality of life.