In recent years, popularity of alternative medicine has steadily increased.

Despite that the majority of

doctors do not support such methods, more and more people prefer to be treated by homeopathy,
chiropractic or crystal healing. However, alternative medicine doesn’t always help to cure diseases, it
even could be dangerous to life.

On the one hand, defenders of alternative medicine claim that their therapies are natural and holistic
whereas conventional medicine is artificial, invasive and treats only separate deceases. In addition, they
often say that the knowledge that they use is thousand years old and was widely used in other non-
European cultures. Commonly it looks very friendly and less dangerous for patients than mainstream
medicine. And naturally, the popularity of alternative medicine rises.

On the other hand, it is important to understand that conventional medicine is scientifically proven
while alternative medicine is not. There aren’t any significant evidence of its efficacy in spite of
conducted researches and millions of dollars spent. Surprisingly, even very popular homeopathic drugs
have not showed any therapeutic effect more than placebo and apparently could not be recommended.
In hospital, where I used to work, I often deal with unconventional families refusing medical treatment
for their children. Although alternative medicine in some cases may be harmless, such wasting of time is
deadly dangerous when it comes to serious diseases like pneumonia.

In conclusion, the growing acceptance and usage of alternative medicine is some kind of social and
cultural phenomenon, but in my opinion, we better off focusing on a medicine which really works.
Moreover, all unproven or disproven methods should be forbidden to use by law.