Alternative Remedies Gaining Popularity

Majority in U.S. Try Some Form, Survey Finds

A majority of Americans are now trying to cure their ills with prayer or unconventional remedies, including herbal tonics, acupuncture, massage and yoga, federal researchers reported yesterday.

A new government survey of more than 31,000 U.S. adults nationwide, the most comprehensive assessment of the use of alternative medicine in the United States, found that 36 percent are using some kind of "complementary and alternative" therapy. That number jumps to 62 percent when prayer is included.

About one-fifth of Americans use "natural" supplements such as herbs and enzymes, with echinacea being the most popular, used by 40 percent of those surveyed, followed by ginseng (24 percent), ginkgo biloba (21 percent) and garlic (19 percent). Twelve percent use deep-breathing exercises for medical reasons, 8 percent meditate, 5 percent do yoga, 5 percent get massages and 4 percent try diets, the survey found.

The findings underscore the need to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of such therapies, especially given the findings that some Americans are continuing to try products such as kava kava, which is used to treat anxiety but has been linked to possible liver problems, officials said.

"The public makes the assumption that because something is natural that it is safe," said Richard L. Nahin, a senior adviser at the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which commissioned the study. "These products can be unsafe."

Still, many say they have found relief from pain and disease by using unconventional remedies. Phyllis McDonald, 84, of Falls Church said she suffered for years from agonizing back pain until a combination of acupuncture, spinal manipulation and physical therapy gave her relief.

"It was horrible," McDonald said. "Now I'm ballroom dancing."

Women, highly educated people, those who had been hospitalized in the past year and former smokers were the most likely users, the survey found.

Back, neck, head and joint aches; colds; insomnia; stomach problems; anxiety; and depression are the leading ills people try to cure, according to the survey.

Richard Miller, 55, a retired dentist from Arlington, said he battled debilitating headaches until acupuncture and spinal manipulation began to help. "I wouldn't say I'm cured, but it's so much better," he said.

But such remedies are also used for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and symptoms of menopause, asthma, diabetes and even sometimes cancer, the researchers said.

A majority of people -- 55 percent -- combine alternative treatments with conventional medicine, but 13 percent try them because they think conventional medicine is too expensive, and 28 percent -- more than in earlier surveys -- believe conventional medical treatments will not help their health problems.

"This is the medicine of the future," said Gary Kaplan, who treated McDonald at his Arlington clinic, one of a growing number of centers that combine traditional medicine with alternative therapies. "I think it's taking the best from every tradition."

Prayer is the most popular way sick people seek help outside a doctor's office, with 43 percent saying they pray for their own health and 24 percent praying for others, the survey found.