What is alternative medicine? Attempts to define what is conventional and what is not conventional introduce a bias, no matter who the arbiter is who sets up the definitions (Table 1). Many alternative therapies pre-date conventional medicine by hundreds or thousands of years. Some are quite well known, others seem mysterious or strange, and some pose serious risks (Murray and Rubel 1992). Many of us use unconventional therapies acquired from grandparents, parents, or friends (chicken soup is perhaps the most famous) in our personal lives without a second thought. In some circles alternative medicine is completely dismissed (Funtanarosa and Lundberg 1998)
