Alternative Medicine If you were to look up the word alternative in the dictionary, you would find the following definition: different from the usual or conventional; existing or functioning outside the established cultural, social, or economic system. Which is exactly what alternative medicine/therapy is. It is treatment that differs from the more mainstream options in healthcare, and is not commonly used by medical practitioners. But recently, more and more doctors have been prescribing alternative methods to supplement more conventional treatments. The idea is to promote and restore health using whatever means is effective. This paper will explore various treatments of alternative healthcare, why people are more apt to using them now then before, and recent developments in that field. People choose to use alternative methods for various reasons. They are becoming increasingly aware of medical practices from different cultures. Many are frustrated with what conventional medicine can do. The side effects of some medicines make you feel even more sick than you already were. They have the desire to take fewer medications and experience fewer side effects. Alternative therapies also put more emphasis on healing the whole person, instead of just focusing on the disease. Alternative medicine also cuts personal health care costs. An alternative method to coronary artery bypass graft surgery and angioplasty is a treatment called chelation therapy. It effectively treats coronary artery disease, symptoms of angina, and decreased blood flow to the brain. It is supposed to improve blood flow by clearing out calcium from blood vessels, which caused clogged arteries, thus relieving leg cramps, lowering blood pressure, and helping prevent heart attack and stroke. It was developed during World War II to help remedy against lead poisoning, and recent studies have shown that it also improves circulation.