Can magnets relieve arthritis pain? Does the scent of lavender calm the nerves? Is St. John's Wort a mood enhancer? Authoritative, objective and in tune with the subjects that matter to students and researchers, Gale presents four volumes of current, unbiased information on alternative and complementary medical practices. Covering all aspects of the subject --Therapies, Conditions/Diseases, Herbs/Plants and People -- the Encyclopedia identifies 150 types of alternative medicine being practiced today, including reflexology, acupressure, acupuncture, chelation therapy, kinesiology, yoga, chiropractic, Feldenkrais, polarity therapy, detoxification, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, biofeedback, Ayurveda and osteopathy. For the practitioner or interested patient, there are current training requirements, listings of organizations, as well as descriptions of treatments.

Information on recommended therapies for specific disorders and diseases, medicinal uses for plants and herbs are balanced by conclusions of studies on efficacy and analysis of current levels of acceptance by traditional scientists and doctors. Biographies of pioneers in the field -- including Deepak Chopra, Edward Bach and David Palmer --appear as sidebars through the text. Included are 39 sidebars. Each volume contains a color photo insert containing images of herbs. There are more than 275 disease/condition entries, 300 herb/remedy entries, and 150 therapies.