You want to feel better. You want to look better. You want to live longer. Whatever the reason, more people are taking additional steps to improve or maintain their health. And they're doing it with the help of complementary and alternative therapies — treatments once considered “fringe” that are increasingly being used alongside mainstream medicine to improve health and wellness.

Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine provides up-to-date information on how therapies such as herbal supplements, vitamins and minerals, meditation, hypnosis and acupuncture can help you stay is healthy. Mayo Clinic doctors also provide answers to pressing questions about the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine and when it's appropriate to use natural remedies. The book covers areas as diverse as simple products that can be worked into your daily menus, such as green tea and yogurt, to specific practices like spinal manipulation and biofeedback that may help address a common health condition.

Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine can help you achieve better health.

About Mayo Clinic: 

Mayo Clinic took root in farm fields near Rochester, Minn., in the late 1800s. It grew from the medical practice of a country doctor, William Worrall Mayo, and the partnership of his two sons, William J. and Charles H. Mayo - affectionately known as Dr. Will and Dr Charlie. The brothers’ innovative ideas and tireless work in learning and creating new surgical techniques attracted International attention. 

Today, Mayo Clinic — one of the world’s oldest and largest multispecialty group practices — comprises more than 45,000 physicians, scientists, nurses and other staff at its Rochester, Minn, Jacksonville, Fla; and Arizona locations; and its regional community-based health care practices. At Mayo Clinic, patient care, medical education and medical research work together for the good of the patient. 

With this depth of medical knowledge, experience and expertise, Mayo Clinic occupies an unparalleled position as an award-winning health information resource.

About the Medical Editor:

Brent Bauer, M.D., is the director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program and a physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Bauer is also an associate professor of medicine, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and the medical editor of Mayo Clinic EmbodyHealth newsletter. 

Dr. Bauer's principal area of research is the scientific evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine therapies. He has authored several book chapters and papers, is a member of the NIH-NCCAM study section, and is currently collaborating on more than 20 Mayo Clinic studies evaluating complementary treatments.