Women’s Health USA – September 2019

135

NOT SO LONG AGO, most people fell into one

of two camps when it came to health care: con-

ventional or alternative. You either rolled your

eyes at friends who claimed energy healing

cured their problem or you were game to guinea-

pig any t hing f rom Rolfing to reik i.

The wellness landscape doesn’t look so one-

side-or-the-other anymore, TBH. There’s a

solid chance you dabble in a homeopathic cold

r eme d y a nd s t i l l he ad to u r ge nt c a r e i f you r s or e

throat isn’t gone in a week. Or maybe you go to

PT to rehab muscle twinges but also appreciate

the hurts-so-good sensation of cupping. The

truth is, nearly 40 percent of American adults

are using some form of complementary medi-

cine—any treatment method that isn’t gener-

ally considered part of mainstream care—

according to the National Institutes of Health.

And to meet the demand and increased inter-

est, major medical centers such as Duke, Yale,

and the Mayo Clinic now offer everything from

acupuncture to labyrinth walks. So enter into

the modern thinking: Integrative and standard

Curiosity, stellar marketing, and

mistrust of mainstream medicine

are leading more women to weave

complementary medicine into their

health regimen. But what works—

and what’s just an illusion—is

complicated to sort out. Until now!

WHAT’S THE

BY MEGHAN RABBITT

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JONATHON KAMBOURIS

ALTERNATIVE