Fish oil, probiotics, melatonin, deep breathing, chiropractors and yoga were among some of the alternatives Americans use to feel better.
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Most Americans who use these nontraditional approaches do so as a complement to conventional care. Only about 5% of Americans use alternative medicine solely.
The data comes from the National Health Statistics Report. This is a survey the government does to look at the health habits of a representative sample of the United States. They talked to over 89,000 American adults and over 17,000 children between the ages of 4 and 17 years old.
People seek this extra help to relieve pain from chronic conditions, to improve their health overall, and to relieve stress.
Something’s fishy
Fish oil is the most common natural product taken by children and adults. Some 7.8% of adults used it in 2012. That’s an increase from 4.8% in 2007.
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Study results are mixed. An NIH study found it didn’t help with a cold. Other studies showed it helped with some respiratory infections.
The use of garlic pills and glucosamine was also down.
There was also bad news for traditional healers. The study found the number of parents taking their children to traditional healers fell from 1.1% in 2007 to 0.1% in 2012.
What’s trending
The NIH doesn’t track why there are changes in the use of particular complementary medicines, but the trends may be in line with new research about them, in addition to their availability. Yoga may also be used more frequently because there are more studios in the United States than in years past.
“The use of melatonin, shown in studies to have some benefits for sleep issues, has risen dramatically,” said Dr. Josephine P. Briggs in a press release. Briggs is the director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Conversely, the use of echinacea has fallen, which may reflect conflicting results from studies on whether it’s helpful for colds. This reaffirms why it is important for NIH to study these products and to provide that information to the public.”
