Alternative medicine is any practice that is put forward as having the
healing effects of
medicine, but does not originate from
evidence gathered using the
scientific method, is not part of
biomedicine, or is contradicted by scientific evidence or established science. It consists of a wide range of
health care practices, products and therapies, ranging from being biologically plausible but not well tested, to being directly contradicted by evidence and science, or even harmful or toxic. Examples include new and
traditional medicine practices such as
homeopathy,
naturopathy,
chiropractic,
energy medicine, various forms of
acupuncture,
traditional Chinese medicine,
Ayurvedic medicine, and
Christian faith healing. The treatments are those that are not part of the
science-based healthcare system, and are not clearly backed by
scientific evidence. Despite significant expenditures on testing alternative medicine, including $2.5 billion spent by the United States government, almost none have shown any effectiveness greater than that of false treatments (
placebo), and alternative medicine has been criticized by prominent figures in science and medicine as being
quackery,
nonsense,
fraudulent, or
unethical.