Snake oil or fish oil? Americans shelling out $33.9 billion a year on alternative health treatments
July 30, 2009
People in the U.S. spent $33.9 billion last year on alternative health goods and services, ranging from antioxidant supplements to yoga, according to a new study released today by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). About 38 percent of adults are using some sort of alternative treatment (known as “complementary and alternative medicine†or CAM), and what they’re buying makes up about 11 percent of total U.S. out-of-pocket healthcare spending, the report states. (Scientific American Blog)
