The term “alternative medicine” is something of a misnomer. It suggests that such treatments developed as a response to methods commonly used by contemporary Western doctors. In fact, some “alternative” treatments predate modern Western medicine by hundreds, or even thousands, of years. One example is herbal medicine, which is used as a primary method of treatment by approximately 80 percent of the world.

In his book Understanding Alternative Medicine: New Health Paths in America, Lawrence Tyler writes, “The argument can be made that there is more hard evidence for the longevity of herbal medicine than for any other medical technique.” Five-thousand-year-old Sumerian clay tablets refer to the use of herbs. Other historical documentation concerning the longevity of herbal medicine includes the Chinese work Pen T’Shao Kang Mu, written circa 2500 B.C., and a 3,500-year-old Egyptian papyrus...