Chinese medicine has a long history of acceptance in Asia, and is gaining in popularity in the U.S. In 1998, the National Institutes of Health established the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to support research.

The US Food and Drug and Administration issued, “Guidance for Industry Botanical Drug Products” in 2000. In 2007, a research team at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, published the first report on FAFH-2 and its success in a mouse model of peanut allergy.

"Save NHS homeopathy", it says. Another poster urges supporters to join a lobby of parliament. Long before MPs from the cross party Commons committee on science and technology gave the thumbs down to homeopathy on Monday, people here knew what was coming. The remedies worked no better than a placebo, the committee said, and the NHS should cease funding.

It was a withering verdict but the hospital remains undaunted. There are no placards or demonstrators here. Just the usual crowd of patients – predominantly middle aged and female – that you find in any hospital waiting area. Supporters of homeopathy – practitioners and patients alike – are used to controversy and another bout of negative publicity, of which there is never a shortage, is not going to change their minds.

The world, including how they view medical treatment.So it's no wonder the Millennium has become.

An era of alternative medicine, where holistic treatment has gained the upper hand over conventional treatment.

In 2000, there was a study comparing alternative treatment and conventional treatment.

The study authors, led by Rachel Manber, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said they hope the results will raise awareness of the problem of depression during pregnancy and provide patients and physicians an alternative to antidepressants.

"This standardized acupuncture protocol could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy," they wrote in a paper that will appear in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

A paper by Roger Byard, pathology professor at the University of Adelaide (U-A) outlines the highly toxic nature of many herbal substances, which a large percentage of users around the world mistakenly believe are safe.

Herbal medicines have also become increasingly popular in western countries in recent years, with an estimated 30 percent of US citizens using them, often without their doctor's knowledge.

"There's a false perception that herbal remedies are safer than manufactured medicines, when in fact many contain potentially lethal concentrations of arsenic, mercury and lead," Byard says.

"These substances may cause serious illnesses, exacerbate pre-existing health problems or result in death, particularly if taken in excess or injected rather than ingested."

"Post-holiday syndrome is mostly caused by the inner functional system being in a state of chaos, when the body's rhythm is disturbed from changing from holiday to work," explained Liu Yu, secretary-general of China Spa Association. "In this sense, Chinese-style spas, combining European and traditional Chinese medical philosophies, are an efficient op-tion to deal with the syndrome."

Finding popularity in China in the late 1990s, many Chinese-style spas focus on restoring balance and harmony to the mind and body. One inner-city spa in Beijing takes its inspiration from the traditional Chinese philosophy of qi. Qi is considered the universal life force that governs well-being and personal vitality. It is believed that chi must flow freely within the body to maintain good health and when blocked, illness can follow.

In a review of 27 studies that involved nearly 3,000 women, researchers from the Oriental Hospital at Kyung Hee University Medical Center in South Korea found that acupuncture may be more effective than drugs or herbal medicines.

"There is convincing evidence on the effectiveness of using acupuncture to treat pain as it stimulates the production of endorphins and serotonin in the central nervous system," they wrote in a statement.

Patients report that the medication smells like dead, rotting fish or old sweat socks. The distinctive odor is also known among pharmacists. Doctors from the Medical College of Georgia explained their findings in a letter to the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

They suggest the pills may need to be coated with a film so patients can swallow them easier.  They also said an extended released formula could help make it dissolve more slowly so patients aren't as likely to burp up suck foul odors.