Alternative medicine is becoming more popular in Spain

• Natural therapies are revolutionising the way we look after our own health.
• From homeopathy to healing and from reflexology to Rolfing, there are now a whole host of new options available to us in the natural world.
• Many of the treatments may seem new-fangled, but most of them have in actual fact been around for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years.
• Whereas conventional medicine is based on diagnosing symptoms and prescribing specific treatments, natural therapies tend to place a much greater emphasis on dealing with the patient 'as a whole'.
• For many people, alternative therapies offer a gentler approach to health care, and patients benefit from the personal treatment they receive.
• For the average busy GP, spending time discussing a patient's social and environmental problems may be asking just a little too much.
• But the huge growth in the popularity of natural therapies is also due to the fact that many are now considered more 'complementary' than 'alternative'.
• Today, more than 40 per cent of GPs offer complementary medicine within their NHS practices, and over 70 per cent regularly refer their patients to such practitioners.
• Acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy and homeopathy are among the most common of these.
• Homeopathy is one of the most widely used natural therapies and is an ancient method for treating illness through administering blends of plant, animal or mineral substances.
• It is based on the theory that 'like cures like', meaning that while the substances can cause signs of illness in a healthy person, they can also be used to treat the same symptoms in a sick person.
• Homeopathy is also popular throughout the world as a remedy for asthma or allergies, anxiety or nervous disorders, illness during pregnancy and menstrual or menopausal problems.