In addition to the health benefits, many people see alternative therapies (including traditional Chinese medicine) as a way to save money:

"Last year, about 6 million Americans turned to complementary and alternative medicine, known as CAM, to treat conditions such as chronic pain and depression because conventional medicine was too pricey, according to a survey released last month from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC.) That amounts to 13 percent of the 38 million adults who used some kind of complementary medicine in the last year.

"With health-care costs definitely continuing to outpace inflation and wage growth, more and more people will find conventional medicine unaffordable," HSC health researcher Ha Tu said. "We'll find the 6 million number growing and more people turning to CAM because they see it as an inexpensive alternative."

Complementary and alternative medicine encompasses a wide variety of practices including acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, meditation, chiropractic treatments, massage, and sometimes even prayer."