According a new U. S. government survey an estimated 38 % of U. S. adults and 12 % of children use alternatives to traditional medicines. Complementary and alternative medicine also called CAM, is a term for a collection of wide-ranging medical and health care systems, practices and products that aren't generally considered conventional medicine which include herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic treatment and acupuncture. "It's clear that millions of Americans every year are turning to complementary and alternative medicine," said Richard L. Nahin of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which released the survey. "The use of complementary and alternative medicine seems to have stabilized in the United States."

The survey found the most commonly used herbal products were fish oil/omega 3/DHA, glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed oil or pills, and ginseng while the most popular alternative techniques are deep breathing exercises, meditation, chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, massage and yoga.

David Eisenberg, director of the Harvard Medical School's division for research and education in complementary and integrative medical therapies said, "I think it's fair to say we can conclude that this is part of the steady state of medical care in the United States. I think the news is complementary and alternative medicine use by the U. S. public is here to stay."

In the survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics as part of a broader ongoing study, about 23,300 adults and 9,400 children were interviewed about their and their children's use of CAM. 36 % of the adults admitted using CAM which was similar to figures for 2002 to 2007. The researchers found that among the users were women, the educated and more affluent. The adults who used CAM were most likely to use the alternative therapies for pain, including in the back, neck or joints.

In the case of children, those whose parents used alternative treatments were almost five times as likely to have used one, compared with children of parents who did not. Children mostly used alternative therapies for back or neck pain, followed by colds, anxiety or stress, musculoskeletal problems and attention-deficit disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In adolescents 16.4 % received such treatments, while ages 5 to 11 it was 10.7 % and 7.6 % of those too young to go to school.

The biggest drawback to CAM critics feel is that they are largely unproven remedies and had not been scientifically validated some even go a step further to say that these could cause serious harm including cancer. "They are either unproven or disproven," said Wallace Sampson, founding editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. "Acupuncture is a placebo. Homeopathy is one step above fraud. It goes on and on. The fact that they are so widely used is evidence for how gullible large segments of our society are."

Seth Asser, a pediatrician and consultant to Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, a nonprofit group that opposes faith healing and other nontraditional medical practices said, "In addition to the fact that these things are unproven and potentially dangerous, they also feed the mentality that you can forgo proven treatments in favor of these magic potions."

Nahin said most techniques, such as acupuncture, massage and yoga, are safe, "But herbal supplements may interfere with conventional medications. So let your conventional doctor know, so they can be monitoring you for any unexpected events," he added.

Mark Blumenthal is founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council, an independent, nonprofit research group that says it's dedicated to helping people live healthier lives through the responsible use of herbs and medicinal plants. "People are using these products to enhance wellness," Blumenthal said. "The dietary supplement increase reflects consumer trends toward improving and increasing their sense of wellness and their own self-empowerment with respect to their health. Look at children's diets. We are seeing more childhood obesity, we are seeing people who want to give statins to children because of higher cholesterol -- I think that's deplorable," he said.