( CNN ) -- It used to be called `` fringe '' or `` unconventional '' medicine -- or simply quackery . Today , it 's called `` alternative , '' `` complementary , '' `` holistic '' or `` integrative . '' And it has moved into the mainstream . Hospitals now have dietary supplements on their formularies ( list of stocked medications ) ; offer reiki masters to cancer patients ; or teach medical students how to manipulate healing energies . Forty-two percent of hospitals offered some form of alternative therapies to their patients , according to a 2010 survey of 5,800 facilities . When asked why , almost all responded `` patient demand . '' Further , private practitioners encourage megavitamins , dietary supplements , acupuncture , chiropractic , homeopathy and naturopathy . Although nontraditional therapies can be valuable , sometimes a line is crossed . So how can you tell if your alternative healer is a quack ? Here are a few red flags : . The therapist offers medicines that do n't work instead of those that do . Steve Jobs , for example , suffered from a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas . With early surgery , Jobs had a 95 % chance of recovery . But Jobs chose acupuncture , herbal remedies , and bowel cleansings instead , and died as a consequence . Homeopaths have recommended their products ( which are diluted to the point that active ingredients are n't there anymore ) for treatable diseases such as cancer , malaria , cholera and AIDS . In 2006 , a 6-year-old boy with severe asthma was treated with a homeopathic remedy instead of the bronchodilator that would have saved his life . In Canada , homeopathic vaccines , which have no chance of preventing illness , are worrisomely popular . Also , naturopaths ' objections to the contrary , many studies have shown that garlic does n't lower low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol ( bad cholesterol ) , chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine do n't treat arthritis , and saw palmetto does n't treat prostatic enlargement ; in each of these cases , conventional treatments are available that actually do work . Warning : Men 's natural sex supplements may not be . The therapist does n't tell you about the dangers of alternative therapies . Alternative medicine is perceived as more natural and less harmful than conventional medicine . But medicine is medicine , and any drug or therapy that has a positive effect can have a negative effect . For example , at least 86 people have died when acupuncture needles have lodged in hearts , lungs or livers or inadvertently transmitted viruses like hepatitis A , hepatitis B , or HIV . Chiropractic manipulations have killed at least 26 people , virtually all by ripping the vertebral artery in the neck . Dietary supplements also have unseen harms . For example , kava can cause severe and occasionally fatal liver damage ; blue cohosh can cause heart failure ; nutmeg can cause hallucinations ; comfrey can cause hepatitis ; monkshood can cause heart arrythmias ; wormwood can cause seizures ; stevia leaves can decrease fertility , concentrated green tea extracts can damage the liver , bitter orange can cause heart damage , and Aristolochia , found in Chinese herbs , can cause kidney failure and bladder cancer . Because dietary supplements and herbs are n't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration , most people do n't know about these problems . The therapist makes a fortune off your misfortune . Perhaps no one is more susceptible to quackery than parents of children with autism : a disorder without a clear cause or cure . Bogus treatments have included ion-exchange machines , lymphatic drainage massage , electrical or magnetic stimulation , Rife machines , hyperbaric oxygen chambers , intravenous immunoglobulins , and stem-cell transplantation . Some of these same therapies are offered for `` chronic '' Lyme disease and cancer . Dramatically different disorders , identical cures . All quite expensive and all without any chance of actually working . Docs should know about kids and alternative medicine . The therapist promotes 'magical thinking ' Reiki masters who claim they can manipulate healing energies ; chiropractors who claim that all diseases are caused by misaligned spines ; homeopaths who claim that their highly diluted potions contain even a single molecule of an active ingredient ; acupuncturists who claim that healing can only be achieved by balancing yin and yang ; or naturopaths who claim that a drug found in nature is different from a drug synthesized by a pharmaceutical company ( when they have the exact same molecular structure ) are appealing to our sense of magic . And although the notion of something beyond our level of understanding is attractive , current gaps in medical knowledge are n't going to be filled by energy fields , acupuncture meridians , or the notion that all things natural must be good for you . `` Is n't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful , '' wrote Douglas Adams in `` The Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy , '' `` without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it , too . '' Like conventional therapies , alternative remedies should n't be given a free pass . They should be held to the same high standards of safety and efficacy . And where scientific studies do n't exist , we should insist that they be performed . Otherwise , we 'll continue to be susceptible to the worst kinds of quackery . Complementary and alternative medicine : Evaluate treatment claims . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dr. Paul Offit .
Nontraditional therapies can be valuable , but sometimes cross a line . Dr. Paul Offit says some alternative treatments have ` ` magical thinking '' Any medication or treatment that has a positive effect can have a negative effect .