In 1998, an extensive review of such single-treatment studies found that naturopathic healing methods were effective for 15 different medical conditions, including osteoarthritis, Asthma, and middle ear infections.
Orthomolecular medicine is possibly the branch of alternative therapies that has been the subject of most scientific research, and has certainly been validated by that research.
Because Ayurveda had been outside the Western scientific system for years, research in the United States is new.
There has been no formal scientific research conducted on Native American healing practices. Medicine people do not write down their practices out of fear that they might be misused by people who are not trained in their sacred ways.
Research in the West has been largely confined to study of the herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine as distinct from food cures.
Some forms of pranic healing, including yoga, Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine, have been intensively studied.
The Office of Alternative Medicine of the National Institute of Health is currently funding research in the use of acupuncture for treating depression and attention-deficit disorder.
Researchers continue to study the effects and applications of the technique in the fields of education, preventive medicine, and rehabilitation.
Naturopathic medicine modalities include a variety of healing treatments, such as diet and clinical nutrition, homeopathy, botanical medicine , soft tissue and spinal manipulation, ultrasound, and therapeutic exercise.
In February 2004, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine began a comprehensive study of chromium as a therapy for insulin resistance.
One highly contested issue between alternative medicine and mainstream dentistry surrounds mercury poisoning.
Treatments for cancer are one of the areas where allopathic medicine disapproves most strongly of alternative medicine, and consequently these natural treatments are the subject of much adverse publicity.
There are many unknown individuals who have done research on plants as a possible source of medicine. Native tribes did research on plants for this purpose for example.
Research in environmental medicine is being widely funded and conducted by mainstream organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as alternative medical schools.