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tained a great deal of practical information and advice for everyday living. A number of Ayurvedic
and related remedies have been “discovered” and subsequently used in Western medicine, including
digitalis (digoxin) for congestive heart failure, rauwolfia alkaloids to extract reserpine (used to treat
hypertension in the 1950s and 1960s), and several plant extracts with anticholinergic properties (to
treat diarrhea, for example).

The Major Alternative Systems of Medicine

Ayurveda is a complex system described in ancient Hindu religious and medical texts, detailing
the use of literally hundreds of natural substances as medicines.
Unani is a system of medicine developed centuries ago in Arabia and Persia, which later
mingled with local influences in the Indian subcontinent. Its popularity has dwindled over time.
Chinese medicines include a variety of plants and their extracts to treat both symptoms and
diseases. Many of them are meant to promote health and block some of the effects of aging even
in the absence of disease, and some of them have recently risen to prominence in the fight
against age-related memory loss.
Homeopathy originated in Germany two hundred years ago and has a worldwide following.
Homeopathy relies on two principles: similars, and less is more. Similars refers to the theory
that if a substance causes symptoms in a healthy person, the same substance in very small doses
will cure a patient with those very symptoms. Less is more means that traces of active
substances, usually mixed with sugar or other inactive substances, are sufficient to treat
illnesses but are much less toxic than standard medications.

Proponents of homeopathy say that the minute dose of medicine has a powerful effect. The
skeptical view is that the homeopathic sugar pill is no different from a placebo. But even if all that
homeopathic therapy produced was a placebo effect, this is nothing to scoff at. Anywhere from 5 to
50 percent of people respond to placebo, depending on the condition being treated. As you might
expect, a strong placebo response is virtually unknown in conditions like AIDS and cancer, but is
fairly common in disorders like chronic back pain and depression. As I previously noted, the practice
effect is responsible for a small, but highly consistent, improvement in memory on placebo, and this
practice effect virtually mandates a placebo-