Research Guides: Medical and Health Research: Complimentary/Integrative Health

Recommended Resources

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Contains general information on complementary and alternative medicine, research and clinical trials.

Alt-HealthWatch This link opens in a new window
Provides both professional and consumer level coverage on the therapies in and perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Health.

CAM on PubMed
Access citations from the MEDLINE database and additional life science journals.
Filtered to return results specific to CAM-related content. You can further filter to systematic reviews and clinical trials on the search results page.
CAM on Medline Plus
The Complementary and Alternative Therapies Topic section contains links to information on common complementary and alternative medicine therapies.
Wide range of information included: topical overviews, current research, statistics and clinical trials.

Consumer Health Complete This link opens in a new window
Covers key areas of health and wellness, from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary and holistic medicine. Search by keyword or topic.
A good first source for exploring a new area of study.
APA PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Provides information on psychological aspects of various disciplines, including medicine. For complimentary health results, add the term(s) to the advanced search boxes.
For example: complimentary medicine OR alternative medicine AND anxiety.
You can also find related results by selecting the "Find Similar Results using SmartText Searching" box on the left side of the results page.

Nutrition, Herbs and Supplements

Note: Vitamins, minerals, and herbs are all types of dietary supplements. They come in the form of pills, capsules, powders, drinks, and energy bars. Supplements do not have to undergo the testing that drugs do, so it's important to seek out scientifically-backed resources to obtain accurate information. These resources are best bets:

Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC)
Includes current dietary guidelines, lifecycle nutrition, food composition and safety information, nutrition assistance programs, and research briefs
Dietary Supplement Label Database
Offers information about the ingredients found in dietary supplements. See the ingredients in specific brands and compare ingredients between brands. This source also provides information on the health benefits claimed by manufacturers.
Medicinal Herb Garden
High quality images of a wide variety of herbs, with links to research in Pubmed. Search by botanical or common name.
About Herbs
Search herbs by keyword or alphabetically. Find information on why an herb is used for treatment, how or if it is clinically proven to work, food sources, interactions, and links to the research.

Complementary Therapies

American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
Professional society of physicians (MDs and DOs) in North America who have incorporated acupuncture into their traditional medical practice. The "Leaning Center" provides general information as well as analysis of clinical evidence and research.
Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM)
Provides authoritative information on CAM issues related to cancer, research and clinical trials.
American Chiropractic Association
ACA includes an overview of the field, a bibliography of scientific literature, health and wellness tips, and information on finding a chiropractor.

Consumer Protection

MedWatch
Clinical information about safety issues involving medical products, including special nutritional products (medicinal foods, dietary supplements, and infant formulas).

Medical and Health Research: Complimentary/Integrative Health

Recommended Resources​

Nutrition, Herbs and Supplements

Complementary Therapies

Consumer Protection

Recommended Resources