Why is Alternative Medicine not recognised by Western medici

Hi. I admire traditional Chinese medicine. I had some problem with the pain in my back last year and I was on acupuncture therapy. It was really effective. I have no problem any more. I wonder why alternative medicine is not recognized by Western medicine? Even the word alternative makes you think that is not a real medicine.

Hi. Yeah. However, in China and Taiwan TCM is not considered alternative, it a part of health care system. In some ways, this so called alternative medicine is actually recognized by Western medicine. Some use it to treat the side effects of chemotherapy, for example. In China they have a saying: Chinese medicine treat humans, while western treat diseases. Western medicine recognizes the importance of some part of TCM, such as nutrition, and exercise. However, most of scientific research is concentrated on acupuncture. Some say acupuncture has a placebo effect.