Alternative medicine (AM) is popular; about 40% of the US general population have used alternative treatment in the past year, and in Germany this figure is around 70%. The global market is expected to reach nearly US $ 200 billion by 2025, with most of these funds coming directly out of consumers' pockets. Consumers are bombarded with misleading and false information on AM and therefore prone to making wrong, unwise, or dangerous therapeutic decisions, endangering their health and wasting their money. This book is a reference text aimed at guiding consumers through the maze of AM. This second edition includes over 50 additional treatments as well as updates on many others.

Edzard Ernst has researched all aspects of alternative medicine for 25 years. He and his team have published well over 1000 peer-reviewed papers and many books on the subject, including More Harm than Good? - The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2018) and Homeopathy - The Undiluted Facts (2016) with Springer. His work has been awarded more than a dozen prizes, including the John Maddox Prize 2016. He retired about six years ago and is an emeritus professor at the University of Exeter. He continues to play an active role in the public debate on alternative medicine.