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I don't know much on this topic, but you may find this article i found helps answer your questionhttp://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7279/158

Alternative medicine like alternative physics and alternative chemistry are unscientific. But the systems have mob attraction. So  no special mechanism supervises them.Fraud is to be taken care of by police.

Okay, there is a problem with your question.  First of all, there is no such thing as 'alternative medicines'.  There are herbal remedies, vitamins, minerals, etc.  But no medicines.  You see, that is a medical term owned by the medical community.  If you give someone 'medicine' you are practicing medicine without a license, and can be prosecuted.  In order to give a medicine, you have to have diagnosed a medical problem, which means you've now diagnosed *and* prescribed, and you are in big trouble!Now, I'm assuming that your choice of words was loosely meant, and that you meant remedies.  Okay, so how do you regulate food?  Herbs are plants, which are food.  Vitamins and minerals are food.  Who is going to be the governing body over food?Last but not least, who would spend the money to test 'food' since it can't be patented (anybody can grow a garden of food and herbs).  The researchers have to be paid--they don't work for free.  There is no money in putting the month/years into testing and trials when no patent will be approved at the end of it.One more note:  re the 'chemicals' mentioned in your post.You are right about chemicals coming from plants, but plants do not produce synthetic chemicals.  These chemicals have the same composition (periodic table) as the natural element, but there are not able to be processed by the body.  The body doesn't recognize them.  This is why they have so many side affects.  Also, pharmaceutical chemicals are denatured chemicals, striped of their natural elements, and rendered so 'pure' they need a DIN #....indicating they have been tested as to how much it takes to kill a person.  Hmm, who wants to test for how many carrots you have to eat before they kill you?  You can see that it would be silly to do this type of testing.Also, if you compare the statistics of people who have died from overdosing on carrots, or Vit A supplements, or *any* sort of supplements, and compare them to any, (or even 1 type of drug)-related deaths--well, I'll let you guess which side the deaths would be weighted on!These types of issues are made a big deal of by the media, but only because there are big pharma-bucks behind this to protect their financial interests.Hope this anwers your question in some way.