Richard Firshein, D.O., collapsed and almost died—ironically, while walking out of a hospital—years ago. An asthma sufferer from an early age, Firshein had also been diagnosed with mononucleosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Then, one night, he had an asthma attack so severe it sent him to the hospital. It was after recovering from that episode that he strolled out of the hospital, deeply inhaled the toxic New York City air and passed out. The incident served as a wake-up call leading him to change his lifestyle and the very way he practiced and thought about medicine.

He revamped his diet, stripping it of fatty, refined foods. He began taking natural anti-asthma nutrients, like vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, antioxidants, fish oil capsules and magnesium, daily. His health improved drastically, so much that for the first time since childhood, he was no longer chronically ill or dependent on inhalers and other drugs. Today, Firshein, author of The Nutraceutical Revolution, runs the Firshein Center for Comprehensive Medicine, a thriving practice in New York City specializing in the use of nutritional therapies. Firshein, a doctor of osteopathic medicine—meaning that he takes a holistic, preventive approach to health—attests: "I would not be the kind of doctor I am today if I had not almost died trying to be a different kind of doctor."

Alternative medicine was once considered the domain of snake oil charlatans and gullible consumers. But more and more, traditional physicians and major federal organizations are recognizing it as a potentially valid form of treatment. Case in point: The budget of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), created by Congressional mandate as part of the National Institutes of Health in 1992, has exploded from $2 million in 1993 to $114 million in 2003. NCCAM has one main goal: to conduct serious studies on dietary supplements and nontraditional therapies. In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration permitted manufacturers of supplements to tout their products' beneficial effects on bodily function and "stages of life," like menopause, on their labels. At the same time, CVS, the national drugstore chain, was the first to develop a computerized program that keeps records of customers' prescription and herbal medications, cross-checking the remedies to avoid drug interactions.

This outpouring of attention from the medical establishment, government and big business is a direct reaction to consumers' new obsession with alternative medicine. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, more people now visit alternative practitioners than traditional physicians, and spend almost as much out-of-pocket money on natural remedies as on conventional therapies. "With the advent of managed care, the average doctor visit is now seven minutes," says Ken Bock, M.D., a family practitioner in Rhinebeck, New York. "People are turning to alternative practitioners to get the care they need." Meanwhile, the baby boomers are ascending into old age—and eager to fend off memory loss and declining health.

As people learn to take health into their own hands, however, they still need guidance from science. After all, herbal remedies are still unregulated by the FDA, and little is known about their long-term effects. If you're interested in trying dietary supplements, ask your doctor to advise you. And if he or she isn't knowledgeable on the subject, find a practitioner who is. Or do your own research: The Commission E, a German organization that reviews research on the safety of herbal remedies, has published a set of 387 studies translated into English. The NCCAM Web site, nccam.nih.gov, features a clearinghouse of information and a database to help you browse the scientific literature on supplements.