But perhaps because there's something less scary or medical sounding about alternative medicines such as acupuncture or herbs, many smart people not only slack on their research into so-called complementary therapies, but they skip class altogether.

Two-thirds of adults who take herbal supplements are using them to treat conditions for which there is no scientific evidence that they work, a study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings reports. It doesn't help that mainstream doctors often aren't familiar enough with complementary therapies to recommend them: Another survey of physicians at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that while most believed some treatments hold promise, the majority were not comfortable counseling patients about them.

"It takes time and effort to discern which therapies are valuable and right for you," says Victoria Maizes, M.D., executive director of the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine in Tucson.

That's where SELF comes in. We interviewed the experts and analyzed the data (yes, we peruse the Journal of the American Medical Association so you don't have to) to ID six remedies that have proven potency. Let the natural healing begin!