NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

The NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is a U.S. government agency dedicated to studying natural, alternative, and holistic health practices—like herbal remedies, acupuncture, and meditation—to understand their safety and effectiveness. Its goal is to provide evidence-based information to help people make informed health choices and to integrate safe, effective approaches into conventional medical care. NCCIH supports scientific research to identify which complementary methods work, how they work, and how they can be safely used alongside standard treatments.