Jo Marchant examines alternative medicine from a scientist's perspective, warning against both pseudoscience and excessive cynicism about the mind's power over the body.

In recent decades, alternative and conventional medicine have been at odds.

While doctors warn of the legitimate risks of pseudoscience, many also denounce the real benefits of alternative therapies.

Jo Marchant is a science journalist with a Ph.D. in genetics and medical microbiology.

This 2016 book documents the rise of a 'medicine of measurements' and explains why it is not a universally effective approach.

Using anecdotal and statistical evidence from all over the world, Marchant argues that alternative and conventional medicine should meet in the middle.