Alternative medicine is here to stay There is a growing demand for natural medicine or alternative medicinal products these days. These have of course been around for thousands of years, and have been popular forms of treating illnesses and diseases before the advent of modern medicine. Ancient cultures like those of China, India, Egypt, Greek etc. have been practicing this form of treatments for thousands of years. Modern medicine only became popular from the early 19th century onwards when it replaced alternative form of treatments in most of the modern world.