AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICES & PERSPECTIVES
The MACH Health
Knowledge Base
Explore practices, traditions, concepts, evidence, safety context, and cultural history across metaphysical, alternative, complementary, and holistic health.
Modalities and practice families, held in context before claims.
Traditions30Living and historical contexts that need careful sourcing.
Concepts39Terms and ideas whose meaning changes across settings.
Glossary12Editorial vocabulary for evidence, claims, and review.
IN FOCUS / ARTICLE
Siddha Medicine
Siddha medicine is a traditional Tamil medical system that uses plant, mineral and metal preparations and pulse-based assessment.
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Explore the MACH categories
Labels for how a practice is used.
Many fit more than one.
Metaphysical
Practices that point to something beyond the physical world.
Practice entries: 14302Alternative
Practices people use instead of conventional care.
Practice entries: 17503Complementary
Practices people use alongside conventional care.
Practice entries: 34204Holistic
Practices that look at the whole person and their surroundings.
Practice entries: 150HOW TO READ MACHIPEDIA
Context before
conclusions.
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Evidence belongs to a claim, population, and outcome. A practice does not receive a single recommendation score.
How we handle evidenceKeep the context intact
Living traditions have their own identities. Historical use, personal experience, and research findings need distinct descriptions.
How we handle culture