These cells which would ordinarily stop auto-antibodies from forming. For this reason we don't want to stimulate or suppress the immune system. We do want to strengthen or modulate it. The conventional approach to treating Graves' disease is to limit the amount of thyroid hormone circulating in the blood.
Alternative medicine has the same goal.
Holistic methods also aim to reduce the amount of thyroid hormone produced by the gland. However, alternative methods also target the immune system which is the underlying source of the problem. Many Graves' disease patients have gone into remission using alternative means alone, while others have used a combination of antithyroid drugs and alternative medicine. Still others have used antithyroid drugs until their thyroid levels fell into the normal range, and weaned themselves off these drugs while using alternative medicine. Most Graves' patients I've interviewed have a good idea of what precipitated their disorder.