Maybe I didn't summarize enough of Novella's comments. His basic point is that herbs are, in many cases, untested drugs of unknown safety and effectiveness that should be placed under the jurisdiction of the FDA. At one point he says, "Herbs...are typically marketed based upon tradition and anecdote with insufficient scientific evidence for safety or efficacy."
There is truth to both. The whole "holistic" market is replete with alternatives to pharmaceuticals. We tend to forget that ancient people's used various forms of traditional medicines and alchemy in the past, but that we also falsely rely on them. As you stated, many are untested by the FDA or their international equivalents.
The problem is that there is also a false sense of pharamceuticals too which often have side effects worse than the actual condition you want to treat. How many drugs are being pulled off the shelves and how many lawsuits are in effect because the product is dangerous? A lot.
There is no discounting the good that comes from the too, but honestly I feel like it's a crap shoot. You just can't tell how your body and your chemistry is going to react to these meds.
My wife was taking certain meds that were making her more sick, in the form of serious memory loss and a very serious case of
akathisia. As soon as she was off those meds, she had made marked improvements. How ironic?! She took the meds to sedate her anxiousness and it made the condition ten times worse!
I refuse to take drugs in most instances, unless I am very sick (which is very rare). I won't even take Alleve or Tylenol for headaches because all it does is dull your senses. It treats the symptom, not the cause of the problem. 9 out of 10 times, just drink more water. Your body is telling you are dehydrated. There are specific reasons why you get headaches, so treat the problem, not the symptom.
"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." -- Charlton Heston
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