Five Reasons People Who Promote “Natural Remedies” Drive Me Up the Wall

Crossposted from my blog Near Life Experiences
1. They fail to take into consideration the fact that the reason that the labels don't actually say what the herbal extract or other substance is for is because the manufacturer is not allowed to make medical claims or refer to the substance as anything other than a dietary supplement. If they do take it into consideration, they make up a conspiracy theory.

2. They fail to take into consideration that if you are treating an herbal or other natural remedy as a medicine, you are going to want a correct dosage of the exact thing you decided to take. Since herbal and other natural remedies are not very well regulated, you may not get the correct dosage, especially if the herbal or other natural remedy is not in an easily recognizable form.

3. This statement or any variation of it: "prescription medicine doesn't cure the illness it just treats the symptoms." Really now; you cannot see me but I am raising my eyebrows at this statement. Herbal and natural remedies are not magical and fit the same damn categories as prescription medication.

I take a generic brand version of Mucinex, which is a cough suppressant and an expectorant. (The purpose of a cough suppressant is to keep you from coughing too unproductively. The expectorant is to ensure that your coughs are productive and you can get the gunk out of your lungs.)

Honey and lemon is supposed to be good for a sore throat. It can be defined as a cough suppressant. So is coltsfoot.

Thyme is an expectorant and rosemary is a decongestant.

Wow, that really sounds like they are treating the symptoms. Herbal remedies are not magic healing potions or whatever. Herbal remedies allegedly treat the symptoms exactly the way over the counter or prescription remedies do, they do not magically "heal" you.

4. They do not take into consideration that herbal or other natural remedies have side effects, and that the remedy they are taking may interact in a bad way with whatever prescription or over the counter drug they are taking. This is because they do not realize or understand that what makes an herbal remedy effective is exactly the same thing as what makes over the counter or prescription drugs effective: the chemicals that are being used to treat and alleviate the symptoms of whatever is making you sick.

5. They do not take into consideration that the claims made by the manufacturer or supplier of the natural remedy may be exaggerating the benefits or inventing additional benefits. They ignore or otherwise do not bother to do research concerning the dangers of unregulated herbal or other natural remedies and will believe the claims of the person selling or promoting the remedy over any other information they may obtain that indicates otherwise.