"Stines, James" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I think that herbs got their bad rep because it is generally associated
>with "new age" people who think that herbal tea should be followed with
>a dance to the moon goddess.
 
Actually, my biggest concern about herbs is that the potency is all over
the place.  One has to trust the supplement company to be telling the
truth.  But a supplement company is a business and, no matter what its
ad materials say, it is still a capital venture, no different in that
respect from the "big bad evil" pharmaceutical companies.  I worked as a
proofreader at a supplement company for about a year and when working on
their assay book I was told to "use last year's numbers" when the current
year's test lot didn't hit the claimed potency (to be fair, this occurred
in only a very few of their products).  If the herbal supplement isn't at
a particular potency it's pretty darned pointless to take it -- yet the
supplement company still has your money.  At least pharmaceuticals are
regulated, and the companies that make them are held accountable if their
product fall short of their claims.
 
>Being a medical doctors is a calling and all the training they go
>through should give them enough experience to diagnose and help cure
>various diseases, but they are also human.
 
And some graduated at the bottom of the class. :o)  Medicine is an art --
some doctors are better artists than others.
 
>but to start to get the whole picture of giving our little fuzzies the
>highest quality of life, you need someone who is passionate about them.
 
Absolutely.  Not enough people switch vets or doctors when they discover
that the doc/vet doesn't meet with their satisfaction.  It took us three
tries to find a vet clinic that we are comfortable with.  Over the years
our vet has learned more and more about ferrets because he cares about
animals and has a desire to know the best way to help them.  You can't
learn that in school.
 
In the end, however, you have to use your own judgment with regard to how
you will address your ferret's medical problems.  As some people mistrust
the "medical establishment," I mistrust the supplement industry.  I don't
doubt that some herbal remedies work (or that they may even be preferable
to traditional medications), but I just don't see enough science behind
them for *me* to be comfortable giving them to *my* ferrets.
 
--Mary & the Fuzzies
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Mary R. Shefferman, Editor, Modern Ferret Magazine
Trixie, Koosh, & Gabby, The Modern Ferrets
Read my blog! http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary
See my cool stuff! http://www.topicaltees.com
[Posted in FML issue 4163]