Hi, Mary!
 
Been following the conversation about "drugs" vs "herbs" with some
interest; I have to admit a certain ignorance of the matter so I can't
make any educated statements.  But I felt absolutely compelled to
respond to this:
 
> And 2,000 years of Chinese medicine can't be wrong
 
Um, why not?  Just because people have been using something for 2,000
years doesn't mean they're doing the right thing.  A lot of harmful
superstition and bigotry have been going on for just as long -- or
longer.  Someone else mentioned the "traditional bread and milk" diet
for ferrets in another message -- well, it's traditional, so it must be
right, right?
 
You made a lot of interesting points in your post, but I have to say that
unfortunately I got turned almost completely off when I got to these
statements.
 
Here's my opinion: if a hypothesis works, it'll hold up to experiment, as
long as the experiments are conducted in such a way that variables are
controlled.  My big fear -- both for "modern medicine" (aka "drugs") and
herbal remedies is that things get rushed to the market too fast without
enough experimentation and research.  Like viagra, in your post, or
people rushing to feed ephedra to their ferrets because it's "natural"
and there's this assumption that "natural" means both "safe" and
"healthy".  Arsenic is "natural".
 
I'm sure it's correct to say that we still don't understand all of the
variables enough to perfectly control what we're seeing.  That's why
extra caution, curiosity, and research are required.
 
My warning to people is: do not turn off your brains.  Don't just start
stuffing your ferts (or yourselves) with stuff because it's "natural" or,
on the flip side, because it's a government-approved drug.  Do some
research.  Ask around.  Talk to a vet you trust.  If it sounds like it's
too good to be true, it probably is.  If the evidence for whatever it is
is based on testimonial ("it worked great for my sister's brother's
second cousin's ferret!"), proceed with /extreme/ caution.  Just because
10,000 websites say it's the cat's meow, it doesn't mean that it won't
hurt your woozle (or you).  Just because the remedy is 10,000 years old
doesn't mean it works.  Are there studies?  Look into them, and /research
the studies' origins/.  For example, make sure that impressive-sounding
university cited on the study actually exists.  Yes, it's fairly common
for people to write these so-called "studies" and claim degrees they
don't have, or from universities that don't exist.  If it feels fishy, it
probably is.
 
And watch out for ad hominem arguments such as "well, the medical
establishment is against natural remedies because it's a threat to them,
so don't pay attention to anything they say" or "the herbal people are
against modern medicine, so anything they say is going to be a lie." Yes,
there's a lot of money involved in research these days and it can really
affect the results that come out of the research, but you can usually
tell when that's happening, /if you don't turn off your brains/.
 
Okay, I'm going to stop ranting now. :)  Thanks for hearing me out!
 
 -- Kat
[Posted in FML issue 3932]