Subject: Re: "Some herbal remedies could severely harm live

From: [email-masked] (Paul Iannone)
Date: 18 Feb 1995 12:36:45 GMT

In message ID <[email-masked]> on 2/16/95, Richard A.
Schumacher wrote:
[quoting a newspaper]
: In addition to chaparral, many other herbal remedies have 
: been found to cause liver damage, he writes. Those include
: germander, comfrey, mistletoe, margosa oil, mate tea,
: Cordolobo yerba tea, pennyroyal oil and others.
: 
:      -Matt Crenson

Herbal hit pieces in newspapers are not uncommon. They are a terrible source
for information. When quoting them, Matt, please put the newswire information
as well, since that will tell you a lot about where the information is coming
from.

The major misinformation in this article is calling chapparal an 'extract' of
creosote bush. Of course, these are two names for the same plant, and nothing
is being extracted. Chapparal is used as an anti-tumor therapy--not a
condition of health to begin with.

These other herbals are for the most part VERY uncommon. Mistletoe is also
used in tumor therapy, pennyroyal is used as an abortifacient (categories of
self-treatment that are VERY dangerous to begin with); germander is a
substitute herbal for skullcap--and should be avoided (ask for real
skullcap!), it is primarily used for its volatile oils for stomach
ache--there are plenty of better sources for volatile oils; and comfrey is
used for asthma (a chronic illness best treated by trained healers rather
than by self-help) and as a purgative--it is an excellent herbal for external
use. 

Margosa oil? Cordolobo yerba tea? Huh? Wow, those are common use herbals.
"[A]nd others" following a list that has to stoop to include unknown plants
like Cordolobo yerba tea is not a very convincing statement of additional
danger.

Mate is a daily-use beverage throughout Brazil and South America--I'd be very
surprised if it caused more liver damage than coffee.

The bottom line is that the newswires pick up these AMA hit pieces and send
them out to newspapers who publish them thoughtlessly, for their 'gotcha'
element, to sell newspapers. It's nothing but a tabloid approach to herbal
healing, and no different from the 'gotcha' health information on tv.

Can certain herbals used as single herbal drinks in high quantity hurt
people? Of course. Does that mean that herbal _therapy_ per se is dangerous?
NO. What is dangerous is ignorance, which articles like these _PROMOTE_ by
driving the concepts and materials of legitimate herbal therapy underground,
stigmatizing alternative healthcare, and promoting fear.

[email-masked] (Paul Iannone, P.O.B. 66843, L.A., CA 90066).