In a message dated 5/4/01 3:07:04 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< You've said this before, Charles. >>

Sorry - I don't want to belabor the point. Maybe one way to look at
supplements is to see what modern h-g's do. I suppose you could say that
since they do gather many different plants for medicinal purposes, and
frequently make teas and infusions from them, then this could be regarded as
a "supplement," and therefore sets a "paleo" precedent, since presumably
paleo people would also have done this.

I think the essential difference from my perspective is that with modern
prepackaged supplements, there is no psychic element. In other words, you
have not participated in the identification, gathering, processing, etc., of
the plant. It has just been reduced to a chemical, identical in appearance to
all the others. If you picked up one of these pills lying on the street, you
would have no idea what it was, and its efficacy would be much less, if it
had any effect at all. I am talking about the placebo effect, which as we all
know is very strong.

Modern western medicine tries to eliminate this aspect, but of course this is
the most important element of any healing process. I remember asking my
doctor to wean me off some chemical (paxil) he was giving me and put me on a
placebo, on the grounds that it would work just as well and have no side
effects. He said he couldn't do it because it would be "unethical"!

Native people make a ritual out of gathering, processing and administering
medicinal potions. It is the very ceremony and ritual, and the presence of
the healing person (herb woman, doctor, etc.), that makes the process work.
You cannot simply separate out the chemicals, and expect the same result.
That is only a very small part of the entire process. You have to climb the
mountain under the full moon, and you have to dance to the plant when you
find it!

Charles
San Diego, CA