<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> >I expect that many will agree with my reply to the following message. >Medicine is not an exact science. From what I've seen, it is a guessing >game, and the books often disagree (most are probably right- sometimes). Excuse me, but would you kindly outline the clinical trials that were performed on the plant medicines for all those thousands of years? Quackery has been around for a long time, and some (if not most) of the homeopath/naturpath "remedies" fall right in that category. In the U.S., there is a large government agency dedicated to making sure that pharmaceutical companies complete thorough scientific studies proving the safety and efficacy of their products. It's high time they started cracking down on these homeopath/naturpath vendors and demanded scientific proof (as in double blind clinical trials) of their safety and efficacy. Contrary to what you wrote, MOST drugs and compounds developed by pharmaceutical companies never make it to market because they cannot meet the stringent criteria set by FDA. Healing is an art; that doctors PRACTICE. As in all human endeavors, some doctors are better at it than others. Medicine doesn't pretend to have all the answers. I, and many others on this list, will continue to trust the medical profession to tell us how to take care of ourselves to the best of their knowledge, which is quite a bit more substantial than some of the snake oil schemes that are touted through the "health food" industry and various books and web sites. In case you're wondering, I spent fifteen years working on clinical trials in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. Only one product I saw through clinical trials (and I worked on more than 20) ever got marketing approval from FDA. In good health Chris in CA MoM to Eileen, Anna, and Laura