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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 12/22/2004 : 18:42:12
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These things just might kill you. From Scientific American: quote:
Herbal Remedies Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals
Some herbal remedies may do more harm than good. Researchers writing today in the Journal of the American Medical Association report that 20 percent of herbal medicine products sampled contained dangerous levels of heavy metals.
Listed are lead, mercury, and arsenic. Nasty stuff. It causes me to wonder how many deaths or serious illness' have been caused by herbal remedies that were atttrubited to something else.
[Moved to the Health Folder - Dave W.]
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
 Posted - 12/22/2004 : 19:23:25 [Permalink]
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quote:
"Although the prevalence of heavy metal-containing Ayurvedic [herbal medicine products] is unknown, the number of individuals at potential risk is substantial," the team writes. "Our findings support calls for reform of DSHEA that would require mandatory testing of all imported dietary supplements for toxic heavy metals." --Sarah Graham
Amen... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2004 : 19:27:24 [Permalink]
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quote:
It causes me to wonder how many deaths or serious illness' have been caused by herbal remedies that were atttrubited to something else.
Well, one is to many. Odds are it's many more than one.
The problem is that you can't keep stupid people safe from themselves. Combine that with deliberate misinformation by the people selling this junk, and you end up with corpses.
Afterall, if the bottle says "herbal" it's got to be good for you, right?
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2004 : 19:53:58 [Permalink]
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quote:
Afterall, if the bottle says "herbal" it's got to be good for you, right?
Only if it's filled with fermented and distilled vegetable matter or essence of cannabis. 
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Starman
SFN Regular
Sweden
1613 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2004 : 00:32:11 [Permalink]
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Reminds me of an old Randi commentary quote:
Reader Rob Mackey sends us this from a western Pennsylvania newspaper item, about a teen girl who decided that chewing jimsonweed seeds was a smart thing to do, because she read somewhere that it was "cool." This is a poisonous plant that sometimes kills cattle who graze on it, though it's prickly and nasty. The name comes from "Jamestown weed," which was first identified in Jamestown, Virginia. The girl was found wandering the streets in a daze.
"I thought it would be safe because it's natural," the girl told the Cresson Township police. "There aren't any chemicals or anything in it." Oh, I see.
"What do they teach these kids in school these days?" asks Rob. "Lets see,"a chemical-free compound. If I invent that, can I pocket the cool million? I won't quit my day job."
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Wendy
SFN Regular
USA
614 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2004 : 10:40:32 [Permalink]
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I confess I occasionally use Valarian Root as a remedy for insomnia. I've tried other remedies and they leave me feeling groggy the next day. It's the only herbal remedy I have ever used, but it seems to work well for me.
Up until now the only down side was that it smells like feet. 
I'll have to do some research to try to find out if the toxic metal content occurs in certain specific remedies and/or brands. Thanks for the tip. |
Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do on a rainy afternoon.
-- Susan Ertz
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