"Woo Wars" - What is "Woo"?

[FloridaJudy]

152. Hear, hear!!

Seeing that kind of crap on Facebook drives me bonkers! The same people who rant against Big Pharma seem to be enamored of Big Placebo. I have absolutely nothing against Alternative medicine, as long as it doesn't replace evidence-based medicine, and as long as it does no harm. Did you know that some traditional herbal remedies contain such "micronutrients" as lead and arsenic? Take enough of those, and I guarantee you will see an effect! Unfortunately, that can be death or permanent disability. It happens a lot among immigrant groups who rely on herbal remedies from their home country.

Another startling claim I spotted recently via the Natural News was that lemon juice can cure diphtheria. My own immigrant background uses lemon juice and honey as a treatment for the common cold, and when I get one, I head right for the stash of organic lemons I keep in the fridge. Because it does no harm, and might even make me feel better, if for no other reason than that it reminds me of having a day off school being coddled by Baba. But I sure as hell wouldn't advise it as an alternative to vaccination or antibiotics for a disease that used to kill people on a regular basis.

Some herbal medicine is perfectly safe, and can even be effective for certain conditions. Many of the most reliable medications used by doctors today started out as "folk remedies", and are still derived from plant sources. So when someone recommends Indigo Fatherwort (I made that up) as a remedy for headaches, I check it out in the Herbal PDR. If it lists no serious adverse effects, I may even wander over to the health food store and buy a small baggie. (You may not have access to a $140 medical textbook, but Google is free. Just be sure you're checking a reliable website, and not one hawking vitamins).

...where I get to overhear some clerk recommend "energized water" as a preventative and treatment for AIDS. That I didn't make up, alas! Sure, guy: condoms and protease inhibitors are a plot by Big Pharma.

The Natural News makes me stabby.