Reply #139: Not going to convince me

[sir_captain]

The FDA is certainly imperfect, and should have acted faster on the Cox-2 business, but I'd rather deal with the devil I know than the devil I don't. Valerian root, for instance, has been implicated for numerous negative properties not limited to heart palpitations, and even coma and death in high enough doses. The whole concept of "natural" is dumb--the pharmacologically active ingredients in medicinal herbs are not really any different than the medicines synthesized in labs--many of which are naturally occurring anyway. There are plenty of "naturally" occurring substances, take cyanide, for example, that aren't very good for you, you know?

The idea that "herbs" aren't researched in America is not true either. Just because it's not the FDA doesn't mean that labs all over the country don't do research on pretty much everything under the sun, Valerian included.

I'm not saying to stop being cynical--but you ought to be just as cynical about the "natural" herbalist manufacturers who have *zero* accountability. You don't even know if what's on the label is in the bottle.

All that said, though, as long as you have a good doc who knows what you're taking, I'm sure you're doing fine. :toast: