Letters

May 27th, 2004 by Ben Goldacre in bad science | 1 Comment »

Alternative body

Thursday May 27, 2004
The Guardian

I was interested to read that Richard Brook, chief executive of Mind, thinks St John’s Wort is a homeopathic remedy, and that it is, according to Ben Goldacre, “pretty close to pure water” (Bad Science, May 20). It is, in fact, a very old herbal remedy, which has long been used for the treatment of depressive conditions.

It is true that there does not seem to be a reliable source of information regarding the interaction of conventional drugs with alternative treatments. Most doctors scoff when asked and claim to know nothing outside the world of “real medicine”. Herbalists and homeopaths are more helpful but cannot possibly keep abreast of current drug development.

Would it not be possible to form some kind of official body to set out guidelines for the more popular alternative remedies that we use?
Lyn Faulkner
Bartlow, Cambridge

Note:

I didn’t say that blood SJW was a homeopathic remedy, I was writing about somebody else who did and pointing out that they were purveying bad science:

www.badscience.net/?p=87

The chaps at the Guardian themselves were apparently unable to understand this, and so published this rather odd letter.


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