Magickal Realism

The Independent argues the ineffectiveness of herbal treatment.

I’ve learned that I have to take British journalism like I do US-based journalism, on a case-by-case basis. Still, despite the severely slanted nature of nearly all Western press, I really think that British ”objective” journalism is much more prone to smug pandering and deliberately bad information, whereas US journalism bad reporting is the result of either sloppiness or lack of time for fact checking. (Brits do it out of mean spiritedness, while the US does it out of ignorance. Equally bad, IMO). The above article is one of those examples.

The slant is that “herbs don’t really work.” But when you delve into the details, that’s an inaccurate conclusion.

Says one passage of the article:

In the first systematic review of individualised herbal medicine – the sort where a customer goes into a herbalist’s shop, describes their symptoms, and the herbalist then makes up a preparation of several different herbs – the two researchers found no evidence that the complex Chinese, Ayurvedic or western European potions worked. Of 1,300 studies that they were able to locate, only three were randomised clinical trials comparing the herbal preparations with placebos. Of those three, two found that the individualised preparations were no better than placebos, and the third – of patients with irritable bowel syndrome – found that they were less effective than the standard herbal treatment, a mixture of 20 Chinese herbs. The results are published today in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.

Professor Ernst, a professor of complementary medicine who has been a thorn in the side of the alternative medical lobby, argued that the findings demonstrated that medical herbalists could no longer claim that their tailored remedies worked. What astonished him, he said, was the failure of the herbal medicine establishment to respond to their request for evidence. “We wrote to 15 professional organisations asking if they had any evidence and they came back with nothing. That was the most amazing thing for me,” he said.

First, notice the language: rather than “remedies” the writer opted for, in this context, the derogatory term “potions.” Second, there is information missing: where were those 1300 studies pulled from? And why aren’t there more genuine clinical trials of herbs against placebos?¹

Also, notably, while Ernst, the person opposed to use of herbs in place of traditional treatment,² there are scant quotes from an herbalist and none from an Ayurvedic expert, instead the author is choosing to use vague terms like “they.” There are thousans of herbal types in the US, Canada and the UK - even if the reporter couldn’t get one on the phone, a request or two in a few Internet forums should at least have gotten an email quote. So hello, irresponsible.  Particularly considering that there is a massive difference between Estern and Western herbal practice.

While it does conclude with a list of herbs considered “safe” per clinical trials, there are no links to those clinical trials, and it still ends on the isolated cases of poisoning/inaccurate treatment. Consumers face a barrage of information ever day, and it’s gotten far too easy to let the government do the thinking, especially when it comes to chemicals, whether herbal or synthetic. Unfortunately, since 100% of everything around you has a chemical composition, you’ve got to think about it. Not all herbs are safe - but contrary to the way this article is written - not all herbs are dangerous, either. Point of fact, one of the “safe” herbs, valerian, does have significant risk associated with its use since it’s the base ingredient for Valium³.

I will never be convinced that herbs don’t work, having used them for most of my adult life, and considering that “herbs” are the chemical foundation of the pharmaceutical industry. Especially after this latest bug that I’ve had for 6 weeks now - my doctor gave me Robitussin with codeine (why would I need codeine!!!???) and sent me home. The Robitussin did not work. Since there are plans afoot for removing nearly all cough remedies from the shelves⁴, this leaves me herbal remedies only since my doctor wouldn’t do a damn thing - and now that I’ve started taking herbs for the hideous cough befouling my life, it’s stopped making me miserable.

An intelligent article on the subject would have:
1. Quoted the studies, and named said studies
2. Asked why there are so few studies
3. Stayed away from the “ooh, magic spooky people!” language. Yes, a lot of us herbalists are Wiccan. Suck it up and get over it, these days that’s only interesting to the complete twit. There’s a whole lot of Christian/Foxfire type herbalists around, too.
4. Spoken to a Real Live Herbalist rather than lumping all herbalists into a group and calling it “they” and “them.” It’s Us versus Them. Oh Noes!!!!⁵
5. $20 that Jill Davies, head of the Association of Master Herbalism, was misquoted and then some. Why save her until the last paragraph unless you’re manipulating information?

1. Notably the author of this article completely overlooked that most pharmaceuticals are developed from extracts of the same plants used in common herbal treatments. [↩]
2. Magickal Realism advocates getting appropriate medical care from a licensed professional. We really believe herbs and snotty doctors can someday work together, once the doctors get over their politics and start caring about their patients again. [↩]
3. aka Dizepam [↩]
4. 10 stupid kids a year get high on cough syrup, so they ban it. Thousands die per year because of cigarrette smoking, and it’s still out there. [↩]
5. mocking. sarcasm. [↩]