Re: "homeopathic" Quietex

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/8/99 11:26:08 PM Pacific Standard Time,
katswig@deltanet.com writes:

<< Many people confuse "homeopathic" with "natural".  This, I suspect,
 because many homeopaths are also "herbalists."
 
 But homeopathy and herbalism are not the same thing; although many people
 combine them under the heading of "natural." >>

Unfortunately, many people also equate "herbal" with "drug-free" and that is
far from the truth, too.  MANY drugs are refined from plants (at least
originally), and MANY herbal remedies work precisely because they contain
pharmacologically-active agents in unrefined forms.  In many cases, a plant
may contain a whole family of the chemical in question, whereas the "refined"
drug is just one member of the family.  A perfect case in point is yucca--it
is a "natural" anti-inflamatory plant because it contains a class of chemicals
called salicylates, the most common of which is acetylsalicylic acid, better
known to most of us as aspirin.

Heidi