In those days people took these things and sometimes got well. We know through modern medicine that most of these things have no effect on the human body as they pass through the digestive system and out in the form of fecal matter. There are several factors, but the major one is what we know today as the placebo effect. Keep in mind that there is a difference between a placebo and the placebo effect.
Placebo is a treatment that has no medicinal effect on the human body physically.
The Placebo Effect is the reaction of a patient s central nervous system to the placebo stimulus. This may cause some physical or emotion response from the human body. This is sort of a cause and effect situation if you will. Today Placebos are used primarily, but not exclusively, in the psychiatrical setting. They are prescribed more widely in the area of rural medicine known as Osteopathy than in the typical Medical Doctorate area.