Bitter Herbs: Mainstream, Magic, and Menace
Authors: Thomas L. Delbanco
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1994)

Editorials15 November 1994Bitter Herbs: Mainstream, Magic, and MenaceThomas L. Delbanco, MDThomas L. Delbanco, MDBeth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-121-10-199411150-00011 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail If nothing else, politicians are often the quintessential pragmatists. I recently asked a German legislator why his country's national health plan pays for homeopathic and other “unscientific” therapies. His reply was simple. “I can't prove they work, but many swear by them. They seem often to replace our doctors' expensive evaluations and tests and, so far as I know, they are safe.”In the United States, such remedies attract an enormous and growing number of patients. Their use is so extensive that a 1990 survey suggests that there are, in effect, two parallel tracks for those seeking primary care [1]. ...References1. Eisenberg DM, Kessler RC, Foster C, Norlock FE, Calkins DR, Delbanco TL. Unconventional medicine in the United States. Prevalence, costs, and patterns of use. N Engl J Med. 1993; 328:246-52. Google Scholar2. Woolf GM, Petrovic LM, Rojter SE, Wainwright S, Villamil FG, Katkov WN, et al. Acute hepatitis associated with the Chinese herbal product Jin Bu Huan. Ann Intern Med. 1994; 121:729-35. Google Scholar3. Horowitz RS, Dart RC, Gomez H, Moore LL, Fulton B. Jin bu huan toxicity in children—Colorado, 1993. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1993; 42:633-6. Google Scholar4. Pendergast MK. (Deputy Commissioner and Senior Advisor to the FDA Commissioner.) Statement before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. United States Senate. July 22, 1994. Google Scholar5. Rothstein WG. The botanical movements and orthodox medicine. In: Gevitz N, ed. Other Healers: Unorthodox Medicine in America. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 1988; 29-51. Google Scholar6. FDA Backgrounder. The Food and Drug Administration: an overview. 1991:BG 91-1,0. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.Corresponding Author: Thomas L. Delbanco, MD, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Hospital, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAcute Hepatitis Associated with the Chinese Herbal Product Jin Bu Huan Graham M. Woolf , Lidija M. Petrovic , Sergio E. Rojter , Sherrilyn Wainwright , Federico G. Villamil , William N. Katkov , Pina Michieletti , Ian R. Wanless , Frank R. Stermitz , John J. Beck , and John M. Vierling Metrics Cited ByHerbal, Traditional, and Alternative MedicinesHepatitis tóxica secundaria a hierbas chinasHerbal Supplement Use among Patients in a Rural Health SystemHerbal Therapy: What a Clinician Needs to Know to Counsel Patients EffectivelyMedicinal Plant Extracts for the Treatment of DementiaNutrition, Immunity, and Alternative MedicineHarmless Herbs? A Review of the Recent LiteratureUse of Alternative Medicines on Sydney's North ShoreA Review of Some Herbal and Related Products Commonly used in Cancer PatientsDrug-induced hepatic injuryThe Doctors’ DilemmaHigh Dilutions of Antigens Modulate the Immune Response to KLHPilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Chinese Herbal Treatment for HIV-Associated SymptomsAlternative/complementary therapies used by persons with HIV disease KM NOKES, J KENDREW, M LONGO Hunter College, City University of New York, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, New York; New York Veterans Administration Medical Center; and New England Deaconess Hospital, BostonUnconventional Medicine and Alzheimer's Disease 15 November 1994Volume 121, Issue 10Page: 803-804KeywordsAnalgesicsCancer treatmentClinical trialsFoodFood and Drug AdministrationForecastingSafetyStatistical dataStomachSurgery Issue Published: 15 November 1994 CopyrightCopyright © 1994 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...