Hacker News Reader

It's fascinating to me how some of these "cures" continue to persist with modernized marketing script. See e.g. some of the claims made about essential oils ([1] contains a concise list for example), many of which were thought to be curative in antiquity mostly because of their powerful aromas:.

[1] https://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/warningletters/...

View on HN

The problem is that there are only few controlled trials for herbs and supplements, mainly because there is no money to be made because the substances can't be patented. If company A finances a controlled trial, then company B can just copy the claims.

Another problem is that these herbal cures may work initially (through placebo effect or a real mechanism), and then stop working. However, at that point the word has already been spread. This is especially troubling in the internet age, where people post reviews after one day of trying something.

There are many quack remedies and elixirs that have been around forever and long ago obtained protected status with government regulators.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com