I've been following this thread closely since the first email. And I can't stand it. I just have to add my .02 worth.
You know the only thing I really regret about the situation is the bad publicity. The man is an adult. No one forced the stuff down his throat. Personal responsibility has to come in here on this subject somewhere. When you're dosing yourself, it's your responsibility to do the research and find out what's what, and keep up with the news and advancements, or enquire from a reputable source. I am extremely cautious when trying something new. Herbs and and supplements and other alternative health care methods are just as powerful as any drug that the doctor prescribes and aren't to be played with. The problem with most people is that they're used to going to a doctor and popping a pill for just about everything. But it doesn't cure the root problem, it just alleviates the symptoms. Sometimes herbs and things take a while longer to show apparent results, and people in this instant gratification age have no patience. They want results and they want them right now. Take Glucosamin and Chondroitin for example. I KNOW it works (for me anyway) but it took about two months for me to really tell a difference, other people have used for only a week or so and could tell a difference in pain levels. The response time is depends on the individual. People can go to the doctor and get a pain pill that knocks out the pain right away, sure, but they continue to wear down the joints. I am so sensitive to pain meds that something as mild as the very lowest dosage Tylenol 3 or loricet conks me out for up to 14 hrs. I know Kava works. I used it for years to ease back spasms. I never had a problem with my liver or anything else. I have to buy it online now because of stupidity. Valerian and some of the other things just don't work as well for me as the Kava does. St John's wort works wonderfully well for me in conjunction with Kava for inflammation. MSM works great for me. If you drink a lot of alcohol there are a lot of things you shouldn't take prescribed or alternative. The liver is the main detox system for the body and many many drugs are filtered primarily by the liver. If your liver is already taxed because you drink alcohol every blasted day, then you're going to have problems. Same for the kidneys. There are SOME drugs that are filtered mainly by the kidneys. I can't fathom anyone, taking anything without knowing what it is, and how it works, and just what it does to their body. I don't trust ANYONE enough to just take something without looking at it very closely first. I Know some other supplements and herbs that work also because they worked for me, BUT I have never just taken things willy nilly. I have the utmost respect for plants and supplements because that is where modern medicines originated. Well except the synthetic drugs, and they used nature as a template for those too, otherwise they wouldn't work at all. And even now they have problems with them because they've changed the molecular structure, and the human body has trouble with strangely configured molecules(Just look at Trans fats). I believe that plants evolved along with animals and people and we can find a plant for just about anything. There are even cancer drugs now that originated from plants. People are so used to NOT taking responsibility for themselves and the Nanny government doesn't help. This started when all the danged lawyers started suing for stupid stuff, like the lady and the McDonald's coffee. Come on now, how much common sense does it take to know that coffee is hot, and you need to be careful with it? How much common sense does it take to know that whatever you take, it's going to affect you one way or another? The schools don't help either. They don't teach kids to think for themselves. I home schooled my kids. Not because of religion but because of the shape the schools are in. My kids can think for themselves. I taught them to. It IS a skill that can be taught. You can teach people to stop and think about things before they run off to do things. I taught my kids to think about things from different angles and weigh pros and cons and think about consequences BEFORE they do things. To this day they'll say I'm thinking about this or that, but I'm not sure yet if I should because of this or that, and I have to find out this or that first. I don't give out advice anymore either except for just a a few individuals that I know will do their own research and try it cautiously. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if Nanny government steps in once again and overrides our rights to tell us we can't take CS or make it because we're too stupid to do it for ourselves. And THAT makes me really angry because they'll do something because a man turns blue but he isn't dead. But they put fluoride in water, they chlorinate water everywhere, they let let aspartame be sold, and Trans fats. That's not all but you get my point. Liz:)
