Unfortunately buying something from a chemist no longer holds the same sense of security for me. I find that I have to educate myself, have to find experts like those you mention) to determine the efficacy of products – whether its homeopathic products or the recent replacement of Pseudoephedrine by a seemingly inactive agent.

On the subject of chinese medicines, I find they fall prey to the same disingenuous marketing techniques as less reputable products – that being said I have not researched the area enough to have formed an educated opinion on them.

Ciao

Matt

It's been interesting over the years since the Pan Pharmaceutical recall in Australia, to watch what vitamins/minerals/alternative health supplements have NOT made it back on to the shelves. And to see how few brands are available now in Australian health food shops & chemists. (And one hopes/trusts? that those brands left are more reputable in their practises.) We seem to be back to a more restricted range of simple vitamin & mineral dietary supplements, along with slowly increasing range of Chinese medicines. Of course, we can easily buy over the internet and many people do.

It amazes me how reluctant people are to do their own research, or to believe scientists. The internet makes it so easy. I am greatly influenced by my medical nursing training, together with advice from trusted clinical nutritionists (e.g. Dr Rosemary Stanton, Prof Jennie Brand-Miller). We don't need vitamin/mineral/herbal supplements unless our diet is lacking. And Australians should be eating a nutritionally balanced diet made primarily from fresh food sources.

People also seem sucked in by the claims by the processed food manufacturers of "all natural" etc as being good for your health. Ask any hospital doctor or nutritionist and they will tell you that it's better to cook from scratch using fresh fruit, vegies and meat when possible. It's always telling in Alice Springs if you see one of the local doctors doing their grocery shopping, check out what's in their trolley – mainly fresh fruit and veg. Then look at how healthy and fit they look.

The natural-nonnatural dichotomy is a false dichotomy. And it is a (false) dichotomy that is fundamentally misanthropic. Those that support 'natural' products may well try to deny that it is misanthropic – that they revere the ancient wisdom from a time when humans were more attuned to Nature – but I maintain that what they are revering is Nature, not humans.

The core of the belief is that human beings are outsdie of Nature and impinge on Nature: human bad, Nature good. Sure, some human ingenuity is good, just not too much.

The ingenuity that is at the appropriate level belongs to those humans beings once known as Noble Savages. Such a phrase is not in fashion because it seems rather racist (probably becasue it is racist). But whether they like it or not, that's what they're promoting: veneration of the Noble Savage.