Posted by honeybee on February 27, 2006, at 16:30:53
In reply to thanks, posted by LegWarmers on February 25, 2006, at 12:44:27
LW,
Not to contradict myself--but, of course, to contradict myself--one thing that emerges from studies like these is that they're a) typically just one study (as opposed to many) and b) oftentimes contradicted by either subsets of individuals within the study, other research, and anecdotal reports. If these substances work for you (as some people are reporting) and there's no harm in taking them, it doesn't hurt to chalk it up to either the brilliant afterglow of the placebo effect (yay, placebo!) or a mechanism of action that Western scientists aren't able to understand yet. Even though I offered the link to the study's results, it sounds like lots of people have found them to help. And I know the combination works for my friend's cat, who doesn't read any studies at all! So, there may be more to it.
Good luck finding something that works for you.
b
p.s. Here's a follow-up article in the NYTimes that talks about a number of alternative remedies and glosses, but does touch on, how difficult it can be to tease apart the possible effects... http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Supplement-Setbacks.html Slightly annoying in tone, but I'll take alternative health care coverage where I can get it.
poster:honeybee
thread:612672
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20060130/msgs/613842.html