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Spice Rack Panacea: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|I'm sorry, herbal medicine, oh, "herbal medicine [[Appeal to Tradition|has been around for thousands of years]]", and indeed it has, and then we tested it all, and the stuff that worked became "medicine". And the rest of it is just a nice bowl of soup and some potpourri, so knock yourself out.|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature{{=}}player_detailpage&v{{=}}YMvMb90hem8#t{{=}}175s Dara O'Briain]}}
One of the staples of late night advertising is the host of herbal remedies claiming to cure all known human ills. Having trouble shedding that last 10 pounds? There's an herbal pill for it. Can't concentrate or focus like you used to? We have magic plants for that, too. Sex life not what it used to be? There's a whole forest of herbs for that one. [[Incredibly Lame Pun|(And with that much wood, how can you go wrong?)]]
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See also [[All-Natural Snake Oil]]. For something that actually works, see [[Panacea]].
{{examples}}
== In Fiction ==
* An episode of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' from the first season dealt with this. He had to prove that it wasn't his failure to keep good records that caused a nun to react unexpectedly to an allergy shot. After about forty minutes televised time, he figured out that the figwort tea she drank all the time caused that particular problem; figwort acted like a stimulant.
* In ''[[King of the Hill]]'', Hank reacts to herbal tea as if it was a form of illegal drug by calling it "dope".
* An episode of ''[[Law and Order]]'' deals with a doctor selling one of these as a breast cancer cure, with the result that one of her patients dies from complications of the disease.
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* In ''[[New Tricks]]'', [[Defective Detective]] Brian Lane switches from the powerful anti-depressants he normally uses to combat his OCD and paranoid manic depression to a holistic regime... and quickly becomes an unstable, nervous and paranoid wreck who's no good at his job. In her defense, the holistic practitioner he consults urges him to consult his medical doctor before making any shift in his medication or including her holistic treatments in his routine; Brian simply chooses not to listen.
* ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "Fry and the Slurm Factory", when Bender complains about feeling sick:
{{quote|
'''Bender''': [[Running Gag|I'm forty percent zinc.]]
'''Amy''': Then take some echinacea, or St. John's wort.
'''Professor Farnsworth''': Or a big, fat placebo. It's all the same crap! }}
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* Echinacea, commonly used to treat colds and other mild viral infections; is known to react badly with heart and anti-anxiety medications.
* Licorice root, often used in large doses to treat stomach problems, is known to cause high blood pressure.
* Kava is a particularly irritating example in that it may actually
* Many plants contain various amount of phytoestrogens, which are compounds that behave like estrogen in the body. Whether or not phytoestrogens have any real health benefits for adult women [http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/FactSheet/Diet/fs1.phyto.cfm is uncertain], but some people claim (or strongly imply) that phytoestrogens are ''better'' for you than the estrogen your own body makes ''because it comes from plants.'' Whut?
* Valerian, often bought on its own and in conjunction with other herbs as a natural insomnia remedy, does work to help you sleep... and it also brings on depression in people with Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymia, Bipolar and possibly even in people who were not previously ill. Especially bad as a common symptom of any of the above conditions (and a common side effect of antidepressants, which people with those conditions are likely to be on) is insomnia.
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[[Category:Advertising Tropes]]
[[Category:Spice Rack Panacea]]
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