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The story of the original Snake Oil
Snake oil
is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain. However, the most
common usage of the words is as a derogatory term for compounds offered as
medicines which imply they are fake, fraudulent, or ineffective. The expression
is also applied metaphorically to any product with exaggerated marketing but
questionable or unverifiable quality. In short, it refers to a product sold as
one part of a hoax.
Snake oil originally came from China,
where it is called shéyóu. There, it was used as a remedy for inflammation and
pain in rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, and other similar conditions. Snake oil
is still used as a pain reliever in China. Fats and oils from snakes
are higher in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) than other sources, so snake oil was
actually a plausible remedy for joint pain as these are thought to have
inflammation-reducing properties. Snake oil is still sold in traditional
Chinese pharmacy stores.
Chinese labourers on railroad gangs — involved in building the Transcontinental
Railroad to link North America coast to coast
— gave snake oil to Europeans with joint pain. When rubbed on the skin at the
painful site, snake oil brought relief ... or so it was claimed. This claim was
ridiculed by rival medicine salesmen, especially those selling patent
medicines. In time, snake oil became a generic name for many compounds marketed
as panaceas or miraculous remedies, whose ingredients were usually secret,
unidentified, or mis-characterized — and mostly inert or ineffective, although
the placebo effect might provide some relief for whatever the problem might
have been.
The snake oil peddler became a stock character in Western movies: a traveling
"doctor" with dubious credentials, selling some medicine (such as
snake oil) with boisterous marketing hype, often supported by pseudo-scientific
evidence, typically bogus. To enhance sales, an accomplice in the crowd (a
"shill") would often "attest" the value of the product in
an effort to provoke buying enthusiasm. The "doctor" would prudently
leave town before his customers realized that they had been cheated. This
practice is also called "grifting" and its practitioners
"grifters".
The practice of selling dubious remedies for real (or imagined) ailments still
occurs today, albeit with some updated marketing techniques. Claims of 'cures'
for chronic diseases (for example, diabetes mellitus), for which there are only
symptomatic treatments available from "mainstream" medicine, are
especially common. The term snake oil peddling is used as a derogatory term to
describe such practices.
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Issues
Aloe: interactions & reactions - Aloe vera and the law
See on the next page for information about possible
interactions and adverse reactions noted when taking Aloe Vera
extracts. Before viewing this, please note the following:
The
information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not
intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care
professional or any information contained on or in any product label or
packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or
treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other
treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting
any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or
if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. You should not stop
taking any medication without first consulting your physician.
Aloe Vera and the Law
Under British Law, a claim
that a food supplement can prevent, cure or treat a disease is illegal unless
the product has a medicinal licence from the Department of Health's Medicines
Control Agency (MCA) proving that it can do what it claims to do and is safe in
normal use.
No aloe vera products carry medicinal licences. They can therefore only be
marketed as food supplements. No one who markets aloe vera is allowed to make
any claim about medical benefits using the product might bring. That is why
this site does not sell aloe vera products.
The American FDA regulations are that the internal use of Aloe Vera gel is approved only as a “dietary
supplement.” The external use of the gel is approved by the FDA only as a cosmetic
ingredient. Manufacturers cannot claim that their products can cure, treat, or prevent any disease:
Internal - approved for use as a dietary supplement with
“structure/function” claims allowed as long as they do not claim to diagnose,
cure, treat or prevent any disease and carry a disclaimer on the product label
to this effect. According to current FDA-proposed regulations, examples of
acceptable structure/function claims include “Supports the immune system” and
“Supports a healthy heart,” while claims such as “Helps treat AIDS,” and “Helps
prevent cancer” are considered unacceptable, as these are considered drug
claims.
External - approved for use as a cosmetic ingredient. Drug
claims and structure/function claims are not allowed. Claims regarding
cleansing and beautifying such as “moistens,” “soothes,” and “softens” are
allowed.
At the same time, scientists and medical professionals have conducted trials
using the aloe vera gel and lotion to treat a number of conditions including
irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, ulcerative colitis and stomach ulcers.
Dentists have shown great interest in aloe vera. Vetinerary use of aloe vera extracts
includes a proven treatment for feline leukaemia. Over 300 scientific papers testify
to the huge interest which the scientific community have shown in the plant
over the last 70 years and it is hard to believe that such a high level of interest
would be generated by it unless there was some substance in the claims made for
aloe.
In spite of this incongruity, the legal position remains. Aloe cannot be
marketed as a medicinal product.
Extravagant claims?
It is undeniable that irresponsible and extravagant claims are sometimes made
for both Aloe vera and its extracts. For
example, one company’s recently granted
US patent for an aloe polysaccharide extract claims that an extraordinary list
of disorders can be treated with some benefit their product: Huntington’s,
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Tourette’s, alcoholism, arthritis, Gulf War syndrome,
Downs syndrome, macular degeneration (blindness), colour blindness, spinal
chord injury, agent Orange damage, AIDS, Lupus, breast prostate ovarian,
intestinal & lung cancers, female impotence, frost bite and snake bite.
.... and yet maybe in time we shall find these claims are not so extravagant.
A middle path?
The law must protect the vulnerable from exploitation by unscrupulous salesmen. At the same time, there
are a wide range of conditions
which medical professionals have been looking at to see if
aloe vera can provide some relief.
What the material presented on this site shows clearly is that aloe vera is no "snake oil".
We hope that this site sparks your interest and and prompts you to find out more about this fascinating plant.
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