On the efficacy of herbal medicine:

Plants have been trying to kill us, not cure us.

Because they believed in the tooth fairy.

It was absolute rubbish. They had no idea how the body worked.

The basic concept that most people have missed is that plants are poisonous.

In most cases it’s been a myth from day one. Homeopathic medicine is a complete fairy tale.

Nailing a brick to a wall would have been just as effective.

The thousands of years of plants being used as medicines have actually taught us very little.

People have faith in herbal medicine and if you have faith in something then it has an effect. The only thing wrong with [herbal medicine] is that it may have a side effect. Also, you may not be treating the illness.

I promise you, in 50 to 100 years’ time, people will be as rude about most of the medicines we take today as I am about peony root.

Dr. Henry Oakeley, the garden fellow at London’s Royal College of Physicians

via Boing Boing