THE ‘NATURAL’ FALLACY
A look at the evidence is crucial when separating fact from fiction
Drinking alkaline water can cure disease. Myth. Wrapping tarnished silver in aluminum foil and immersing it in hot alkaline water can remove the tarnish. Fact. Hot water with lemon juice is an effective “detox.” Myth. Heavy metal poisoning can be treated with chelating agents such as ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). Fact. Autourine therapy can ward off disease. Myth. Organic agriculture allows the use of certain pesticides. Fact.
Separating myth from fact is the very essence of science and is the focus of many of my public presentations. It is not rare after a talk for someone to ask me what I think is the most prevalent myth I’ve had to confront over the years. Without doubt it is that natural substances have some sort of property that makes them superior to synthetic materials, with the corollary being that “natural” treatments as practised by alternative practitioners such as naturopaths are preferable to the methods of “conventional” science.
“Natural” most definitely does not equate to safe. Natural coniine in hemlock put a quick end to the life of Socrates. In the 18th century, a local king in Java executed 13 unfaithful wives by having them tied to posts and injecting the sap of the “Upas tree” through an incision on the breast. That latex contains antiarin, a potent cardiac glycoside. The “Death Cap” mushroom is well named, and tetrodotoxin in puffer fish, atropine in belladonna, or batrachotoxin in “poison dart” frogs can dispatch people pretty quickly. So can natural strychnine, botulin or arsenic.
Aflatoxins in natural moulds are potent carcinogens and we are familiar with the effects of natural nicotine, morphine and alcohol. Then of course there are the various pollens released by plants that annoy us with allergies and the myriad bacteria, viruses and fungi that conspire to do us in with a host of dreadful diseases. And how about the mosquitoes that spread the natural malaria causing parasite, the ticks that infect with Lyme disease, the snakes that inject a deadly venom or the wasps that can double the size of your foot with their sting? The fact is that nature is not benign, even something as pleasant as sunshine can be deadly in the wrong dose. Natural radon gas is a carcinogen and poison ivy can create a great deal of misery. Visiting a urinal without washing hands after handling hot peppers that harbour natural capsaicin will lead to a very memorable experience. Indeed, we spend a great deal of effort trying to outwit the natural onslaught with synthetic antihistamines, sunscreens and chemotherapeutic agents. But some promoters of “natural” therapies also spend a great deal of effort trying to outwit us with pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo capitalizing on the “natural is better” myth.
Take for example the cleverly named dietary supplement, 112 Degrees, promoted with the slogan “A new angle on sexual health.” The geometric reference is to the angle aspired to by men who suffer from erectile dysfunction. 112 Degrees claims to be a proprietary blend of “all-natural ingredients” that enhance male sexual vitality. While the advertising sounds pretty seductive, it is soft on hard facts. The inventor is a Dr. Laux, who turns out to be a naturopath, not exactly the pedigree one looks for in a drug developer. He is presented as some sort of globe-trotting knight in constant search of the best and safest “all natural” treatments. Yup. How likely is it that he is going to find an effective product that has eluded the giant pharmaceutical companies staffed by experts who scour the natural world for active ingredients?
The natural health industry commonly promotes the notion that pharmaceutical companies are not interested in natural products because they cannot be patented. This is not so. The use of a specific natural preparation can be patented just like a synthetic drug. Of course what really matters is not whether some substance is patented or not or whether it is natural or synthetic, but whether there is evidence to back the claims. 112 Degrees claims to be supported by numerous scientific studies. Yes, there are some studies, but they don’t actually support the claim of enhanced male vitality. The studies show the product is not carcinogenic, that it has some antioxidant potential and some ability to inhibit an enzyme that interferes with smooth muscle function. All good, but is there even one study to show that 112 Degrees can help men with erectile dysfunction? None that I can find.
The advertising refers to studies about some of the ingredients. “Butea superba” root, for example. We are told that it was revered by royalty in the ancient kingdom of Siam for its power as an aphrodisiac. That is about as convincing as the story of ancient Assyrian men dusting their genitals with powdered natural magnetic stones and having their ladies follow suit by sprinkling natural iron filings across their own genitals for some literal attraction.
Then there is the claim that “Tribulus terrestris,” another herbal component, combats fatigue and low libido. No mention is made about how much is contained in “112” but we are reassured that Ayurvedic and early Greek healers used Tribulus terrestris as a sexual rejuvenator. One study, never duplicated, showed greater mounting behaviour in mice, but there are no human studies that have shown any sort of effect on sexual performance or libido. There has been at least one report of breast growth in a man who took Tribulus as a weight training aid, for which it is in any case ineffective. In sheep, Tribulus has been noted to cause Parkinson’s like effects. Of course none of this is noted in the 112 Degrees documentation. So I think a large degree of skepticism, more than 112 degrees, is to be exercised when looking at the over exuberant and naive promotion on behalf of this product by people who are trying to cash in on the unfounded “natural is better” notion.
‘Natural’ most definitely does not equate to safe.