My SO is constantly trying to get me to see that products like Black Seed Oil and shakes made from peppermint leaves and natural herbs are just as effective as pharmaceuticals. I have been trying to find research on the subject but all I can find are those damned MLM schemes explaining why essential oils are so good for you. I’m not looking to prove to my wife she’s wrong. I’m just trying to find out for myself if these treatments are comparable to modern medicine.
In: Technology
It’s difficult to respond to your questions in a thorough way, because your wording is a bit vague. You specifically mentioned Black Seed Oil, and a quick Google search brought up this NIH.gov meta-analysis:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5633670/
Before you decide to either dive into or discount the world of natural medicine, you should remember a few things:
1) The scientific field of pharmocognosy, whereby researchers look for plant constituents with medicinal properties that can be synthesized into a pharmaceutical drug, is evidence that plant-based medicine can have validity. The most ubiquitous example of this is acetylsalicylic acid, originally derived from White Willow bark, now synthesized as Aspirin.
2) If you decide to buy an herbal product, do your research. There are reputable manufacturers and there are companies who are only interested in making a buck. Black Seed Oil, in particular, can be cold-pressed seed oil that is clean and tasty, as any seed oil would be, or it can be extracted using a solvent, which is not anything you would enjoy ingesting.
3) Just a quick point that Black seed oil is not an essential oil, and neither is a shake made with peppermint leaves. Don’t let the bad MLM market keep you from something as benign as enjoying peppermint leaves, which are a food and can be quite calming to the stomach.
I wouldn’t venture to “debunk” or support what your SO is telling you without knowing more about what she is recommending.
Latest Answers