Miracle" remedies
Everywhere you look, you'll find miracle remedies full of fabulous promises, such as giving you an elephant's memory, boosting your intellectual faculties, increasing your concentration, giving you energy, strong nerves and solving your stress or anxiety problems ! Tempting, isn't it?
What do you think?
Several types of products
First of all, there are different types of products: those that can legally be called drugs and those that look like them but aren't, which should be called food supplements. Only medicines (sold only in pharmacy) have undergone the analyses and controls necessary to assure you of their quality and efficacy. Food supplements do not have to prove that they fulfil their promises, or even that they are harmless. It is due to a lack of controls that serious accidents sometimes occur (confusion between certain little-known plants, marketing of plants containing molecules potentially toxic...). There are also a lot of enduring beliefs, such as the use of phosphorus to boost your memory, when this is far from proven.
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Effective?
While some products sold by mail order or in boutiques and department stores use plants reputed for this or that virtue, you need to pay close attention to the concentration of active ingredients in the product. Often, the dose is so low that there is really no possibility of action! On the other hand, what's not underdosed is the price!
Keep a critical eye and don't let yourself be tempted too quickly. Talk to your doctor, or at least your pharmacist, becauseself-medication can be very dangerous!
