Anyone with a computer and a basic understanding of language can write herbal remedies articles. How do you sort the nonsense, the fluff and the potentially dangerous from the legitimate information? Here are my tips for making sure that the info you're reading (and the person writing it) are legit:
- Look for scientific references. When it comes to giving health advice, there is no shortage of blogs out there doing just that. But just because something is written in an informal style does NOT mean it shouldn't be held responsible for the word they pass. "Studies show," and "they say," and "it's been shown," sound impressive but they mean nothing. If you want legitimate health information, look for someone who will show you exactly which studies are being cited, what they show and who the "they" is that's doing all this amazing research.
- Make sure those references are legitimate. If the site being referenced is a site selling products, beware. If the site is backed by someone hawking a "miracle cure" for something, be doubly aware. There are no miracle--even among herbs--so don't let some made-for-ads site trick you into believing that it's legit when it's not.
- Don't be impressed by terms like "certified" and "educated". Herbal medicine is full of scam artists whose only credentials are mail-order diplomas. They look impressive but a "certificate" is NOT a license. And don't be impressed by official-sounding organizations, either. I get offers all the time for diplomas issued by impressively named institutions that, upon closer inspection, are just fronts for multi-level-marketing firms or publishing houses selling herb books.
- Remember the Golden Rule. No, not that one--the other Golden Rule. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." I've worked with herbs and other botanicals throughout my entire career. I've studied herbs from every continent and been invited to endorse, buy and sell dozens of different "cures". And the plain truth is, there are no miracle products, no miracle herbs and no miracle techniques. If there were, I'd be the first to tell you about it.
- Watch out for the "soft sell". 99% of all the herbal remedies web sites you'll run across today are deliberately crafted to "pre-sell" you on something. These sites provide page after page of carefully written "articles" to "educate" you on whatever their special little miracle cure is. But they often don't present a balanced view and they almost never present a scientific look at herbal remedies. A good rule of thumb is this: If it ever feels like a sales spiel, it probably is a sales spiel.
Remember, scam artists, charlatans and frauds count on your unfamiliarity with herbs. Hopefully, now you have a few more tools to make informed decisions about the herbal remedies you might be considering.
