backpacker

I was being facetious but I guess you missed that - paranoia kicking in maybe?

I get that you're all for using substances as found in nature, as opposed to mass produced and marketed pharmaceutical medications. On many levels I agree with you - but you seem to espouse that natural products are always good, benign and beneficial and man-made products only ever harmful and not to be trusted - there is a middle ground.

With this in mind - How do you take your oleander then . . .

Have you considered that the problem you seem so upset about is not actually the big pharma products themselves but more the way they are marketed and prescribed without adequate diagnosis, testing and monitoring? Something we should all be concerned about - however the same could be said of alternative medications.

As someone who has to sit on the fence re medications I have learned to evaluate the pro's and cons of both. Without man-made medications I would be dead - no ifs, ands or buts - however I also use complimentary medications where they have been established to be effective and I have found them to be beneficial for my situation.

Thanks for a robust debate - re your original topic of depression - cortisol levels have an influence on the presence of some types of depression - something not well researched yet but may be in the future.