The Southwestern deserts are filled with plants reputed to have various curative properties. Herbal remedies are widely used in all of the Southwestern cultures, and numerous people swear by them and viciously attack anyone who questions their effectiveness. Others may equate naturalness with goodness, and thus uncritically accept natural herbal medicines. Few people deny that there are herbs effective for health.
The problem we have is that for most herbs, we don't really know
whether they are effective or not. Advertising of the products normally depends heavily
on testimonies—yet we've long known that such anecdotes are virtually useless. Such
things as the placebo effect and coincidental recovery at the time a medicine is taken
are easily taken by many as proof of efficacy and are major reasons that scientific
tests are required for claims of medical benefit. But testing medicines is hugely
expensive, and few herbs have the sales potential to entice commercial outfits to
undertake clinical trials. Thus the Catch 22—we know some herbs undoubtedly are
beneficial, but we have no way of knowing which ones!
Contributor: Arthur H. Harris, Centennial Museum, University of Texas at El Paso.
Desert Diary is a joint production of the Centennial Museum and KTEP National Public Radio at the University of Texas at El Paso.