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Re:Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017) by davidw on Friday December 27, 2019 @12:09PM (#21892482)
The thing about 'natural remedies'... is that if they're effective, there is some kind of active ingredient that does something. With proper research, you can figure out what it is, what it does, and hopefully how and why, and how to most effectively make use of it. That's what science and medicine are for.

I get sinus infections with depressing regularity too, and it's awful... I feel very draggy, like I do the bare minimum just to get by, and they go on and on and on, and then presto, antibiotics and it's gone in a day or two, and I wonder why I waited so long.

I really wish there were some advances in detecting (so you're not taking antibiotics for a cold) and treating them.

Re:Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017) by wavepruner on Friday December 27, 2019 @12:56PM (#21892896)
It's very difficult to effectively use some natural remedies at scale for a variety of reasons:

(1) They have a large number of active ingredients that are not cost effective to manufacture synthetically or isolate

(2) They have an active ingredient that is not yet possible to manufacture synthetically or isolate

(3) The active ingredient(s) are not shelf stable once isolated from the parent product

Lastly, and most importantly, natural remedies are not patentable. This means there is not enough money to get them approved for marketing as a cure for disease.

Re:Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017) by daxorid on Friday December 27, 2019 @01:31PM (#21893202)
natural remedies are not patentable

Never underestimate the ability of our dystopian modernity to do precisely this. Amarin patented a specific variation of fish oil (one that is no more bioavailable than literally eating a fish, just more concentrated), branded it Vascepa, and the FDA approved it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarin_Corporation

I'm sure there are plenty more examples of this, but this is the obvious one that comes to mind.

Re:Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017) by hcknwscommenter on Saturday December 28, 2019 @01:46AM (#21897550)
FDA approval has nothing to do with patentability.
Re:Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017) by ropiwqefjnpoa on Friday December 27, 2019 @03:23PM (#21894252)
I would also suggest a 4th: Natural Remedies sometimes take longer to work and they can be less convenient than a pill.