New project: homeopathic bullshit

chaser plus

Picked up a card of this shit today.  Seemed like a good project.  It’s homeopathic.  Meaning, it’s harmless.  And useless.  The ingredients:

  1. Chinchona 12X
  2. Lobelia inf 12X
  3. Nux vom 12X
  4. Quercus gland sp 6X
  5. Ranunc bulb 12x
  6. Zincum met 30X

There are problems figuring out how much of each of these is actually in a tablet.  12X dilution by weight or by volume?  Fine, I can figure out a dilution, but how much of that dilution is in each tablet?  Or, does that really matter?  What the fuck are these ingredients, anyway?

More to come.

7 comments ↓

#1 The Skepdick on 12.28.09 at 14:01

The first ingredient, Chinchona Officinalis, contains an alkaloid commonly called quinine. Used usually to treat malaria. Also used to flavor tonic water.

What does this have to do with hangovers?

#2 dinoboy on 12.30.09 at 19:09

To assist in your search:

I might also wonder the utility of saying “Quercus gland” (Quercus being the Latin for Oak). Botanically, glands are cells that secrete various fluids; often sugars or water (there are other types).

The term “Quercus gland” could refer to any one of several glands of the oak therefore is to unspecific to be useful in itself.

Assuming the “sp” refers to the common abbreviation for “species” makes specific identification even more difficult considering there are some 400 species in the genus.

#3 The Skepdick on 01.05.10 at 21:26

Thanks, I’d been wondering what part of the tree is the “gland”.

But, I am wondering how a homeopathic dry pill is supposed to work without the memory water.

#4 Tim Danaher on 01.17.10 at 20:58

‘Gland’ is French for ‘Acorn’. Quercus Gland = Oak Acorn (a bit redundant, I know…)

#5 Rod on 09.01.11 at 22:33

I work at a gas station where the product is being discontinued. I just happened to notice it and being curious wrote down the ingredients to look them up on the internet. The names are very vague and the closest items that I could come up with are all highly suspect.

Cinchona was once used as a cure for malaria, but it can be poisonous. Lobelia is another folk remedy that is simular to nicotine. Nux vom is nux vomita, the nut of the strichnine tree. That’s right, it is poison. Quercus gland, which someone pointed out is acorns, which do not seem to have any properties outside of food value. Ranunc bulb seems to refer to the buttercup which is poisonous. Last is ‘zincum met’. Zincum is an old name for zinc and ‘met’ is probably short for metal. Zinc in small quantities is good, but in large quantities can produce an acid in the stomach which can kill.

Fun stuff. No wonder there is a warning about not taking too much of it.

#6 Scott on 09.05.11 at 10:26

I dont think you know how homeopathy works. Please try it first before you get all freaked out about the ingredients. Yes, there are poisonous ingredients but they are at extremely low doses. Homeopahty works on the principle that you fight fire with fire. (you put up a poison against another poison–the hangover feeling in this case; which are similar symptoms you would feel from ingesting these poisons). Hence, again, fighting fire with fire. In fact, in fire science they teach fighting forest fires with Fire. Kinda the same principle. I’ve tried this stuff and I was shocked with the results. There are few other anti hangover meds on the market too, using different ingredients and i’d like to encourage you to try them as well….Mac

#7 The Skepdick on 09.05.11 at 15:04

No evidence for efficacy. Period. Doesn’t strike you as odd that homeopathic water “remembers” whatever homeopathic bullshit was once in it, but somehow forgets all the fish and yak and aardvark shit it’s had in it.

It’s not simply stupid to encourage the use of homeopathic anything, it’s downright criminally negligent.

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