Prince Charles has launched a range of herbal tinctures under his Duchy label. The new Duchy Herbals products are all made from plants and are available to buy at branches of Boots and Waitrose for the princely sum of £10! The tinctures which are made from plants include Echincea reflief to help ease symptoms of the common cold; Hyperi-Life to help symptoms of anxiety and depression and Detox to help eliminate toxins and aid digestion. A Duchy spokesman said, "The decision to launch these products reflects the Prince of Wales's passion for integrated healthcare". The Prince has always been a great advocate of complementary treatments and therapies. He once famously remarked that modern medicine needs to adopt a more "integrated and holistic approach". Prince Charles was also quoted as saying that he believed the proper mix of proven complementary, traditional and modern remedies which emphasise the active participation of the patient can help to create a "powerful healing force" for our world.
Prince Charles's new Detox tincture has come under fierce criticism by a leading British academic expert in the field of complementary medicine. Edzard Ernst, a professor of complentary medicine at Exeter University has branded the artichoke and dandelion mix, "outright quackery" and accused the Prince of financially exploiting a gullible public in times of hardship. Ernst claims that Prince Charles is contributing to the ill health of the nation and pretending we can all overindulge, then take the Detox tincture and feel fine again. He also stressed that there was no evidence that the tincture worked. A Duchy spokesman hit back by saying that the Detox tincture had never been described as, "a remedy, cure or treatment" for any disease and satisfied all relevant sections of European and UK food laws. Nelsons, the firm which manufactures the Duchy Originals Herbals, stated that Artichoke and Dandelion had been used for hundreds of years as an aid to digestion and they didn't believe the product contributed to ill health by encouraging over indulgence. I personally believe the products are very good. As some of you know, I work in the Vitamin and Supplement industry myself and am a great believer in complementary therapies and remedies. However in my opinion, they should never replace traditional modern medicine but should ideally work alongside it, to complement any existing treatment a patient is receiving. I also think that it's very important that herbal medicines, like traditional medicines are regulated. I know from personal experience that some herbal products, particularly those containing St Johns Wort, can have contraindications with other traditional medicines that a patient may be taking. It's always worth consulting your doctor and asking their advice before you take any complentary herbal product, just to be on the safe side.
3 comments:
I hope these new products are helpful, and I hope they succeed.
I think the tinctures sound great! Can't wait to check them out on my next trip to the UK. I love your blog!
Me too Sandy. They are very good products.
They are well worth checking out Leslie. Glad you enjoyed your visit here.
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