Gary Woods wrote:

Martin Brown wrote:


But I am extremely sceptical of all US pseudo-medical sites that
are principally selling their expensive herbal extract pills.

As well you should be... my favorite is the "deodorized" garlic capsules to
avoid the bad breath, when all the studies I've seen indicate that the
health benefits are tied to the sulphur compounds in garlic. Which cause
the bad breath.

Although there is a chemical trick that allows the "deodorized" garlic
capsules to be made their chemistry is different. Whether or not it is
still effective is another matter - but never under estimate the power
of the placebo effect which is itself directly proportional to the
purchase price the sucker pays for the placebo.

If my friends don't like garlic, I'm getting new friends. Life's too
short.

I grow my own. It's a bit marginal in the UK, but in a good year will do
OK. I have known a few people dangerously allergic to the allium family.

I love the bilberry thing... the only evidence would seem to indicate that
the Brits started it as a bit of disinformation to confuse the Germans.

BUT WE DIDN'T!!! That is why it is so incredibly funny!

The UK cover story for radar was that pilots ate lots of *carrots*.

Bilberry (and X) jam was on the table because it was the cheapest fruit
still available to make jam with under pretty dire wartime conditions.
Prior to WWII bilberries were still (just about) used as a red vegetable
dye and grew wild on large areas of otherwise useless moorland. These
days overgrazing by sheep has seen off a lot of good bilberry patches.
X was whatever bulk veg was available to bulk it up.

And as an astronomer I can certify that I could detect absolutely no
useful difference in my dark adapted eyesight after consuming a 6oz
slice of bilberry pie with cream (food for free). Strangely the people
in the US who pay $20 for the same dose of magic bilberrry extract in
half a dozen exotic pills claim major improvements. YMMV

Regards,
Martin Brown