Life Examined
Natural healing: Plant-based medicines and supplement skepticism
Host Jonathan Bastian talks with ethnobotanist Dr.
By Jonathan Bastian • • 52m ListenHost Jonathan Bastian talks with ethnobotanist Dr. Cassandra Quave about the amazing medicinal potential of plants and her global search for natural compounds — long known to traditional healers — that could help save us from the looming crisis of untreatable superbugs. We also hear from Dr. Marion Nestle, New York University professor emeritus of nutrition, food studies, and public health, on the health benefits — both real and fictitious — of nutritional supplements. From probiotics to vitamins, why do we take supplements without any scientific evidence that they do any good?
In this episode
2 storiesHow plant-based remedies could help save us from superbugs
For centuries, plants and herbs — from peppermint and chamomile to aspirin and opium — have been long known to hold medicinal qualities.
Read the story29 minNutritional supplements are not really about science
A recent study found that 81% of adults in the U.S. between the ages of 35 and 54 take dietary supplements, and that 76% of all Americans take some kind of vitamin or mineral.
Read the story23 min
