The common cold and flu are major disrupters of daily life and result in several man-hours of lost productivity. But, what if these could be prevented? On this program, Cass Ingram discussed essential oil treatments for the cold and flu.
Time for some pizza… 😉
Groks Science Radio Show and Podcast 
Charles, I look forward to Groks science show every week! I’m a little disappointed in this podcast – I couldn’t find any science to back up what Cass Ingram is pushing. He sounds like the typical CAM “Conspiracy Theorist” when talking about why science won’t vindicate him, the pharma conspiracy to suppress him. Also, this is just not plausible. He’s talking about how pre-scientific cultures used spices as evidence, not about his non-existent clinical studies. He’s a doctor of Osteopathy – which appears to be similar to Chiropractic in it’s belief system. IMHO – this doesn’t belong in a science podcast…
By: Steve on January 26, 2011
at 10:13 pm
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comments. Well, we pretty much agree with you. However, despite our reservations, we thought that we should at least investigate it. It does seem fairly unlikely that any of these putative active ingredients work in the manner that he proposes. So, we’re skeptical too, but it may be worthy of better scientific studies.
Thanks for your skeptical comments! And of course, thanks for listening!
-Groks Science Show
By: grokscience on January 26, 2011
at 11:20 pm
Hi Folks,
Thanks for your quick and thoughtful reply. After reading more comments from previous shows, I tended to think you may be trying to be impartial to some degree and let the audience decide. I’m happy to see you agree and I think I may have reacted too quickly after having been primed by the ADHD discussion a few weeks back 🙂
Love the show!
By: Steve on January 26, 2011
at 11:58 pm
wow. oregano has remarkable antimicrobial and antiseptic qualities. great. i would expect this kind of info in the format of a short post on lifehacker.com. unless there’s going to be discussion on the underlying mechanisms (either theoretical or statistically-backed) or disussion on the implications, then there’s not much meat here for a full podcast. not much to learn, not much to reflect on. BO-RING. and obnoxious: the guest never lets charles talk or formulate an interesting question. and yeah, as far as conspiracies go, the tylenol-lobby-suppresses-independent-research one, is kind of on the lame side. how about a podcast about how low-oversight large-scale industrial farming contributes to the rise of new, resistant, highly-contagious strains of microbes?
By: carlos on February 1, 2011
at 4:57 pm
I think you guys really dropped the ball on this one. This guy is on here to sell his book PERIOD. I can’t even finish listening to this one. He sounds like Kevin Trudeau.
By: Tom Harris on February 1, 2011
at 10:21 pm
He makes Kevin Trudeau seem conservative by comparison… 😉 Anyway, there’s no doubt that we get more posts to the website with someone like this, then we do with someone talking about mainstream science… 😉
By: grokscience on February 3, 2011
at 3:02 pm
I was very disappointed to hear Cass Ingram on your show. I expect much better of you. If you must have him on your show, I’d expect you to challenge his unfounded claims.
Please, leave Cass and his type to the Oprah circuit. Putting him on your show only lends him an air of credibility that he doesn’t deserve.
By: Craig on February 5, 2011
at 10:31 pm
Pure comedy! I was laughing so hard I had to pull over! Oregano… 🙂
I suppose there are those who don’t “get” it (like Craig). Like the old saying, “make up your own damn mind”. I think I mentioned this before, but if he wants to hear what he wants to hear, he should go listen to guys like Rush Limbaugh.
Anyway, thanks for a great laugh.
By: Mik on February 7, 2011
at 10:09 am
Meh, I’m glad that do you give basic home medicine guests a show from time to time. Who cares if he wants to sell his book. Basic herb knowledge is nice to have, nothing about it is “cult”. I have found that supplementing -some- herbs for ailments makes me happier than buying an OTC counterpart.
There is no need to invoke conspiracy on anything about that, whether the guest ever implied a conspiracy or not. Everyone *also* has a right to be displeased with some pharmaceutical motives without being precluded from legitimacy.
By: Jack on February 7, 2011
at 3:16 am
I expect a science show to engage the science. If the guest won’t, then the hosts must. If not as part of the interview, then afterwards. It’s your responsibility as science journalists. I agree, you dropped the ball on this one. You need a followup investigating these claims.
Just because we can make up our own minds doesn’t relieve you of your journalistic responsibilities.
Chlorine bleach kills virus in petri dishes, but I don’t think we should drink it.
By: Stephen on February 9, 2011
at 12:43 am
amen, brother
By: carlos on February 9, 2011
at 3:55 am
Essential oils can affect not only the nasal senses, but also the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of
nearly everyone.
essential oils are valuable is because they have several things in common with human blood. They are
accepted by the body because of these commonalities. They include: compatibility with human proteins, ability to
fight infection and regenerate tissue, similarity in chemical structure with human cells, similar hormone-like
compounds, and many more.
Thanks
AND
Regards
Essential Oils
By: mukesh on April 2, 2012
at 11:17 am