Strange but True: Snake Oil Salesmen Were on to Something

Recent studies looking at the age old snake oil cure...could be beneficial after all...BD

One of the most common cure-alls was snake oil, and its less than sterling efficacy soon lent its name as a generic to all such fraudulent hoaxes.

Richard Kunin, a California psychiatrist with a background in neurophysiology research, became intrigued with the idea of snake oil in the 1980s. He had been following early research on the importance of omega-3 fatty acids for health and it dawned on him that the much maligned snake oil might be a particularly rich source. Omega-3's proliferate in cold-blooded creatures that live primarily in cooler environments because the fats don't harden in chilly water like omega-6 fatty acids do (hence, the high level of omega-3's in cold-water fish such as salmon). "Snakes and fish share one thing, they're both cold-blooded animals," Kunin says.

SNAKE OIL:  Chinese water snakes have lots of omega 3 fatty acids in their oil, meaning such snake oil might actually cure aches and pains.

Strange but True: Snake Oil Salesmen Were on to Something: Scientific American