Why Do Doctors Test Holistic Remedies?

There have been many controlled studies on herbs and vitamin therapy lately. Many of them say that the products work, many say they don't work.

My contention is with the people doing the testing. They are medical doctors and medical scientists. Why?

These people don't know what these products do. They don't know how to administer them to patients, because they've never used them with patients before. As we saw with the echinacea study earlier this year, they often don't even know which part of the plant to use, and therefore come to incorrect conclusions about the herbal remedies.

Why don't the holistic practitioners do the testing? Those people use these therapies every day with patients, they know what side effects to look for, and how to counteract them. (Herbs really don't have many side effects, but it would still make sense to have a high-quality practitioner watching for them.)

Don't you think that's strange? How would a medical doctor view a study done of a pharmaceutical drug by a plumber?