In these parlous times, folk are turning to things 'natural' in droves. The feeling is that if it is 'of nature', then it has to be good and helps in some way to return us to a more natural state. While there's a lot in this, in many cases, there are some pitfalls.

Lots of people doing something rings bells in commercial hallways.

The inevitable result is that commercial interest swarms in that direction, hi-jacking the word 'natural' and sticking it on the label or in the advertising of just-about-anything, in the hope of catching sales.

Some of this stuff fits in with our perception of 'natural' and 'good'. A lot of it is counterfeit. Caveat emptor (buyer beware) is a great motto and slogan. Examine everything carefully for its natural and wholesome credentials. Do not be taken in by the commercial leeches and have your wallet sucked dry.

Three main ways in which 'natural' may not be wholesome are:

1) adulterated products that may contain a whiff of some natural ingredient but which have no more right to be called natural than I have to be called an Olympic athlete.

2) some things which are genuinely natural may be very unwholesome - look at arsenic, for instance, or poison ivy by way of reductio ad absurdum.

3) some products, while being natural, may be extremely damaging to the ecological niche from which they come (e.g. don't buy sandalwood products, as the groves are rapidly disappearing and are not replaceable in a predictable way).

Don't be cynical but don't be naive either. Keep those antennae waving!