Snake oil is a fraudulent liniment without snake extract. Currently, it has come to refer to any product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. By extension, a snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is a fraud, quack, or charlatan.
A snake oil recipe from 1719/1751 (Juan de Loeches, Tyrocinium Pharmaceticum), printed in Spain: "The viper oil of Mesues. Take 2 pounds of live snakes and 2 pounds 3 ounces of sesame oil. Cook slowly, covered in a glazed pot, until meat pulls away from bone. Strain and store. Uses: Cleans the skin, removes pimples, impetigo and other defects."
The use of snake oil long predates the 19th century. In Europe, viper oil had been commonly recommended for many afflictions, including the ones for which rattlesnake oil was subsequently favored (e.g., rheumatism and skin diseases). In China, oil made from Chinese water snake (Enhydris chinensis) fat is a traditional liniment used for treating joint pain. Chinese water-snake oil contains 20 percent eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which has strong analgetic and anti-inflammatory properties.
I can tell that many think I am selling snake oil when I tell them about what I've seen of molybdenum's effect on alleviating nausea/vomiting and migraines. But I'm not selling it. I'm actually often giving it away for free in order to help people not suffer. And then it works.
Also, I'm not saying it works for many afflictions. As far as I've seen, molybdenum clearly helps with only two things: 1) nausea and vomiting, and 2) migraines. Both of these ailments are affected by diet in what (till now) have been mysterious ways, and molybdenum is in some foods. If you read my other blog posts, you'll see that current research supports plausible explanations for how molybdenum could help with both of these two ailments.
The answer to the post title is "No." Molybdenum is proving itself by repeated observations in different people to actually be a genuine help. I think that, far from being a placebo, molybdenum acts on a molecular level to relieve a physiological cause of migraines and nausea/vomiting.
(Disclaimer: I do not prescribe the use of pharmaceutical drugs in any way. I am not a physician, and I reject out of hand any attempt to hold me liable for what boils down to a discussion of food. Any use of a molybdenum supplement should be prudent and guided by the tested tolerable upper intake levels for its usage (see http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/minerals/molybdenum for those limits). Any use of an isolated molybdenum supplement during pregnancy should be under the direction of a medical professional as such supplements have apparently not been tested during pregnancy.)
(Disclaimer: I do not prescribe the use of pharmaceutical drugs in any way. I am not a physician, and I reject out of hand any attempt to hold me liable for what boils down to a discussion of food. Any use of a molybdenum supplement should be prudent and guided by the tested tolerable upper intake levels for its usage (see http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/minerals/molybdenum for those limits). Any use of an isolated molybdenum supplement during pregnancy should be under the direction of a medical professional as such supplements have apparently not been tested during pregnancy.)
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