Found this on iol.
Athens - Television coverage of the purported healing properties of olive tree leaves have sparked a frenzy in Greece and caused one violent death.
Extensive media reports over the past week about the leaves’ alleged ability to cure illnesses including cancer have triggered an angry response from doctors and pharmacists.
“In this country, where charlatans thrive, you are whatever you claim to be,” heart surgeon and former health minister Dimitris Kremastinos said yesterday.
Last week, chat shows, including on state television, said a thick, green drink made of raw olive leaves and water, mixed in a blender, was doing wonders for cancer patients. Several elderly guests said they were cured by the drink and self-described therapists mixed the juice on live television.
The news spread like wildfire and the television shows fielded a flood of inquiries about the drink’s recipe.
Supermarkets on the oil-producing island of Crete and in Athens started stocking the leaves that, in some cases, cost more than the oil itself, which is renowned for its health benefits and known as liquid gold in Greece.
An argument between two brothers last week over whether they should give the leaf juice to their third brother, who was suffering from cancer, ended with one stabbing the other to death.
“When such an issue leads to the murder of one brother over the leaf juice then the frenzy has become uncontrollable,” Kremastinos said.
Scientists said only doctors could prove or disprove the benefits of such a drink.
Kremastinos said there was no scientific evidence to support the claims and said years of analysis would be needed to come to a conclusion. - Reuters
I wonder what will be the next fad. My bet is on fossil feces as a cure for warts.