Entries Tagged as 'John Smith'
March 27th, 2010 · 1 Comment
HERB SAFETY VERSUS PHARMACEUTICAL DANGERS
There is a general acceptance of pharmaceutical medicine, whereas herbal medicine, which has been used for thousands of years,
is still viewed by many with suspicion. Medicinal plants may (in some cases) contain toxic chemicals, but in most cases other elements in the plant will cushion the effects of these toxins, so that in prescribed doses, even some (not all) quite toxic herbs, will be safe to use.
The amount of people harmed from either prescribed or over the counter herb use is rarely worth recording.
When producing a pharmaceutical drug from a plant, the scientist will isolate what is considered to be the “active ingredient” (which in some cases is a toxic alkaloid). This will be analyzed in terms of its chemical structure and usually synthesized.
In pharmaceutical medicines, the natural plant buffers have been removed, so that all drugs will have at least some side effects. More than two million people suffer damaging side effects each year in the US alone from prescribed medicines.
Herbal medicines are generally effective, if correctly prescribed, in treating any imbalance, but when that imbalance becomes extremely serious or acute, there may be a place for pharmaceutical medicine or medical procedures.
As mankind moves away from nature and we surround ourselves with man-made causes of disease, the pharmaceutical industries gain greater dominance. But the more we listen to our bodies, eat sensibly, and use natural remedies when appropriate,
the healthier we’ll remain and the less likely we’ll be to take the downward spiral of using unnatural substances to maintain our grip on an unnatural life style.
“Pharmaceutical medicine has been used for almost a century to help people to live with their disease, but rarely to cure them.”
—Professor Hollander, pioneering stem-cell researcher
“The Doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
—Thomas. A. Edison.
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HERBAL ALTERNATIVES TO ANTIBIOTIC DRUGS
Antibiotic drugs have been in use for less than a century and, although it must be said that in their advent they were a great medicinal breakthrough, in latter years, or decades, they have been subject to excessive and often inappropriate usage.
Many herbs have antibiotic properties; most, if used sensibly, have no side effects, they include: Garlic, Golden Seal, Chiretta and Echinacea.
GARLIC: Recent research was conducted into the antibiotic properties of certain herbs, the result showed Garlic to be an extremely potent antibiotic, antibacterial and antiviral agent. In Mediterranean countries where Garlic is consumed in vast quantities, it is shown that there are less cases of life threatening disorders (including cancers and heart disease).
GOLDEN SEAL: One of the most powerful, and expensive herbs in the Western herbal pharmacopoeia. Golden Seal is now endangered in the wild.
Early settlers in the Americas learned of the attributes of Golden Seal from Native American people who used the root in their medicines.
Ideally Golden Seal should be treated as an antibiotic and immune stimulant and therefore have a restricted usage of 5-7 days each time. Its action is tonic, laxative, cleansing and mildly stimulating; it aids digestion and has a cooling effect on mucous membranes.
CHIRETTA: is an herb, which grows in India, Pakistan, Thailand, China and other eastern countries; it was considered to be responsible for ending the 1919 flu epidemic in India, an epidemic that killed more people than the First World War.
Chiretta has been referred to as ‘Indian Echinacea’ in that it has similarly powerful properties as an immune stimulant and has been used by Ayurvedic doctors to treat virtually every toxic disorder from snakebite to cancer. Scientific tests have shown that Chiretta has a ‘cytotoxic’ (cell killing) effect against cancer cells1 and in cases of breast cancer is found to inhibit the growth of cancer cells as efficiently as the drug tamoxafen but without the accompanying side effects found with the drug.2
ECHINACEA: is now becoming a household word and has earned itself a place of prominence in the medicine cabinets of the health conscious as a blood and lymph purifier, an antibiotic, anti-fungal and antiviral remedy.
Echinacea was probably first used by the Pawnee Indians in the treatment of snakebite, earning it the name ‘Kansas Snake Root’.
Acknowledgements:
Bartimeus. Paula, Andrographis. Health Science (The Newsletter of the Health Sciences Institute) May 2002.
McKenna, Dr. John, Alternatives to Antibiotics. Gill & Macmillan.
Wren. R.C., Potter’s New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations. C.W.Daniels Co. Ltd. 1988.
1 Balch, P.A. Prescriptions for Herbal Healing. P.21. Avery 2002.
2 Holt, Stephen M.D., Comac, Linda. Miracle Herbs; How Herbs Combine with Modern Medicine to Treat Cancer, Heart Disease, AIDS and More. Caro Publishing Group, 1998.
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CHINESE HERBS
MAINTAINING HEALTH AND PREVENTING DISEASE.
It might be useful to mention that the Chinese are not preoccupied by viruses and bacteria, the major focus in Chinese and most ‘traditional’ medicine systems is maintaining a state of homeostasis in the body in order to fight off external pathogens.
The average person in China will have at least a rudimentary knowledge of what to eat in order to stay well, a knowledge that has been passed down from an herbal tradition dating back thousands of years.
The food herbs listed below are commonly used in Chinese cuisine to maintain health.
WOLFBERRY: (Lycium Barbarum “Goji Berry”)
This sweet, red fruit has been prized in China as a longevity tonic and used by Taoist masters for thousands of years, it was referred to by Li Qing Yuen (1678-1930) as being one of the major tonics he used to maintain his life for 252 years.
Lycium fruit is pleasant to taste and can be added to cereals, porridge, pies or wines, or merely eaten as a dried fruit snack with nuts and seeds.
Chinese and Japanese studies show lycium to be supportive in the treatment of various cancers[i].
JUJUBE: (Chinese Red Date)
Another pleasant fruit used in both Chinese cuisine and medicine is the Jujube Date: commonly used as a spleen and blood tonic, a sedative and rejuvenator.
Jujube is said to clear the nine openings of the body and allow the uninterrupted flow of energy through the meridian channels.
KUDZU (Peuraria lobata)
Used by the Chinese and Japanese as food and medicine; Kudzu provides a root-starch ideal for making custards and sauces.
As a medicine Kudzu clears internal heat, especially that caused by toxins such as drugs or alcohol, it has also been found useful in treating mild addictions[ii] together with reducing stress, tension and pain.
SCHIZANDRA (Schizandra sinensis)
Another fruit used in Chinese Medicine, is known as ‘wu wei zi’ (five flavour seeds). Schizandra is one of the few herbs which effects all of the organ systems, but particularly the kidneys and lungs, making it an excellent herb to use for increasing endurance.
OPHIOPOGON: (Japanese Turf Lily)
Keen gardeners may know Ophiopogon as a good border plant, with its spiky grass-like foliage. The is mucilaginous and therefore useful in promoting the secretion of fluids.
Ophiopogon is used to treat dry throats, to replenish the lung and stomach and as a mild sedative in the treatment of fearfulness and insomnia.
I have chosen the above herbs partly because they are everyday food herbs in China.
Using herbs as foods is the Chinese way to long life, health and happiness.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
A Handbook of Chinese Healing Herbs. Daniel Reid. Simon &Schuster. 1995.
[i] Observation of the Effects of LAK/IL-2 Therapy Combined with Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharides in the Treatment of 75 Cancer Patients, Chunghua Chung Liu Tsu Chih. 1994 Nov.; 16(6): 428-431.
[ii] Earthforce Kudzu Trial, Bristol, England. 2001.
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AYURVEDIC HERBALISM AND LIFE EXTENSION
‘Avert the danger which has not yet come’ – Yogi Patanjali
Ayurveda is probably the oldest health system of the world. It covers various disciplines used to ‘purify’ the body (including diet, herbal medicine and lifestyle recommendations).
One aspect of Ayurveda is ‘Rasayana’ – the development of elixirs to increase vitality and prolong life.
Many centuries ago, the ageing seer, Rishi Chyawan, found himself compromised into marrying the teenage daughter of a local Rajah. In order to increase his strength and vitality Chyawan prepared a food paste containing 49 ingredients, this became known as Chyawan Prash and is still commonly used to restore health after periods of weakness.
A major ingredient of Chyawan Prash is Amla: (Emblica myrobalans) commonly known as ‘Indian Gooseberry’. Amla is extremely rich in a thermostable form of Vitamin C. (20 times that of oranges) and is the mainstay of many Ayurvedic preparations.
Another compound, which includes Amla, is the almost legendary Triphala a simple three-herb formula known in India as ‘The Mother of all Medicines’.
Triphala has a cleansing action on the blood, the colon, the liver, the skin and the eyes.
The importance of maintaining ‘digestive fire’ in the Indian diet makes the selective combining of spices vital. Spice herbs such as peppers, cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric and ginger are used for their potent digestive properties.
A commonly used ‘churna’ or spice blend in India is known as ‘Hingashtak’. Hingashtak is centred around the herb Asafoetida (Hing), a root resin rarely found in health stores due to its overpowering smell, earning it the folk name ‘Devil’s dung’.
A latex taken from the root of Asafoetida (Ferula foetida)is dried, ground and mixed with rice flour to add to the cooking of beans and pulses. Medicinally this resin is used to aid indigestion, treat flatulence, intestinal pain, peptic ulcer, parasite infestation etc.
Two other herbs included in Hingashtak are Ginger and Pippali,
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a common culinary and medicinal herb used in both Chinese and Indian cultures, it can be used in cases of constipation, dysentery, nausea (including morning sickness), asthma, rheumatism and poor circulation.
The fruit of the aromatic pepper Pippali (Piper longum) is commonly used in the treatment of coughs, colds, tonsillitis, flatulence and diseases of the spleen and liver.
Pippali root is also used in decoctions to treat both high blood pressure and insomnia.
The herbs and formulations I have mentioned above are commonly used in India and usually discovered by westerners who survive prolonged periods of travel throughout the Indian subcontinent.
In India the principles of cause and effect are understood, prompting people to take greater personal responsibility for their health.
© John.E.Smith
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ATTARS
FRAGRANCES OF THE SOUL
“Unani Tibb”, The Middle Eastern system of natural medicine, was developed in the 10th Century, by the Persian physician Hakim Ibn Sina (known in the west as Avicenna).
Avicenna compiled the classic text ‘The Canon of Medicine’ which influenced both the teaching and practice of medicine for the next thousand years.
Avicenna was also known for his development and use of Attars (pure fragrances) which are used to treat many disorders, particularly those associated with the heart, emotions and evolution of the soul (Ruh); adding to a range of elatives, exhilarants and nervines unequalled by other traditional medicine systems.
The word ‘Attar’ is an Arabic word meaning ‘fragrance’ or ‘essence’. Attars are traditionally prepared by ‘cold rolling’ or ‘steam distillation’.
The most popular botanical substances used in attar preparation include: Oudh, Rose, Saffron, Jasmine, Tuberose, Amber, Myrrh, Sandalwood and Frankincense.
Many of the secret Attari formulae use as many as forty different essences often including the rarest and most expensive perfumes e.g. Oud (eaglewood) so expensive it is sold in India by the gram, saffron, and the finest rose petals (about 30 roses are required for just one drop of pure rose attar).
A great Islamic teaching, outlines “the six stations of the soul”, from “the station of the Ego” to the higher stations of “Divine Secrets”, “Nearness” and “Oneness”; and recommends the use of certain Attars, to support the evolution of the soul, through these realms of consciousness.
Attars give another dimension to healing, and are a useful addition to a dispensary. They are used largely for the therapeutic effect of their aroma.
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