Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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 Some of the herbal remedies most often employed include astragalus,64 Carnivora (Venus' flytrap),65 echinacea,66 licorice,67 and goldenseal.68 Garlic and isatis root are commonly used because of their broad antibacterial and antiviral qualities,69 as is ginseng for its tonic effects on the thymus gland in addition to its ability to help resist stress.70 St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) is used because of its retrovirus blocking actions,71 as is hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis).72
Aloe vera may also be effective for treating HIV infection. |
Thomas J. Moore
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 The top 50 are the most popular drugs, the fruits of the most advanced medical scientists, and, compared to herbal remedies, thoroughly tested. Then why do they remain so dangerous? Why hasn't a free market, billions of dollars, and a flourishing science produced drugs without these troubling risks? Why can't we have drugs that meet the basic human dream of something we can take freely without worrying about it? It turns out that the problems of prescription drugs are embedded in the very nature of how we think about and invent new medicines. |
Mark Bricklin
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 This is a fine book, detailing herbal remedies used by a number of Indian tribes for some 65 ailments. However, by its very nature, it is bound to be of more use to the advanced student or one who is interested in the history of herbs than to someone seeking directly practical information. A handsomely produced book, and one that makes a good addition to any library of herbal books.
Wren, R. C. Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations. Rustington, Sussex, England: Health Science Press, 1907. Revised and enlarged by R. W. Wren in 1956. |
Thomas J. Moore
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| Some people believe that doctors should have very wide latitude in prescribing drugs—everything from herbal remedies to experimental gene therapy. On the other hand, others might suggest doctors should work in a tightly monitored, disciplined system as do airline pilots, whose every cockpit comment and control change is recorded in case of an accident. The following evidence shows that whatever your view, much more study is needed about how to help doctors do a better job selecting and prescribing drugs. |
Dr. Gary Null
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 When I started taking the herbal remedies, the menstrual cycle became very regular again, approximately every thirty days. The flow was more regular, the cramping was easier to deal with. The mood swings disappeared, and I became balanced. My own body told me that this was certainly working for me. The herbs have made a fundamental difference in my life.
The Chinese herbs are different from American herbs because they are given in combination. They address a number of symptoms at one time, and they are also cost-effective, which I think is important for many people today. |
| Wharton recommends these old naturopathic herbal remedies for treating burning urine: "Mix together equal parts of fennel, burdock, and slippery elm. Steep a teaspoon of this mixture in a cup of boiled water for about 20 minutes. Have one cup before each meal, and one before bed."
She also recommends flaxseed tea or a combination of uva-ursi and buchu: "For either tea, use one teaspoon of the dried herb(s) to a cup of boiling water. Again, let it steep for 15 to 20 minutes. Then drink one cup, three or four times a day. The results more than compensate for the awful taste."
Dr. |
Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
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 Safe, low-cost herbal remedies are becoming the first choice of thousands for the treatment of simple, everyday health problems. But perhaps most promising of all, herbs have value as preventive medicines. Clinical research continues to shed light on the potential health-protective properties of a wide variety of medicinal plants. |
| Likewise, dietary supplements and herbal remedies are sold over the counter and should not be considered life-saving medical interventions. Instead, herbs and nutrients are often most effectively used to support and maintain health, to improve health and protect the body.
We must use common sense in decisions about conventional self-care with OTC drugs versus seeing a doctor. We know when we have a cold or a headache or motion sickness, and it is usually appropriate to self-medicate for such simple ailments. These conditions will go away anyway, with or without treatment. |
| American medical and pharmacy schools long ago stopped teaching about herbal remedies, and, for the most part, high-quality education for herbalists or other herbal practitioners failed to materialize. There are herbalists who have considerable knowledge about herbs, and some who are adept at diagnosing health conditions. Unfortunately, in the United States there is no official certification program for "herbalists," and technically, anyone can claim that title without any training or experience at all. |
| Like OTC drugs in the United States, natural medicines were approved in Europe by expert panels, such as the German Commission E, which looked at existing research evidence and used their own expertise to make decisions about herbal remedies. |
| The Complete Illustrated Holistic
Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and
Using herbal remedies. Boston: Element Books,
1996.
Hoffmann D. The Herbal Handbook:A User's Guide to Medical Herbalism. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1988.
Mclntyre A. Herbs for Common Ailments: How to Use Familiar Herbs to Treat More Than 100 Health Problems. New York: Fireside Books, 1992.
Murray M. Natural Alternatives to Over the Counter and Prescription Drugs. New York: William Morrow, 1994.
Murray M. The Healing Power of Herbs:The Enlightened Person's Guide to the Wonders of Medicinal Plants. |
| Wong AHC, Smith M, Boon HS, et al. herbal remedies in psychiatric practice. Archives of General Psychiatry 1998; 55:1033-1044.
14. MenniniT, Bernasconi P, Bombardelli E, et al. In vitro study on the interaction of extracts and pure compounds from Valeriana officinalis roots with GABA, benzodiazepine and barbiturate receptors in rat brain. Fitoterapia 1993; 64: 291-300.
15. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A, eds. American Herbal Products Association Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton and New York: CRC Press LLC, 1997.
16. Foster S, Tyler V. Tyler's Honest Herbal, 4th ed. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| The alternative approach to such disorders includes dietary changes, nutritional supplementation, detection and elimination of food allergies, herbal remedies, and stress reduction.
Dr. Donovan recommends a whole foods diet to prevent gastrointestinal problems. "Eliminate all food additives and prefabricated foods and junk foods," he says, "and eat a high-complex carbohydrate, high-fiber, moderate protein, low-fat diet." He recommends staying away from red meat and nuts (unless they are fresh in their shells). |
Natural Prescriptions: Dr. Giller's Natural Treatments & Vitamin Therapies For Over 100 Common AilmentsRobert M. Giller, M.D.
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| There are herbal remedies that have been shown to be effective, though I think it is best to use them in conjunction with conventional drug therapy. Look in your health food store for remedies that contain the herbal bitter wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). The packages will give precise directions on how much to take and how often.
Natural Prescription for Protozoa Disease
• If you have unexplained symptoms as described above, you should discuss the possibility of protozoa disease with your doctor. |
Barrie R Cassileth, Ph.D.
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 Today, herbal remedies (see Chapter 11) and other traditional techniques (see Chapters 20 and 40) join acupuncture as central components of traditional Chinese medicine.
What It Is
Acupuncture is a medical therapy developed in China more than two thousand years ago. It involves the placement of hair-thin, disposable needles of varying lengths into the skin (Figure 3). Ancient acupuncture needles were made of bone, stone, or metal including silver and gold. Modern needles are made of stainless steel. |
Leo Galland
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 Bioflavonoids are potent antioxidants that contribute not only to the health benefits of fruits and vegetables but also to the therapeutic effects of many traditional Chinese and Indian herbal remedies.79 The bioflavonoids that give grapes their purple color are believed to be responsible for the protection against heart disease that is offered by red wine. Epigallo-catechin gal-late (EGCG), the bioflavonoid that is the main constituent of green tea, is credited with the protection against cancer that results from drinking green tea. |
| Traditional approaches to detoxification employed fasting, purging, and herbal remedies to "cleanse" the intestinal tract. Techniques for intestinal cleansing have been used by every system of health care since the ancient Egyptians bestowed upon the pharaoh's personal physician the august title "Keeper of the Royal Rectum." Although ancient Egyptians had no knowledge of the microscopic world of parasites, they used herbs like thyme and minerals like antimony, which we know today are active against intestinal parasites. |
Rudolph M. Ballentine, M.D.
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 This is generally not so with herbal remedies. They are usually given with regularity. Their informational content has not been sharpened and amplified through the potentization process. It's a softer message, and requires repetition. The same is true with tissue salts or low-potency homeopathics and combination remedies. Though these remedies have been potentized to some degree, this is of a quite different order from a 200C. |
| His condition was serious, and it was becoming obvious that the diet and exercise regimens we offered weren't going to do the tric^- I pulled down my Scudder's textbook °f Eclectic Medicine, published in the 1800s, and studied the various herbal remedies that had been used for heart failure. I didn't dare give him digitalis unless it fit his symptoms precisely. If it did fit, a small dose would turn him around. If it didn't, the dose needed to get results could be dangerous, since foxglove, the plant from which the digitalis leaf is taken, is quite poisonous. Unfortunately, it didn't fit. |
| Yet this has been the fate of many of the herbal remedies found in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia prior to 1941. Even Western herbalists have sometimes fallen into this reductionistic trap. Identifying and using only the "active compound" from an herbal remedy is tantamount to taking the cleverest part of a computer program, transferring it to a disk, and throwing the rest away. Unfortunately, this has been the trend for nearly a hundred years, which may be one reason the Eclectic movement ultimately failed: as herbal medicine moved from forest and farm into the academic world, it lost its soul. |
| Although we do make homeopathic potencies from herbs, herbal remedies, even in nonpotentized form, carry a pattern of energy that corresponds to certain living systems. Their organization has a sort of coherence and shape that is organic, or organlike. That's why some herbs have the special affinity for specific organs that we saw earlier. |
| Other herbal remedies prepared homeopathically have more specific uses for trauma. Calendula is for lacerations. Ledum is for puncture wounds, which include punctures by needles (injections) or by the stinger of a bee—or even by the proboscis of a mosquito! Ledum 30C can greatly relieve the itching and discomfort of such insect bites. Hypericum (St. John's wort) is the homeopathic remedy used for nerve injuries. It has a great affinity for the nervous system. The herbal tincture has been used extensively in Germany for depression—and is currently being "discovered" in the United States. |
| Even when only one or two of the strongest symptoms correspond, there will still be some therapeutic effect. herbal remedies are, in this sense, the "lowest potency," and c^n often be prescribed on the basis of a single specific symptom.
So the combination remedies are a sort of "scattershot therapy," analogous to what conventional doctors will do with "broad spectrum" antibiotics: When it is not possible to find out exactly which microbe is present (or when one doesn't want to bother trying), doctors prescribe an antibiotic that will wipe out a broad range of microbes. |
Barrie R Cassileth, Ph.D.
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| The general rule is that herbal remedies can be used safely and effectively for minor ailments that typically would be self-medicated. These ailments include minor aches and pains; stomach and digestive problems such as diarrhea; constipation and bloating; premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menstrual cramps, and cold cramps; colds and respiratory ailments; some arthritic, skin, and sleep difficulties; and other problems that people generally try to deal with themselves. Herbs should not be used for possibly serious medical problems, by pregnant women, or by people taking prescription medication. |
| Therapies, all of which aim to balance qi, include acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, massage, herbal remedies, and the practice of meditation, concentration, and exercise known as qigong. With the exception of moxibustion and cupping, this book contains chapters discussing each of these therapies, and all are described briefly below.
What Practitioners Say It Does
Unlike Western medicine, Chinese medicine is not disease-specific. It is concerned instead with discovering the unique underlying dysfunction that allows illness to develop in a particular individual. |
Richard Lucas
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 T
• "I have always heard that the Chinese have much ancient wisdom for healing people with herbal remedies and acupuncture. Recently I put this to a test myself. The pain from a wrenched shoulder kept me awake nights, so I went to an herb store in our local Chinatown and it was suggested I try Zheng Gu Shui.
"The soothing comfort of this liniment was effective in a very short time, and following a good night's sleep, the improvement was remarkable."—Mr. C.F. |
Barrie R Cassileth, Ph.D.
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| More recently, it was a major ingre-
Recommended References
Proponents and critics of herbal remedies alike recommend two books by herb expert and professor of pharmacognosy Dr Varro Tyler.?The Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies, and Herbs of Choice:The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals (both from Pharmaceutical Products Press, an imprint of Haworth Press, Binghamton, N.Y, 1993 and 1994, paperback). dient in Lydia Pinkham's popular remedy. The extract treats menopause problems, menstrual cramps and PMS. |
Stephen T., M.D. Sinatra
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 For example, when I was treating arthritic cardiac patients, coincidentally many of them reported their arthritic symptoms improved on my treatment plan—a plan that integrated various diets, herbal remedies, and nutritional support systems.
My patients have always been my best teachers. I learn from them every day. When a phytonutrient relieves symptoms in one patient, I then feel more confident recommending it to others with similar symptom constellations. |
Barrie R Cassileth, Ph.D.
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| According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80 percent of people today must rely on traditional healing methods including herbal remedies, for care of illness.
Some proponents of medicinal herbs believe that a major benefit of natural herbs over manufactured pharmaceuticals is the collection of ingredients contained in medicinal herbs. Problems caused by one ingredient, they say, can be counterbalanced or neutralized by another.
This is correct in some cases but incorrect or unknown in others. |
Lita Lee, Lisa Turner and Burton Goldberg
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 Along with proper diet, enzyme therapy, herbal remedies, and essential oils can help reverse and prevent intestinal ailments.
Enzyme Therapy
As mentioned previously, since intestinal problems are difficult to diagnose, enzyme therapy treats this type of disorder according to whether diarrhea, constipation, or diarrhea alternating with constipation predominate. The following are the three enzyme formulas to address these conditions:
?Thera-zyme IrB: for diarrhea, loose stools, multiple bowel movements and bowel movements immediately after eating
? |
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