Kathi Keville
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 Beneficial to skin and complexion, can be applied directly on a skin affliction, adheres well to skin, holds in heat, can be combined with relaxing massage, quick preparation when essential oils are on hand, the base for many herbal remedies.
Must be rubbed into skin, oily, takes longer to act than internal herbal treatments, can stain clothes.
Compress: Cloth soaked in herbal water.
Quick, easy, inexpensive, very versatile; can be combined with hot or cold treatment; provides method to apply tincture, glycerite, essential oils or herb wash externally.
Must be held or tied to skin. |
Isadore Rosenfeld, M.D.
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 Books on herbal remedies claim that this bee by-product is a tonic with antiaging properties, great for the memory, and especially good if you're the nervous type. Frankly, I am not aware of any scientifically documented benefit from royal jelly. As far as I'm concerned, it's simply an expensive way to get some extra B vitamins and amino acids. Its popularity probably stems from its dramatic effect on the bees themselves. This milky-white material is secreted by glands in the throats of worker bees and fed to all bee larvae (the immature, wingless feeding stage of the insect). |
American Medical Publishing
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| With no watchdog — even an imperfect watchdog like the FDA —to monitor the safety of herbal remedies, you never know what you are getting. Just as we told you that the major drug companies are motivated by profits, so are many herbal producers. They are not immune to the huge cash potential that can be had from selling as many herbs as they can, whether they have been thoroughly tested for safety or not. Many independent studies have shown that the quality and safety of herbal products varies considerably from company to company. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 Boswellia
Facts
Boswellia is one ol'scvcral ancient herbal remedies that is now on the cutting edge of alternative medicine. Used for thousands of years in the Ayurvedic medical system in India, boswellia is being rediscovered as a treatment for osteoarthritis (so-called "wear-and-tear" arthritis) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disorder that causes the destruction of cartilage, the protective covering that cushions bones. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause pain and swelling in the joints and, in severe cases, can be debilitating. |
Earth RightH. Patricia Hynes
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| But she does know that trees temper climate and refresh air; that forests near her village are an ongoing supply of food, herbal remedies, and firewood. She has witnessed soil erosion and increased floods where hills have been shorn of trees. For these reasons, women and children stopped seventy lumberjacks from felling trees by wrapping their arms around the trees. This event, in 1974, began the Chipko movement. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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 This means that either the whole herb or an extract of the plant is prepared, and may be combined with other herbs or extracts.
Generally, highly toxic drugs are used as single entities since the dose needs to be very precise, but the natural mixture found in a plant extract may have benefits conferred by some form of interaction between the components. Conversely, there may be toxic ingredients present that do not contribute to the therapeutic efficacy and which are therefore undesirable. |
Margarita Artschwager Kay
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 Recently, as well, in an indigenous southern Mexican community men (contrary to expectations) were found to be knowledgeable about herbal remedies for reproductive health (Browner 1991). I too found in my research with Mexican Americans that men knew something about medicinal plants for women. |
| Cannabis seed when writing to his brother in Switzerland for herbal remedies. Esteyneffer ([1719] 1978: 447) recommended eating the seed of canamo to decrease mother's milk. To prevent seminal emission (called purgation), he said, it should be taken in a drink made of barley water and sugar (Esteyneffer [1719] 1978:419).
Modern Use. Today I am told that marijuana is a seldom used anodyne for rheumatism. The Mayo mix the leaves with alcohol and apply to the aching place. The Paipai use it for colic. |
| Some Mexican Americans cross the border regularly to purchase herbal remedies, while others can obtain them locally. Every city with a Mexican American population has a yerberia somewhere, and near the border there are herb stores or stalls in markets, even in smaller settlements. In Tucson there are several botanicas or yerberias: one with a large inventory of traditional Mexican remedies is owned and operated by a Cuban man who obtains his stock from various wholesale houses in Los Angeles, San Diego, Colorado, and also Nogales, Sonora. |
Kathi Keville
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| When either one complained of feeling ill, Jennifer would say, "I'll get the herbal remedies," and the child always quickly responded, "No, no, I'm not sick now, Mommy!" Jennifer's solution was to make the remedies more tasty and give them cute names so that they would be more appealing to children. She even wrote her children a story about a Grandma Bunny who dispensed healing herbs to the local animal population. |
| I do think, though, that we would all benefit if we filled our home medicine cabinets with herbal remedies. This book will teach you how to do just that. It will help if we lay down a few ground rules.
Healing, Not ^ifl Just Relieving 1 ' C
Herbal medicine works best when practiced holistically—that is, with an intent to heal the entire body and get at the sources of physical and emotional imbalance, instead of just treating the symptoms. For example, if you tend to get headaches, you can use herbs not only to ease the pain but also to eliminate the underlying condition causing the pain. |
Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.
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 Especially encouraging are the results achieved by modern complementary medicine, with its panoply of treatment resources, ranging from ancient herbal remedies to the latest hightech wizardry. Using this type of medicine, I have achieved clinical successes that are literally astonishing.
I explained all this to the Beltway attorney, telling him why I believed he was suffering from mental decline. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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 The phrase "plants for medicine" is pretty good shorthand for what herbal remedies are all about. It's true that etymological conservatives may still insist on defining "herb" as a nonwoody plant that withers to the ground after flowering, but in the real world, when we talk about herbs, we're talking about much more than that. "An herb is any plant that can be used for medicine or nutrition," says Mary Bove, N.D., a naturopathic physician at the Brattleboro Naturopathic Clinic in Vermont and a member of Britain's National Institute of Medical Herbalists. |
Ralph Golan, M.D.
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 Because the unsweetened juice is not very palatable, consider cranberry concentrate capsules (see "Herbal Remedies" below).
DETOXIFICATION PROGRAM
• If you suffer from bowel problems, take acidophilus/ bifidus supplements (at least one capsule twice a day).
• An intestinal cleansing program may stop recurrent bladder infections.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
• Vitamin C (1,000 milligrams per hour) can halt a bladder infection. Reduce dose or stop if loose bowel movements occur. If necessary, implement other measures. |
Gary Null, Ph.D.
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 Zinc is an important nutrient for prostate conditions. herbal remedies include saw palmetto and pumpkin seed extract. Homeopathic remedies may be appropriate for prostatic hypertrophy patients with specific symptoms.
Chelation therapy is proven to prevent diseases associated with aging, such as prostate cancer.
Patients should exercise regularly and use techniques that will help manage stress levels.
Respiratory Illnesses
Most of us take the ability to breathe for granted. But what should be a natural act for all people can prove difficult for some. |
| You have to journey to Europe, where herbal remedies have become an integral part of modem conventional medicine, to understand that the U.S. is not necessarily in the vanguard when it comes to knowledge about health.
The ginkgo biloba herb is valuable because it can alleviate several dementia-related symptoms. First of all, ginkgo enhances the circulation to the central nervous system, which frequently becomes impeded in older adults. Furthermore, this herbal extract has a tendency to stabilize abnormal nerve communication in the brain. Within the U.S. |
| Things like acupuncture or herbal remedies such as echinacea or St. John's wort that have been used for thousands of years and which have some scientific backing are very likely to be safe. Less is known about the newer alternatives.
•Approaches that are proven to work for one condition may not work for others. Aspirin can get rid of a headache but it won't do a thing for constipation. Similarly, the herb St. John's wort appears to be effective for mild to moderate depression but there's no evidence it works for weight loss. |
| Approximately 15 million Americans use prescription drugs and herbal remedies at the same time, putting them at risk of potentially dangerous interactions. The best policy is to be honest with your doctors and with your alternative providers about every approach you're using. Everybody benefits when all your practitioners are getting the full picture. Maybe you'll even discover that your doctor is more open-minded, or at least tolerant, than you expected. And if not, you can ask yourself if you'd feel more comfortable with a doctor who is. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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| Unlike herbal remedies, they won't relax tired, contracted muscles. These herbs will.
Bromelain
For pain brought on by overexertion, take 250 milligrams three or four times a day, 1 hour after meals. Any type of inflammation heals faster when you take bromelain, explains Jacob Schor, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Denver. It's safe to take this dose for long periods of time.
"When I've been skiing all day and know that I'm going to be sore from overexertion the next day, I take some bromelain before I go to bed," he says. "My muscles don't ache as much, and I recover faster. |
| If you're a beginning home herbalist, you'll find it easier to make sense out of the wide world of herbal remedies by first getting to know a limited number of them up close and personal. To help you on your way, we asked herbal experts to suggest the best herbs to stock in a modest herbal medicine chest. We used their answers to come up with a Top 10 list of safe and effective herbs that are easy to get, easy to keep, and easy to use.
Of course, specific conditions will call for herbs that may not be on this list, and you'll want to expand your repertoire as time goes on. |
| That's right: The basic tea that you're so familiar with is one of the most oft-recommended herbal remedies you'll find. That very familiarity is one of its advantages. "The best herb form is the one you're most likely to use," says Amy Rothenberg, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Enfield, Connecticut.
Sure, making tea takes longer than popping a pill, but that's also a plus. "Sick people need to slow down," says Dr. Shoenbeck. "An additional therapeutic value of tea is that you have to pay attention to yourself at least long enough to make it and drink it. |
The Complete Book of Alternative NutritionSelene Y. Craig, Jennifer Haigh, Sari Harrar and the Editors of PREVENTION Magazine Health Books
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| In many parts of the world, herbal remedies are still the chosen way for people who tend to their families' health without the aid of medical doctors.
In modern America, we're more likely to reach for a bottle of pills than a pot of herbal tea when we're under the weather. But herbs haven't disappeared from the therapeutic landscape. Americans are likely to spend over $1.5 billion a year on herbal products. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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| That done, you can turn to these herbal remedies to help restore hormone balance. Try them for three full cycles. If they don't work by then, you may want to consult a doctor or professional herbal practitioner.
Chasteberry
Take one or two 225-milligram capsules standardized for 0.5 percent agnuside every day. Used for more than 2,500 years to treat menstrual disorders, chasteberry relieves PMS symptoms by stabilizing and regulating hormones, says Robert Rountree, M.D., a holistic physician at the Helios Health Center in Boulder, Colorado. |
The Complete Book of Alternative NutritionSelene Y. Craig, Jennifer Haigh, Sari Harrar and the Editors of PREVENTION Magazine Health Books
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| Nausea
To put your stomach on the road to recovery, ginger is the Cadillac of herbal remedies, according to Dr. Mowrey.
"In my experience, ginger is effective against nausea no matter what the cause," he says. "It's also very safe. In fact, there are no side effects at all except for a little aftertaste."
A number of studies have shown that ginger is particularly effective for treating motion sickness. In one study conducted by Dr. Mowrey, college students who were prone to motion sickness volunteered to be strapped into a rotating chair and spun around until their stomachs churned. |
The Garlic CureJames F. Scheer, Lynn Allison and Charlie Fox
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| However, in this age of sophistication, most medical professionals depend almost entirely on prescription drugs and medicines and shrug off garlic and other leading herbal remedies as something from the Dark Ages.
Yet the shrugging-off becomes more difficult due to many well-structured studies showing the efficiency of garlic and the exponential growth of patients' knowledge about nutrients and the embarrassing lack of knowledge in this field of many doctors. |
| I wanted to try herbal remedies, but he said not to mess with herbs, since some are poisonous to cats.
When I asked about garlic, he said, "Fine." Each day, I squirted several drops of liquid Kyolic into his mouth to reduce his throat irritation and build up his immunity. Soon his appetite increased, he regained his five lost pounds, and his cough was greatly reduced.
L.A., Florida
GARLIC VS. BOWEL BACTERIA
One of my three-pound Pomeranians picked up a bowel bacterium or virus that brought on diarrhea. |
Michael T. Murray, N.D.
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 The Thomsonian and Eclectic movements
In the early 1800s, standard medicine may have been ready to return to traditional herbal remedies, but for the Thomsonian movement. Samuel Thomson (1769-1843) patented a system of herbal medicine that, in 1839, claimed more than 3 million faithful followers. Although Thomson reinstated the Hip-pocratic idea of vis medicatrix naturae and gained widespread public support for the use of herbal medicine, the Thomsonian movement was probably detrimental overall to medical reform.
Thomsonianism was founded on ignorance, prejudice, and dogma. |
Linda B. White, M.D.
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 It's also important not to self-treat some disorders, while others are best treated by a professional who creates a program of herbal remedies especially for you.
Aloe (Aloe vera)
Also called: Cape aloe.
Source: Native to Africa,- grown commercially in southern Texas and Mexico.
Parts used: Leaf gel, juice.
Forms available: Various concentrations of the gel, powdered dry juice. The gel is incorporated into ointments, creams, lotions, and the like. Some of aloe's active compounds deteriorate in storage, so use the fresh gel for maximum potency. |
| In the 20-plus years that I've been studying alternative healing, herbal remedies have moved steadily from the fringes of medicine into the mainstream.
On my last dive trip, I explored the magnificent reefs surrounding Roatan, a Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras. As always, I had my trusty bottle of ginger capsules with me, and on the first morning, I took 1,000 milligrams a half-hour before boarding the boat.
Our dive master, Dave, was a big, burly, expatriate Texan, about 30, who looked more like a pirate than an alternative medicine aficionado. |
| Herb sales have exploded in recent years, with consumers spending more than $3 billion annually on herbal remedies. And consumers are not the only ones increasingly interested in herbal medicine. Many of today's physicians and medical students are using herbs as well, with good results. Not long ago, only a handful of medical schools even broached the subject of alternative therapies. Today, at least 75 medical schools offer courses in various alternative healing techniques. |
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