Christopher Hobbs
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 After these children rested and ate an extra nourishing diet for a period of several weeks, a number of them were able to respond positively to the immune-stimulating herbal treatment (Chone and Manidakis, 1969).
The best way to take immune tonics is to eat them as part of one's regular diet, allowing them to provide the nutrients and vital substances the body needs to build superior immunity. This is a tradition in China and Japan, where food and medicine are not so artificially separated. If you would like to make an excellent immune tonic, try my recipe for "Wei Qi Soup. |
Kathi Keville
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 One report from that country details the herbal treatment of a woman suffering adrenal deficiency from extreme stress. She had undergone a lot of emotional stress in her life and had just had a very hard pregnancy and labor. Instead of following the usual medical method—cortisone and ACTH, a pituitary hormone that stimulates the adrenal glands—her doctor gave her licorice to promote cortisone production and ginseng, which researchers believe stimulates ACTH. The combination worked. |
The Complete Book of Alternative NutritionSelene Y. Craig, Jennifer Haigh, Sari Harrar and the Editors of PREVENTION Magazine Health Books
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| An anti-pitta diet will prevent a pitta cough from becoming worse, but usually herbal treatment is also needed, he says.
Laryngitis. This can result from an excess of any of the three doshas, says Dr. Frawley. Kapha is indicated by white mucus, pitta by yellow mucus, sore throat and fever, and vata by a dry throat and low voice. It's treated similarly to cough, with vata and kapha types responding to dosha-pacifying diets. Pitta requires stronger treatment, Dr. Frawley says.
Sinusitis. Sinusitis is a kapha condition, says Dr. Glaser. |
Michael T. Murray, N.D.
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 The most popular herbal treatment for bladder infections is cranberry juice. It was originally thought that cranberry juice helped by making urine more acidic and less hospitable for the bacteria. However, it is now known that cranberry's primary action is to prevent the bacteria from adhering to the lining of the bladder. To stay in the bladder and cause infection, bacteria must anchor themselves to the cells of the bladder. Components in cranberry prevent this anchoring from taking place. |
Jean Carper
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 German urologists recently found ginkgo a good treatment for male impotence; the herbal treatment stimulated blood flow through penile arteries, promoting erections. Indeed, 78 percent of fifty men suffering from "arterial erectile impotence" improved after taking 240 milligrams of ginkgo biloba extract daily for nine months, researchers found. Blood flow to penile arteries generally improved after three months. Twenty men regained spontaneous erections after six months. Nineteen men regained potency when ginkgo was given with certain drug injections. Eleven remained impotent. |
Michael T. Murray, N.D.
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| The most popular herbal treatment of the common cold is echinacea— and for good reason. As detailed in Chapter 8, echinacea is quite effective. Follow the dosage recommendations given on p. 105.
Another useful herb for the common cold is Astragalus membranaceus. The Chinese value astragalus as a specific tonic for strengthening the body's resistance to disease. In clinical studies in China, astragalus has been shown to reduce the incidence and shorten the course of the common cold. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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 Since echinacea becomes less effective the longer you take it, you should discontinue this herbal treatment after 2 weeks. If you're still experiencing symptoms after that time, you should seek advice and treatment from your doctor.
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Your Guide to Safe Use of Herbs
Cv'hile herbal home remedies are generally safe and cause few, if any, side effects, herbalists are quick to caution that botanical medicines should be used cautiously—and knowledgeably. |
| Hence, an antibiotic will kill off bacteria, but an herbal treatment such as echinacea will support your immune system in resisting the infection.
Isn't an antibiotic faster? Probably, "but that's like comparing apqualities to the four bodily "humors"—choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, and sanguine. The Greek botanist Dioscorides compiled a materia medica (a compendium of medicinal plants) in the first century a.d. that was considered authoritative in some circles until the middle of the nineteenth century. |
| While some plants offer simple pain relief, the general aim of herbal treatment is to improve the cleansing of the congested tissues around the joint. Herbs that stimulate blood flow, digestion, and elimination encourage the body to eliminate toxins that cause inflammation.
Boswellia
To ease chronic pain, take 450 milligrams in capsule form four times a day. An extract from the frankincense tree may hold the key to relieving pain from arthritis without undesirable side effects, says Dr. Broadhurst.
Inside the fragrant tree are chemicals called boswellic acids. |
| Its antifungal and antiseptic properties, combined with its scalp-safe strength, make it an ideal herbal treatment for dandruff, says Dr. Bihova.
When you use a tea tree shampoo, the tingling sensation invigorates your scalp while scales are swept away. Dr. Bihova suggests
Cause: Dandruff is really a mechanical problem—the overzealous shedding of scalp cells. More serious flaking that resembles dandruff but is harder to treat can come from skin problems that affect the scalp as well as the rest of the body, such as sebborrheic dermatitis,psoriasis, and eczema. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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 In general, herbal treatment for chronic conditions uses relatively smaller doses, less robust remedies and more tonics.
AS ALTERNATIVE ALLOPATH ICS
Herbal remedies perhaps too easily lend themselve to being characterized as natural drugs, gentler versions of conventional medicines. Indeed, the majority of Western European use is as substitutes for conventional prescriptions or over-the-counter (OTC) medicinal products. Almost all herbal research is predicated on the same assumption. |
The Complete Book of Alternative NutritionSelene Y. Craig, Jennifer Haigh, Sari Harrar and the Editors of PREVENTION Magazine Health Books
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| I believe garlic is the best proven herbal treatment for high cholesterol," says Dr. Tyler.
Research suggests that garlic also helps prevent the oxidation of "bad" LDL cholesterol. Oxidation is a chemical process that makes LDL more likely to attach to the walls of your arteries in the form of plaque.
Researchers at the University of Kansas Lipid Laboratory gave ten people garlic powder supplements for two weeks, then examined samples of their blood. They found that LDL cholesterol in the blood was much more resistant to oxidation after those two weeks of steady garlic consumption. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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| In earlier times tonification was often the final stage of a course of herbal treatment. The phytotherapist most often has to start a prescription with at least some tonic element.
APPROACHES TO USING HERBS
AS INSTANT TREATMENTS: TRIGGER-POINT PHYTOTHERAPY
Herbal medicine has developed the reputation in modern times of being an innocuous alternative to conventional drug treatment. It is often thought that if the remedies work at all, it can only be after weeks or months. |
Janet Zand, LAc, OMD, Allan N. Spreed, MD, CNC, James B. LaValle, RPh, ND
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 Using herbal treatment requires observation, coupled with good judgment. Natural herbal preparations are generally well tolerated, even by children. Most herbs are nontoxic, with few, if any, harmful side effects. However, it is important to know the actions and possible side effects of an herb before you take it. Although it is very unusual, some people may show signs of sensitivity to a particular herb. Reactions can include a headache, an upset stomach, or a rash. If you have a reaction, discontinue use of the herb. |
| In addition to allowing consumers to know what they are getting, standardization permits researchers to conduct valid scientific studies to determine the therapeutic effects of herbal treatment. Most studies of herbs that are quoted in the scientific literature were done with standardized extracts. The most reliable herbal products are those that have been tested and proven to have benefits in human trials, and that can be produced in such a way as to deliver the same strength of active ingredient every time.
When evaluating herbal products, it is important to know what to look for. |
| Recommendations for conventional medical treatment, diet, nutritional supplements, herbal treatment, homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, acupressure, and aromatherapy follow. Also included are general recommendations for measures that fall outside the range of other treatment approaches and advice on prevention. Because not every treatment category is useful for each problem, not all entries include recommendations for all therapies. For example, acupressure is not useful in the treatment of athlete's foot, so no acupressure techniques are recommended in that entry. |
| After you have run cool water over the burn for ten minutes, turn off the water and apply aloe vera gel to the wound, as directed under herbal treatment, above.
4. Five minutes after applying the aloe vera, apply a second soothing coat of aloe vera to the area and take a second dose of Urtica urens 12x or 6c.
5. After ten more minutes have passed, apply a third coat of aloe vera to the burn and take a third dose of Urtica urens 12x or 6c. If the burn is simple, you will begin to feel better after the first application of aloe vera and the first dose of Urtica urens. |
| Otherwise, the strong smell of the herbal treatment may interfere with the action of the homeopathic remedy.
¦ Use Antimonium tartaricum if you are pale and tired, have a tight, burning sensation in your chest, and feel breathless. You probably have a rattling cough due to a respiratory tract filled with thick mucus that is difficult to cough up. To loosen the congestion, take one dose of Antimonium tartaricum 30x or 9c, as directed on the product label, three times daily for twenty-four to thirty-six hours.
Note: Do not use Antimonium tartaricum if you have a fever. |
| Take ginkgo biloba (see under herbal treatment in this entry). tional deficiencies and even, ultimately, malnutrition, even if a person is eating a healthful diet.
Digestion begins in the mouth, with chewing and the mixing of foods with enzymes present in saliva. In the stomach, acid and pepsin continue the process. Further breakdown of foods occurs within the small intestine, where pancreatic enzymes and bile from the gallbladder, as well as enzymes secreted by the intestinal lining itself, get fats, proteins, and carbohydrates ready for absorption. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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| Part
Background and Strategies
1 Herbal therapeutic systems 3
2 Principles of herbal pharmacology 22
3 Principles of herbal treatment 80
4 Validating herbal therapeutics 87
5 Optimizing safety 96
Herbal therapeutic systems
From the beginning: popular practices 3 Graeco-Roman and Islamic medicine 4 Chinese herbal medicine 5 Ayurvedic herbal medicine 10
Nineteenth-century North American herbal medicine 12 Middle European herbal medicine 14 Common elements. Reading the body-mind as a natural phenomenon 15
A new synthesis. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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| Also known as potency wood, this herb derived from a Brazilian shrub has a long history as an herbal treatment for impotence.
"In my experience, this ingredient is particularly effective, with no notable side effects," says Dr. Margolis. A landmark study at the Institute of Sexology in Paris found that 51 percent of men who had
Cause: Any disorder that impairs penile blood flow can lead to erection difficulties. The reasons can include physical factors such as injury, disease, or side effects from medication as well as psychological factors such as depression, stress, or low self-esteem. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 Both are soothingly astringent, which makes witch hazel a popular external herbal treatment for various skin conditions from bruises to varicose veins.
Studies with laboratory animals have shown that this herb helps strengthen blood vessels. Commission E endorses using witch hazel extracts externally to treat both hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Simply wipe the affected area with a cotton ball that has been dipped in the extract.
Tincture of witch hazel can be taken internally for varicose veins, says the Lawrence Review of Natural Products, a respected newsletter. |
Robyn Landis
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 Generally, herbal treatment for endometriosis includes herbs to promote hormone balance and astringent herbs to dry up tissue, draw back tissue building, and reduce bleeding. However, this condition is too complex to self-treat. You should seek the guidance of a natural health practitioner who has had experience in treating this condition holistically.
PREGNANCY
Herbal health enhancement for pregnancy ideally begins before conception, and should be undertaken by both male and female to ensure the optimum environment for the growing child. |
| Saw palmetto berry is probably the premier herbal treatment for BPH and also works preventively to protect against development of this syndrome. The berry is from a little palm tree that grows in Florida. This herb is used primarily as a male tonic, although it is a long-term thyroid builder z, j^r 11 I - I\ 1» : \ I- it 1, i i- 1> -» as well and can be used by men and women for that purpose. (In the stampede to use it for BPH, the fact that it is an excellent general glandular tonic is now frequently overlooked. |
| We include here cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which in most cases are preventable, but herbal treatment has a lot to offer those already afflicted. Other conditions we cover here are not necessarily life-threatening, but seriously affect quality of life for millions of people, and diagnoses continue to rise. These conditions include arthritis, allergies and asthma, and Candida (yeast) syndrome.
Note: When addressing specific conditions, we offer a wide array of suggestions for each symptom or phase of healing. These are not necessarily to be used all at once. |
| This greatly undermines the effectiveness of herbal treatment.
There is a handful of herbs that are so strong that just a small dose has significant effects—but that's true of every drug. Yes, drugs are standardized and have standard dosages. But they need this, precisely because they are so strong. Most herbs aren't, and in fact are so mild and dilute that for a therapeutic effect you need to take a lot, much more than the standard dose of pharmaceuticals.
Most of us have been drilled to think in terms of pharmaceutical doses—and in terms of instant results. |
| Asian ginseng and eleuthero could also be substituted as part of an herbal treatment program for impotence. Most of the tonics that are considered general, long-term overall health-builders for men—^including ashwaganda and triphala—are also useful.
Ginkgo biloba, a circulation-increasing herb, has been shown to be effective in treating impotence. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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| This is a traditional herbal treatment for acne, eczema, impetigo, itching and other skin problems. And modern research supports using this herb as a treatment for skin problems. Germany's Commission E, the expert panel that judges the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines, approves of using pansy tea as a skin treatment. You can make a tea with about one teaspoon of dried herb per cup of boiling water; steep it for ten minutes.
VV Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Witch hazel contains generous amounts of tannins, potent astringents that are useful in treating skin problems. |
| Simply the best herbal treatment for depression. Tansy. This herb contains some of the same anti-migraine compounds as feverfew.
Valerian. The roots contain a great anxiety-relieving sedative. But be warned—the tea smells like dirty gym socks.
Wild yam. Many herbalists recommend this herb for women's reproductive health.
Willow. The willow tree's easy-peeling bark contains the herbal version of aspirin.
Harvesting and Storing Herbs
Okay, so you've got a big peppermint patch, or whatever, growing in your garden or on your windowsill. Now what?
First you must harvest your herbs. |
Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D.
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 Someone once came in to my office with an operable brain tumor, looking for a herbal treatment or some other alternative to surgery. I did my best to get him signed up with a good hospital and surgeon as quickly as possible. In a more common instance, someone comes in with thyroid nodules, tells me surgery has been recommended, and wants me to recommend an alternative treatment such as a vitamin protocol. |
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