| Since this herb is most readily available from practitioners of ayurveda, it should be taken according to the directions given by the herbalist or physician recommending it.
Vitex
Latin name: Vitex agnus castus (Verbenaceae [verbena] family)
Other common names: chaste berry, chaste tree fruit, monk's pepper, vitex agnus-castus
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Vitex is an aromatic deciduous tree native to Greece and Italy. It grows to a height of twenty-one feet (seven meters) and bears palm-shaped leaves and small, lilaclike flowers. |
| The famed seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpepper combined walnut leaf with honey, onion, and salt to draw out venom from the bites of snakes and spiders.
EVIDENCE OF BENEFIT
During the last century, walnut leaf has been known as one of the "most mild and efficacious laxatives" available.
White walnut also is used in homeopathy as a treatment for liver disorders and intestinal sickness.
Another species of walnut, the black walnut (Juglans nigra), is used to treat athlete's foot and parasitic infections. |
| Prepared Aconite Decoction is available from TCM practitioners as a tea and from Chinese pharmacies as an over-the-counter patent medicine, but it should not be used without first conferring with a knowledgeable herbalist.
Robert's Formula
Robert's formula is a combination of baptisia (wild indigo), cabbage powder, Echinacea angustifolia, geranium, goldenseal, marshmallow root, and slippery elm.
This formula has not been subjected to scientific testing, but has long been a favorite of naturopathic physicians for the treatment of bowel disorders. |
Paul Pitchford
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 Oats were recommended to those with cancer and general debility by American herbalist Jethro Kloss, as a daily breakfast cereal in many health clinics in Europe, and also by Max Gerson. One beneficial action of oats is their nervine property, which helps relax the patient; the high fiber content of oats cleanses the arteries and other areas of the body of mucoid deposits; they also strengthen and regulate the qi energy, which is often stagnant in cancer. Oats were used in the early days of this century to boost resistance to disease. |
| The late herbalist Dr. John Christopher recommended an important cancer formula of two parts poke root and one part each of dandelion root and gentian root (Gentiana lutea).64 Because of the potency and toxicity of poke root, this decoction is taken in one-tablespoon doses three times a day. If too much is taken, fever and nausea and, in extreme cases, delirium may occur. These symptoms may be reduced by eating mung beans or mung bean sprouts. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) tea also relieves the symptoms.
Gentian, according to Christopher, feeds oxygen to the tissues. |
| According to Ayurvedic thought, they encourage quickness, rapid movement, and
þRecommended by Li Shih-chen, the remarkable 16th-century herbalist who compiled the most extensive Chinese materia medica, the Pentsao. outward activity in general. They are also cleansing and cooling.
Spring, the first season of the year, represents youth. |
Margarita Artschwager Kay
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 Yerba mansa is sold by an herbalist in Mesilla, New Mexico, in Douglas, Arizona, and in a Tucson botanica, but it can be harvested near water.
Phytochemistry. According to napralert, A. californica contains eugenol in the rhizome and root. Estragole, thymol, methylether, linalool, p-cymene, asarinin, and other aromatics have also been found (Moore 1989:133). Interestingly, in one study no antibiotic activity was found in an extract of the whole plant (Encarnacidn and Keer 1991).
¦ ArctOStaphylos (Ericaceae)
BEARBERRY, UVA URSI
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.
Arctostaphylos pungens H. |
Paul Pitchford
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| Chinese herbalist Moashing Ni assigns even the common button mushroom anti-tumor properties. The familiar "turkey tails" (Coriolus versicolor) that grow on the sides of rotting trees have recently proven to have value in cancer therapy. These can be dried, powdered, and taken in one-ounce doses twice a day. For medicinal use, mushrooms can be eaten or used as an herb and made into a tea.
Beets, both roots and tops, have the property of cleansing the liver and the blood, and are often prescribed in cases of cancer. |
Margarita Artschwager Kay
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| John Gerard (1545-1612) was a barber-surgeon, superintendent of royal gardens, advisor to Shakespeare, and herbalist for Elizabeth I and James I (Sanecki 1992). Gerard's Herball of 1597 was among the most famous English herbals; for example, it accompanied the Pilgrims to New England.23 It was a tremendous compendium of some 2,050 plants, gathered from Theophrastus, Pliny, Galen, Avicenna, and all the other ancient writers combined with the sixteenth-century authors, with 1,800 illustrations that had appeared in other herbals. |
Bill Gottlieb
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 STRETCHING: To Beat the Band
Stretching your big toes is one of the best ways to reduce or eliminate bunion pain, says Stephanie Tourles, a licensed esthetician, reflexologist, and herbalist in West Hyannisport, Massachusetts.
Obviously, stretching a toe isn't the same as stretching a muscle. You need a little help—from a rubber band, says Tourles.
Sit with your legs outstretched on the floor with your heels side by side and touching. Loop a thick, fairly stiff rubber band (about 3 inches or less and XA inch thick, such as a heavy-duty office rubber band) around both big toes. |
| CALENDULA: The Natural Moisturizer
"A corn or callus is hard, dry skin, and regularly moisturizing that skin is the key to healing," says Andrea Murray, a certified reflexologist and herbalist in Portland, Maine.
A good moisturizer for softening and healing hard skin, she says, is the herb calendula. She recommends putting calendula oil or salve on the affected area twice a day and covering it with a bandage. You may need to reapply the moisturizer and bandage a third time after exercise. Keep the area continually moisturized until the corn or callous is healed. |
Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.
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 Our campus housed the offices of a medical doctor, a chiropractor, a clinical nutritionist, a message therapist, and an herbalist. The doctors here gave each patient access to each practitioner, to ensure an all-encompassing treatment program.
The Western medical paradigm has one major fault: It's too fragmented. Specialists tend to focus too narrowly, often addressing only single, isolated elements of complex health problems. Western medicine constantly strives to reduce each illness to a specific, isolated cause with a single "magic bullet" cure. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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 It is difficult to assess the precise degree to which our polluted waters are causing disease, genetic mutation, developmental abnormalities, and birth defects; however, no one today could coherently argue that this isn't a frightening and very real problem.
An herbalist friend of mine once said, "Pay attention to your elimination or it will eliminate you." Unfortunately, we are barely paying attention to our collective process of elimination. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 The great English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote that propolis was "good for all heat and inflammation in many parts of the body and cools the heat of the wounds." During both World Wars, soldiers applied propolis to their wounds to prevent infection.
Intrigued by the folklore, modern scientists investigated propolis and discovered that it does indeed have natural antibiotic, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory compounds. |
Laurie Deutsch Mozian, M.S., R.D.
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 They are highly regarded by the noted herbalist Culpeper for their ability to "expel wind and provoke urine." Fennel leaves and seeds also are thought to increase the flow and the quality of mother's milk when boiled with barley water.
Figs
Fig trees originated in the Mediterranean region. The Hebrew Torah mentions figs for their ability to heal. Fresh figs are available in the spring and summer months. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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 Riley 1994, Meletis 2000).
Papaverine H
The plant and the drug
Papaverine (Fig. 19.3) is an alkaloid extracted from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.). It is most often used for the treatment of impotence of neurological or psychogenic origin. As it must be given by intracavernosal injection, it is normally only used as a last resort when less invasive treatments have failed.
REFERENCES
Meletis C 2000 Alternative and Complementary Therapies 6(4):207 Parsons M et al 1999 Australian College of Midwives Inc. |
American Medical Publishing
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| If you are already taking digitalis, and you get a preparation from a herbalist that contains foxglove, you may be doubling or tripling the medication you are already on! That can result in serious sickness or quick death.
• Remember that herbs have their limits. Many natural food experts would have you believe that we would all be better off just dumping modern medicine and prescription drugs in the trash can, and go over to an all herbal health care system. If that ever happened, millions of people would die or be severely sickened. |
Paul Pitchford
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| Herbalist Naboru Muramoto, who often uses Japanese folk remedies, recommends the daily consumption of five raw aduki beans at once as a treatment for excessive and prolonged menstruation. The beans must be chewed very thoroughly for this purpose.
3) Stagnant blood can also cause menorrhagia. This is particularly true when there are uterine tumors or cancer induced by stagnant blood. Gelatin is often effective in these serious cases to stop bleeding, along with the methods given earlier for clearing stagnant blood (beginning on page 352). |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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 The best way to do this is to consult with a professional herbalist who is able to assess the companies from which they purchase their products.
Pharmaceutical Contamination
There have been reports that some imported Chinese herbs contain pharmaceuticals. This problem is limited to imported patent medicines. In China, pharmaceuticals are often added to patent medicines to make them stronger, a practice considered acceptable there. For example, a formula for colds may have Chinese herbs combined with aspirin or perhaps an antibiotic. |
Ralph Golan, M.D.
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 Such doses are best prescribed and supervised by an experienced herbalist. On an empty stomach, like any hot spice, it may cause a burning sensation; and it may also cause a temporary burning sensation when you pass a stool.
Chamomile
A mild sedative used for treating nervousness, restlessness, and insomnia. Very safe for children. Also used to treat colic (with CATNIP). Higher doses in the extract form may be helpful for spastic colon problems of adults. Use with YARROW to break a fever. |
Linda B. White, M.D.
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 They act like commercial salicylic acid formulas without the side effects. herbalist Sunny Mavor, coauthor of Kids, Herbs, and Health, suggests putting fruits, such as grapes and strawberries or pineapple husks into a blender. Apply the mixture like a mask; leave on for 10 to 15 minutes, and wash off. Or look for natural face products that contain fruit acids.
Antibacterial Wash or Paste
These two recipes use the antibacterial properties of two berberine-con-taining herbs. |
| What this means to an herbalist is that the product in the bin is dried above-ground parts—stems, leaves, and flowers if the plant produces blooms. In other words, you might see licorice root and horsetail herb.
If tea bags are the only convenient way for you to drink your medicine, don't despair. Many health food stores carry tea bags that you can fill yourself and seal with an iron. Such bags are also available from some of the sources in the Resource Directory.
Always store dried tea blends in airtight containers away from heat and light. |
| Choosing an Herb form
Unless you have a trained herbalist whom you trust and depend on for advice or your doctor is knowledgeable about herbal medicine, you'll have to educate yourself about which herbs to take, how much, and how often. Part 3 of this book discusses which herbs may be appropriate for specific conditions. Here we'll discuss the various forms in which herbs are available, how to choose among them, and how to read an herb or dietary supplement label.
Not only are hundreds of different herbs available in the marketplace, they come in many different forms. |
| Don't take an herbal product simply because a friend says that it works—unless that friend is a medical doctor or an experienced clinical herbalist. Take the right amount of the right herb at the right time for the correct number of days. And if you do have an ongoing health problem or are taking a prescription drug, it's essential to consult your doctor before launching an herbal regimen.
CHAPTER 2
Understanding Herbal Remedies
THERE'S A LOT OF confusion on the subject of herbal medicine. |
| If you still do not experience noticeable benefit, consult an herbalist, a naturopath, or your physician.
þ If you buy commercial preparations (teas, tinctures, pills, capsules, combination products, and so on), follow the label directions. These preparations may vary in strength; some are concentrated. So if the companies spend millions of dollars to prove that their drugs are safe when taken as directed (though sometimes hazardous side effects are discovered only after FDA approval, as was the case with the diet drug Fen-phen). |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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| Of great interest is the work of herbalist and certified nutritionist Donald Yance, AHG. His book (see below) contains information on the use of anticancer transdermal essential oils, which can be applied externally over solid tumors.
• Regulate the blood. There are many formula choices here. You can refer to information from Chapter 12. The treatment must be based upon individual signs and symptoms. Goals include improving blood circulation, removing toxins, improving liver function, nourishing the blood, removing fats and viscous matter. Toxin removal should be emphasized. |
| I may have been a better herbalist, but he was obviously a better salesman. She returned 6 months later, no better, of course, and I was able to improve her skin condition in a few months.
In order to protect your health and your wallet from predatory salespeople, you must have a nose for fantastic claims, as well as the ability to recognize appeals to your desire to avoid pain. Many of these fantastic pitches claim to be backed up by scientific research.
Take a look at the adjoining box to read an ad I created based on real ads I have in my files. |
The Garlic CureJames F. Scheer, Lynn Allison and Charlie Fox
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| A leading herbalist in alternative medicine, Michael A. Weiner, Ph.D writes that "garlic and onion contain over 75 different sulfur-containing compounds," as well as "the bioflavonoids, quercetin and cyanidin. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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| When I lived in Nepal at my teacher's herbal medicine clinic, one of the family members (an herbalist) was assigned to make sure that arriving material was of good quality and was the correct plant substance.
2. The second step in quality control is microbiological testing to see if the levels of bacteria are within normal limits. In traditional cultures, the products are cooked down and concentrated to make them hygienic. The modern lab can perform chemical tests to check for undesirable components such as insecticides, pesticides, heavy metals, and solvents.
3. |
Francois Couplan, Ph.D.
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 In the 17th century the English herbalist Gerarde mentions its edibility.
Leaves and stems of A. scandicina (= A. caucalis), wild chervil, beaked parsley - naturalized from Eur. - have a sweet and pleasant anise smell and taste. They are excellent raw.
The young leaves of A. sylvestris, cow parsley - locally naturalized from Eurasia - are also edible. They are cooked as greens or preserved in salt in N.E. Asia.
Besides an essential oil, however, the root contains toxic substances: It is abortive and potentially dangerous.
It is also wise to remember that Anthriscus spp. |
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