Gary Null, Ph.D.
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 Remember, though, that before initiating herbal therapy, it is a good idea to seek professional supervision. A trained herbalist can provide the necessary expertise and assistance.
•For Menstrual Pain...The most common treatment for menstrual cramps is dong quai, although a mixture of other remedies can also be used. Herbalist Christopher Trahan recommends a tincture of equal quantities of angelica sinensis, viburnum opulus, and the Chinese herb corydalis for treating severe cramps. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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 Dietary changes, nutritional supplements, herbal therapy, and homeopathic remedies are often highly effective treatments, helping to eliminate the need for antibiotics or surgery.
1 HE AUDITORY SYSTEM IS responsible for the processing of sound and the regulation of balance and is one of the body's most delicate and sensitive systems. When functioning properly, it enables a person to hear the faintest cry or maintain equilibrium in the most extreme circumstances. But the very complexity that allows for such precision also makes the ear susceptible to a wide range of ailments. |
Michael T. Murray, N.D.
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 However, the Western medical system does not encourage the use or scientific validation of herbal therapy, so the mainstream public knows relatively little about it. When you consider that herbs are free of most of the side effects associated with synthetic drugs, this omission doesn't make much sense.
The United States government established a drug regulatory process to determine drug toxicity. These regulations require 10 to 12 years of research, at a cost of approximately $300 million per drug. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| It's a long-term therapy," he explains "It takes at least six months to see results, but if I have to do this my entire life to maintain a normal sense of well-being, then I will. herbal therapy takes a long time. It's not like the overnight miracles of pill popping that American medicine feels so entitled to."
Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been shown to be an effective and vital tool for the treatment of HIV infection and AIDS, particularly when coupled with other alternative therapies such as herbal remedies. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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 Elevated eye pressures and regular eye examinations to check results should, of course, be handled by an ophthalmologist during herbal therapy.
Certain chemicals found in foods have been shown to relax the trabecular meshwork without tightening the ciliary muscle. Two of these chemicals are called "tyrosine kinase inhibitors" (TKI) and "protein kinase C inhibitors" (PKCI). According to Dr. |
| When it comes to the world of herbal therapy there are several levels of knowledge and expertise, beginning with the novice and ending with the skilled practitioner. It is important to identify your level so you know how to proceed.
Level 1: Rank Beginner. If you are completely clueless, but smart enough to know that you don't know, the best thing you can do is find a good natural medicine therapist and follow the advice you're given. Do some research on your own before choosing a practitioner. Get recommendations from people you trust. |
| It is important to note that the use of phytoestrogens in herbal therapy should be guided by the philosophy of treating the whole person. For example, we often use liver herbs such as dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale), burdock root (Arctium lappa), and white peony root (Paeonia lactiflora) to improve the liver's conjugation of estrogenic compounds to enhance their elimination from the body.
Much of the red clover found in capsule form or as dried blossoms is brown and basically inert. |
| If you are considering combining herbal therapy with prescription medicines, recognize that additive effects (potentiation) or other problems are possible. Do this only with professional supervision. Don't tell yourself, "My doctor won't understand, so I'll do this without telling him." Try to find a physician trained in the use of herbal medicines.
Overuse or Improper Use of Laxatives
There are two areas to be concerned about from a biochemical perspective:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs) are drugs like Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, and Celexa. Herbs such as St. |
| Today, TCM doctors go through extensive training—4 to 9 years—in theory and practice, including thousands of classroom hours, in large universities in each of the Chinese provinces, learning herbal therapy and acupuncture. In recent times, schools of TCM and/or acupuncture have been training professionals in the United States. Many states now license acupuncturists, giving them the professional title L.Ac. Some acupuncture schools do not teach herbal medicine. |
| The goal of long-term herbal therapy is to reduce residual optic nerve inflammation, improve microcirculation, nourish the optic nerve, and stimulate nerve repair as much as possible. This strategy is also useful for optic neuropathy. Optic atrophy and optic neuritis share many characteristics, but with atrophy the shrinkage of the arteries and resulting pallor are more pronounced. Although progress is very, very slow, I have seen some mild to moderate improvements in vision. We use a complex protocol similar to the one described in the section on multiple sclerosis. |
Gary Null, Ph.D.
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| Up until now, herbal therapy has been based on empirical evidence, but the recent challenge of AIDS and other modern-day diseases has generated scientific interest in the field. Experimenters ask if herbs can help overcome dreaded diseases, and if so, how?
Research does scientifically confirm the value of plant medicines, both alone and in conjunction with other therapies. For example, double-blind studies show that AIDS patients who are given Chinese herbs and AZT consistently do better than patients given placebos in place of the botanicals. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 Herbal therapy always should be used as part of a medically directed overall treatment plan for melanoma.
BENEFICIAL HERBS
HERB
FORM AND DOSAGE
COMMENTS
Aloe
Gel. Apply liberally on skin.
Contains antihistamines that stop production of a growth factor needed by melanoma.
Astragalus1
Capsules. Take 500-1,000 mg 3 times daily.
Increases effectiveness of IL-2, stimulates production of NK cells.
Cat's claw2
Tincture. Take as directed on the label in % cup water with 1 tsp lemon juice.
Stimulates NK cell production. Prevents estrogen from binding to cancer cells.
Kudzu
Tablets. |
Paul Pitchford
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 A more gradually acting herbal therapy than the golden seal or chaparral formulas is the Chinese herb bupleurum root. It is useful for reducing general excess but is not as radically cleansing as golden seal or chaparral; it also does not share these herbs' laxative properties. Thus bupleurum is better in cases of less extreme excess, or after initial cleansing has eliminated constipation and substantially reduced excess signs.
Bupleurum is a specific remedy for liver stagnancy, heat, and wind conditions. |
Lita Lee, Lisa Turner and Burton Goldberg
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 I gave Diana the following enzyme, hormonal, and herbal therapy:
?Thera-zyme VSCLR: a digestive formula
?Thera-zyme Spl: an oxygenating, immune support formula
?Thera-zyme SvG: for sugar intolerance
?Thera-zyme Kdy: for allergies
?Thera-zyme TRMA: for all immune system problems, including cancer
?Thyroid glandular extract: Diana regularly monitored her oral temperature and resting pulse to make sure she was getting the proper glandular dosage
?10% natural progesterone in vitamin E oil
? |
Paul Pitchford
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| Exercise, herbal therapy, acupuncture, and awareness practices such as meditation are traditional ways of clearing obstructions and maximizing qi flow.
Qi that stagnates causes accumulations resulting in obesity, tumors, cysts, cancers, and the multitude of viral and yeast-related diseases that plague those with sedentary lives and refined, rich diets.
The qi of the body can be accurately measured and regulated by the diagnostic and therapeutic methods of Oriental medicine. |
Bill Gottlieb
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 Acupressure is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which also includes acupuncture, herbal therapy, and other modalities. The goal of acupressure is to balance chi, the flow of life-energy that travels throughout the body.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Chi normally flows along specific paths in the body called meridians, which are like roads. The chi travels along these roads to major organ systems such as the lungs, heart, and liver. When chi flows freely along the meridians, there is health. When it is blocked or stagnant, there is disease. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| Extensive cases usually take at least two months to respond to any kind of treatment, including herbal therapy.
BENEFICIAL HERBS herb form and dosage comments
Gotu kola1
Liposome tablets. Take 60-120 mg daily.
Causes cellulite reduction.
Horse chestnut
Aescin cream. Apply as directed on the label.
Treats mattress phenomenon.
Kelp
As food. Eat 2 oz (50 gm) in a single serving. Limit use to once per week.
Stimulates the metabolism, which reduces the deposit of fat.
Precautions for the use of herbs:
'Do not use gotu kola if you are trying to become pregnant. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 Since the days of Hippocrates, elderberry has been reputed to be the best herbal therapy for fevers and colds, but it was only very recently that researchers at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem unraveled the science behind the folk cure.
In 1992, a team of Israeli scientists and physicians conducted a double-blind study testing elderberry extract on 50 patients infected with flu virus. Half were given elderberry extract and the other half were given a placebo. |
Kathi Keville
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 Recently, instruction in herbal therapy has been integrated into some medical curricula in Germany. So there is hope.
Unfortunately, in North America, medicine is extremely drug-oriented, and the American and Canadian Medical Associations have strong ties to pharmaceutical companies. It is no surprise that doctors, who are trained to use drugs, are hesitant to study herbs. |
| This time, she chose a particularly vigorous herbal therapy, as her doctor now said that the most effective treatment would be surgery.
With only one month to turn around her dysplasia, Nancy was committed to healing herself. She placed castor oil packs over her abdomen, sat in sitz baths filled with a strong tea of sage, eucalyptus and comfrey leaf tea and used a tampon soaked in a strong solution of calendula tea. She faithfully did each of these treatments at least once a day, more often when she could manage it (and got lots of reading done at the same time!). |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| Thuja Tincture—Thuja occidentalis (arbor vitae, or tree of life) has served as a successful adjunctive herbal therapy for many cancer cases. An 86-year-old woman had been suffering for 14 years from a large orange-sized tumor in her right breast. It had spread to the lymph nodes and doctors labeled it "inoperable, Stage III breast carcinoma with lymph metastases."The tumor had never been treated. |
Kathi Keville
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| For most of these men, herbal therapy was a last-ditch effort to avoid surgery after nothing else they tried worked.
Jesse is a good example. Like most men, he did not have prostate problems until he was in his sixties. He had looked forward to his retirement for a long time but hadn't counted on the pain and other uncomfortable symptoms of an enlarged prostate. His physician sent him to a urologist at the well-known medical center at the University of California at Los Angeles. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| Hoxsey Therapy
Harry Hoxsey was an herbal folk healer who eventually attracted a devoted following of cancer survivors after he started using an herbal therapy that originated with his great-grandfather. |
Gale Maleskey
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 Vein Vitality
Beneath the skin, gotu kola has long been an important herbal therapy for varicose veins. These lumpy purple veins form when the blood vessel walls weaken and blood flow is sluggish, particularly in the legs. Tiny valves within the veins no longer work efficiently, so instead of flowing steadily upward toward the heart, blood slips down through the weakened valves. As a result, the veins bulge and swell with stagnated blood.
Gotu kola strengthens the epithelium, the layer of cells that line the outside and inside of blood vessels and arteries, says Dr. Evans. |
Barnet Meltzer, M.D.
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 To treat mild and moderate forms of depression, herbal therapy, combined with a diet of the foods I've listed above, can be effective. I advise that the following herbal remedies be taken in the following dosages, along with 100 mg of 5-HTP, three times daily: žSaint John's wort (. |
Lesley Tierra
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 Extent of Herbal Healing
Before beginning, a basic understanding of the extent and limitation of herbal therapy is important. First, there are three different categories of herbs: mild, strong and toxic. Herbalists mainly use mild herbs because they have nutritive, energetic and therapeutic value without causing reactions or toxic effects.
This is one of the values of using herbs instead of chemical medicines. While mild herbs don't compete with the strong effects of drugs, their food-like nature and complex biochemical processes are more able to affect the entire body and mind. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| The goal of herbal therapy should not be to eliminate prescription drugs entirely, but to control seizures on lower doses and minimize their side effects.
ž There are some studies that indicate that the amino acid taurine and the hormone melatonin may offer some benefits. Taurine is a sulfur-based amino acid and one of the most abundant in the body, especially in the excitable tissues of the central nervous system. A study reported in the Journal of Neurology found that low melatonin levels were associated with uncontrollable seizures. |
Lesley Tierra
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| When using herbal therapy to heal an illness, however, it is important to know when it is not working and other help is needed. For acute ailments, if no improvement is noted within three days, then it may be wise to consider other approaches. For chronic ailments, if no improvement is noted within a month, then another course of treatment might be considered.
Quite often, treating ourselves is difficult since we cannot always see ourselves clearly. |
Michael Tierra
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 The method of treating an imbalance of Yin and Yang constitution is to provide a diet and herbal therapy that provides more of the Yin or Yang nature that is lacking. Hence those with a Yin constitution are given a diet and herbs with a somewhat more Yang character than they usually use, and those with a Yang constitution are given a diet and herbs with a more Yin character. It is important to avoid using herbs and foods that are too extreme in their Yin-Yang nature as it is almost impossible to obtain a good balance that way. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| Herbal therapy for kidney disease should always be used as part of a medically directed overall treatment plan that includes conventional treatment. The formula listed below is especially helpful for kidney disease in children; seek the advice of the dispensing herbalist on a suitable child's dosage.
BENEFICIAL HERBS
HERB
FORM AND DOSAGE
COMMENTS
Abuta
Capsules. Take 1,000-2,000 mg daily. Use for up to 2 weeks at a time.
Antibacterial and antiinflammatory. Prevents bleeding in mild kidney disease.
Bupleurum1
Use forms and dosage recommended by a TCM practitioner. |
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