Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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 Ayurveda prefers that women and men prepare themselves for pregnancy prior to conception by using herbs and meditation practices to purify the system. Prayer and fasting are part of these practices in India and Nepal, but the basic idea could be modified according to your own beliefs. If this is done, hopefully there will be less need for medicine during pregnancy. I discuss this more in Chapter 19.
Breast-feeding is another concern. Strong herbs may pass through the breast milk.
This can be good when using the safest herbs. |
Linda B. White, M.D.
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 In addition to making lifestyle changes, using herbs can prove quite effective for heartburn. Along with avoiding troublesome foods and chemicals (listed above), stay away from fennel, lemon balm, peppermint, and spearmint—members of a group of herbs called carminatives, which relax the lower esophageal sphincter. drug treatment
Antacids
Calcium carbonate tablets (Turns, many others), magnesium and aluminum hydroxide (Maalox, Mylanta, Gaviscon, others). Function: neutralize excess stomach acid for a short period of time. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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| This book by an experienced practitioner outlines many successful treatments of cancer using herbs and nutrients.
Beating Cancer with Nutrition, by Patrick and Noreen Quillin. Dr. Quillin's book, in addition to its excellent content, has a comprehensive list of holistic doctors listed by ZIP code.
Parting Comments
At this point you are educated about the realities of global herbal medicine. You are in a far stronger position to select and choose for yourself among the vast array of therapies and modalities available today, with far less chance of making simple mistakes. |
Gary Null, Ph.D.
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 This modality is centered in the botanical sciences, using herbs and tinctures, with a wide variety of natural immune-stimulating properties. Naturopaths also utilize muscular and skeletal bodily adjustment. They use a much broader basis for diagnosis than do conventional allopathic physicians. Licensing requirements vary from state to state. Cost of treatment is relatively inexpensive, in the neighborhood of $100 to $150 per visit. |
Linda B. White, M.D.
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| Leave the briefcase at work this weekend and spend a day on the couch with a novel, take a nap, go for a brisk walk in the woods, have lunch with a good friend, or treat yourself to a
About using herbs for Fatigue
There are two categories of herbs that you need to know about if you're fighting fatigue: adaptogens and adrenal tonics. Both types of herbs help the body adapt to stress; adrenal tonics support overworked adrenal glands, the organs that respond to changing demands and general stress. |
| 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. |
| You can count on these women and men to tell you the plain truth about using herbs to fight disease, promote longevity and vitality, and boost overall health. You can also count on them to tell you when you need to consult your doctor.
It's true that you can get lost in the maze of information about herbal remedies. But in The Herbal Drugstore, you have a reliable expert guide. We hope that it helps you reclaim your health if you're sick, and preserves your good health for a long time to come. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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 Principles of herbal treatment
First principles of traditional herbal treatment 80 Approaches to using herbs 83 Phytotherapy as a component of other healing strategies 84
FIRST PRINCIPLES OF TRADITIONAL HERBAL TREATMENT
The history of herbal treatments is marked by the enormous diversity of local traditions, with much more variety than consistency. However, themes are apparent. These emerge most clearly where local folk practices were systematized in the great written traditions in history, reviewed in Chapter 1. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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| How long have people been using herbs?
A long, long time. There is educated speculation that prehistoric humans used herbs for illness by following the example of animals. German medical scholar Paul Unschuld tells us that in the Shang Empire, about 16 centuries before the birth of Christ, we find the first written evidence of the Chinese use of herbs for healing. Two of the most important diseases were "curse of an ancestor" and "blow of a demon. |
Paul Pitchford
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 Dukeminier had been attempting to lower his blood pressure for two years using herbs and relaxation methods, but with imperceptible results. However, after three days at the Institute, his blood pressure plummeted and he no longer needed his medication. Also, a long-standing abnormality in his pulse, noted by his physician, normalized after twelve days. He lost weight and felt more fit than he had in years. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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| Oral treatment using herbs to improve venous and connective tissue tone. These include Aesculus (horsechestnut), Ruscus (butcher's broom) and Polygonum multiflorum. Flavonoid-containing herbs, e.g. Crataegus, also have this property. Melilotus (sweet clover) helps to relieve tissue congestion.
• Topical treatment with healing and astringent herbs such as Hamamelis (witchhazel), Symphytum (com-frey) and Calendula. Aesculus also works well topically, especially in gel formulations, but should not be applied if the piles are bleeding. |
Lesley Tierra
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 Therefore, if using herbs in this form, obtain the capsules already made of the desired herb or formula, or get the bulk herbs and powder and capsule them yourself.
Capsuled herbs are an alternative to herb teas. For strong-tasting herbs, or when they are needed in larger quantities or more frequentiy than is practical for tea drinking, they are capsuled instead. Often they are taken as a supplement to other forms of herbal application such as teas, syrups and liniments.
The standard size capsule is "00," and the standard dosage is 2 "00" capsules, 3 times per day. |
| There are two main reasons for this: 1) the loss of a systematic method for using herbs, and 2) the advent of science with technological industries and their resulting chemical medicines.
Mechanistic Healing
Originally, herbs were used in the West according to a systematic approach called the Humour system.
Promoted by Hippocrates in Greece, this system categorized each person as one of several physiological types. It likewise classified herbs and applied them for healing in a corresponding fashion. |
Michael T. Murray, N.D., Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D.
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 Improving sexual desire and function is possible using herbs that (1) improve the activity of the male glandular system, (2) improve the blood supply to erectile tissue, and (3) enhance the transmission or stimulation of the nerve signal.
Yohimbe
The only FDA-approved medicine for treating impotence is yohimbine—an alkaloid isolated from the bark of the yohimbe tree (Pausinystalia johimbe), native to tropical West Africa. Yohimbine hydrochloride increases libido, but its primary action is to increase blood flow to erectile tissue. |
Lesley Tierra
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| This simplistic method of using herbs isolates the disease from the person and the chemical aspects of an herb from its overall individual therapeutic effect.
This view of modern medicine and Western herbology was fully launched when substantial financial support was given only to allopathic medical schools committed to scientific research and high technological needs in the early twentieth century. |
Henry Pasternak, D.V.M., C.V.A.
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 Holistic medicine does not mean only using herbs, nutrition, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc.; it encourages the use of any and all modalities that will benefit the patient's quality of life.
Crataegus (Hawthorn)
Crataegus or hawthorn has been used in Europe for more than a hundred years for heart disease. It appears that the primary cardioprotective activity is attributed to its flavonoid and oligo-meric procyanidins (OPC) content. |
Dr. Gary Null
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 I gave them a herbal concoction using herbs that are commonly used for women's health problems, which are supposed to stimulate proper pituitary functioning. I also gave them raw pituitary gland from an animal. There were surprisingly good results with this treatment. A urine test beforehand measured the level of hormones from the pituitary. If a patient had low hormone levels, I would then use this protocol with them. A surprising number became pregnant once their urinary hormone levels returned to normal. |
Kathi Keville
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 At first, Bill was taken aback by this suggestion, but Jim's argument for using herbs sounded convincing, so Bill figured "what the heck" and dunked his genitals into a strong herb tea twice a day. Afterward, he applied a skin-healing salve that contained tea tree and lavender essential oils. After about a week of doing this faithfully, the redness and irritation ceased. Bill continued the treatment for a few extra days, and just to be sure, he went to the local clinic for an exam. As he suspected, the tests showed nothing. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 For information on using herbs to avoid side effects of mitomycin, see Side Effects of Cancer Treatment under cancer in Part Two.)
Ll Eye pressures tend to be higher during the winter months than during the rest of the year. For this reason, it is especially important to avoid caffeinated beverages and to take appropriate nutritional supplements during the winter.
Ll Acupuncture sometimes can relieve elevated eye pressures and pain if other measures fail. The needles are not placed in or right next to the eye itself. Acupuncture is especially useful for diabetics who have glaucoma. |
| Using herbs and prescription drugs together, under the guidance of a health-care provider, is likely to provide the best control over glaucoma.
BENEFICIAL HERBS herb form and dosage comments
Bilberry
Tablets. Take 240-360 mg daily.
Helps prevent further bloodvessel damage in the eye. Helps maintain night vision.
Eyebright
Extract. Use as directed on the label.
Good for virtually all eye disorders.
Ginkgo1
Ginkgolide tablets. Take 240 mg in a single dose daily.
Helps prevent blood-vessel complications. Slows loss of peripheral vision.
Hawthorn
Tablets. Take 100-250 mg 3 times a day. |
| For the user, however, there are many advantages to using herbs rather than the drugs derived from them. A standard medication consists of one, or occasionally two, medically active chemical compounds, plus carrier compounds and a buffer. Herbs and herbal formulas usually contain at least dozens—and in many cases, hundreds—of active ingredients. The many different active ingredients act on the body, and on one another, simultaneously. This serves to make the primary active ingredients of the herb more effective. It also helps to prevent the toxic reactions that lead to side effects. |
| This 2 percent of the public reported using herbs and visiting nontraditional healers. These dedicated followers of natural medicine rejected blood pressure measurements, cholesterol testing, annual physical exams, influenza vaccinations, prostate examinations, breast examinations, mammograms, and Pap tests.
In contrast, a majority of the American public—about 54 percent, according to polls—still used "chemical" medicines exclusively. |
| Around the world, health-care practitioners are increasingly using herbs and other natural therapies alongside modern forms of treatment, with a renewed understanding of the body's own power to heal.
The healing art of herbalism grew from hundreds of millions of personal healing experiences over centuries before the advent of scientific technology. Herbal remedies that resulted in cures were recognized, remembered, and gradually categorized by the great schools of herbal healing. |
| This information is included for those who are most comfortable using herbs as a healing art, as a healing connection to the natural world.
This entire book has been written with an acute and personal awareness of the frequently overwhelming cost of health care. The most economical approach to regaining and maintaining health is a combination of conventional medicine with supplemental approaches. Except for minor conditions, the herbs and formulas in this book are not chosen to replace conventional medicine. |
Dr. Gary Null
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| She maintains a well woman's gynecological practice using herbs, homeopathy, and other natural remedies.
NATURAL HYGIENE
ANTHONY PENEPENT, M.D., M.P.H. P.O. Box 220289 Great Neck, NY 11022 (212) 239-9582
Dr. Penepent was raised according to natural hygienic precepts. He practices nutritional medicine with homeopathy in Manhattan, Great Neck, and Huntington, New York.
NATUROPATHY
DR. JENNIFER BRETT 998 Nichols Avenue Stratford, CT 06497 (203) 377-1525
Dr. Brett has been practicing homeopathy in Connecticut since 1988, emphasizing natural, preventive women's health care. |
Jean Carper
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 Someone using herbs tries to correct the weakened immunity so the infection does not recur."
Dr. Luke Bucci, an American authority on herbal medicines, agrees that "cycling echinacea is a dogma with no scientific support. I think it's okay to use it all the time as an immune-stimulant if needed," he says.
Consumer Concerns
Various brands and types of echinacea are sold in the United States. Echinacea comes as a tincture, tablet, and capsule, and even in flavors for children. The best tested and most extensively used worldwide is a product called Echinacin in Germany. |
Michael Tierra
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 Just as traditional medicinal systems throughout the world developed theoretical foundations for using herbs, they also did this with food. Michael began teaching the use of an energetically balanced diet along with herbs. He explained the therapeutic use of foods along with identification of the energetic imbalances in the body. This he included in the first edition of this book.
Since the original publication of The Way of Herbs, Western herbalism has expanded tremendously. |
Richard Lucas
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 In addition to using herbs, faulty dietary habits should be changed. Junk foods are to be replaced with wholesome, well-balanced meals. The Chinese also advise insomniacs to cut down on salt in their diet.
4. Because food must have time to digest, you should never retire after eating a meal, as this practice has been known to cause nightmares and restlessness.
5. According to Chinese herbalists, liver trouble is one of the most common causes of migraine headache. Along with the use of herb remedies, sufferers of "liverish" migraine should avoid eating or drinking anything cold. |
Lesley Tierra
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| There is a rich heritage of wisdom and experience to draw upon in using herbs as our natural medicines.
In this book we leam about the many aspects which give herbs their healing potential and how to use them, including their various therapies, remedies and preparations. Herbal healing is included in all chapters of the book, yet Part I specifically introduces and teaches the beginning basics of herbal medicine. |
Glenn W. Geelhoed, M.D. and Jean Barilla, M.S.
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 Learn more about using herbs and foods as natural stress remedies in the stress section beginning on page 467.)
4.
5.
Find a comfortable chair, close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply.
Focus your concentration on a single spot or object in front of you. Some people find that gazing at a beautiful crystal or a flickering candle works well.
Continuing to breathe rhythmically, focusing your concentration, tell yourself that you are relaxed and at peace. Feel your arms and legs get heavier and warmer as your relaxation grows. |
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