| Herbs differ from drugs in that they work harmoniously with the body's innate capacity to heal, supporting the immune system rather than suppressing it as many drugs tend to do. When using herbs, however, certain cautions apply; for example, a few herbs can be toxic and should only be used with extreme care under the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Certain herbs should not be used during pregnancy, by those with high blood pressure, or when taking specific medications. |
| It is wonderful to have the opportunity to help men with prostate cancer by using herbs, supplements, and dietary and lifestyle guidelines as their primary treatment strategy; to see them get well, thrive, and show no apparent signs of cancer is even better. I have found that many prostate cancers, even some of the more aggressive forms (high PSA, high Gleason score, even a palpable tumor or evidence of metastasis) respond beautifully to natural healing modalities.
A SAMPLE PROTOCOL FOR PROSTATE CANCER
Tom is fifty-five years old and has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. |
| I see many men with prostate cancer and have had a great deal of success in treating this disease (even in advanced stages) using herbs, nutritional supplements, and diet. Many of these men did not use any conventional treatments.
Because natural and holistic protocols for treating prostate cancer work by restoring and detoxifying the body, a significant additional benefit of their use is their ability to inhibit many age-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 People who are taking MAO inhibitors or using herbs that contain MAO inhibitors on a regular basis need to avoid certain foods—alcoholic beverages and smoked or pickled foods—and some medications, including cold and hay fever remedies, amphetamines, narcotics, tryptophan and tyrosine. Also, pregnant women should not take St.-John's-wort, and everyone should avoid intense sun exposure while using it, since this herb can make the skin more sensitive to sunlight.
V Walnut (Juglans, various species). |
Robyn Landis
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 From the everyday grievance to the serious illness, you will learn how just about every discomfort and disease known to us can be successfully averted or mended using herbs and foods. You can look forward to natU' rally reversing child hyperactivity, banishing morning sickness, lifting fatigue, curing insomnia, eliminating allergies, resolving Candida issues, arresting arthritis, easing indigestion, vanquishing ulcers, shrinking enlarged prostates, sidestepping viral illness, de-stressing, clearing up skin problems, controlling diabetes, and much more. |
Berkeley Holistic Health Center and Shepherd Bliss
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| Ethan Nebelkopf is a family therapist who has helped many addicts get off drugs by using herbs. During the 'sixties he received a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan. In the 'seventies he studied herbs, developed a program of alternative medicine at White Bird Free Clinic in Eugene, Oregon, and served as herbalist at the Berkeley Holistic Health Center.
Currently, Ethan is Aftercare Coordinator at Walden House, a drug program in San Francisco. |
Robyn Landis
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| I've been doing just that for a long time—both "living lightly" for least impact and burden on the system, and using herbs for added support—and the results are wonderful. Millions of people are doing the same, with excellent results.
Let's now take a look at exactly how we can create the most favorable environment for enhanced immune functioning—and thus the most favorable environment for great health.
5
Prevention 101: Immune-Boosting Basics
Natural healing excels at prevention. |
| The advantage of using herbs to treat bacterial infections is that there's much less likelihood of side effects, and they can enhance our health in many other different ways, which drugs simply do not do.
Some herbs offer a safe, nontoxic way to kill bacteria directly by poisoning them. Others work by stimulating the immune system so that the appropriate immune cells kill the bacteria and engulf them faster and better than they would otherwise. Herbs of both types can be used in combination to enhance the action, getting the work done at both ends.
What About Antibiotics? |
| Feeling Better Premenstrually
This is our standard disclaimer, but even before you consider using herbs to treat these symptoms, take a hard look at your lifestyle and how it may be influencing your condition. In the case of PMS, countless women have found relief simply by eating a high-complex-carbohydrate, low-fat diet; eliminating sugar and caffeine; and exercising regularly. |
Ralph W. Moss PhD
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 It is my hope that this book, and its forthcoming companion volume, will help provide "up-to-date and authoritative information" on the benefits and deficits of using herbs in the treatment of cancer.
In America, there is no question that medical herbalism is undergoing an
1 n astonishing resurgence. The signs of vital growth are everywhere. In 1993, when David Eisenberg, MD of Harvard Medical School conducted his groundbreaking survey on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), a mere three percent of Americans were using therapeutic herbs. |
John Heinerman
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 But for those using herbs a lot, kelp probably refers to seaweeds of the brown algal order Laminariales which possess large, flat, leaf-like fronds. A class of brown algae called bladderwrack is generally used the most often for producing kelp products.
Iodine Content Controls Obesity
Kelp has many medicinal uses and claims attributed to it. One of the more popular is in controlling obesity. This role is attributed to the plant's iodine content which is believed to stimulate production of iodine-containing hormones that help keep you slim. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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| People who are taking MAO inhibitors, or using herbs that contain them, on a regular basis need to avoid certain foods (alcoholic beverages and smoked or pickled foods) and medications
Gobo Gumbo
All of the ingredients in this pungent vegetable dish contain compounds that help the immune system fight viruses, and researchers have found that burdock has properties that specfically fight HIV. (Gobo is Japanese for "burdock." |
Robyn Landis
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| For example, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine have been using herbs effectively for millennia without the "benefit" of standardization. Ironically, it is often the historical effectiveness of whole herbs in traditional uses that inspires study—and sometimes, subsequently, standardization.
CONTRAINDICATIONS AND OTHER CONCERNS
In general, contraindications (inadvisability of combination with other herbs, foods, drugs, or other substances) for herbs are rare because herbs themselves are so gentle, dilute, and, for the most part, slow working. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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 According to a 1999 survey, about 48% of adult Americans had used herbs within the previous year and 24% admit to using herbs regularly.
Where to Find Help
One of the major problems in the U.S. is the lack of a regulatory system that allows the therapeutic benefits to be put onto the label of herbal products. Without these recognized benefits, consumers will be exposed to media stories that overemphasize the risks and underplay the benefits of these natural remedies. |
Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
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 For the past few decades, medical doctors as a rule have scorned the use of herbs or other "unorthodox" remedies, so the chances of happening upon a physician who can advise you about choosing and using herbs for medical purposes are not good. American medical and pharmacy schools long ago stopped teaching about herbal remedies, and, for the most part, high-quality education for herbalists or other herbal practitioners failed to materialize. There are herbalists who have considerable knowledge about herbs, and some who are adept at diagnosing health conditions. |
Carol Simontacchi
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 I asked for his recommendations, expecting him to discuss such issues as eating better-quality food, drinking more water, taking dietary supplements, and possibly using herbs. Instead he said very quietly, "We are tired because we demand too much of our bodies. Fatigue is a sign that we need to slow down. Our lifestyles are far in excess of our body's ability to handle. If we are tired, we need to rest, not take something to mask the fatigue."
At the time, I was working ten to twelve hours per day, then going home to my husband and four children. |
Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
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| How much experience do you have using herbs in your practice?
• Where did you learn about herbs?
• How many hours of training in this area do you have, and from where?
• What sources of self-education have you used?
• What do you consider the best books about herbs?
These are only sample questions, of course. The point is to discover the provider's level of training, experience, and expertise on herbs, and also discern whether she or he has an open mind on the subject. You are probably best served by finding someone who is not closed to the subject of herbs, yet is also a critical thinker. |
John Robbins
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 And those who do have problems can often gain substantial help through improved nutrition and exercise, and by using herbs such as blue cohosh, vitex, dong quai, and blessed thistle.
Most doctors only see women who are seeking medical advice, and so get a distorted picture of how women handle the transition. Like a car mechanic who never works on a car that actually runs, they may come to believe that menopause is inherently problematic.48 When Dr. Sonja McKinlay of Brown University researched menopausal women who were not seeking medical advice, she arrived at a different conclusion. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| Although herbal remedies have shown excellent results in reducing allergy/sensitivity symptoms, using herbs to treat allergies involves an individual approach, according to Dr.Thorn. "No one herb will work for all allergy sufferers," he says, although some particularly effective anti-inflammatory herbs are stinging nettle, Ginkgo biloba, and licorice. Chinese skullcap, ephedra, and feverfew are others to consider for treating allergy symptoms. Patients whose conditions are severe should consult with a trained herbalist or naturopath. |
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. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| At the same time the FDA was removing the herbal ingredients from OTC drugs, an increasingly large segment of the population began using herbs and other natural medicines. Consequently, the U.S. Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which created a new legal category called dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, and related consumer health products that were ingested as part of the diet. |
Gale Maleskey
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 You should consult a qualified practitioner of herbal medicine before using herbs during pregnancy," she says. is born with spina bifida, a condition that can cause paralysis of the lower body because the vertebrae don't join properly to protect the spinal cord.
Nearly 30 years after the first studies, neural tube defects still affected more than 4,000 babies born in the United States every year. We now know the cause, however, and have learned that many of these birth defects can be prevented. Studies have shown that getting adequate amounts of folic acid can protect infants. |
Susun S. Weed
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 When you make your own medicines and healing foods, you control one of the major ways you can come to harm from using herbs: mistaken identity (or right label, wrong herb). Not that you can't make mistakes, but you're more likely to catch your own mistake than someone else's. When you make your own medicines and healing foods, they are fresh, full of energy, and in tune with you and your environment. Making your own herbal remedies is simple and fun; directions begin on page 293.
• The results and safety of any remedy are dependent on the way it is prepared and used. |
Gale Maleskey
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| The second view of using herbs is a more holistic model, as opposed to the allopathic model, meaning that the body is viewed as a whole rather than a set of isolated parts. Instead of seeing a headache as an isolated problem that begins somewhere above your shoulders, a holistic practitioner wonders what's happening all over. Is digestion a contributing factor? Mood? Lifestyle factors? Posture? In the view of the holistic practitioner, if we understand how other body factors contribute to the problem, we can better address the causes. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| Besides using herbs to kill off the parasites, I also used them to boost her immune system and to deal with the yeast problem and her digestive weakness. That's why she got the parasites in the first place. After three months of treatment, her stool tests cleared up and remained clear, all her symptoms went away, and her weight went back up to 108 pounds."
See Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Ayurvedic Medicine
Ayurvedic medicine, a 5,000-year-old health-care tradition from India, has many natural remedies that address specific parasitic infections. |
Rudolph M. Ballentine, M.D.
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 The acupuncturist, practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Ayurvedic practitioner, using herbs and exotic cleansing treatments, seem to be totally different. But underneath, they are more similar than you might have thought.
Many years ago, during introductory training in acupuncture, I attended a class on the history of Chinese medicine. The instructor flashed on the screen what was considered the oldest surviving acupuncture chart. It was of an elephant, and the points were labeled in Sanskrit. |
| MINERALS VERSUS HERBS
We might stop here and compare the tissue salts with what we learned earlier about using herbs. Minerals have an energy very different from that of plant preparations. They are inorganic, inert. "Dead" might be too strong a word, but in fact "stone cold" is an expression we use when all life has departed. Given as crude substances, i.e., as inorganic supplements, minerals can crowd the molecular environment. This may produce some shifts in biochemical reactions, but it's not likely to result in any real reorganization. |
Michael Tierra
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 For one who is following the principles of Simpling (see the chapter on "Theory of Using Herbs"), the local area is ideal. However, one should avoid picking herbs along heavily trafficked roads, since the exhausts from the vehicles will leave a residue on and in the plants.
When purchasing herbs from a store, one should realize that though many of the medicinal plants are available in the United States, the ones that are available commercially are often imported. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
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| He suggests that parents try the remedies outlined for colic, but if children over the age of five experiencing stomachaches do not respond to those remedies, he recommends using herbs such as chamomile, peppermint, lemon bar, and anise. If these treatments don't work, it may be that the stomachache is due to an infection or diarrhea. Infections should be treated individually. If diarrhea is associated with the stomachache, Hoffmann recommends the herb meadowsweet. |
Gary Null
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 Those people with more serious immune problems, like
AIDS and cancer, too, can help their systems to fight back as much as possible by using herbs to stimulate a healthy immune system.
Dr. Paul Lee, the founder of the Platonic Academy in Santa Cruz, California, is one of America's leading authorities on the use of herbs for immune-system health and overall well-being. Dr. Lee links herbology, immunology, and molecular biology together in his theory that there is an herbal code in our immune system memory which is carried by our DNA. |
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