The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body - Heal Your Body Naturally and Maintain Optimal Health Using Alternative Medicine, Herbals, Vitamins, Fruits and Vegetables (67 page)

Plant Description:

Pau D'Arco
is an evergreen of the Amazon rain forest, but it is also deciduous when it grows in higher and colder locations. It is a tropical tree, native to South and Central America, and although it grows to a height of one hundred feet, it may start out as a vine. The tree grows in well-drained, fertile soil in sunny, warm, tropical climates.

Pau D'Arco has high iron content, making it effective in the assimilation of nutrients and elimination of body wastes, and also includes beta-carotene, beta-sitosterol, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, barium, iodine, lapachol (a naphthoquinone), lapachone and xyloidine (quinoids).

History:

The wood and inner barks are used for medicinal purposes, and the lumber (known as lapacho) is highly valued in cabinetmaking.
  Pau D'Arco may flower in a number of colors, but the
roxa 
(red, magenta, crimson and violet) varieties are used the most in herbal medicine, and the best quality is said to come from Argentina (where it is used extensively by the Callaway tribe).  Pau D'Arco has a long folk history of use in the treatment of infections and cancer, and many South American Indian societies have used it for centuries to treat cancer, infectious diseases and wounds, and to enhance energy and endurance. They also introduced Pau D'Arco to the early Portuguese settlers of Brazil to treat schistosomiasis, a tropical disease brought on by flatworm, and modern science does support those antimicrobial properties. Its ancient and current use in South America as a treatment for cancer (mostly blood and skin) is highly controversial, but the National Cancer Institute does not recognize it as a viable treatment, because the high levels required to be effective in may cause many undesirable side effects. Although the Argentine government dispenses the herb free of charge to cancer and leukemia patients, the government of Brazil disavows its efficacy for such treatments. Test tube studies have found that the lapachone content can kill cancer cells by inhibiting an enzyme called “topoisomerase,” and there are hopes that effective anti-cancer drugs may eventually be produced through chemical modification of lapachone. There is much ongoing research on the subject, but there have been wonderful positive reports regarding the herb's antifungal and anti-inflammatory qualities.

Medical Uses:

Pau D'Arco is reputed to possess significant and potent antiviral and antifungal properties and has been used as an effective treatment against viruses, yeast infections, such as
Candida albicans,
etc., herpes simplex, flu, gonorrhea, athlete's foot, warts, syphilis, venereal disease and vaginitis.

Thought to be an effective anti-inflammatory and painkiller, Pau D'Arco has been used to help ease the pain and inflammation of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis and rheumatism.
  It is also believed to ease the temporary discomforts of inflammatory bowel disease and alleviate bowel pain.

Pau D'Arco is thought to promote and maintain normal blood sugar levels, which may be of help in cases of diabetes. It appears to prevent spillover of glucose into the urine and seems to act in the same manner as the prescription drug ingredient, acarbose, by keeping sugar from passing through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

Pau D'Arco is considered a mild laxative and diuretic. It promotes urine flow and supports urinary tract health, fighting such conditions as cystitis, prostatitis and other urinary infections. The herb is also thought to lower fever.

Treatments:

As a blood cleanser, Pau D'Arco is thought to purify and clear toxins from the blood and multiply the numbers of red corpuscles, which helps to build the blood and may be helpful in combating pernicious anemia and other ailments entailing blood deficiencies.

Pau D'Arco is considered an immune enhancer that is believed to strengthen and stimulate the immune system to produce macrophages, immune cells that engulf and digest bacteria and infectious microbes before they invade cell walls and cause damage to cells and tissue. The herb is said to combat chronic degenerative ailments, increase energy and stamina and has been used as part of a treatment to combat environmentally produced allergies and asthma.

Pau D'Arco is said to protect and promote healthy liver function.  It is believed to neutralize poisons that involve the liver and may be helpful in treating hepatitis.  Some South American hospitals have used Pau D'Arco on patients to reduce the destructive process that chemotherapy exerts on the liver and kidneys. Chemotherapy has been known to destroy the liver and kidneys, and this may be of great help to patients undergoing such treatments.

Pau D'Arco is thought to be an excellent antibacterial and also support good digestion. In laboratory tests, the active ingredient, lapachol, reverses aspirin-induced irritation of the stomach lining, and may possibly have antibiotic effects on
Helicobacter pylori
, a bacterium associated with gastritis and peptic ulcer. Its antibiotic properties have been useful in the treatment of dysentery, and the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, has found that lapachol is also useful against parasitic infection and may be effective in treating malaria and Chagas disease.

Used externally, Pau D'Arco has been used to treat dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, scabies, boils and many other skin infections.

Precautions:

Pregnant and nursing women should not use Pau D'Arco, and excess amounts (many times the recommended dosage) may cause nausea, bleeding, vomiting, dizziness and diarrhea. People who take prescription anticancer drugs or those on chemotherapy should not use this herb without consulting with a physician. Because it may induce bleeding, people who take prescription blood thinners (Coumadin, etc.) should not use this herb, nor should it be used prior to surgery.

Dosages:

Take two (2) capsules, two (2) times each day with water at mealtimes.

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Pea Fiber
supplements are a simple way to supply our diets with both soluble and insoluble natural fiber. A fiber rich diet is thought to provide many healthful benefits, including
gastrointestinal well-being, proper bowel function
(including relief for constipation and diverticulosis) and
may also reduce our risk of colon cancer, heart disease and diabetes
.

History:

The modern garden pea is thought to be descended from the field pea that was indigenous to central Asia and Europe, and has been consumed as a healthy dietary addition for thousands of years. Peas are considered legumes, plants that bear fruit in the form of pods, enclosing the fleshy seeds, and are one of the few members of the legume family that are sold and cooked as fresh vegetables. It is interesting to note that high-fiber foods are mostly low in calories and inexpensive. Today, the largest commercial producers of fresh peas are the United States, Great Britain, China, Hungary and India.

Medical Uses:

Peas provide one of the highest sources of natural soluble and insoluble dietary fibers known, and since the National Cancer Institute suggests that dietary fiber can be protective against some cancer, taking Pea Fiber supplements may provide the fiber that is lacking in our regular diets. Americans generally consume ten grams of fiber per day, and the National Cancer Institute recommends at least twenty grams daily. Fiber isn't a miracle food, but adding fiber to your diet may provide surprising and wonderful health benefits.

Pea Fiber may help to improve cardiovascular health by reducing cholesterol. Fiber is credited with helping to lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood and may thus help to reduce the risk of heart disease. Studies of high-fiber diets have shown dramatic benefits provided by high-fiber foods. In one study, two groups of people were fed different amounts of high-fiber foods. The high-fiber group reduced their total cholesterol by nearly seven percent, their triglyceride levels by over ten percent and their VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoprotein, the most dangerous form of cholesterol) by over twelve percent. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance in the digestive tract that binds bile (which contains cholesterol) and carries it out of the body. In India, clinical studies demonstrated that Peas have the ability to dissolve blood clots, which may also be of help in improving blood circulation, another factor affecting cardiovascular health.

The National Cancer Institute suggests that fiber may be protective against some cancers, particularly colon cancer, and Pea Fiber provides one of highest sources of natural dietary fiber. A diet rich in fiber is essential for gastrointestinal well being and proper bowel function; it not only is said to help increase stool bulk and prevent constipation, but it may also help to prevent digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis.

Pea Fiber may be beneficial to diabetics as a way to stabilize their blood sugar levels, since fiber intake has been shown to control intestinal glucose absorption. People with insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or diabetes may benefit from high-fiber intake by balancing blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy. Researchers compared two groups of people with type-II diabetes who were fed different amounts of high fiber foods.

One group ate the standard American Diabetic diet, which contains twenty-four grams of fiber per day, while the other group ate a diet containing fifty grams of fiber per day. Those who ate the diet higher in fiber had lower levels of both plasma glucose (blood sugar) and insulin (the hormone that helps blood sugar get into cells). Danish research demonstrated that when Pea Fiber was consumed, blood glucose levels did not rise and fall as rapidly or as severely as they did in response to other food fibers and was superior in its actions even to sugar beet fiber or wheat bran, and it is interesting to note that in Europe, doctors already prescribe sugar beet fiber for diabetics and celiac patients. According to the United States General Services Administration Federal Citizen Information Center, studies indicate that foods with fiber (particularly peas, beans, etc.) help to lower blood glucose, and because we should consume much more fiber than the average American now consumes to get this benefit, Pea Fiber supplements may provide an uncomplicated and simple way to achieve this nutritional benefit.

By absorbing water (and fats) in the intestinal tract and increasing stool bulk, the bulking action of Pea Fiber may also help in weight loss programs by filling the intestines and giving one the feeling of fullness and reducing the appetite.

Precautions: None

Dosages:

Take one (1) to two (2) capsules, two (2) to three (3) times each day with water at mealtimes.

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Pennyroyal
has been used for centuries to treat feverish conditions. It promotes sweat, which helps to reduce fevers and cleanse toxins from the body through the skin. It is also a digestive that relieves indigestion, flatulence, and grumbling in the intestines.

Plant Description:

Pennyroyal is a pungently aromatic, bitter, astringent herb.  It is a member of the mint family, and exact naming of the different species has been difficult, as mints interbreed so readily.

Pennyroyal is a perennial with variable growing habits and may range from a low-growing, spreading plant to a lanky upright shrub. Its leaves are bright green and exude a strong peppermint scent, and the herb prefers rich, damp, sandy soil in sun or partial shade. It is considered a weed in many places, and one of its folk names is "grows-in-the-ditch."

History:

Pennyroyal
is said to be native to Ireland, spreading across south and central Europe to the Ukraine and parts of Asia.  The herb was introduced to North America centuries ago, and grows abundantly in the wild lands of the world.  American Pennyroyal (
Hedeoma pulegiodes
) has a long medicinal history in North America, where it was used by the native tribes and settlers alike for headaches, feverish colds, and menstrual cramps to produce abortion.

Pennyroyal was listed in the
United States Pharmacopoeia
from 1831 until 1915.
Mentha pulegium
and
Hedeoma pulegiodes have
a similar chemistry and are used in the same manner, but the herb carries severe warnings and should be used only under the supervision of a health care practitioner. In Europe, the leaves of
Mentha pulegium
are used in herbal teas that relieve the symptoms of cold and flu and for culinary purposes as a flavoring for black pudding and sausages.

Medical Uses:

Pennyroyal has been used to promote perspiration and reduce fevers. It is said to relieve feverish colds and the symptoms of coughs, colds and flu. The herb is said to be an expectorant that alleviates dry, hacking coughs and helps expel phlegm and chest congestion. The herb is also thought to ease whooping cough.

Pennyroyal is said to be good for the digestive system, relieving indigestion, colic, flatulence and nausea.

As an emmenagogue, Pennyroyal promotes and regulates menstrual flow and eases painful menstruation. It stimulates uterine contractions and was sometimes used to ease childbirth, but the herb was also used to induce abortion and, as such, was considered extremely dangerous, often causing hemorrhaging and serious complications for the mother. Therefore, it should never be used for that purpose, as amounts needed may cause death.