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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, February 10, 2006 - 9:33 am
Source: Prescription for Herbal Healing (a different volume than the Nutritional Healing book I have quoted previously) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC copyright date: 2002 Principles of Herbal Healing--Part I Just a few decades ago, the most widely recognized advertising slogan in Maerica was "Better living through chemistry." Promoting the virtues of plastics, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals, this motto came to be a catchphrase for progress in all of modern life, even in medical treatment. The fact that chemistry brought progress to health care is incontrovertible. The discovery of new drugs resulted in treatments for conditions that were once invariably fatal, such as certain forms of cancer and most cases of diabetes. Antiviotics made it possible to treat common and equally life-threatening infections contracted by injury, surgery or epidemic. Pharmacological advances enabled better living with chronic conditions such as lupus, depression and thryroid problems. It was thought to be only a matter of time before modern, chemically oriented medicne even found a cure for the common cold. The 1980s and 1990s, however, brought widespread recognition of recurring problems in treating disease with manufactured drugs. Many people judged that the side effects of chemotherapy for cancer outweighed its potential benefits. Novel drugs for diabetes carried the risk of liver failure. New strains of infectious diseases appeared that were resistant to antibiotics. Many people taking treatment for lupus, depression and thyroid problems abandoned it because they felt the treatments caused worse symptoms than the disease. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 100,000 people in hospitals each year died as a direct result of either reactions to medicationsor inappropriate use of medication. (By comparison, in 1999 the FDA announced that during the previous five years, a total of 101 deaths were caused by the misuse of herbs, vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements.) By 1999, a small fraction--about 2 percent--of the American public had abandoned chemical medicine altogether and had begun using alternative medicine exclusively. 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 the polls--still used "chemical medicines exclusively. But preliminary survey data indicate that a significant minority--44 percent--of the people in the United States have come to recognize that the best option for treatment today is complementary treatment, using the doctor's prescriptions and herbal options together judiciously. This section describes the principles of effective herbal treatment. It gives simple rules for recognizing when herbal treatment is best and when medical intervention is required. This section also describes the materials of effective herbal treatment. There are the teas, tablets, tinctures, capsules and extracts usded in everyday treatment with herbs. It explains how to recognize the health conditions that benefit from herbal treatment the most, and how the standarization process helps make self-treatment with the herbs easy and safe. It also lists the various otulets where healing herbs may be found. Rules for Herbal Treatment Successful use of herbs for healing requires a few commonsense rules. While these guidelines are self-evident to most people, they are also in complete harmony with the basic principles of modern pharmacology. These principles of herbal treatment apply to all of the herbs and all of the conditions listed in this book (uh, thread, for us). Rely on Conventional Medicine for Emergency Treatment When a health condition is an immediate threat to life, treatment administered by a physician is always the best choice. Herbal, nutritional and complementary treatments are out of place in emergency care. Or, as the distinguished complementary health expert, Dr. Dean Ornish, frequently comments, "I will never tell a patient admitted to the emergency room with a heart attack that she should eat more broccoli." The following ar examples of symptoms that call for prompt medical attention: A lump that appears anywhere Chest pains/heart palpitations/pain that radiates down the left arm or chest Coughing with green or yellow mucus Difficulty swallowing Fever over 102F Known or suspected bone fracture Known or suspected poisoning Known or suspected stroke Loss of consciousness Severe allergic reactions Severe burns Severe high blood pressure Severe infection Severe persistent pain Uncontrolled bleeding Uncontrolled diarrhea Uncontrolled vomiting The drastic hcanges to physiology that are possible through the use of potent medications and immediate medical procedures can quickly correct serious imbalances and prevent death. The drawback to emergency medication is that it cannot be continued on a long-term basis. Powerful drugs can cause toxic reactions when dosage is miscalculated or allergic reactions when the person receiving them is senstive. Medications can have paradoxical effects, worsenting the conditions they are designed to treat. Long-term use of some prescription drugs can result in drug dependence and addiction. Moreover, the standard way to deal with all these adverse side effects is to offer more medications. Choose the Right Herb for the Diagnosis The first step in choosing the right herb for the diagnosis. Self-diagnosis for aches and pains, colds and flu, minor injuries and predictable fluctuations in chronic conditions is usally valid. Among people who are otherwise healty, even choosing the wrong herb for these conditions wil not interfere with long-term health. Most health conditions, however, require evaluation by someone other than the person experiencing them. Objective evaluation and medical evaluation are usually an important step in choosing the right herb. The second step in selecting the right herb for the diagnosis is matching the diagnosis with an available herb. With over 5,000 medicinal herbs available worldwide, even the most knowledgable herb experts do not know them all. Most nations of the world have developed government approved volumes known as pharmacopeias to provide a comprehensive guide to matching symptoms and signs to specific herbs and herbal formulas. The pharmacopeias of the United States are known as the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and The National Formulary. There is also The American Herbal Pharmacopeia, a reference guide that will eventually include summaries of scientific research on over 300 herbs commonly used in the United States. Along with translations of foreign works such as The Complete German Commission E. Monographs, a tremendous amount of scholarly information is available for the safe use of medicinal herbs. This information is also available through popular publications such as this one. The information in these scholarly works has become required reading for writers of all herb manuals, including this one. And while it is not necessary to read technical works to be able to use an herb with confidence, much of the original scientific research on which the recommendations in responsible herb guides are based may be found on the Internet. More Is Not Necessarily Better After choosing the right herb, the next step is effective herbal treatment taking the right dosage. The dosages of both herbs and prescription drugs adre determined by referring to one of their most important pharmacological properties, therapeutic range. The therapeutic range of any herbal or conventional medication is the difference between the smallest dose that will do any good and the largest dose that everyone can take without causing harm. Therapeutic range is a measure of the safety of the herb or drug. An herb or drug with a narrow therapeutic range is dangerous. An herb or drug with a broad therapeutic range is safe. Most herbs have an extremely broad therapeutic range. It is very difficult or even impossible to take a toxic dose of most herbs. The caffeine in green tea (or coffee or any other caffeine-containing beverage), for instance, is theoretically poisonous. It could be fatal if you drank a dose of 50 liters (approximately 12 gallons) of green tea, which contains 10 grams of caffeine. Green tea is considered nontoxic because it is impossible for anyone to drink 12 gallons of the beverage in a single sitting. Even if it were possible to drink 12 gallons of green tea, the 10 grams of caffeine it contains would still be nontoxic because the caffeine from the first few liters of green tea would break down long before the caffeine from the last liters of green tea could ever reach the bloodstream. It is possible to take a toxic dose of some other herbs, but extremely unlikely. The bronchitis herb coltsfoot, for example, contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can cause liver damage. Always check the precautions for an herb before using it. While large doses of herbs are usually safe, they are almost never necessary. Always take the smallest dosage within the therapeutic range of the herbs recommended (in this book) first. Then gradually increase the dosage to the maximum recommended if symptoms do not improve. Plan for Long-Term Improvement Herbs usually act gently and slowly. In pharmacological terms, herbs are said to have a long onset of action. This term refers to how quickly a drug or herb begins to achieve its desired effect on the body. Herbs usually have both a broad therapeutic range and a slow onset of action. That is, herbs are safe, and taking a little more or less is likely to yield the same result. However, their action is slow.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, February 10, 2006 - 10:31 am
Source: Prescription for Herbal Healing (a different volume than the Nutritional Healing book I have quoted previously) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC copyright date: 2002 Principles of Herbal Healing--Part II An example of an herb with a long onset of action is one of the most commonly used herbs in the United States, psyllium. This herb is used in dozens of over-the-counter products for the relief of constipation. Using psyllium powder results in the immediate relief of constipation by increasing the bulk of stool, but at first it may cause bloating and gas. This is due to the bacterial breakdown of the indigestible fibers in the herb. Only over a period of one to three months do new bacteria establish themselves in the colon to digest fibers without releasing gas. This adjustment of the body (and its symbiotic bacteria) is needed to bring about the full-healing result of the herbal treatment. Many of the herbs used to treat chronic conditions have a long latent period during which results are not noticed. It may be necessary to use these herbs for several months before they help the body accomplish desired changes. Herbs that have to be taken for several weeks or months before achieving results are identified where they are recommended in this book (in this case, thread). There are also many herbs that act more quickly, such as echinacea and goldenseal. If You Don't Get Better, Try Something Else While this rule might seem obvious, it is easy to forget that for an herb or any other treatment to be considered effective, it must produce demonstrable results. In many cases, proving that the herb (or drug) works requires measurement. The only way to know that an herb helps lower high blood pressure is to take blood pressure readings. The only way to know an herb helps control diabetes is to take blood-sugar readings. The only way to know an herb helps weight loss is to step on a scale. If measurements have been taken an an herb is found not to work, it is important to reconfirm the diagnosis. This is especially true if the herbs is being taken on the basis of self-diagnosis. If using ginkgo for several months does not hep memory, for example, there is always a possibility of a more serious disorder. A qualified health-care practitioner can help sort out symptoms to make a more refined diagnosis. Seven Situations In Which Herbal Treatment Is Best In Japan, where doctors have every tool of modern medicine at their disposal, four out of five doctors prescribe herbs for at least some of their patients. Three out of five doctors in Japan consider herbs to be their treatment of choice for at least some diseases. The outcome of this system that uses modern and ancient healing techniques is the world's highest longevity figures for both men and women. There are seven situations in which most Japanese doctors recommend herbs and herbal formulas as a primary form of treatment. Disorders and symptoms in older adults. Older people often have disorders affecting several organs. Their symptoms may change from day to day and from week to week. To cover the broad range of complaints they experience, doctors often give elderly patients six, eight or even a dozen different prescription drugs. Side effects result not just from the drugs individually but from their combination. Forgetting to take a pill, running out of medication and not being able to get more, or taking a medication twice by accident--which can happen to people of all ages--intensifies the problem. Treating symptoms with herbs can allow the doctor to reduce the dosage of some prescription meds or eliminate them entirely. This educes the frequency and severity of side effects. Herbs can be used as a gentle treatment for new, minor symptoms when they arise, making it possible to avoid additional medication. Disorders involving abnormalities of the immune system. Among the most exciting applications of herbal medicine lie in treating abnormalities of the immune system. Clinical studies have shown that various herbal products are effective in treating allergies, asthma, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Herbal medicine also has a unique potential usefulness in balancing the immune system in cases of chronic infection, preventing the immune system from turning on the body and causing destruction. Psychosomatic and psychiatric complaints. Chosen in consultation with a health-care provider who can recognize the need for emergency treatment, herbal medicine can be a valuable method of treating psychosomatic and psychiatric complaints. The complex herbal formulas of traditional Chinese medicine and Japanese herbal medicine, in particular, are valuable in that neither depress nor overstimulate the central nervous system. These herbal treatments do not induce drowsiness, tremors, or fatigue. Nor do they trigger nightmares, hallucinations or manic behavior. Subjective symptoms. Herbs can be used to treat familiar symptoms of known conditions that are not quite severe enough to justify expensive medical treatment. Herbs also can be used to treat symptoms that don't quite fit the symptom pattern of diagnosed disease. Some conditions, such as menopausal discomforts and chronic fatigue syndrome, cause very different symptoms in different individuals. With a thorough knowledge of the potential of herbs, the individual and the health-care practitioners can choose just the right treatment to relieve the annoying symptoms. Alternative therapy for persons who have allergic and other adverse reactions to standard treatment. Millions of people who have arthritis develop chronic gastrointestinal problems from taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)/ For pain relief without this side effect, they have to pay high prices fr newer pain relievers known as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors. Herbs that relieve pain in the same way as COX-2--without causing damage to the digestive tract--are available for a fraction of he price of the prescription drug. Millions of people diagnosed with mild depression can take powerful antidepressant drugs, but at the risk of weight gain, or conversely, anorexia, fatigue or an excessive, emotional 'high' or loss of libido. Herbal alternatives exist that can relieve mild depression without these side effects. Combination therapy to reduce the side effects of conventional medication. There are many cases in which herbs strengthen the body's response to prescription medications. In the treatment of lupus with prednisolone, for example, use of a specific ginseng formula from traditional Chinese medicine allow the lupus patient to use a reduced dosage of predinisolone, and thus avoid side effects. Combination therapy to reduce the side effects of conventional medication. For example, chemotherapy drugs are widely used in cancer treatment. While these compounds fight the disease, they also usually result in loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, anemia, kidney damage and hair loss. Herbs and herbal formulas exist that reduce the devastating side effects of many of these drugs and also increase the likelihood of remission.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, February 10, 2006 - 11:41 am
Source: Prescription for Herbal Healing (a different volume than the Nutritional Healing book I have quoted previously) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC copyright date: 2002 Principles of Herbal Healing--Part III Materials of Herbal Treatment Many, perhaps 75 percent, of all conventional medications are refinements of herbal medicines. The isolation of morphine from opium in 1806 was the first time that chemical methods were used to extract the active chemical constituents of an herb. The chemical processes used to isolate morphine led to the production of codeine, the widely used cough suppressant. Chemical processing of a cinchona bark yielded quinine, a malaria treatment that is still important today. The nasal spray, cromolyn sodium (sold under the brand name Nalsalcrom), the chemotherapy drug, paclitaxel (Taxol), and the heart drug digoxin (Lamoxicaps, Lanoxin) were all developed from chemicals found in herbs. Synthesizing chemicals that are very similar to the naturally occurring active constituents of an herb allows for the manufacture of potent, fast-acting drugs that can be mass-produced. Of special importance to drug makers is the fact that synthetic chemical compounds can be patented, while herbs cannot. The law grants exclusive rights to the makers of chemical drugs that it does not grant to the manufacturers of herb products. Patent protection allows drug companies to sell chemical drugs at much higher prices. 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 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. As a result, herbal remedies are more likely to correct bodily imbalances without creating additional problems. Sometimes individual herbs themselves can create side effects, but even the highly critical New England Journal of Medicine notes, "Untested herbal remedies are probably harmless. In addition, they seem to be used primarily by people who and healthy and believe the remedies will help them stay that way." In truly ancient times, the only way to take an herb was to eat the herb raw, whether leaf, root, berry, or bark. The apothecaries of second- and third-centruy China prescribed finely ground herbs held together with binders, not all of which would be considered foods today: honey, rice porridge, beeswax, clay, pulverized fossils, and even horse manure (used primarily in formulas designed to restore the sense of taste). A;yurvedic herbalists prescribed churnas, herbs held together by sugar and myrrh, a method of making medicines still used in ayurveda today. In modern times, other convenient and healthful forms of herbs are readily available. The most common forms of herbal remedies are listed below. Capsules Capsules consist of a two-part gelatin shell whose halves are fitted together after the herb is placed inside. In addition to gelatin, the capsule shell may contain glycerin or another softening agent and water. Many (but not all) encapsulated formulations of herbal remedies also contain flavoring agents, dyes and preservatives. It is important to read the label if it is necessary to avoid these artificial ingredients. Some herbs, such as devil's claw and peppermint are deactivated by contact with digestive juices. Other herbs can be so diluted that they become ineffective if they come in contact with food and water in the stomach. Capsules for these herbs are given an enteric coating with a cellulose fiber to delay the release of the herb until the capsule has reached the stomach or intestine. It is important to take enteric-coated capsules one hour before, rather than during or after, meals. Particles as large as a capsule remain in the stomach until all other food in the stomach is digested. If the enteric-coated capsule is taken with food or after food, it will be exposed to all the stomach acid released to digest the food and may release the herb prematurely. Extracts Extracts are concentrated preparations of herbs. Liquid extracts, more commonly called fluidextracts, combine one part of the herb with one part of water or ethanol alcohol, or one part of the herb with one part of a mixture of water and alcohol. Solid extracts are made by dissolving the chopped herb in a chemical solvent such as acetone or hexanol. After the herb is soaked in the solvent, the liquid is filtered out and gently dried at low heat for use in capsules or tablets. Drying the herb removes all of the solvent, leaving only the desired constituents of the herb behind. The chemical constituents of an herb are much more concentrated in a solid extract than in the raw herb. The most widely sold solid extract in the world, ginkgo bilboa extract (GBE) has fifty times the concentration of the biologically active ginkgolides found in ginkgo leaf. This concentration process makes it possible to take several small capsules weighing about one-quarter of a gram (less than one-hundredth of an ounce) for a daily dose of ginkgo instead of 10 to 15 grams (one-third to one-half of an ounce) of ginkgo leaves in teas. Granules Granules consist of powdered herb held together with binders. The binder may be cellulose fiber, gelatin, milk sugar, or table sugar, among other possibilities. The granules may or may not be fashioned into pills or tablets. Granules are most frequently encountered in imported Chinese patent medicines used for the treatment of digestive complaints. Lozenges Lozenges, also known as dragees, pastilles, and troches, have a round, oblong, tabletlike appearance but differ from tablets in that they are not made by compression but are molded or cut from pliable mixtures of sugar, acacia gum, gelatin and a small amount of the herb. Medicinal Spirits Medicinal spirits or essences are the volatile oils of herbs preserved in a mixture of water an ethanol alcohol. The most widely used medicinal spirit, peppermint, is made by dissolving the oil extracted by crushing peppermint leaves in alcohol; other medicinal spirits are made by distillation. To distill an herb, the herb is pulverized and mixed with alcohol. It is allowed to stand until the oil glands in the herb have burst and released their aromatic oils. The essential oil is heated, evaporated, captured in a 'still,' and preserved in alcohol. People who have alcohol-related medical problems should avoid medicinal spirits. Plant Juices Plant juices are pressed from finely chopped herbs to which water has been added. Commercial preparations of plant juices are pasteurized. Herbs used in over-the-counter plant juices include birch leaf, dandelion, echinacea, garlic, radish and St. John's wort. Syrups Sugar-sweetened syrups were an invention of ancient Arabic healers who reached Europe in the Middle Ages. The word syrup is derived from the Arabic scherbet, meaning a sugary juice beverage. The sweet taste of syrup make it the preferred form of herbs given to children. Syrups usually consist of two-thirds sugar, the high sugar content making it impossible for microbial contaminants to grow. Diluting a syrup invites bacterial growth. Syrups that are made without sugar should be stored in the refrigerator. Tablets Tablets are made by compressing granules or powders into a cylindrical mold. Tablets contain very small amounts of an extract suspended in a binder with colors, flavors, lubricants, and disintegrating agents. Coated tablets are covered with dyes, fat, sugar and wax to protect the medicinal ingredients inside. Coating tablets protects them against heat, light, moisture, and breakage, and masks any unpleasant taste in the medicinal core. Teas Teas can be prepared form single herbs or mixtures of herbs. Teas for acute conditions are almost always brewed with single herbs. Teas for chronic conditions and the teas used in traditional Chinese medicine, are almost always mixtures of herbs. Of all the forms in which herbs may be used, teas have the gentlest and slowest effects on the body. The degree to which the active constituents of the herbs used to make the teas will be absorbed is unpredictable. For this reason, the best way to describe the results from taking a tea is "Drink the tea, wait and see." Despite their unpredictable benefits and their slow onset of action, teas are especially safe. Teas are usually the best way to use herbs to treat infants and children younger than three years of age. Tinctures A tincture is a mixture of herb(s), alcohol and water. Children's tinctures usually substitute glycerol for alcohol. Although the main ingredients in any tincture are alcohol, glycerol and/or water, many tincture labels are printed with separate lists of herbs and the excipients (liquids in which they are dissolved). People who are sensitive to alcohol or parents buying tinctures for small children need to read both lists to make sure the liquid with which the tincture is made is not alcohol (ethanol).
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, February 10, 2006 - 1:45 pm
Source: Prescription for Herbal Healing (a different volume than the Nutritional Healing book I have quoted previously) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC copyright date: 2002 Principles of Herbal Healing--Part IV Shopping for Herbs Herbal medicines can be bought through a number of different types of outlets. There are several places to look: Asian Markets. In regions with a large Asian immigrant population, there are food markets that carry Asian specialties and also sell traditional Asian herbal medicines. Health-food stores. Many of these stores carry a wide selection of herbs. Labeling laws in the United States do not allow an herb's uses to be listed on the package, although uses can be listed in Canada. However, many herbs that are available over the counter in the United States are restricted in Canada. Herb shops. Most herb shops carry a wide selection of both packaged and loose herbs, and the proprietor is usually knowledgable about the products he or she sells. Mail-order catalogs. Like marketers of other alternative health products, some herb distributors operate mail-order services. There are also online services offering an equally broad range of herbal products. Buying on the Web is convenient, especially for hard-to-find herbal formulas. It is important to deal with a reputable company, though, because the product cannot be inspected before the purchase. Compounding pharmacies. For herbal products for unique individual needs, consult a compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies are local drugstores that prepare custom-made medications of all kinds. Compounding pharmacists are usually 'problem-solvers' who can prepare herbs as well as most prescription medications) to meet specific individual needs that cannot be met by mass production at a factory. A compounding pharmacist can prepare herbs and medications using unique delivery systems such as lozenges, lollipops or transdermal gels. For a young patient, a compounding pharmacist might prepare an alcohol-free syrup in vanilla, butternut, cantaloupe, tutti-frutti, or some other unique flavor. For a person who has a difficult time swallowing a capsule, a compounding pharmacist can make a suspension instead. Compounding pharmacists also can process bulk herbs bought at wholesale prices into economical capsules, pills and tablets. This is especially economical for herbs used to treat chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. The services of compounding pharmacies are little known to the public because they are prohibited from advertising specific compounded products. However can compounding pharmacy can provide custom-made herbal products. To find a compounding pharmacist in your area, contact the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists at 800-927-4227 or send a fax to: 281-495-0602. The Case of Standardization Herbs are plants. Just as there are very different outcomes of nature and nurture in the characteristics of individual people, there are many differences among individuals plants. We all know that there are different kinds of teas and different vintages of wines and that there are low-acid and high-acid kinds of coffee. Similarly, there can be great differences in the concentrations of healing constituents in different herbs of the same species, especially when they are gathered in the wild. Much of the training of the herbal healer in history was centered on recognizing plants with the greatest healing potential. The Chinese herb fu zi (a kind of aconite), for example, contains pain-relieving mesaconitines when it is grown or gathered from a height of over 2,500 feet (800 meters), but not when it is collected at sea level. Botantists exploring the Amazon rain forest at first ridiculed the local healers' insistence that cat's claw with one size of hooks on its stems could be used to treat illness, while cat's claw with another size hooks on its stems could not. Decades later, chemical analysis showed that the plants selected by the healers contained healing alkaloids that most of the plants collected by the early botanists did not. The modern consumer unfortunately lacks access to traditional healers and wise women knowledgable of plants in the wild. In the place of this knowledge, modern technology offers standardized extracts, herbal products chemically tested and confirmed to contain a minimum dosage of all the known active constituents of the herb. The first step of the standardization process is knowing the producer. Commercial buyers rely on growers to apply organic methods of cultivation and to harvest herbs at the appropriate stage of growth, season, temperature and time of day. Long-term relationships of mutual trust between growers and buyers are the goal of the herb industry. The second step in standardization is confirming the identity of the herb purchased. The buyer's experience in how an herb should look, smell and taste is an essential part of this process. This step also usually entails the microscopic examination of a sample of the herb to ensure that it is the species of plant required. In some cases, the buyer may be prepare a chemical extract to ascertain that the herb contains minimum amounts of those plant chemicals known to have healing effects. In other cases, the medicinal value of the herb will be verified by measurements of ash or water content. Manufacturers also routinely test for the presence of heavy metals, especially arsenic, lead, and mercury, in order to exclude them. The third step in standardization is sanitary storage. Bacteria, insects and molds must be excluded from the storage space. To ensure the quality of the standardized product, the herbs selected for use are processed as extracts. Not every batch, however, comes out with the same concentration of the important constituents. Extracts must be analyzed by technical means usually by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), to make sure they contain the needed chemicals. Once each batch has been analyzed, herb manufacturers blend batches of extract together in a way that ensures a consistent concentration of specific ingredients or groups of compounds. If the therapeutic power of the product is influenced by a single group of compounds, this quality adjustment is accomplished by adding or subtracting binders and fillers from the final mix. Standardization is critical for making a quality mass-produced herbal product. Equally effective products are available from professional herbalists who have the knowledge and take the time to collect high-quality herbs from their gardens or from the wild. Their traditional products, however, cannot be mass-produced.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, February 10, 2006 - 7:35 pm
Source: Prescription for Herbal Healing (a different volume than the Nutritional Healing book I have quoted previously) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC copyright date: 2002 The Origins of Traditional Chinese Medicine The most widely used system of herbal medicine in the world today, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is an example of how herbalism began as a means of demystifying medical practice. In the second century, Chinese scholarship produced perhaps the earliest medical textbook, The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine. The book consisted of two parts, a discussion of medical philosophy later known as the Basic Questions and a guide to medical practice known as the Magic Pivot. The knowledge recorded in this source book included not only the early elements of herbal medicine, but also magic, astrology, and geomancy in a combination that eventually came to be called fang ji. Although fang ji was a considerable improvement over no treatment at all, it was not adequate for every medical need. Four centuries after the writing of theThe Yellow Emperor's Canon, the Chinese master herbalist Zhang Zhongjing lived in a time of plague. In about the year 190, a devastating epidemic killed many members of his family. "My relatives were plenty," he wrote, "they number more than two hundred. However, from the beginning of the Chien An era to now, two-thirds of them have died of infection." Master Zhang was understandably distraught with the doctors of his day. "They do little but vie for fame and power and delight themselves with improving their physical appearance," he wrote, "and they do not thoroughly study the principles of health before they begin to practice, but merely follow their teachers with no attempt to change their science's outlooks." In response to his great loss, Zhang Zhongjing sought to replace magic with medicine--herbal medicine. "I pitied those who were ill and could not be cured. So I studied the medicine of the old classics and collected many herbal prescriptions, and compiled them into a book." Zhang's book later became the basis of both the traditional Chinese medicine and Japanese kampo medicine. Zhang taught that herbal medicines should conform to people, instead of the other way around. His central idea was that if the disharmonies causing diseases in individuals were carefully studied, then knowledge of the specific combinations of herbs useful in treatment would naturally follow. Over the centuries, the Chinese refined the notion of person-centered medicine with the development of the principle of Four Examinations. This method consists of examining the patient by sight, examining the patient by sound and smell, inquiring about symptoms, and touching the patient through a process known as palpatation, and in more modern Asian medicine, pulse reading. The essence of diagnosis was and is embodied in the charge given every student of TCM: "Listen to your patients; they are telling you their diagnosis." The Four Examinations yield a diagnosis in terms of the Eight Indicators, cold and heat, deficiency and excess, interior and exterior, and yang and yin. Although there are subtleties in the definition of these indicators, at least the first three pairs of indicators are the first three pairs of indicators are intuitively clear for most people in Western cultures. Heat is an outside environmental influence, the dominant atmospheric energy of summer. Heat symbolizes the body's normal processes that keep it warm. Heat also can be the body's reaction to an invasion of cold, fever, sweating and inflammation to repel the pathogen outside the body. Cold is the dominant atmospheric energy in winter. In the metaphor of traditional Asian medicine, cold is an environmental energy that attacks the surface of the body. When the body is under attack of cold, the body will try to defend the successive layers of tissues from cold's attack. The next pair of indicators are similarly easy to understand. Excess and deficiency measure the person's degree of vitality and ability to withstand disease. People with signs of excess react vigorously to disease, with a state of elevated physiological function. They are susceptible to diseases of excess, such as high blood pressure or insomnia. They are treated with herbs that 'drain' the energy imbalance caused by the disease. Persons with signs of deficiency show a weak healing response, with a state of diminished physiological functioning. They are susceptible to the opposites of the diseases of excess, such as low blood pressure and drowsiness. They are treated with formulas that energize the body's response to disease. The last four of the Eight Indicators are used to explain a diagnosis rather than to make a diagnosis. In the theory of ancient Chinese medicine, diseases were thought to first invade the 'exterior' defenses of the body and work their way progressively to the 'interior' defenses. The body at first employs 'yang' energy to fight the disease, and then 'yin' energy to preserve itself. The terminology of the Eight Indicators is used by practitioners of TCM and kampo throughout the world even today. Although this manner of of describing disease is symbolic and metaphoric, the notions of interior and exterior and yang and yin have led to insights that prompted the recognition of ancient herbal formulas as effective remedies for modern diseases. Modern medicine's understanding of many chronic viral infections illustrates the progression of disease to the 'yin' stage. Chronic viral hepatitis, for example, is accompanied by flulike symptoms, with nausea and vomiting at its outset. These are analogous to 'yang' energies that fight disease by causing externally observed symptoms. After the initial signs of infection, however, the hepatitis virus may lie dormant in the liver for weeks, months or years. The real battle of the body against the disease is one of 'yin' energies, or containment. Recognizing the traditionally understood stages of disease in the experience of modern case histories of viral infection led to trials of the ancient formulas as treatments. These treatments have proven tot be among the most effective of all treatments available for hepatitis and many other chronic viral infections.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, February 10, 2006 - 8:07 pm
Source: Prescription for Herbal Healing (a different volume than the Nutritional Healing book I have quoted previously) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC copyright date: 2002 Herbal Medicine in Ancient Egypt The oldest recorded system of medicine originated in Egypt. Its oldest surviving medical text, known as the Ebers Papyrus, dating 1500 years before recorded Chinese medicine, lists 700 medicinal herbs. Several of these herbs, including aloe vera and senna, have been used continuously for 3500 years. The Ebers Papyrus was perhaps the first recorded attempt to separate magic from medicine. It contains 877 herbal recipes concerning a great variety of diseases or symptoms, and only recommended incantations for twelve diseases for which the causes were completely unknown. Although the emphasis in this school of treatment was not mystical, the physician was still presented as a powerful figure above his patients, who always announced the diagnosis with one of three statements: "An ailment which I will treat." "An ailment with which I will contend." "An ailment not to be treated." Fortunately, the hopeless diagnosis was recommended for only three diseases of the time. The papyri then taught the physician to continue treatment until symptoms resolved in one of three ways: "Until he recovers." "Until the period of his injury passes by." Until thou knowest that he has reached decisive point." Although Egyptian medicine was not a magical system, Egyptian physicians were deified. The earliest physician whose name has been recorded, Imhotep, was th wazir of Zoser, founder of the Third Dynasty, in approximately 3,000 B.C.E Imhotep was a learned man, astronomer, physician, and architect. By the time the Ebers Payrus was recorded, Imhotep was worshipped as a hero. as a blameless physician, and later still, as the god of medicine. As an extension of worship, Egyptian medicine was exclusively disease-centered rather than person-centered (except to the extent that it exalted the physician). Person-centered systems of healing, however, developed a few centuries later in Asia.
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