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Summer 04-Medicinal Weeds-ThePathNews
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M. Templeton
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Jul 24, 2004 08:27 PDT
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The PATH Newsletter
(Pursuing Abundance Through Health)
Volume 4 - Issue (2): Summer 2004
Editor: Margaret Templeton
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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> Health News: Weeds Hold Promise for Curing Host of
Common Health Woes.
=> Featured Article: Educate Vs Medicate
By Lena Sanchez
=> Preview - Next Issue: Life Coaching - Could this be what
you need?
=> Guest Column: Nutrient Dense Food Produces Centenarians
William R. Quesnell
=> Holistic Q&A for Readers: Fingernails and Nutrition
=> Phoebe's Pet Column: Summer Reminder – Take Heed
=> Readers Feedback: Color Therapy
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
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Health News
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Weeds Hold Promise for Curing Host of Common Health Woes.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Unwanted, pulled or poisoned, the lowly weed is
sometimes better than its highly touted "herbal" cousins for preventing
and curing a host of diseases, according to University of Florida
research.
"If I had one place to go to find medicinal plants, it wouldn't be the
forest," said John Richard Stepp, a UF anthropologist who did the study.
"There are probably hundreds of weeds growing right outside people's
doors they could use."
Stepp combed through scientific journals and studies to determine which
drugs on pharmacy shelves come from plants as opposed to those
synthesized in a laboratory.
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Though 3% of World's Plants are Weeds, They Provide 1/3 of Worlds
Pharmaceuticals
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In a classic case of looking afar rather than at your feet, he found
that although only about 3 percent of the world's quarter-million plant
species are weeds, they make up more than a third – 36 – of the 101
plant species used in pharmaceuticals. In drug companies' quests to
discover new remedies, weeds – short-lived, herbaceous, fast-growing
plants that thrive in areas of human disturbance – that sprout along the
outskirts of jungles and may have healing properties are routinely
overlooked for flora ballyhooed for their disease-fighting qualities
that are growing deep within woods, he said.
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World's Best Known Medicinal Weeds
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Perhaps the world's best-known medicinal weed is the poppy, from which
morphine is derived, Stepp said. Scopolamine, an important drug for
treating motion sickness, also is weed-based, as are the cancer
medicines vinblastine, for Hodgkin's disease, and vincristin, for
childhood leukemia, he said.
"With all the emphasis on the tropical rain forests, an entire area is
being missed in natural products research," said Stepp, whose results
appear in the current issue of the Journal of Ethno-Pharmacology. "These
findings suggest that we need to broaden our horizons if we're going to
search for new drugs from plants."
The plant-derived pharmaceuticals Stepp studied are single compounds
extracted from a plant and used in a pharmaceutical, and are different
from herbal medicines, such as ginkgo biloba and garlic, that have
gained increasing popularity in recent years, he said.
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Mayan's Inspired Doctor
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Stepp said he got the idea for his study while working in the highlands
region of the southwestern Mexican state of Chiapas. He found the area's
Mayan residents use weeds for all sorts of day-to-day illnesses, such as
common colds, upset stomachs, skin rashes, and aches and sprains.
For the vast majority of the 800,000 Mayans living in this area – where
the elevation ranges from 1,500 to 8,000 feet, and steamy jungles give
way to cloud-shrouded mountains – medicinal plants are the primary
source of health care, Stepp said.
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2/3 of World Population Rely on Plants to Treat Illness
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"They don't go to the doctor when they're sick because they don't have a
doctor," he said. "They treat themselves, and they treat themselves very
effectively with the plants that are around. What people don't realize
is that two-thirds of the world's population relies on plants in this
way."
Because of parasites in the water supply, an upset stomach is a common
health problem for the Mayans, who often treat it by boiling the weed
baccharis vaccionoides, which they call "broom tree," Stepp said.
Various weeds to treat cold and respiratory problems also are
self-prescribed because despite the tropical weather, the mountainous
area gets cold at night and experiences frequent rain.
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Even Young Children in Mexico Know Value of Plants
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While some weed compounds are crushed up into a tea-like substance to
drink, other plants, like brugmansia or "angel's trumpet," are mashed up
into a paste used topically to reduce swelling, aches and pains, Stepp
said. "Angel's trumpet has become somewhat notorious in the United
States because there have been some cases of poisonings from people
ingesting it, but it works pretty effectively when applied externally to
the skin," he said.
Stepp said he was struck by how the Mayans were "natural botanists" who
made plants a central part of their lives. "We worked with 4- and
5-year-old kids who could name 100 plants," he said. "An American kid
might be able to name 100 Pokemon characters, but if you ask him the
names of three plants, he would probably have a real hard time."
Americans may be able to get similar benefits from weeds as do people in
developing countries, although he warns that people shouldn't experiment
on their own.
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Fields Produce More than Forest
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In a classroom experiment with 15 undergraduate students in Georgia,
Stepp had about half collect plants from weedy fields and half pick them
from a forest. Using a database of major plants developed by Daniel
Moerman, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan at Dearborn, to
identify the specimens, the students found that as many as 50 plants
plucked from the fields had been used medicinally by Native Americans
compared with only 12 of those they gathered from the forest, he said.
"The realization that medicinal plants are readily available in a living
pharmacy right outside the door and along the sides of trails rather
than deep in the forest could lead governments to encourage and promote
traditional medicinal practices," Stepp said. "They are readily
available, cost nothing to gather and are often more effective."
Moerman, author of the book "Native American Ethnobotany," said he
agreed that plants at hand are desirable for treating common illnesses.
"There are good reasons why weeds – adventive species growing in
disturbed soil – should be particularly useful as medicines," he said.
"And one of the things human beings – especially after the invention of
agriculture – are good at is disturbing soil. So it all works out well
to have right at hand the plants you need for treating common
illnesses."
Published In Eurekalert
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Featured Article
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Educate Vs Medicate
© By Lena Sanchez
“Until man duplicates a blade of grass, man can laugh at his so-called
scientific knowledge.” Thomas Jackson, M.D.
“Wisdom is better than weapons of war;” Ecclesiastes 9:18
Educating ourselves to become healthy requires some work and
involvement. I am not saying don’t medicate or do medicate. It’s your
choice but I do say, use pharmaceutical medications with caution! Also,
herbs must be used smart as well.
When the FDA says we cannot use or distribute herbs, they will have to
make a law saying that I cannot eat carrots, parsley, dandelions, etc.
They will also have to make a law that we cannot grow herbs!
The latest push of getting rid of ephedra is just the latest in the
pharmaceutical backed FDA to take away our freedom to choose or not
choose alternative herbal treatments.
Seasoning, Herbs and Nutrition
God’s Pharmacy or should we say Farmacy? Vitamins and minerals are a
necessity as is tasty foods, which make for our nutritional health from
seasonings and/or raw vegetables that we consume.
For instance two great migraine headache relievers are a simple cup of
Thyme or Turmeric tea. Put a teaspoon or two of Thyme or Turmeric powder
spice into a cup of boiling water. Medicine, which also is a seasoning
to make our food taste better.
Turmeric makes for great curry dishes but also relieves pain when taken
as a tea. 1 Tablespoon of powdered turmeric in a cup of boiling water
every two or three hours to control pain. Turmeric, Oregano and Basil,
great seasonings, but also very nutritional. They are great nutrients
that contain Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium and antioxidants. Shall the
FDA remove those from our choices as well? All three and more can be
grown in a window box, kitchen planter box or a garden.
Why did The FDA make such a fuss about Ephedra? It is a widely used
decongestant and natural weight maintenance herb. The pharmaceutical
industry loses a lot of money when people choose natural over chemical
weight loss products! Simple fact. Always “follow the money” and you
will see where the fuss comes from!
Sorry to say that foods these days do not contain as many nutrients as
our body requires and if we eat as much as it needs to keep us nutrient
rich we will be roly poly’s, which by the way seems to be a huge problem
already! How did we get here? And how do I know this? You should ask,
why do our doctors not know this? Lack of education! Read
<http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com/senate_document.htm>
http://www.antibioti\c-alternatives.com/senate_document.htm
So the FDA, again is off base in more than one instance and will have to
outlaw gardening in any form and they will have to forbid me from
crossing borders as well!
Educate yourself and take charge of your health!
Lena
*** Author Lena Sanchez's Experience and Experiences
found
at
<http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com/lena.htm>
http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com/lena.htm
Get One of Lena's books at
<http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com/>
http://www.antibiotic-alternatives.com
for more secrets to a healthy life that she learned in
her twenty years as a medical office nurse! Read her ezine,
subscribe mailto:anehfacts--@envirodocs.com
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_________________________
Preview - Next Issue
_________________________
Be sure and check out our next issue when we address the
value of Life Coaching in your everyday life.
Put me in Coach! What can Life Coaching do for You?
Are you trying to get ahead but don’t seem to find the time?
Can’t seem to get organized? Know you can improve your
wellness but you are having problems with motivation? Wish
you had someone to help you put it all together? Not sure
whether to stay put or venture into your dreams? Struggling
to figure out how to balance your home life and career?
Answered yes to any of these? Maybe you need a Life Coach!
Coaches are not just for the high power athletes or mega
artists. There is a new breed of coach – the “life coach” –
who can help you make the right decisions, develop plans
and perform to achieve the important goals in your life.
============================================
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Guest Column
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Build Health: Nutrient Dense Food Produces Centenarians
By William R. Quesnell
The January 2003 issue of Smithsonian carried an intriguing
article titled 'Puzzle of The Century.' Two coastal areas in
Nova Scotia have an extraordinary number of centenarians
[50 per100,000 population]. Compare this to the United States
which has about 18 per 100,000.
The Nova Scotian centenarians being scrutinized are healthier
and livelier than most people in their 70s or 80s. Forty percent
of them avoid chronic illnesses until they're 85 or older, and
another 20 percent till they're over 100. In terms of avoiding
cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and
stroke, they get an admirable result.
Why is it they are not predisposed to chronic disease like
people in the United States? Medical scientists have taken
on the task of explaining the nearly threefold advantage held
by these Nova Scotians. But by reading the article you can't
help conclude the “experts" have already figured it out.
From its text: "Scientists suspect there may be a few age-
defying genes and hope to develop drugs that mimic
their action."Clearly, these researchers operate from the
premise that genes are the primary factor in determining
exceptional health and longevity. They've got it wrong.
It is true we have in excess of 30,000 genes that provide the
coded instructions to: (1) Shape our body, and (2) Make it run.
But that does not make genes a be-all and end-all. How so?
Because we are not a hermetically sealed machine exclusively
controlled by our genetics. We are the living product of a four
million year partnership with nature which requires us to
continually take in nutrients from food and water.
The coded instructions initiated by genes direct our cells to
produce a myriad of proteins that carry out the work of the
body. Over 2000 of these proteins have been identified. These
workers are our metabolic enzymes
The medical scientists chasing hypothetical age-defying genes,
so as to produce and peddle magic bullets, have been educated
beyond their intelligence. They blithely forget our metabolic
enzyme systems require nutrients from the external environment
in order to carry out all the genetic instructions for regulation
of our internal environment.
What is a metabolic enzyme system? It iincludes a worker
protein having various minerals within its molecular chain.
To go into work mode this protein requires a mineral activator.
For its work to be correctly done it needs a vitamin-laden
cellular environment.
We have cells lining our gut that secrete hydrochloric acid
[HCL] which breaks down the food we consume--so we may
extract its nutrients. What produces this HCL? Metabolic
enzymes in those cells.
Our glands secrete hormones. The hormone thyroxine
regulates the metabolic rate of the body. What produces
thyroxine? Metabolic enzymes working in the cells of our
thyroid gland. We even have metabolic enzymes that
repair our genes!
The metabolic enzyme systems taking care of Nova
Scotian centenarians have the same characrteristics
as the metabolic enzyme systems of other groups of
people, past and present, noted for their health and
longevity:
These systems work efficiently. Not only do they work
efficiently, they continue to work efficiently for a very
long period of time.
Neither genes nor a magic bullet produced by a drug
company can determine the availability of minerals to
serve as enzyme activators, or vitamins as synergists,
or the amount of nutrient inventory on hand to construct
metabolic enzymes.
This depends upon the quality, the nutrient density, of
the food and water you take in.
Let's put the concept of nutrient density into perspective:
Dr. Weston A. Price investigated 12 distant groups that
displayed the same immunity to chronic disease as
possessed by the centenarians in Nova Scotia, and came
up with a common denominator.
He examined the diets of these groups and discovered they
were loaded with nutrients. Their diets contained four times
the minerals and ten times the fat-soluble vitamins found in
the American diet of the late 1930's and early 40's. And the
nutrient density of the American diet continues to decline.
When we persist in consuming food and water deficient in
nutrients, our metabolic enzyme systems begin to break
down. This includes, of course, the metabolic enzymes
that perform gene repair. What happens next?
We begin to lose immunity to problems like macular
degeneration, vascular disease, and the bevy of chronic
conditions listed in the second paragraph.
How do you begin constructing a nutrient dense diet? The
next time you visit a grocery store or convenience market,
carefully scrutinize the labels of your favorite boxed and
canned foods. If you cannot find the phrase 'nutrient dense'
on the label, don't buy the item.
================
Bill Quesnell, health educator and author of 'Minerals: The
Essential Link to Health,' helps people recover energy and
vitality. Subscribe to No Charge monthly ezine, "Where
Health Comes From" at in-@mineralsbuildhealth.com
Phone: 619/222-2268 Toll free orders: 866/552-0622 Write
Bill at 5039 Voltaire St. #3, San Diego, CA 92107 For critical
reviews and a list of 15 harmful health myths visit
http://www.mineralsbuildhealth.com
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Holistic Q&A
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6/26/04
Margaret,
I have had this problem for over a year and can't seem to get
an answer from anyone including my doctor. Maybe you can
tell me. I have had vertical ridges in my fingernails for a while
now and I don't know why. Do you have any insight to the
cause?
Barbara H.
Albany, NY
Dear Barbara,
Here is an site/article on fingernails and nutrition that has
some answers for you.
http://wi.essortment.com/fingernailsnutr_rjbo.htm
Margaret
Send your questions to Holistic Q&A,
mailto:HQ-@thepathnews.com
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Phoebe's Pet Column:
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We’re Having a Heat Wave!
Greetings Human Friends,
The dog days of summer are upon many of us creatures,
human and other wise. I am pleading with all my human
readers to remember to take pity on your pets and keep
them cool, shaded and give them plenty of water, oh, and
love too, lots and lots of love, in the summer and all the
other seasons too. I am a lucky pooch as I have lots of
love, my doggie door and a cool air conditioned home.
Here is a great page with some simple pointers for keeping
your dog, cat and other small pets cool.
http://www.geocities.com/saveourstraysinc/summer_heat_and_your_pets.htm
(may have to cut and paste)
Well gotta go relax and have my early morning sun bath
before it's time for my afternoon siesta. Life is good.
Stay cool.
Staff Columnist,
Phoebe
Mini Schnauzer
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Readers Feedback
_________________________
6/9/04
To: thepathnews.com - Feedback,
Will you consider an article on Spectro-Chrome color therapy?
John B.
Dayton, Ohio
Sure will John. In the mean time here's an article about
the color therapy researcher Dinshah P. Ghadiali (1873-1966).
http://www.educate-yourself.org/products/dinshahandspectrochrome.shtml
Margaret
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If you are interesting in contributing an article, have a
health related topic you would like to see addressed or
want to comment, please send your emails,
mailto:feed-@thepathnews.com Subject: feedback
All comments welcome.
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