Anne Simons
The Healing Power of Plants
Medicinal Plants from A to Z – a Practical Selection
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this book is accurate. It is, however, not meant to replace medical advice or support. The author and the publisher assume no liability for potential damage resulting from the use or abuse of the material presented in this book.
First edition 2013
© MayaMedia GmbH, Verlag Dr. Andreas Gößling, Coburg 2013
This book ist based on „The Bible of Natural Healing Agents“, Copyright © 2000 MayaMedia GmbH Verlag und Agentur Dr. Andreas Gößling, Coburg
All rights of distribution including broadcasting, television, photomechanical reproduction, sound carriers, digital and electronic media of any kind and reproduction of excerpts as well as translation are reserved.
Translation into English by Gabriele Graf, Graf&Nestler Translation Service, Munich
www.mayamedia.de
ISBN 978-3-944488-06-6
Foreword
Abuta: for all “women’s” ailments
Acerola: a shot of vitamins
Algae: the most nutritious food
Kelp: for a balanced thyroid
The blue-green alga: food for nerves and brain
Spirulina: for a healthy organism
Chlorella
Aloe vera: for detoxification and wound healing
Artichoke/Cynarin: for improved bile flow and liver detoxification
Barley grass: pure power from nature
Bearberry: for disinfecting the urinary passage
Bilberry: for elastic blood vessels
Black Cohosh: for a carefree menopause
Carqueja: for fertility of men and women
Cat’s Claw (Uña de gato): boosting the immune system and overall restorative
Catuaba: aphrodisiac and potency restorer
Chanca Piedra: (gall and kidney) “stone breaker”
Chitosan: for fat absorption
Chlorophyll: for vitality
Chuchuhuasi: against arthritis and rheumatism
Copaiba / Copal: remedial balm
Crucifer plants: cabbages providing protection from cancer
Broccoli: a green vegetable protecting from cancer
Cauliflower: cleansing the body
Mustard: for stimulating metabolism
White beets: a vegetable for cancer prophylaxis
Curcuma: for liver protection
Damiana: aphrodisiac for men and women
Dandelion: for a healthy bile
Echinacea: for boosting the body’s defenses
Evening primrose oil: replete with precious essential fatty acids
Fennel flower oil: for a functioning immune system
Fenugreek: a multi-faceted tonic
Flower pollen: for renewed strength
Frankincense: alleviates rheumatic and arthritic disorders
Garlic: for lowering blood pressure and as disinfectant
Ginkgo: for improved blood flow and against free radicals
Ginseng: against stress
Gotu Kola: for inner composure and a sharp mind
Green bean: beneficial for diabetics
Green tea: for preventing cancer
Guarana: for well-being and top performance
Iceland moss: for unimpaired breathing and a healthy digestion
Iporuru: against rheumatic pain
Jatoba: against fungus and for energy
Juniper: for a vigorous blood flow
Kava Kava: for relaxation and a good mood
Lactobacilli: for a healthy intestinal flora
Licorice: for a healthy digestion
Linseed: for a healthy digestion
Maca: for energy and fertility
Maitake: for boosting the immune system and fighting cancer
Maracuja – passionflower: for inner composure and strong nerves
Muira Puama – “potency wood”: aphrodisiac, tonic and rheumatic remedy
Neroli (bitter orange): an overall remedy
Nettle: for detoxifying the body
New Zealand green-lipped mussel: for mitigating joint pain due to arthritis
Pau d’Arco / Lapacho: an effective overall remedy
Propolis: a natural antibiotic
Pumpkin seed: against prostate enlargement
Red beets: for blood formation
Reishi: a proven remedy – from cardiac disorders to cancer
Rosemary: for improved concentration
Sarsaparilla: for blood cleansing
Saw palmetto: for a healthy prostate even in advanced age
Shiitake: for a strong immune system
Soy: replete with proteins
Spinach: promotes blood formation
St. John’s wort: for relaxation and high spirits
Suma / Brazilian ginseng: for sexual vigor and immune stimulation
Tang Kwei: for a stress-free menopause
Tayuya: for mitigating pain
Tea tree oil: a natural broad-spectrum remedy
Tomato: for formation of blood and strengthening of the immune system
Umbellate plants: friends of mankind
Aniseed: for a healthy digestion
Carrots: remedy for skin and eyes
Celery
Fennel: for a healthy respiratory tract
Parsley: source of energy
Yam: for contraception
Yarrow: anti-spasmodic and inflammation-inhibiting
Yerba Mate: a tonic for the entire body
Yohimbe: for the potent man
Yucca: for thorough intestinal detoxification
Appendix
Glossary
Literature
Annotation
“In general the impression prevails that everything natural is good, pure, simple and easily accessible. But the chemistry of natural substances is one of the most difficult branches of chemistry.” (Professor Jack Masquelier, discoverer of OPCs)
For centuries and even millennia the peoples of our earth have used plants growing in their vicinity to cure their diseases. Frequently these practices have been ridiculed by Western medicine, which finally asserted itself as superior therapy. But for some decades the pendulum has started to swing back. Now that ancient natural wisdom has almost been lost, the interest of scientists in high-tech laboratories is focusing on the active ingredients of exotic plants, which are subject to systematic research. The insights obtained by means of scientific methods are baffling. Plants are pure chemical factories. They contain the most complex and efficient substances. Their remedial powers are as strong as they were one thousand years ago. But now that they have been dissected into their components, also western science takes them seriously. In doing so researchers encounter unfathomed combinations and active ingredients. The sum total of all phytochemicals and their combinations in millions of plants will never be completely decoded, and even less so if the rainforests with their infinite vegetal treasures continue to be destroyed.
In the following you will find the description of important medicinal plants from various cultures in alphabetic order – in view of the great number of medicinal plants this can only be a small selection.
This book presents the healing plants from A to Z. The most important vegetal and animal extracts are introduced whose highly remedial protective substances are of major importance, both in their pharmaceutical application and in the field of food supplements. The attention which natural sciences pay to so-called “phytochemistry” and “vegetal chemicals” is indicative of the tremendous significance of the healing power of plants, which due to their specific compositions and structures contain an outstanding chemically effective potential. The list includes indigenous medicinal plants such as bearberry, fennel seeds and parsley, as well as vegetal remedies of other folk medicines, e.g. Asian ginseng root, African yohimbine bark or Peruvian cat’s claw creeper. Special focus will be placed on the following questions: What ingredients are contained in these plants? What is their efficacy?
“The Healing Power of Plants” is part of a quartet of books, each of which can be read independently and stands for its own.{i} As a whole, the four volumes have the goal of explaining the connection between nutrient deficiencies and disease. They offer practical hints for treating specific deficiency disorders by administering appropriate vital substances.
The other volumes:
“The Components of Life”, presents detailed information about all vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, essential fatty acids and other lipds as well as enzymes and what they do in your body. What is their effect on specific locations in the organism? Which nutrients are contained in our various foodstuffs? What are the risks of insufficient nutrient provision? You will probably know that magnesium is an anti-stress mineral and that potassium is good for your heart, but do you also know that the amino acid methionine supports liver detoxification or that molybdenum keeps your kidneys in good health?
In 1968, the American Nobel prizewinner and vitamin researcher Linus Pauling coined the term “orthomolecular medicine”. This treatment with natural remedies has attained increasing importance in the field of medicine and the thinking of people in general ever since. The Greek-Latin term “orthomolecular” could be translated as “right molecules”. Pauling defines the concept as follows: “Orthomolecular medicine refers to maintaining good health and treating disorders by changing the concentration of those substances in the human body which normally exist there and are indispensable for health.”
According to this concept, optimal health can be achieved by providing the body with the right molecules in appropriate concentrations. At issue are all those substances that the body extracts from food through the gastro-intestinal tract and breaks down into their basic ingredients during the metabolic processes:
The orthomolecular approach proceeds from the assumption that numerous diseases have their origin in a deficiency or an imbalance of the previously mentioned substances. If they are identified and if the body is provided with all the necessary nutrients, the indisposition and/or disorder can be overcome.
It is not coincidental that this therapeutic branch developed in the U.S.A. in the second half of the 20th century, when the mass production of food resulted in a tremendous loss in nutrients. It is not by chance that a part of the American population rank among those members of the species who display the greatest food deficiencies. The so-called “civilization diseases”, which especially affect a considerable number of young people, constitute a huge economic problem in the U.S.A. today, not to mention the suffering of the affected individuals.
„Treating Disorders in a Natural Manner” proceeds from deficiency symptoms and presents a “therapy list”. The diseases caused by nutrient deficiencies are described in alphabetical order; missing substances are examined as potential reason for indisposition, and specific applications are suggested. In this manner the medical layperson can give thought to which substances should be made available to the body in order to restore health. The list ranges from “acne” to “weight reduction”.
“Basic Knowledge of Health and Nutrition” conveys a general survey of metabolic processes and gives answers to fundamental questions: How does the body provide vital elements even to the smallest cell? How do nutrients get into the blood stream? How does the body make nutrients available? What is health?
Finally, you will find a description of the basic components of nutrition: proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants and roughage.
This vine (Cissampelos pareira) is native to the South American rainforest. Due to its long history of use in all types of women’s ailments, it is also referred to as the “midwives’ herb” there. The entire plant – seeds, bark and leaves – are used. Western scientists have studied this plant since the 1960s and have been able to confirm numerous remedial properties. The most active ingredients include primarily alkaloids, saponins, triterpenes, essential oils and polyphenols.
Properties:
Applied externally, abuta serves as topical analgesic, relieves conjunctivitis and snakebite.
The seeds are used as a diuretic and an expectorant as well as for fevers and venereal disease.
Abuta has stood the test of time in all so-called “women’s” ailments, such as menstrual cramps, pre- and postnatal pain, uterine hemorrhaging, danger of miscarriage and hormonal imbalance.
In addition, it is able to lower blood pressure, cure dyspepsia and alleviate inflammation as well as pain.
Applications at a glance
Synergy: Abuta is particularly effective when mixed with other substances such as catuaba bark, sarsaparilla root, muira puama, chuchuhuasi bark, damiana and maca root.
Recommended daily allowance: As a remedy for menstrual pain and disorders, 1–2 g of the powdered vine or the root, or 1–2 ml of a tincture (4:1) are generally sufficient.
The small shrub Malpighia glabra is indigenous to South and Central America as well as to Jamaica and the West Indies. Its red cherry-like fruits are famous for their tremendously high vitamin C content, which declines in proportion to the ripeness of the fruit. For this reason acerola is frequently harvested green. Compared to oranges its content is 30–40 times higher. It also presents twice as much magnesium and pantothenic acid as well as considerable quantities of the B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
Properties:
Acerola owes its strong antioxidant properties to the high vitamin C content; it counteracts the damaging influences of free radicals.
In laboratory tests fruits, leaves and bark have exhibited fungicide, i.e. antifungal, properties.
As an extract in skin care products, the high amounts of minerals and vitamins contained in the acerola plant inhibit cellular ageing and present an effective means for regenerating and protecting dry and flaccid skin.
In the Amazon region acerola juice is drunk to fight fevers and dyspepsia.
Applications at a glance
Recommended daily allowance: In the rain forest either half a glass of acerola juice or a handful of fruits is taken twice or three times a day in the presence of fever and dyspepsia.
Algae are basic food: They not only form the beginning of the evolution of life on earth, but they also present the origin of the entire food chain. They have a simple structure and can therefore be easily utilized by the body. No other food contains such a high concentration of vital substances as certain types of algae.