Many times we want to be able to go to our home medicine cabinet and find what we need for our day-to-day ills and problems. In this section you will find some of the components of a well-stocked natural medicine cabinet.
The widespread use of antibiotics in this country has created a serious problem. The danger now is that bacteria have become immune to some of our most common antibiotics. The way this happened is that bacteria communicate with each other and actually teach each other how to become immune to medications. Now that they have become resistant to so many antibiotics, what does this tell us about further attempts to create stronger antibiotics? Steven Harrod Buhner, author of Herbal Antibiotics, explains that millions of people a year are coming down with antibiotic resistant infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many epidemiologists are warning that in the next twenty years most of our antibiotic arsenal will fail. “People will have to turn to more natural alternatives that are more ecologically sound, as herbs are. Things that naturally stimulate the immune system, that help keep us from getting ill in the first place.
“As our antibiotic arsenal fails, it becomes more and more important for everybody to stimulate their immune system and to keep it healthy and balanced. Whether it is bubonic plague or Ebola river virus, some people never become ill because their immune system is potentiated and healthy.
“We only get sick when our bodies are out of balance. Our natural immune system should deal with almost all diseases we encounter. Plant medicines are not something bacteria can become resistant to. Herbal medicines are so much more effective than antibiotics and are a lot gentler on the body.”
To identify the most useful herbal antibiotics, Buhner studied each individually. “When I assessed the most powerful herbs, I had three criteria. One was the length of time it had been used in different cultures. Second was the degree to which it was used by indigenous and folk practitioners around the world. Third was the effectiveness in clinical trials and laboratory studies.” Below are his recommendations, and more.
ALOE—Aloe, which comes from a southwestern American plant, is directly effective against staphylococcus bacteria, even resistant staph bacteria. When aloe is used on burns, it also acts as a softener and moisturizer.
ASTRAGALUS—Astragalus reduces tumor cell growth and reverses cancerous conditions. It is found in America as well as in China, where it has been used since ancient times to strengthen the body. Like echinacea, it increases the number and activity of immune cells in circulation, and has been shown to reduce the frequency and duration of colds.
BURDOCK ROOT—One of the best-known cleansing herbs, Burdock root works as a liver and bile stimulant, and also increases digestion.
CRYPTOCOCCUS—This West African plant has been used traditionally for malaria for thousands of years. It may also be effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
DANDELION—Dandelion root helps to stimulate the liver, gallbladder, and bile secretion. Dandelion leaves are useful in a detoxification program because of their diuretic properties. The leaves also have high levels of potassium.
ECHINACEA—Also known as purple coneflower, echinacea has long been known for its powerful immune-stimulating properties. It has been shown to increase the number of developing immune cells in the bone marrow and lymphatic system. Echinacea is popular as a liquid extract, but also comes in capsules and tablets.
ESTONIA—Estonia, a lichen that grows on trees throughout the world, has been found to be more powerful than penicillin. The inner white thread is an immune enhancer and an immune stimulant, and the outside green part is strongly antibacterial.
GARLIC—Garlic not only stimulates the immune system but also serves as an antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal element. It is a mild natural antibiotic, which increases the activity of natural killer cells so they are better able to fight off viruses and tumor cells. It is beneficial to take garlic every day as a preventive measure and to enhance your well-being. You can take tablets or use it when cooking.
GOLDENSEAL—Goldenseal benefits the mucous membrane system, and has been found to be useful for E. coli infections, which can cause severe, sometimes bloody diarrhea that can be fatal in children.
GURMAR—Gurmar, known scientifically as gymnema, was used in Ayurvedic medicine in India more than six hundred years ago for the treatment of what they called “honey urine.” This was their name for the modern-day diabetes. Scientific studies of extracts of this plant have confirmed that its properties are beneficial to people with diabetes. It has been found to be effective in reducing blood sugar and repairing damage to the kidneys, liver, and pancreas.
LICORICE—Some preliminary evidence shows that licorice root fosters anti-HIV activity. You can buy it in liquid abstract form, in capsules, and in tablets, or as a whole herb.
MILK THISTLE—Milk thistle has long been known to protect and regenerate the liver. One milk thistle compound, called silverin, is an injectable drug used as a life-saving treatment to stop the progress of fatal or potentially fatal mushroom poisoning.
PANAX AND SIBERIAN GINSENG—Both ginsengs are known to build stamina, energy, and endurance by stabilizing the body. They are popular with athletes and with people who suffer from conditions that zap them of their strength and energy, such as chronic fatigue syndrome.
PAU D’ARCO—This herb has wonderful immune-enhancing and antifungal properties and works as a blood cleanser.
PHILANTHUS—Also called life plant, philanthus has been shown to act against hepatitis B and is now being researched for its antiretroviral and anti-HIV activity. It is a new herb in this country and may be hard to find.
RED CLOVER—Many cleansing programs include red clover, partly because of its high nutritional content and its anti-free radical effect. It protects liver cells and cells in other organs from oxidation damage, and thereby promotes rejuvenation and longevity.
ST. JOHN’S WORT—A common weed found in California, St. John’s wort is now being studied by AIDS researchers because it seems to help prevent infections of T cells by making it harder for the AIDS virus to get into cells. In addition, the National Cancer Institute is looking at hypericum, a chemical found in the weed, because researchers believe it to be the active component of the plant. Unfortunately, a clinical trial of hypericum was altered when the project’s natural source of hypericum was replaced by a semisynthetic form. Thus the effects of hypericum taken in its natural context could not be observed.
USNEA AND LOMATIUM—Both new to the marketplace, usnea and lomatium are known for their specific antiviral activity. They seem to help fight off influenza and chronic fatigue syndrome, and may promote antifungal activity against candida.
Other natural antibiotics include colloidal silver, wild oregano oil, manuka honey, olive leaf extract, black cumin seed oil, coconut oil, and bee propolis. Use as directed.
Histamine is a protein produced by the body in response to an allergen. It is responsible for the sneezing, congestion, and itchy eyes caused by exposure to pollen, dust, and other substances. Commonly known side effects associated with the over-the-counter antihistamines found in most people’s medicine cabinets include drowsiness, confusion, dry mouth, and constipation. A 2015 study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine revealed even more alarming news: several popular antihistamines may also increase the risk of dementia in older adults.
Among the many evidence-based natural therapies for blocking the release of histamine are vitamin C, quercitin, bromelain, N-acetylcysteine (NAS), and Petasites hybridus (butterbur extract). According to a 2014 article in the Townsend Letter, nettle leaf (Urtica dioica) is also useful. “In vitro, a nettle extract inhibited several key inflammatory events responsible for seasonal allergy symptoms,” the authors stated. “In one double-blind randomized study of 98 subjects with seasonal allergies, 58% of the subjects reported relief of most of their symptoms and 48% rated nettle leaf as being more effective than other over-the-counter medications.”
A number of homeopathic remedies also belong in the natural medicine cabinet. Homeopathy is based on the idea that the cure for an illness is similar to its cause. Homeopathic remedies, all made from natural substances, are given in microdoses.
According to Food and Drug Administration regulations, a natural remedy cannot be labeled safe and effective for treating a specific ailment even if study after study has proven that it is more effective than over-the-counter or doctorprescribed medications. Therefore the average American will only see television commercials for products such as Anacin or Tylenol to treat a headache, even though a simple homeopathic remedy may be safer and just as effective.
Millions of Americans suffer from a myriad of everyday health conditions and do not know about natural remedies. Dr. Lynne Walker is a doctor of pharmacy and homeopathy, and has a master’s degree in Chinese herbology and acupuncture. She has specific recommendations for what ought to be in everyone’s medicine chest, especially if your access to a doctor or medical care is limited.
TEA TREE OIL—Dr. Walker’s first recommendation—although this is not, strictly speaking, a homeopathic remedy—is tea tree oil. “Tea tree oil is an oil from Australia, also called melaluka oil. It is a strong antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial. You could use it on any cut, for any kind of fungus in the mouth, and for fungus under the nail. It works as a gargle for sore throat and for gum problems. There is a tea tree oil toothpaste for those with ongoing gum problems. It works on canker sores, cuts and abrasions, insect bites, and even as an astringent for the face. Tea tree oil is a good basic remedy to have around the house.”
RESCUE REMEDY—Rescue remedy is a Bach flower essence, which is actually a combination of five flower essences. It is useful in stress relief, and can be calming in times of emergency. This remedy is safe for children and animals. “When there is a crisis,” Dr. Walker says, “I recommend that every member of the family, not just the sick one, take rescue to see things a little bit more clearly.”
BITING INSECT—This remedy actually prevents insect bites. It is useful against fleas, mosquitoes, and other bugs. It is not as effective in the case of spider bites. If you know you will be exposed to bugs, Dr. Walker suggests 10 drops, three times a day.
PEPPERMINT OIL—Peppermint oil can be mixed in warm water and consumed for a stomachache or rubbed directly on the forehead for a headache. Again, although not strictly speaking a homeopathic remedy, peppermint oil is an enteric-coated herbal remedy.
BLACK OINTMENT—Made by Nature’s Way and some other companies, black ointment can be used to draw out a splinter or any little sliver that won’t come out. “It is also a very healing salve for any kind of cut, ” Dr. Walker says.
ARNICA—Arnica homeopathic in low potency, either a 6x or 30x, can be used for any kind of trauma to the body. Dr. Walker explains, “It stops the body from overreacting to the trauma. It’s good for muscle aches and pains, such as on days when you have worked really hard physically. Some people take it before surgery, but just take one dose to help your body not overreact.”
TRAUMA OINTMENT OR TRAUMED OINTMENT—These combinations of homeopathic remedies are designed particularly for trauma, and can be used on sore muscles.
CALENDULA TINCTURE—Calendula tincture is an oil made from marigold flower, which is recommended for cleansing wounds and promoting healing.
NUX VOMICA—Dr. Walker recommends this preparation in a low potency, 6x or 30x, for hangovers as well as stomach discomfort from overeating or overdrinking. It also works well for hemorrhoids.
CALENDULA HYPERICUM—This ointment, especially the brand made by Boron, promotes healing and relieves pain. It can be used to quickly heal cold sores, other sores on the face or mouth, cuts, or abrasions.
GUNPOWDER 6X—“One of my favorites is not well known,” Dr. Walker says. “This is for any minor infection like tooth abscesses or any infection on the skin. I find it useful for those who are getting their ears or bellybuttons pierced and they get infected. You can’t get any sustainable antibiotic levels at those sites if you get an infection there. Take three gunpowder pills three times a day and the infection will resolve in two or three days.”
VACTICIME DROPS—Made by Complemed, these drops help in fighting bacterial infection by boosting the immune system. Dr. Walker suggests 10 drops, three to five times a day.
ABC DROPS—Popular in Europe, ABC drops are a combination of aconite, belladonna, and chamomile homeopathic medications. They are beneficial against colds and earaches.
Aphrodisiacs enhance sexual desire, arousal, and performance. Certain foods, herbs, vitamins and minerals, amino acids, hormones, and aromatic oils can directly affect our biochemistry and hence our sexuality. There are over a dozen herbs that act as aphrodisiacs; they work in various ways and produce different results. For example, there are fast-acting herbs, which affect one or more of the stages of sexual response. Then there are herbs that, if taken over a long period of time, boost a person’s overall physical and emotional readiness. Although herbal preparations do not carry the same risk as pharmaceuticals taken to enhance sexual performance, it is important to understand how to take them for maximum effectiveness. Overall, herbs can vary tremendously in their strength and effectiveness depending on where they are grown, when they are harvested, how they are processed, and so on. It can be challenging to sort it all out.
Nancy Nickel, the author of Nature’s Aphrodisiacs, has studied food, nutrition, and alternative therapies for more than thirty years. Using her expertise as an educational writer, lecturer, and researcher in nutrition and molecular therapy, she offers a review. “Natural aphrodisiacs have been a source of legend for centuries,” she says. “Oysters and shrimp actually contain nutrients that benefit the reproductive system. There have been some scientific studies of natural aphrodisiacs but not too many. Most research is done by pharmaceutical manufacturers and it doesn’t pay them to research a product they cannot patent. But we have some scientific evidence on why several natural products and natural aphrodisiacs work.”
As we all know, sex is hardly ever just about sex. Emotions and psychological health have a direct impact on sexual health. Feelings such as anger, worry, tension, and depression all affect sexual encounters for both women and men. There are quite a few herbs that are useful for addressing this aspect of sex and pleasure.
Nickel helps us to identify what they are and how they work: “To reduce anxiety and elevate mood, there is kava kava, valerian, gotu kola, lemon balm, angelica, skullcap, and vervain. These work quickly. (St. John’s wort is also very good but takes several weeks to have an effect.) Kava kava tea has a physical effect on sexual performance; however, it is also an unbeatable tension reducer. It makes you feel happy, relaxed, and sociable. You can buy tea bags or make it from an extract. Put 10 to 30 drops in juice or water. It is fairly safe although slightly narcotic. Because it affects the nervous system, it should not be used by people who have Parkinson’s disease or those taking an antidepressant.”
Gotu kola is a nerve tonic that stimulates the central nervous system, decreases depression and fatigue, and enhances the sex drive. “If you take it regularly, which you can do, gotu kola tea has a cumulative effect as a sex drive booster,” Nickel says. “Unlike herbs that contain caffeine, it doesn’t cause insomnia or nervousness. You can take one to three capsules a day. As an extract, you can mix 5 to 10 drops in a liquid and drink it. Take it about three times a day. Excessive doses can make you feel faint and sometimes it can cause a headache.”
Lemon balm is an excellent aphrodisiac that can be grown in your own garden. It works by relaxing the nervous system and elevating mood. Further, Nickel says, “It is one of the gentlest herbs and one of the most pleasant tasting. In Europe it is customary to drink lemon balm tea to calm stress and frayed nerves. It is available as a tea, a dried herb, and an extract. If you buy it as an extract, mix 1/2 to 1 teaspoon in liquid. Use the dried herb to make tea. Avoid lemon balm if you have a thyroid condition because it could interfere with a hormone that stimulates the thyroid. They are not sure about this, but I say be on the safe side.
“Angelica is a versatile herb that increases blood circulation. It acts as an aphrodisiac and is especially good for tension headaches. The dose is between 10 to 30 drops in a liquid. It should not be used by pregnant women because in strong doses it can bring on a period. And because it contains sugars, diabetics should not use it.”
Skullcap is an herb with tranquilizing properties. “It is called skullcap,” Nickel says, “because the flower looks like a little cap. It is excellent for relieving stress or nervousness associated with sex, or any kind of performance anxiety. It is very safe and mild, relaxes the muscles, and produces inner calm.”
Other useful herbs are damiana, yohimbe, and muira puama (also called potency wood).
Nickel offers words of caution. “Because these herbs are potent and have chemical compounds that work, there are side effects, so you have to be careful.”
Over the past several years, the pharmaceutical industry has increased sharply its attempts to downplay, and even discredit, supplementation and healthier diets. Drug companies seem to view the growing inclination of Americans to take control of their health as an attack on their turf. Some people have fallen for the rhetoric. Unfortunately, what people don’t often realize is that many medications actually deplete nutrients, which in turn can wreak havoc on the body.
“I have been really shocked at how much depletion occurs relative to the drug someone’s taking that actually makes the condition worse,” says Dr. Hyla Cass, a board-certified expert in the fields of integrative medicine, women’s health, and psychiatry, and the author of many books including Supplement Your Prescription: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know about Nutrition. “For example, statins and coexzyme Q10. Statins are given to people with heart problems. However, depleting CoQ10 makes heart problems worse and can lead to cardiac failure. This doesn’t make sense.”
Other medications that have similar negative effects include the blood sugarlowering drugs, which deplete some of the B vitamins that are needed for processing sugar and glucose; bone density medications, used to protect against osteoporosis; the bipolar drug lithium, which has been found to deplete inositol, a secondary messenger that makes serotonin and some of the other neurotransmitters believed to influence mood regulation; and heartburn drugs.
“When you take something for heartburn the assumption is that you have too much stomach acid,” Dr. Cass says. “Often, it has to do with low stomach acid. So you end up taking an acid blocker, a prescription or an over-the-counter acid blocker, and then you don’t have the hydrochloric acid that you need to break down and absorb essential nutrients like vitamin D,B12, folic acid, calcium, chromium, iron, zinc, and phosphorous.
“When you have heartburn, it’s about what you’re eating. You have a sensitivity, a food sensitivity. It could be how you’re eating or how much you’re eating. It has to do with your diet rather than let’s take a pill for every ill.”
Antibiotics used for stomach infections such as H. pylori, a common cause of peptic ulcers, can also drain the body of nutrients. “Antibiotics cause depletion in guess what: the natural probiotics, our gut flora, the four or five pounds of wonderful friendly bacteria that live in the gut that help our immune system,” Dr. Cass says. “These are very important for really everything. We know that when people have the right probiotics or the right friendly bacteria in the gut it can affect their mental state. People who have been depressed or even psychotic or autistic, when their gut biome—that is the population in the gut of these friendly bacteria —when it’s balanced and robust and really working, a lot of these symptoms will clear up.”
Dr. Cass has found healthy alternatives in the natural medicine cabinet. For bone loss, she recommends magnesium, calcium, boron, strontium, and vitamin D. For stomach infections, she suggests bismuth, zinc carnosine, and probiotics. Instead of antidepressants, she recommends B vitamins, probiotics, and amino acids.
When I am talking with people in my travels, one of the questions they most frequently ask me is, “How can I be sure I am choosing a high-quality supplement?” With the rise in popularity of nutritional supplements, it can be confusing.
Natural health stores or groceries stock most of the vitamins, supplements, and herbs I recommend in this book. Even some mainstream grocery stores carry many of the vitamins and supplements mentioned. If you are able to use the Internet, it is easy to research and purchase supplements and herbal remedies online.
When shopping for vitamins and supplements, there are a few important questions you should ask:
You may wonder whether it is better to choose tablets, capsules, powders, or liquids when purchasing vitamins and supplements. Generally speaking, tablets have a long shelf life, but can contain fillers and stabilizers that may cause allergic reactions. Capsules are generally used for fat-soluble and powdered supplements. The powdered type is most rapidly absorbed and generally contains no additives. The liquid forms may contain coloring agents or sweeteners.
Multivitamins may be useful in combining vitamins and minerals that are more effective when taken together (e.g., a B-complex vitamin). Most multivitamins combine vitamins and minerals in complementary doses. In some of the protocols given earlier in this book, I recommend doses higher than those found in multivitamins. For that reason, with the exception of a B-complex vitamin, I recommend buying vitamins and supplements individually.
Finally, when purchasing supplements, remember these important points:
If you are taking herbs, it is essential to take them in proper dosages, because they contain powerful ingredients. For centuries, people have been taking herbs to treat various conditions. When taken in the correct manner, herbs do not have the side effects that traditional medicines may cause. If herbs are used randomly or indiscriminately, however, they may produce unwanted side effects. If you are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, you should talk with your health care provider before taking any herbal remedies, because some may have adverse interactions with medications. Herbs may be taken in their natural forms of leaves, barks, or roots by brewing them in teas. More commonly, herbs are taken in capsules or tinctures. Herbs can be used in compresses, applied externally with essential oils, or infused in teas, ointments, or salves.
For more information on vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies, including hundreds of scientific studies on the efficacy of herbs for impacting various conditions, along with recommended dosages, go to my website: www.garynull.com.