Dr James Duke, PhD was one of the speakers at the Northwest Naturopathic Physician’s Conference held locally this weekend. There was a wealth of information and research from the conference, and here are a few herbal tidbits that are safe and likely useful to many:
1. Patients who are on cox-2 inhibitors for pain may find that curry and celery soup with black pepper can help their pain, and perhaps reduce their need for medication. Curry is a great source of turmeric/curcumin, and both turmeric and celery are natural cox-2 inhibitors (pain relievers). Importantly, black pepper increases absorption of the curcumin up to twenty fold.
2. Other natural pain relievers include chamomile tea (remember to cover the cup while steeping, as may of the ingredients are volatile oils).
3. British guidelines for drug therapy to lower blood pressure use the pnemonic AB/CD, which is for classes of drugs called ace-inhibitors, beta blockers / calcium channel blockers, diuretics. Hawthorn and garlic have at least 3 of the mechanisms in the AB/CD drug model.
4. Pomegranate fruit has 1-2 days worth of hormone replacement therapy estrogens.
It should now give some of those who have the beleive that in places like this, health issues are no handdled with herbs at all. However I think herbs give the best solution to health problems.