Tag Archives: Mother Nature

Plants With Real Healing Powers That Cure

A fever, stomach pains or a simple case of the sniffles can send people rushing to the pharmacy for a drug to cure their symptoms.

But Mother Nature provides a number of medicinal plants with healing properties that also can nurse you back to health, a fact more North Americans are beginning to discover.

Doctor Sodhi -" More North Americans Realize The Effectiveness Of Remedies Found In Nature"

Doctor Sodhi -” more North Americans realize the effectiveness of remedies found in nature”

“The use of herbal medicine, although traditional in many Eastern cultures, had been only a minor fad in Western medicine until recent decades,” says Dr. Virender Sodhi, founder of the Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Medical Clinic , which provides complementary and alternative medicine.

That trend has been shifting as a growing body of studies and research has demonstrated the effects of traditional remedies on chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, says Sodhi, author of the new guide, “Ayurvedic Herbs: The Comprehensive Resource for Ayurvedic Healing Solutions.

That’s not necessarily news to ailing people in other parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa. For centuries, they have found relief through herbal medicines derived from shrubs, vines, trees and other plants, Sodhi says.

Here are four examples, a couple of which are recognizable by better known names and purposes.

American licorice is a native, perennial legume that grows in temperate climates of North America. Licorice, which grows in Europe and Asia, is the root of varieties of the Glycyrrhiza plant.
American licorice is a native, perennial legume that grows in temperate climates of North America. Licorice, which grows in Europe and Asia, is the root of varieties of the Glycyrrhiza plant.

 

•  Glycyrrhiza glabra. Most people would recognize this plant by its more common name – licorice. It has been used for centuries in the traditional and folk medicines of Asia and Europe to treat ailments ranging from the common cold to liver disease, Sodhi says.

Most Americans likely encountered licorice as children because the sweet root of the plant is used to make candy. Licorice can cure more than a sweet tooth, though. It can protect people from the influenza virus. In cell line studies it was shown to reduce titer of the influenza virus by 90 percent and have strong immune modulation properties.

It’s an important ingredient in many herbal preparations, Sodhi said, especially for bronchial conditions. Because of its expectorant properties, powdered licorice has been used for centuries to treat coughs. Modern cough syrups often contain licorice extract.

Piper negrum

•  Piper nigrum. This flowering vine’s berries, when still unripe, are used to produce black pepper, but spicing up food isn’t its only talent. Piper nigrum has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-spasmodic properties that make it ideal for treating digestive disorders, Sodhi says.

It doesn’t stop there. Drug resistance is a major concern in cancer patients. Piper nigrum can reverse multiple drug resistance many fold and significantly increase the apoptotic effect of many pharmaceutical drugs.

CLICK me to discover more about Frankincense
CLICK me to discover more about Frankincense

•  Boswellia serrate. Commonly known as Frankincense, this herb has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Several patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s colitis have gone in to remission using a Boswellia preparation.

In brain tumor patients it has reduced cerebral edema by 75 percent. Sodhi has mentioned case studies of many patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and ulcerative colitis who went into remission.

Bael

  Bael. Commonly known as “golden apple”, this fruit-bearing tree indigenous to the hills and plains of central and southern India has numerous uses. The fruit promotes healthy digestion and is used medicinally to treat such conditions as diarrhea, dysentery and cholera. The leaves, roots and bark of Bael also have medicinal value.

They help relieve acute bronchitis, heart palpitations, intermittent fevers and many other ailments. Dr. Sodhi has observed 100 percent success in treating patients of clostridium difficile, who did not respond to standard medical protocol of metronidazole (Flagyl), Dificid (fidaxomicin), or vanconycin.

 

Ontario Greens: “Other provinces and countries are way ahead of us”

""Greens will fight to protect the places we love. Let's leave our children the rich natural heritage we have enjoyed."  image: redd-monitor.org
“”Greens will fight to protect the places we love. Let’s leave our children the rich natural heritage we have enjoyed.” image: redd-monitor.org

 

ONTARIO CAN’T AFFORD TO DELETE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS    (Queen’s Park): Trashing Ontario’s Endangered Species Act is unacceptable, says Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner.

“We can’t let the Wynne government bulldoze environmental protections,” says Schreiner.

“Greens will fight to protect the places we love. Let’s leave our children the rich natural heritage we have enjoyed.”

Schreiner joined environmental groups in calling on the Premier to reverse a Cabinet decision to grant sweeping exemptions to species protection. Over a thousand GPO supporters have sent letters to the Premier asking her to protect endangered species.

“The Premier failed her first big environmental test,” says Schreiner. “It’s not surprising that the Liberals’ short-sighted attack on endangered species has led to a lawsuit. Breaking their own legislation threatens protections for water, farmland and healthy communities. And the silence from the NDP and PC opposition on these issues is deafening.”

There is a better way to move forward without sacrificing environmental protection. The Green Party agrees with the Drummond Report: user fees should pay for environmental protection. User fees are fair and economical, and they discourage wasteful use of precious natural resources.

The Green Party is also calling on the government to support paying farmers and landowners for environmental good and services that benefit everyone.

“Instead of destroying species or regulating farmers out of business, Ontario should recognize the economic value of environmental goods and services,” says Schreiner. “Once again, other provinces and countries are way ahead of us in protecting what we value most.”  For the Silo, Becky Smit