| By 1930, "Dr." John R. Brinkley of Arkansas, | | | | understand what that entails.Let's look at an |
| Kansas had transplanted over 16,000 goat | | | | example. Digoxin. This drug once was commonly |
| testicles into men who wanted to relive their | | | | prescribed for heart problems. You don't see |
| youth. At $750 per procedure, he became a | | | | it as much any more because safer and more |
| wealthy man. Needless to say, we would call | | | | effective drugs have been found for most |
| his practice quackery at best.The thing most | | | | heart conditions.Digitalis comes from the |
| people don't realize is that because of | | | | foxglove plant. Foxgloves are a beautiful |
| loopholes in the law, people can be legally | | | | flower found in the Pacific Northwest of the |
| duped in much the same way. You can take | | | | United States. My wife can remember people |
| anything you want other than recognized | | | | being paid to go out and harvest them so that |
| poisons and illegal drugs, package it up and | | | | drug companies could get digoxin from |
| sell it as a food additive. The only | | | | them.Digoxin is rather peculiar because there |
| restriction is that you cannot make claims of | | | | is a very narrow range of the drug that can |
| any medical benifit on the container itself. | | | | be safely taken. Take too little and it does |
| They can make as many claims as they want | | | | nothing. Take too much and it can actually |
| away from the container. As long as those | | | | kill you.Furthermore, different plants have |
| claims are not made on the container itself, | | | | different amounts of the drug. It depends on |
| there is no regulation on the product in the | | | | what type of soil the plant grew in. How much |
| United States.One poor fellow that I saw in | | | | sun it got. Even if there were any insects or |
| the emergency room had a terrible case of | | | | animals that had nibbled on it. |
| Rhus Dermatitis. That is the medical term for | | | | |
| what is commonly called poison oak or poison | | | | The part of the plant that you tested would |
| ivy. He had started out getting a small area | | | | also reveal that there were vastly different |
| of rash on his arm. So, he went down to the | | | | amounts of the drug in the leaves as compared |
| local health food store and bought a poison | | | | to the roots.A good example of that is |
| ivy treatment.After taking the 'cure' he | | | | rhubarb. The leaves are poisonous. The stems |
| proceeded to get profoundly worse. By the | | | | are good in pies.Unfortunately, the guinea |
| time I saw him he had a rash all over his | | | | pigs I had as a kid found out the hard way. |
| body and was extremely miserable. I found the | | | | But, I did have a nice funeral for them.It |
| reason by carefully reading the bottle. The | | | | might surprise you that in a recent study, a |
| 'cure' was a naturopathic remedy that had | | | | large percentage of the herbal remedies sold |
| poison ivy in it! How ridiculous is that?The | | | | did not even contain the parts of the plant |
| advertising that you see for some products | | | | that had been shown to be useful!My advice? |
| makes it immediately obvious that the product | | | | First of all get yourself a good reference. |
| is useless. Anyone trained in anatomy and | | | | There is one book that should be in the |
| physiology would know right away that the | | | | library of everyone planning to use an herbal |
| claims were false.One good example is when | | | | remedy and every doctor too for that matter. |
| the claims are contradictory. Rheumatoid | | | | That is the PDR for Herbal Medicine.This book |
| arthritis and allergies are good examples of | | | | lists every herbal medicine that is know to |
| problems caused by overactive immune systems. | | | | have a real medicinal effect. It also tells |
| Yet I have seen products claim that they not | | | | you potential side effects, what part of the |
| only help with allergies but they boost the | | | | plant has the active ingredient and what the |
| immune system. You can't have it both ways | | | | medicinal effect it.Once you know what you |
| folks.The other thing that makes you go | | | | want to use, the next step is obtaining it. |
| hmm... is when the advertising claims that | | | | The best method is to grow your own so you |
| the product causes specific physiologic | | | | know exactly what you are getting. That way |
| changes in the body. Then they go on and | | | | you can make sure the plant is healthy and |
| claim that the product does not contain a | | | | you are using the part of the plant that will |
| drug. But, check the definition of a drug: 'A | | | | help you and not harm you.If you cannot grow |
| substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, | | | | your own, the next best thing is to do a bit |
| or prevention of a disease'. Clearly, if you | | | | of research and find a company that is known |
| are claiming that your product can be used to | | | | for its integrity and quality control. Then |
| treat or prevent disease, you are talking | | | | stick with them.Finally, make sure your |
| about a drug. If you say that your substance | | | | doctor knows what you are taking. There is |
| does not contain a drug, then you can't say | | | | some possibility that your herbal medicine |
| it is preventing or treating a disease. Here | | | | may interact or interfere with any medication |
| again, you can't have it both ways.But, you | | | | that you are being prescribed.With the proper |
| may say, what I am taking is just plant | | | | knowledge and a good source, you should be |
| parts. When my father was in pharmacy school | | | | getting some good benifit from your herbal |
| in the 1950's, virtually all drugs were made | | | | medication. But, beware of the claims of |
| by collecting plants and mixing them in | | | | those other products.Dr. Ron McCluskey is an |
| certain ways to prepare drugs. Now, people do | | | | emergency room physician with over twenty |
| the same thing, but they are able to sell | | | | years experience treating all types of |
| them as food aditives because they make no | | | | medical problems. A firm believer in natural |
| claims about their properties 'on the | | | | remedies, he also hates it when people get |
| container'.Having said that, I have nothing | | | | burned by |
| against people using herbal remedies. In fact | | | | |
| I'm all for it. But it is important to | | | | rip-off artists. |