Traditonal Medicine
INDIGENOUS INSTITUTE of the AMERICAS
INSTITUTO INDIGENA de las AMERICAS
What is Traditonal Medicine? Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. Indigenous traditional healing is an ancient, deeply rooted, complex holistic health care system practiced by indigenous people worldwide. However, scant information exists to explain the phenomenon of indigenous medicine and indigenous health. Even less is known about how indigenous healing takes place.
Listed below are some articles submitted for your health. If you have an article for submission, please forward it to Gregory G. Gomez for posting.
Disclaimers:
- The information listed on this website is for informational purposes only.
- As with all complimentary and alternative therapies, none of the treatments listed on this website are meant to be a substitute for proper medical diagnosis, treatment or care from your primary care physician.
- I do not diagnosis conditions, prescribe medications or interfere with a primary care physician's treatment.
- If you are currently taking medication prescribed by your primary care physician, do not stop taking it without his/her advice.
- If you have any concerns regarding your medical condition, please speak with your primary care physician first.
- Always consult your primary care physician before starting any new complimentary or alternative therapies.
- I do not accept responsibility if you choose to treat yourself using any information from this website.
- I accept no responsibility for any loss or damages caused as a direct or indirect result of the use or misuse of any information contained on this website or through attunements.
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Trickstar in the Herb Garden
Coyote was here before the first boat people came, as were the original People of Turtle Island. And like the People, Coyote was mistreated by these newcomers who stole his land and his way of being with the Earth. But Coyote was a survivor. Even today he has not forgotten how to find the good, wild foods or the plant medicines. He has always found a way to outsmart the wealthy leaders of the newcomers, who use food and medicine to control them. But now the old ways of being are nearly forgotten, except by Coyote and his Family. He knows that many go without medicines because they have no money, even though they are surrounded by these gifts from the Earth. It is time now to remember the old medicines, to bring back the knowledge of the Ancestors. Our survival depends on it.
Listed below are some traditional medicine remedies used by our ancestors.
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinalis
For medicinal purposes, the whole plant is useable before it flowers, the leaves are gathered while the plant is in flower, and the root is harvested in fall and winter. Both leaves and roots are used as a diuretic which, being high in potassium and calcium, will not deplete the body of these vital minerals as over-the-counter diuretics will. However, caution is always indicated when considering the use of diuretics since they can complicate any existing medical condition. In cases where inflammation is present, consult a qualified health practitioner. Infusions of the leaves or roots serve as a digestive aid. The decocted, fresh roots are one of the oldest known remedies for constipation and kidney- and gallstones. The sugars levulose and inulin make dandelion beneficial in the treatment of diabetes. And poultices of dandelion leaves have been used to treat fractures. The milky juice has been used to remove warts.
When harvesting for food, the entire plant can be gathered at any time. But the leaves are best when young, since they become bitter with age. The tender young leaves make a tasty salad; the more mature leaves are steamed or boiled like spinach. Older leaves should be cooked for about 5 minutes, the water poured off to remove the bitterness, then cooked again until done. The buds and crown are eaten raw or cooked before flowering (very tasty). The flowers can be dipped in tempura batter and deep-fried. And the root can be cooked as a vegetable. A common use for the root is as a coffee substitute. Wash and scrape the root, slice, and roast it until thoroughly brown (it should be dry, but not overly so), and grind it in a coffee grinder.
Mallow
This is a good plant to know if you are outdoors and away from your kitchen medicines. It can be picked and the leaves bruised on the spot for an instant poultice for wounds, skin irritations, sores, and inflammations. Back at home, a decoction of the fresh leaves can be applied to these areas. A fresh leaf poultice or decocted leaves can also be used for sore breasts and other neo-natal skin irritations. For boils or swellings, steep the leaves and use them as a poultice.
Internally, an infusion of the demulcent and expectorant leaves and flowers will soothe coughs, emphysema, bronchitis, and tonsillitis. The infusion can be used as a gargle for sore throats. And infusions of the leaves of roots relieve indigestion, stomachache, and catarrhal gastro-enteritis. The same infusion is diuretic, relieving urethral inflammation.
Plantain
Native Americans called it "white man's foot" and immediately set out to discover its uses. Most people know plantain by the name of "psyllium." Plantago psyllium provides the seeds for many over-the-counter laxative preparations, like Metamucil ®. Other species of plantain are also used commercially for varied medical purposes, since all have the same basic healing properties.
An infusion of the seeds has been used for all respiratory troubles including coughs, hoarseness, and mucus congestion, and for its appetite-suppressing properties. The infusion is also a treatment for gastroenteritis, worms, and general feebleness. Externally, the juice of the fresh leaves, or plantain salve, has been used for poisonous snake and insect bites. But just to make sure, Native Americans often carried a small bag filled with the powdered root as a charm against snakebite. A fresh leaf poultice is used for abrasions, wounds, insect stings, blisters, swellings and inflammations, sores and ulcers, burns rheumatism, and sore, tired feet.
Chickweed
Chickweed is as harmless as it is versatile even when ingested in large amounts. It can be used fresh or dried (the dried herb will keep for up to 6 months). Pick the plant as soon as the dew has evaporated, remove the debris--there is always debris in this stuff--and dry it in a shallow box in a closet for a few days. Its demulcent, emollient, and anti-inflammatory properties make it the perfect remedy for eczema. When the eczema is weeping, dip a cloth into a very warm decoction of the herb and apply to the inflamed area as a compress until the heat dissipates to lukewarm. Keep replacing with the warmer compresses for 15 to 20 minutes three or more times a day. Likely only one day of this treatment is necessary to get past the weepy stage. Afterward, keep the area moist. A salve made from chickweed, olive oil, and beeswax is excellent for this.
The same salve, an infusion, or a poultice of the fresh plant can be used externally for chapped skin, itchy rashes, abrasions, inflammations, and skin ulcers. Drinking a chickweed infusion for several days to a few weeks will help clear up skin problems by cleansing the blood and kidneys. Its expectorant properties will help clear up a cough and rhinitis. Chickweed's refrigerant nature also helps to lower fevers. A decoction makes a gentle laxative and diuretic safe enough for children. And a fresh poultice will bring down swelling from sprains, arthritis, and gout, though this is most effective on small areas like wrists or fingers. Chickweed ointment can be used for the same purposes
Barberry
Medicinally, all Barberry (formerly Mahonia) species are used in much the same way. The roots or rhizomes are used because of the high berberine content, although the bark and berries are also used. And in some species the leaves are used. The yellow color is the key. If the pith and/or bark are yellow high berberine content is indicated.
In June (1999) clinical testing proved that Mahonia aquifolium, also known as Oregon Grape Root, was effective in the treatment of psoriasis. Health Canada has now approved a topical cream containing the root extract for the treatment of psoriasis and other skin conditions. But long before double-blind clinical testing was invented, Native Americans and other indigenous peoples knew of the plant's properties. In fact, all Barberry species were used to treat wounds, eczema, and all manner of skin problems. Berberine has strong anti-microbial and fungicidal properties, aside from being particularly astringent and anti-inflammatory. It is said to make a good eyewash.
Internally, Barberry has long been used to stimulate bile secretion and the liver in general, as a bitter digestive tonic, diuretic, alterative, and immunostimulant. The roots and berries have refrigerant properties, so can be used as a febrifuge or a cool summer drink, respectively. As it turns out, Barberry is a substitute for goldenseal, which is so overharvested that it has become, or is becoming, endangered. And for those with hypertension, Barberry seems the better choice (if the species in question is not also endangered) because it has vasodilatory properties, whereas goldenseal constricts the veins. Other warnings attach themselves to Barberry: large doses can cause nausea, vomiting, constriction of the bronchial tubes, hazardous drops in blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. This is a plant that would most definitely be off-limits to pregnant women and, of course, to those who do not know how to use it.
The berries of all the species were used as food in one way or another--either eaten fresh, or made into preserves or pounded into cakes to save for later use. The berries of Berberis pinnata were used by a southern California tribe for painting arrows. The Spaniards carved up the yellow roots for crucifixes. And the roots were used to make a bright yellow dye.
Evening Primrose
Evening Primrose is one of the best and easiest to harvest sources of Omega 3 essential fatty acids (EFA’s). Omega 3 oils prevent the arachidonic acid cascade, also known as the metabolic pathway to pain. The cascade is a complex process involving the breakdown of metabolic acids into either inflammatory or beneficial prostaglandins, depending upon an individual’s predisposition to certain illnesses. Omega 6 EFA’s like olive-, soy-, and corn oils, cause this cascade. Evening Primrose seeds contain Omega 3 oil.
Inflammatory conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, have been treated both internally and externally with Oenothera. Canada permits dietary supplementation of Evening Primrose oil. And in England, it is used topically for eczema. Only supplement laws protect the use of Evening Primrose oil in the US, however.
Traditional external uses include poulticing the root for the treatment of hemorrhoids and bruises. But the fresh or dried leaves can be used to make poultices, infusions, or salves to treat the same conditions, especially eczema. In fact, some eczema sufferers have reduced or eliminated their dependence on steroid-based medications through the topical use of Evening Primrose.
Internally, the seed oil or ground seeds have been used to treat asthma, migraines, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions. Research has shown Omega 3 oils to be beneficial in the lowering of cholesterol and slowing its production. The vasodilatory effects of the seed oil have been used also to treat hypertension and heart diseases.
Migraines, often brought on by the arachidonic acid cascade, may also benefit from the use of the seed oil. The above are mainly preventative measures. But the seeds or seed oil have been used for symptomatic treatment as well.
Other internal uses involve taking leaf infusions to increase mental alertness, and to relieve anxiety and depression. How Evening Primrose works in these cases is not exactly known. But it is believed that the plant’s mucilage has a beneficial effect on the stomach, liver, and spleen, and that the feelings of well-being stem follow these physiological effects. Leaf infusions are also used to ease coughs and sore throats. In this case the action is directly attributed to the mucilage. Oenothera infusions have been used to relieve dyspepsia, and the root tea was used to treat obesity. It is high in potassium and magnesium.
Every part of the plant is edible. Beginning with the taproot, which can be steamed, boiled, or fried, the young leaves of the basal rosette can be used in salads (although I have used the smallish leaves growing up the mature stalk, too), or as a potherb. As with most wild edibles, the younger leaves are always best (don’t forget the downy texture; use sparingly). But the older leaves can be used as you would the younger leaves. The flowers make a pretty addition to salads.
Tobacco
Lethal as it was tobacco has a long history of medicinal use and N. tabacum was included in the US Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1905 as a narcotic, sedative, diaphoretic, and emetic. But all tobaccos were used in the same way for medicinal purposes.
The Aztecs used it for nervous complaints and fevers accompanied by chills. Often a poultice of the leaves, which are the medicinal part, was used externally for internal problems. Such poultices have been used mainly abdominally as emetics, vermifuges, decongestants, and anti-inflammatory agents, especially in children, although the leaf infusion was also used internally. Leaf teas were also taken internally as an astringent diuretic for urinary tract infections, to induce vomiting—probably because of the poisonous effects, as both an effective purgative and also as a treatment for diarrhea, and to treat convulsions.
Externally tobacco was used to relieve local pain and inflammation because of its pronounced anodyne and anti-inflammatory effects. This made it especially useful in cases of toothache and earache. Other methods were also employed for earache. The tobacco leaves were smoked in a pipe with a wad of cotton under the burning tobacco.
Then the cotton was placed into the ear canal. Or smoke was blown into the ear. Tobacco is antiseptic as well and a poultice has even been used as antivenin in the case of rattlesnake bites—after the poison was sucked out, of course. Additionally, a decoction of the leaves was used for burns and scalds, and the powdered leaf applied over all. Applications of the wash and powder were also used on rotting wounds to promote healing. Fresh plant poultices were used for insect bites and stings, skin ulcers, and swellings.
The ashes of tobacco were used to clean and whiten teeth—it is very abrasive in this form, and to cleanse the gums and fight gum disease. Pregnant women used snuff to encourage sneezing, which would bring on labor. And snuff was used generally to clear the head, especially for rhinitis.
Before the discovery of nicotine in tobacco the plant was used widely as a pesticide. In the US it was used as a crop dust until deadly DDT made its appearance on the market. Indeed, it will kill all manner of walking or crawling things, including head lice. Small animals—humans too—are especially susceptible.
The Seminoles smoked tobacco as a charm to ward off disease and blew it over snakebites. Regarded as sacred by many Native Americans, all parts of the tobacco plant are used in offerings to the spirits. A traditional gesture of respect is to give tobacco to an elder whose advice one seeks.
Feverfew
The plant has been cultivated extensively in Europe and other countries for medicine, especially for pain relief. It was rediscovered in the late 1970’s as a migraine remedy, dispelling not only headache pain, but also the nausea and vomiting associated with migraines. Feverfew is a strong vasodilator and is used to treat headaches caused by hypertension. Further, the fresh leaves, used in all the above applications, are used to treat arthritis pain and other pain due to inflammation. And feverfew has been used to relieve dizziness and tinnitus. The same cautions apply to people with aspirin sensitivities, of course.
One of the first uses of feverfew was to promote menstruation in cases where menses was sluggish or late. So the use of feverfew in cases of pregnancy should be avoided. It was used as a cold douche after labor to tone and cleanse the uterus. The leaves also stimulate the digestive system and are mildly laxative. However, the flowers have a pronounced laxative effect. Too, the leaves, being a strong insecticide, have been used to expel worms. There is some evidence that suggests feverfew might be useful as a sedative. Feverfew, though its name is really a corruption of "featherfew," is also used to bring down fevers, so is used for colds. A cold infusion is taken as a tonic.
Most effective are the fresh leaves, one leaf chewed up to four times per day. But infusions of 1 teaspoon dried herb per cup water are also used—hot for all the above applications except tonics, which are taken cold. Tinctures of feverfew are sold in health food stores, but are far less effective than the fresh leaf. Mouth ulcers and severe tenderness of the mouth and gums are a regular feature of using feverfew. Also, the plant may cause dermatitis when handled.
As an insecticide, a tea of feverfew (1 ounce dried herb to 1 pint water) will kill leafhoppers, aphids (plant next to roses), caterpillars, and beetles. This is a potent insecticide and if used regularly could upset the ecological balance of a garden. Use sparingly and with caution.
Sage - White (California region)
White sage has a wide range of medicinal properties. Like all odoriferous sages, the leaves are powerful antiseptics, used for abrasions and a spectrum of skin inflammations, douches to treat Candida and staph infections, and sore throats, colds, and lung infections. Drunk hot, an infusion of the leaves stimulates perspiration, thus lowering fevers. Inhaling the steamed leaves broke up chest congestion. Drunk cold, all bodily secretions are inhibited, which gives rise to the herb's use in weaning babies from the breast. The mother would drink the cold tea and moisten her breasts with it. Many sages, because of their anti-microbial properties, are used in over-the-counter preparations.
Native American women used the thick leaves as sanitary napkins. The plant also makes a non-lathering shampoo and rinse that leaves the hair soft and beautiful (I will encourage the use of white sage as shampoo!) Native Americans made the leaves into smudge sticks and burned them during prayer and ceremonies. Unfortunately, many businesses sell the smudge sticks for profit, an act discouraged by Native American elders.
The seeds--a staple food of Native Americans--were ground into flour, and the young shoots were eaten as greens. The leaves can be brewed into a beverage tea. Aside from culinary usage, white sage was used in combination with other aromatic herbs to repel ants and other insects--either as a powder for dusting, or as a spray.
Sage - Northern/Eastern/Southern
I believe that sage grows in almost every state of the USA and every tribe used it. My relatives in South Dakota use sage for everything. I have walked in fields that contain 10 different species of it all of which are used for different healing purposes. Sage is used as a poltice, tea for all ailments, wash for all skin disorders including cancer. It is burned for purification, blessing and protection. It is worn in the crowns, wrist and ankle bracelets of our sacred sundancers. There is no end to the gift of this ancestor.
Sweetgrass
Sweetgrass has traditionally been used by American Indians for basket making, smudging, smoking, perfuming and ceremonial uses and it is considered to be a sacred plant. It offers a sweet vanilla scent which is held and released well after it is dried and is suitable as a natural incense. Typically the sweetgrass is harvested, braided and dried. The braid is a typical three part braid with each part symbolizing mind, body and spirit. The braid does not carry an open flame but smolders readily [1].
A tea made from sweetgrass was used for fever, coughs, sore throat and womens complaints such as vaginal bleeding from giving birth and venereal infections. Other uses include repellant, hair tonic, flavoring and fixative.
Cedar, Yellow - North to Canada
Aromatic, astringent, diuretic. The twigs may produce abortion, like those of savin, by reflex action on the uterus from severe gastrointestinal irritation. Both fenchone and thujone stimulate the heart muscle. The decoction has been used in intermittent fevers, rheumatism, dropsy, coughs, scurvy, and as an emmenagogue. The leaves, made into an ointment with fat, are a helpful local application in rheumatism. An injection of the tincture into venereal warts is said to cause them to disappear. For violent pains the Canadians have used the cones, powdered, with four-fifths of Polypody, made into a poultice with lukewarm water or milk and applied to the body, with a cloth over the skin to prevent scorching.
---Dosage---Of fluid extract, 1/4 drachm, three to six times a day, as stimulating expectorant and diuretic. The infusion of 1 OZ. to a pint of boiling water is taken cold in tablespoonful doses.
Cedro Rosa - Brazilian Amazon
In the Brazilian Amazon the bark and leaves are added to baths for body pains, colds, flu, and fever. In the Peruvian Amazon a bark infusion is used for diarrhea, urinary problems, and ear infections. In Belize a handful of grated bark is soaked in three cups of water for about 6 hours and then taken by the 1/2 cup for internal injuries, abdominal pain, bruises, postoperative states, and to clear the lungs of mucus. In current Brazilian herbal medicine the bark is considered a tonic, bitter, fever-reducer, and astringent. It is often employed for lack of appetite, a stomach tonic, arthritis, fevers, diarrhea and dysentery. Externally it is used for skin ulcer, wounds and placed in the ear for ear infections. In Peruvian herbal medicine cedro rosa is used as an emetic (to induce vomiting), for fevers, gangrene, diarrhea, coughs, wounds, snakebites, toothaches, malaria, earaches, skin ulcers, spasms, and urinary infections.
Cedar (red)
Internally, decoctions made by North American from leaves, bark and twigs were used for arthritis, rheumatism, menstrual delay, gonorrhea, pyelitis and kidney problems. Externally, the same decoctions were used for skin rashes, venereal warts etc. The oil can be used successfully as an insect repellant. Cedarwood essential oil is great to calm anxiety and assist in meditation, whilst regulating homeostasis. It is helpful to the respiratory system and has a drying effect on mucus. It helps the kidneys and is useful to combat rheumatism and arthritis. Its astringent qualities are helpful to fight acne as well as psoriasis. it has a skin-softening action as well.
MilkThistle
Milk thistle is one of the most extensively studied and documented herbs in use today. Scientific research continues to validate its healing powers, particularly for the treatment of liver-related disorders. Most of its effectiveness stems from a complex of three liver-protecting compounds, collectively known as silymarin, which constitutes 4% to 6% of the ripe seeds.
Major benefits: Among the most important benefits of milk thistle is its ability to fortify the liver, which is one of the body's most important organs, second in size only to the skin. The liver processes nutrients, including fats and other foods. In addition, it neutralizes, or detoxifies, many drugs, chemical pollutants, and alcohol. Milk thistle helps enhance and strengthen this vital organ by preventing the depletion of glutathione, an amino acid-like compound that is essential to the detoxifying process. What's more, studies show milk thistle can increase glutathione concentration by up to 35%. This herb is also an effective gatekeeper, limiting the number of toxins the liver processes at any given time.
Milk thistle is a powerful antioxidant as well. Even more potent than vitamins C and E, it helps prevent damage from highly reactive free-radical molecules. Furthermore, it promotes the regeneration of healthy, new liver cells, which replace old and damaged ones. Milk thistle eases a range of serious liver ailments, including viral infections (hepatitis) and scarring of the liver (cirrhosis). This herb is so potent that it's sometimes given in an injectable form in the emergency room to combat the life-threatening, liver-obliterating effects of poisonous mushrooms. In addition, because excessive alcohol depletes glutathione, milk thistle can aid in protecting the livers of alcoholics or those recovering from alcohol abuse.
Additional benefits: In cancer patients, milk thistle limits the potential for drug-induced damage to the liver after chemotherapy treatments, and it speeds recovery by hastening removal of toxic substances that can accumulate in the body. The herb also reduces the inflammation and may slow the skin cell proliferation associated with psoriasis. It may be useful for endometriosis (the most common cause of infertility in women) because it helps the liver process the hormone estrogen, which at high levels can make pain and other symptoms worse. Finally, milk thistle can be beneficial in preventing or treating gallstones by improving the flow of bile, the cholesterol-laden digestive juice that travels from the liver through the gallbladder and into the intestine, where it helps to digest fats.
Pine Tree
In the trunk of a large tree the only living part is some layers of live cells outside the wood proper and inside the bark-called the sapwood, the cambium, and the inner bark. All these layers put together may be only a fraction of an inch thick. The living layers of cambium and inner bark on many kinds of trees have often been used in medicine, in home remedies, and even as a source of food. In 1732, when Linnaeus, the father of modern botany, was tramping through the Lapland, he reported that the Lapps were largely subsisting on "fir bark." This was from the tree known to us as Scotch pine.
The Lapps removed the brown outer layer and hung the strips of white inner bark under the eaves of their barns to dry. If food was plentiful the next winter, this bark was fed to their dogs and cattle, and was reported to be very fattening, but if other foods were scarce, the Lapps would grind this dried bark and make a famine bread of it, which was very nutritious, but, to Linnaeus's taste, not very palatable.
It is not usually realized how much the American Indians formerly depended on tree barks for food. The eastern Indians favored the barks from the pine family, especially that from the white pine, although the inner barks of other trees, such as black birch and slippery elm, were relished. The inner bark must be separated from the dry, outer bark. I tried boiling this fresh inner bark as the Indians did, and it reduced to a glutinous mass from which the more bothersome wood fibers were easily removed. I'm sure it was wholesome and nutritious, but in the area of palatability it left much to be desired. It is said that the Indians cooked this bark with meat so I tried boiling some with beef, but when I tasted it I felt that instead of making the bark edible I had merely ruined a good piece of beef.
I hung some of my strips of white pine bark in a warm attic room until it was thoroughly dry. It still wouldn't grind very well, so I gave it an additional drying in an oven with the door propped slightly open so moisture could escape. The heat caused the bark to swell slightly, and it became a great deal more friable and grindable. The redried bark was cut into small pieces with a hatchet, and ground, about a cupful at a time, in the electric blender. Most recipes for home remedies made of this inner bark call for coarsely ground bark, so I put the pulverized bark through a flour sifter, using the fine part that passed through the sieve for food experiments and the coarser stuff for cough syrup.
The fine powder was a weak yellowish-orange color with a slight odor of turpentine and a taste that was at first very sweet and mucilaginous, but was quickly followed by a disagreeable bitterness and astringency. There is no doubt about this material's being nutritious. It contains sugar and starch, and, according to two U.S. Government sources, it is rich in vitamin C.
I hoped the bitterness and astringency would disappear on cooking but, alas, these tastes are very persistent, and I can't say that the bread I made with it was an unqualified success. I mixed the fine powder half-and-half with wheat flour and followed a recipe for yeast-raised rolls. They were of good texture and perfectly edible, but they also had a disagreeable bitter taste and more than a hint of turpentine flavor about them, and I felt the rolls would have been better without the white pine flour.
Dried white pine bark is still a valuable ingredient in cough remedies. Its medicinal properties are expectorant and diuretic. It is most often prescribed in the title role of Compound White Pine Syrup. This is a real herbal mixture and a good illustration of the fact that modern medicine does not disdain herbal remedies if they are effective.
Europeans candied the peeled new shoots of white pine, gathered before they became woody. I tried some of these peeled tender shoots, boiling them until tender, draining off that cooking water and then boiling them for 20 minutes in a syrup made of equal parts of sugar and water. The syrup was then drained off, and the candied shoots were partly dried, then rolled in granulated sugar. This tasted a little more civilized than the foods I had been trying, but even this candy was nothing about which I could get very excited. I would have considered it a pretty good tasting cough medicine, and it would probably help control a cough, but I'm sure I have eaten much better confections.
White pine needles have been tested for nutritional benefits, and they have good yields of vitamin A and about 5 times as much vitamin C as found in lemons. Had those old-timers who used to suffer from scurvy every winter when fresh vegetables were unavailable used an infusion of white pine needles instead of tea or coffee, they would never have been touched by scurvy.
Pine Needle Tea, made by pouring 1 pint of boiling water over 1 ounce of fresh white pine needles chopped fine, is about the most palatable pine product I have tasted. With a squeeze of lemon and a little sugar it is almost enjoyable, and it gives a great feeling of virtue to know that as you drink it you are fortifying your body with two essential vitamins in which most modern diets are deficient.
I have high respect for the medicinal and nutritional properties of white pine products, but you must have gathered by now that I care very little for their taste. Nevertheless, the economic hazards of writing for a living being what they are, I intend to bear in mind that these lordly trees can furnish substantial and nutritious, if somewhat ill-tasting, food in times of need, but the emergency will have to be pretty dire before I consume any large quantity of it. My current taste in food-gathering poses no threat of extinction to the white pine.
Another article lists these results with Pine:
If you have read the pycnogenol literature you will know the story about the Quebec Indians of eastern Canada who advised members of Jacques Cartier's expedition in December 1534 to boil up a tea of the bark and leaves of a pine tree native to the area, to cure scurvy. At that time Cartier's vessel was trapped in the ice and he had lost 25 of his original 110 man crew to Scurvy with a further 50 so ill that he expected them to die shortly. Of the remainder, only 3 men were unaffected by the disease. Within a week of feeding this tea to his men, they had recovered sufficiently to return to the duties, and they continued to improve thereafter.
During the 1960's a French professor researched the properties of the flavonoids found in many species of Pine Bark as well as in Grape Skins and the shells of various nuts and found that the richest source of the most bio-available and bio-active flavonoids were to be found in an extract of the Pinus Pinaster or Maritime Pine.
In 1987 some of the substances were taken from the whole extract and patented under the name of Pycnogenol which was registered as a therapeutic agent having free radical scavenging effects. In the early 1990's Pycnogenol began to appear on the market as an extremely expensive multi-level marketing item and as an ingredient in some expensive health food store formulations.
For my human patients I prepare each season, an extract from the fresh bark and sapwood of the Maritime Pine.
Extensive research has shown that ingredients found within the Pine Bark Extract have positive results in the following areas of human health;
a. Allergies, Histamine Response and Inflammation as in Allergic Reaction and Hay Fever.
b. Capillary Protection both in strengthening weakened capillaries and in minimizing damage occurring during strenuous physical activity.
c. Inflammation, Edema and Varicosity.
d. Skin Health, Collagen Reactivation and U.V. Radiation Damage
e. Heart Disease both in reducing cholesterol deposition on arterial walls and the antioxidant effect of reducing stickiness of platelets and reducing clotting problems.
f. Cancer prevention and treatment in as far as the antioxidant properties protect the body against the activities of carcinogens and free radical damage to DNA.
More recent studies are showing other important ways Pine Bark Extract helps maintain optimal health. These include;
a. Brain Function in as far as the bio-flavonoids pass through the blood brain barrier and are available to maintain the health of brain cells and facilitate oxygenation to improve memory.
b. Illnesses like Ulcers, Diabetes, Arthritis and protection from Viral Attacks.
c. I have researched the benefits to children diagnosed with A.D.D and A.D.H.D (Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) over the past five years with extremely positive results.
Willow Tree
Aspirin is one of the oldest remedies. It belongs to the salicylate family of drugs, which have been in use since the Stone Ages. Salicylates are present naturally in many trees and shrubs. The Native American Indians used them to treat headache, fever and lumbago. The Romans boiled willow bark to make pain-killing potions, and the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates recommended the use of willow derivatives to relieve pain, fever and the pangs of childbirth.
Manita, thanks for the information.....Cedar for tea, bathes, washing the body is also good....
GGG and fam in alb
Patzin: Remedios para movimientos
By Patrisia Gonzales
Column of the Americas © April 3, 2005
Paztin (venerable medicine) is a monthly edition on Mexican indigenous medicine
As the people march in the millions, placing their bodies on the line to proclaim their rights to be treated justly, I uphold the right to our medicinal knowledge as a human right and as la comadre Sylvia Ledesma has said, part of our self governance. While reports have focused on the streets of Los Angeles and Chicago, countless other protests against draconian measures against indigenous peoples otherwise known as immigrants are exploding in Atlanta, Milwaukee, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and countless other cities. These protests are dwarfing the East L.A. walkouts of 1968.
Elders say the plants and the four elements of life are our relatives, our witnesses, and our protectors. While there is a backlash against the peaceful protestors, the anger needs to be countered by medicine -- or turned into medicine. My grandmother used to say that coraje can be used for good - as in defense of el prove -- or coraje can create bad medicine. I offer this herbal arsenal, or herbs for protest and times of great movement and upheaval.
For long term stamina, eat chayote, and if you can get the leaves, make a tea to strengthen the kidneys and pancreas. During stress we use up lots of vitamin Bs. Drink or eat chaya for energy, a beloved plant by those who perform great physical sacrifices and need immediate results. Drink juice with chia seed, which is recorded in the ancient stories as one of the original foods given to the Mesoamerican peoples. Spirulina (another ancestral food) will take away hunger, give you energy and lots of amino acids and minerals. Bay leaf tea will gently strengthen the kidney's ability to move energy in our body. Wild ginseng or American ginseng will nourish our adrenal system, as will boraja. Romero with yerba buena will brighten the brain but relax you so that you can get a bit more work done.
For sore throats from too much chanting, drink slippery elm tea or take a teaspoon of linaja/flax seed and let is set in a warm cup of water and drink as a tea with honey. For sore feet, a good baño from these recetas will do.
Oh the alegria at a market when I can find the oranges with the leaves attached (unless I visit my suegro's tree in L.A.). Those leaves, or any other citrus leaf, can make a powerful tea for sleeping or a baño. Eat oranges to ward off depression. Right now the apple and peach blossoms are in bloom, so make a gentle tea for nervios. Take in the evening. Flor de manita and magnolia flower leaves will put you to sleep and relax the heart.
For bilis from coraje, drink a teaspoon of olive oil with half a limon in ayunas and rub your ombligo and stomach in a clockwise direction. Estafiate can also help but it will heat you up if you make the tea too strong or if you are already in a hot condition, such as with a summer rash. You may add verbena and hinojo for a 1:1:1 ratio to relax the stomach and nerves.
Purify your bodyspirit of mal aires picked up along the marchas or caminos with a limpia of the plantas of your land.
Las plantas maestras brindan proteccion: ruda, estafiate, epazote, albácar, chuchupatle, gobernadora, pirul….to name a few.
The standard dosage for tea is 1 teaspoon of herb to one cup boiling water. See our website for previous instructions on baños.
These remedios are not for pregnant women. Anyone on medication for serious illnesses should consult a yerbera, elder or practitioner knowledgeable in these ways to ensure appropriate application.
© Column of the Americas 2006
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West Wire: Latino immigrants fueling demand for indigenous folk medicine
- MELANIE DABOVICH, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, July 31, 2004
(07-31) 07:53 PDT ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) --
Pungent, white incense smoke wisps into the air from an earthen burner as Maria de Lourdez Gonzales Avila begins a cleansing ceremony with her students.
Gently blowing the perfumed smoke on their heads, arms, legs and into their mouths, Avila aims to purify the students' minds and bodies from negative energies.
Class can now start.
Avila is a Mexican curandera, or healer, invited by the University of New Mexico to participate in a two-week course on the practice of indigenous folk medicine, also known as curanderismo, in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
A steady stream of Latino immigrants is fueling the demand for curanderismo in the Southwest. Often misunderstood as witchcraft, the practice also has piqued the interest of doctors trying to educate themselves about different ways to approach medicine and healing.
Curanderismo is a holistic, spiritual approach to medicine that uses the natural world to heal the mind, body and soul. Curanderas often prepare teas, creams and tinctures from herbs and plants and use massage therapies to treat a wide variety of ailments.
"Mexicans and Hispanics have been doing this type of medicine for centuries," said Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, vice president for student affairs at UNM who started the course. "(Curanderismo) is a mixture of knowledge and ritual and indigenous medicine. Not only is it a healing practice, it is a source of pride for Latinos. It is part of our culture."
Beyond creating plant-derived remedies, curanderas are revered in the Latino culture as people with a gift of healing and supernatural intuition. Such healers often are perceived as holding the fate of their patients in their hands, procurers of life and death.
Marco Antonio Campos Romeu, a curandero from Mexico City, will treat a baby's earache with a drop of hand-mashed garlic oil or recommend a cup of cascara sagrada tea for a patient with digestive problems.
But for psychological ailments such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety or depression, Romeu might try a combination of treatments such as incense, massage, candle rituals and sweat cleansing ceremonies.
"I don't make magic potions or anything like that. I treat people with la vida de las plantas (the life of plants) and the forces of life," Romeu said.
One of the major appeals of curanderismo and folk medicine in general is that it's cheap and accessible, especially for people in rural areas.
Elva Heredia is the founder and president of New Mexico Promotoras Al Alcance, an organization that works with the Latino migrant community in Albuquerque to explain the American health care system and services. She said many immigrants cannot afford to use Western medicine.
"There are more and more and more migrant people every year that come here and don't have insurance or money," Heredia said.
Heredia attended the UNM curandismo course so she could learn what natural remedies are effective for minor health issues, which she could then pass along to her clients.
"(Curanderismo) emphasizes for people to start at home with their health, especially for those who cannot afford the high costs of health care or hospitalization," Heredia said. "Our services reinforce to migrants that they can still practice what they are used to, their remedios (remedies), but other services are available if needed."
Curanderismo is also finding a new audience with people disillusioned with traditional Western medicine, opting instead for a more natural, personal and affordable form of treatment.
As a registered nurse for more than 30 years, Lydia Lopez Vandiver was once skeptical of alternative medicine. Now a doctor of Oriental medicine as well as a nurse, Vandiver said she realizes traditional medicine focuses on treating only the physical aspect of a person and excludes mind and spirit from the healing process.
"In Western medicine, when you go for an appointment, the doctor talks to you for a couple minutes and then gives you a pill. It's fast and incomplete," Vandiver said. "There's no connecting with the spirit, no touching or really talking to a patient. I do believe in Western medicine, but there are a lot of things we should integrate."
To promote the use of curanderismo as integrative medicine, Torres is working with Arturo Ornelas of the University of Morelos in Cuernavaca, Mexico, to bring a curanderismo training program to UNM next year. The program will incorporate aspects of both traditional medical practices and folk medicine.
Ornelas coordinates a certificate program at the Cuernavaca institute that trains curanderas with physicians for three years. The training includes modern medical techniques and medical research, as well as networking sessions with other folk healers. Ornelas said the goal of the program is to bring legitimacy to the role of curanderismo and combine the positive aspects of Western and folk medicine.
"Integrative medicine is our goal. Not to say that one is better than the other, but that they complement each other, work in synergy, to heal people. That is a fantastic concept," Ornelas said.
Yet as the interest in folk medicine grows, some medical professionals are becoming increasingly concerned that people who seek treatment from folk healers aren't getting proper care.
And because of cultural barriers, some physicians are not even aware of what curanderismo involves.
Ben Daitz, doctor and professor emeritus at UNM's Department of Community Medicine who has treated patients who also seek the help of curanderas, said people should use caution with folk medicine in the same way they do with other major health decisions.
"We have to be aware of the limits of curanderismo because there is no evidence to show that treatments are effective, and people can be mislead," Daitz said. "When using herbal remedies, people need to know when they are an effective treatment and when they are not. I worry that people who have diseases like diabetes, hypertension and arthritis are not taking proper steps to ensure proper treatment."
Gregory Gomez, IIA President, receiving teachings from Uncle M Turner. Uncle M. Turner is reminding Gregory of the medicinal, food and shelter value of berries, cactus, leaves, birds, bees, earth, water, ants, fire, trees, etc. The main thing is always remember to give thanks to Usen, put medicine down in a good way, use your teachings, don't panic, carry a knife and at least one match.
Chichimeca Ceremony for Greg Gomez in Bernal Mejico
