HERBS AND THEIR USE IN NUTRITIONAL BALANCING SCIENCE

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

Ó February 2010, The Center For Development

Herbs and herbal medicine have been used by mankind for literally thousands of years. For most of man’s history, herbs were the main form of medical care, and this remains the case in many less developed nations of the world. I lived in Mexico for five years, and herbal medicine was far more accepted and used throughout the country. It was the main form of medical care for most of the people, since drug medicine is far more costly and often less effective.

In America, and to some degree in Europe, herbal medicine has been outlawed, meaning it is not part of mainstream medical care and its use is not permitted in hospitals and most clinics today. This was a deliberate move by the AMA and its friends that took place between 1910 and 1920, with the advent of medical licencing laws that favored the allopaths, or drug doctors, and shut out the herbalists, nutritionists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and other types of healers in America. This was a sad time for American health care, which is now a disaster thanks to the exclusion of these competing systems of medical care.

Some will assert that herbs were rejected by doctors because they were dangerous or ineffective. Nothing could be further from the truth. They were shut out because they are not patentable, as are drugs. This means they will be inexpensive and no company can make a large profit from them, as they can with patented drugs. However, drugs are almost universally far more dangerous and toxic. Statistics from US poison control centers every year confirm that herbal and nutritional products are amazingly safe, while deaths and disabilities from over-the-counter and prescription drug use runs in the tens of thousands or more each year.

Having said this, nutritional balancing employs few herbs. The reasons for this are the following:

1. Nutritional balancing depends upon delicate balancing of the oxidation rate and major mineral ratios. Dr. Paul Eck found he could do this more easily with vitamins, chelated minerals and other newer products such as adrenal or thymus glandular products. Herbs appear less easy to regulate in the same way, as their potency often varies, and perhaps because people’s reactions to the herbs may vary as well.

2. Today problems with the quality of herbs is another issue. Many, we find, are either ineffective or toxic. Be especially careful with Chinese and East Indian or Ayurvedic herbs. We find repeatedly that even the best brands contain too many toxic metals. Please do not use these on an ongoing basis, and use only for short-term use, if at all.

3. Many herbs are slightly toxic, or they would be classified as foods. Nutritional balancing focuses on renourishing the body. While herbs can do this to some degree, their toxic qualities always interfere with the ultimate balancing and healing of the body.

4. Excellent quality herbs are often costly. We make every effort to keep the cost of programs reasonable, so this can be a problem with some herbal products.

5. Most herbs are very yin, especially when extracted and mixed with alcohol or glycerin.

6. Herbal medicine is extremely complex. This is not a critique in any way. It is simply a statement of fact. Nutritional balancing is meant to be simple, in theory.

7. Not enough is known about herbs for nutritional balancing programs. As more is researched, most likely more will be used. Dr. Paul Eck preferred to err on the cautious side, and we honor his decision in light of the concerns above. However, herbs represent a great potential that will likely be tapped in the future.

HERBS THAT ARE HELPFUL AND THOSE TO BE AVOIDED

Herbs that I suggest could be used with nutritional balancing at this time. These are to be used only 1) in occasional teas and drinks, 2) to sprinkle on food for flavoring in small quantity, and 3) as directed using a hair mineral analysis.

They are acacia gum, adder’s tongue, agar, alfalfa, aloe vera, angelica root, anise, ash tree, astragalus, balm of gilead, baptisia or wild indigo, barberry, bayberry, bay leaves, bee pollen, bet root, birch, bittersweet, blackberry, black radish and all radishes, black walnut, bladderwrack, blessed thistle, bloodroot, blue cohosh (but not black cohosh), blue vervain, boneset, borage, buchu, burdock root, calamus root, calendula, camphor, capsicum, caraway, cardamom, cassia oil, cayenne, cedar berries, celery root, chamomile, chia seeds, chickweed, cinnamon, cloves, coltsfoot, comfrey, coriander or cilantro to eat but not extracts, corn silk, cranberry, culvers root, cumin, daikon, dandelion leaves and roots, devil’s claw, dill, dong quai, dulse, echinacea, elder flowers, eleuthero, eucalyptus, eyebright, fennel, fenugreek, feverfew, flax, fu-sho oil, garlic, geranium, ginger, gingko biloba, goldenrod, green magma, gum Arabic, hawthorn berries, hops, horehound, horseradish, horsetail and huckleberry leaf.

Others are hydrangea, hyssop, Irish moss, jojoba oil, juniper berries, kelp, lady’s slipper, lapacho, lavender, lemon balm, lemon grass, lily of the valley, linseed oil, maple, marigold, marshmallow root, milkweed, milk thistle, motherwort, mugwort, mullein, mustard, myrrh, nettles, nutmeg, oat straw, Oregon grape root, pansy, parsley, passion flower, peach, pennyroyal, peppermint, periwinkle, plaintain, pleurisy root, poke, poplar, prickly pear cactus, psyllium, pygium, pyrus communis, radishes (black, white, red, Russian, Spanish and other), raspberry, red clover, red sage, rhubarb, rose, rosehips, rosemary, rue, safflower, sassafras, saw palmetto, senna, shave grass, shepherd’s purse, skunk cabbage, slippery elm, sorrel, spearmint, squaw vine, St. John’s wort, strawberry leaves, suma, sumach berries, sweet basil, tansy, thuja, thyme, tiger balm, turkey rhubarb, turmeric, unicorn root, uva ursi, valerian, violet leaves, watercress, watermelon seeds, wheat grass juice, white oak bark, white willow, wild cherry bark, wild lettuce, wild yam, wintergreen, witch hazel, wood betony, wood sage, wormwood, yarrow, yellow vervain, and yucca.

Herbs to avoid. Equally important are herbs and other products to definitely avoid, except for short-term or emergency use. These include all chelators such as high-dose alginates, bugleweed, cilantro extracts, chlorella, pectins, spirulina and yellow dock. The problem with all chelators is they remove small amounts of vital minerals. This would not be a problem if people were well-nourished. However, very few are well-nourished today and creating more mineral deficiencies worsens their health.

Others to avoid for best results at this time are aconite, agrimony, astragalus in formulas, belladonna, bentonite and all clays, cascara sagrada, catnip, ephedra, gotu cola, all ginseng, golden seal, grapefruit seed extract, licorice root, lobelia, lomatium, mistletoe, mandrake root, olive leaf extract, oregano extract, peppers (most), and rauwolfa.

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