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If the stories of the herbs that cure all the world’s diseases were true, doctors would long ago be unemployed. However, the search for plants more effective than the medicines created in laboratories is still underway. Turmeric has the best chance of making a good hit in our first aid kits.
Medicinal plant mods change very quickly. 20 years ago, everyone grew geranium on window sills, which today is almost gone. 10 years ago, lines were lining up for vilcacora, or wolf’s claw. The plant from South America was supposed to help in the treatment of cancer, even in those whom doctors could not help. Today, at the Allegro auctions, the live-fish beats records of popularity. More and more people are also reaching for noni fruit juice, available in almost all health food stores. Those who until recently added ginger to everything, now put as much turmeric in meat and sauces as they can swallow. It is worth taking a closer look at the most fashionable plants of this season.
Featherfish (Calanchoe pinnata)
It’s been the number one hit of the last few months. On Allegro, you can buy it from over 400 sellers. In India and South America, it is considered a panacea for almost all diseases. It has thick leaves, with a structure similar to the leaves of aloe, which has settled in Polish homes for good. Like aloe, it helps heal wounds and has anti-inflammatory properties. During the Vietnam War, American doctors became interested in it when they saw how local medical personnel used viviparous juice to speed up the healing of burns and wounds. The effectiveness of live bait is in fact comparable to that of aloe and many doctors in Europe and Asia recommend it to their patients as an aid in case of chafes, wounds, insect stings, etc.
Of course, those who found out that a small plant could help regenerate the epidermis began to immediately try out the life-throwing plant for other conditions. On the websites of seedlings and even naturopaths sellers, you can find information that helps in the treatment of cancer, angina, pneumonia, cataracts and a hundred other diseases.
– In recent months, several patients have asked me about live rodents, so I have looked at all available sources and have not found any reliable studies confirming its effects – says Iwona Rutkowska, an internist. – I found only a few enthusiastic statements of American doctors, related only to the effects on the skin of cuts and insect bites.
Proposal: You can grow a livebear at home and smear small cuts with a cut leaf, or apply a poultice to the reaction of fluff or mosquito bites. However, do not count on the fact that it will fight serious infections, replace antibiotics, improve memory, strengthen the heart, heal the prostate, etc.
Rhodiola rosea (Rhodiola rosea)
This coarse plant with a rhizome that smells like roses, is sometimes called Siberian ginseng. It is also growing in Poland, incl. in the Karkonosze National Park and in the Tatra Mountains. Like ginseng root, it is supposed to increase physical and intellectual performance, stimulate concentration and eliminate fatigue. It is a component of preparations available in pharmacies for weakened people and for meteopaths. Prof. Valeria Sedlak-Vadoc, MD, Ph.D. in his works on rosary, argues that it has a protective effect on the heart. It is supposed to normalize the functioning of the adrenal glands and blood pressure, and often also restore normal levels of cholesterol, glucose and potassium in the blood. Prof. Sedlak-Vadoc, however, has been associated with one of the concerns producing dietary supplements for many years, as chairman of a team of medical advisors. Therefore, her enthusiastic opinion about the Siberian plant is not entirely convincing for many doctors.
The results of the research currently conducted by scientists from Frederiksberg University Hospital in Denmark on the effectiveness of administering rosary to patients suffering from depression, and its usefulness in the fight against stress, will certainly be objective and impartial. The results will be made public in 2011.
Proposal: Taking Rhodiola rosea as a component of combined preparations for exhausted people or meteopaths is probably completely safe. However, there are no clear results of scientific research as to its effectiveness. The good side of Rhodiola Rosea is that it is an abundant source of zinc, so side effects of taking it can be shiny hair, strong nails and smooth skin.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
It is known to Poles as an ingredient in curry seasoning and as an independent spice, much cheaper than saffron, and equally effective in giving dishes a yellow color. Sometimes you can read on the packaging that it is worth adding it to hard-to-digest dishes, because it soothes stomach discomfort. Now it turns out that its spectrum of action may be much wider. The curcuminoids contained in it are to have antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties and will soon successfully replace antibiotics. There is also much talk about its use in the treatment of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as rheumatoid arthritis. Professor Bharat Aggarwal, a biotechnologist and endocrinologist, with degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco, worked for many years for the pharmaceutical company Genentech Inc. His task was, inter alia, cultivating and observing tumor cells under various conditions. Out of curiosity, as an Indian brought up in the spirit of Ayurveda, he poured a pinch of turmeric, bought in an ordinary grocery store, on the cultured cells. The results were amazing. A few years later, Aggarwal in his research proved that curcumin can slow down the development and spread of various types of cancer cells. At the moment, researchers in several countries are testing the effects of turmeric on various types of cancer. In the US, several different projects are funded by the National Institutes of Health. The results of a study on mice, conducted at the University of Texas, showed that turmeric can inhibit cancer metastasis from the breast to the lungs and block the development of skin cancer. Another study, also in mice, found that chemotherapy with turmeric was just as powerful and effective as without the spice, but less toxic. Human testing is ongoing. The effect of turmeric on Alzheimer’s disease is also being studied. In India, significantly fewer people suffer from it than in the US or Europe. The hypothesis that the Indians owe this to turmeric, however, has not been conclusively confirmed so far, although the results of studies conducted on mice are very promising.
In India, it is common to sprinkle turmeric on bandages and dressings. International pharmaceutical concerns produce a variety of slices with this spice for the local market, because the Indians consider them the most effective.
Proposal: Turmeric is one of the best-studied plants in recent years. And even if there are no definitive human results yet, preliminary results sound promising, with most doctors stressing the absence of side effects from its use. So undoubtedly, it is worth adding it to your dishes, at least every day, of course in reasonable amounts.
Noni fruit (Morinda ci trifolia)
The juice of the tropical noni fruit is a very popular panacea for various diseases, available online and in health food stores. Thanks to the content of xeronine, which activates enzymes, it prevents cancer and repair damaged cells. So far, however, no scientific research has conclusively proven that this is the case. However, many universities are still conducting further studies on the effects of noni on the body, and some of them are financed from public funds.
It has been proven that noni contains antioxidants important in the prevention of cancer – but this is nothing special in the case of a fairly acidic fruit, and their amount in noni is comparable to that in oranges or berries, and much smaller than in garlic. Almost all fruits contain a certain amount of antioxidants!
Proposal: Xeronin, considered the most valuable component of noni, is also present in pineapples, which are much more easily available, cheaper and also used, for example, in slimming treatments. So it’s better to buy fresh pineapple in the supermarket and not risk liver damage, which was found in 2005 in several Austrian patients who regularly drink noni juice.
Text: Liliana Fabisińska
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