Philippine Medicinal Plants

By Mary Welty

Dandelion
(Taraxacum Officinale)

Medicinal Part: Plant

Description: The dandelion is a perennial plant found, to the dismay of many, almost everywhere.

Properties and Uses: Aperient, Cholagogue, diuretic, stomachic, tonic. Dandelion has two particularly important uses: to promote the formation of bile and to remove excess water from the body in edemous conditions resulting from liver problems. The root especially affects all forms of secretion and excretion from the body. By acting to remove poisons from the body, it acts as a tonic and stimulant as well.1

I was in my early teens before I discovered that most people considered the dandelion a weed. All I remember is being rousted out of bed extra early on Sunday mornings to collect dandelion leaves in the park, before the sun dried the dew from the leaves. “Only pick the leaves without flowers,” my Godmother would remind us. Dandelion was invariably the main ingredient in the salad for Sunday night dinner.

(more…)

By Luella May

So many health products for sale! So much money to be spent! Yet, in your kitchen, you may have just what you need to give you optimum health. Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey. It is important to note that they must both be organic and raw. The modern types that you buy in the grocery store will not work, as all the healing elements have been removed. Did you know that this little combination will take care of a variety of health problems? I will give my disclaimer now. If you are ill or have a chronic condition, don’t stop taking your medication abruptly. Take the apple cider vinegar tablets together with your medication and notice how much better you feel. There are various ways to do this. You may mix two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, together with two teaspoons of honey in a glass of water and drink this three times a day. Some people love it and say that it is quite a refreshing drink. I do not share that opinion, so I opt to take the tablets. Whichever route you decide to take, remember, they must be organic. Do not get the watered down commercial brand.

I first discovered an advertisement about apple cider vinegar and its health benefits, not even a month after I lost my mother. I had cared for her for four years and it had worn me down emotionally and physically. Where once upon a time I came first and she sacrificed for me, life had done a backward flip and now she came first and I sacrificed for her. Therefore, many of my health concerns went unattended. No, I would not advise anyone to sacrifice in this way, but when faced with the position of full time caregiver, this is so very easy to do. You tend to forget about yourself, fully intending to take care of yourself later . . . and later . . . . and later . . . . .By the time mother died, I had asthma, for which I was taking a variety of inhalers, sinus headaches, Osteoarthritis, so bad in my hips that it was extremely difficult to go up two steps. I have always been wary of prescription medicine, so I never asked for the latest miracle pills on the market. After several of them being taken off the shelves, I am most glad that I didn’t.

(more…)

By Jason Montag

Chelation therapy has always been a major topic of debate and now there is an added problem. Oral chelation therapy has taken the chelation therapy procedure to a whole new level and replacing the injected EDTA with a pill form of EDTA. Some of the same people that arenot supporters of chelation therapy are also not believer in oral chelation therapy. The difference is that there are some supporters of traditional chelation therapy that do not buy into the oral chelation therapy idea. Actually these same people have some theories of why oral chelation therapy is actually harmful to the human body. We will go into the basics of their argument for you to use as a basis for your further investigation.

Scientists say that the human body only absorbs five percent of the EDTA that is taken orally leaving about ninety five percent of the EDTA in the body. The huge amount of EDTA consumed form oral chelation therapy can stick around and mix with the undigested food and continue to absorb the nutrients from the food like copper, zinc and chromium. The more the EDTA absorbs the less the body has access to absorb. The lack of these nutrients can lead to a body’s deficiency and lead to further problems. This can be a compelling argument against oral chelation therapy still many people and doctors are believers.

(more…)