If I were stuck on a desert island with my choice of one herb to fight cold sores, I would have to choose evening primrose oil. Among its many healing properties, evening primrose oil contains essential fatty acids similar to essential amino acids that cannot be manufactured by the body. Evening primrose supports the immune system and helps reduce inflammation.
Evening primrose may help fight the progression of the herpes virus by boosting the immune system. It has been helpful for a variety of other diseases as well, including allergies, asthma, hormone imbalance, multiple sclerosis, obesity, skin and hair problems, eczema, and hyperactivity in children.
Cold sores, otherwise known as fever blisters, are the result of the herpes virus, known as herpes simplex. Cold sores usually show up on or around the lips, and can even show up on the nose or face. The ailment is painful and unsightly—and is highly contagious. The virus lives in the body and manifests itself only when we are under stress and have a lowered immune system. Fighting the herpes virus needs to be approached from the inside, although external application will help the area heal after the virus has been fought.
Prevention is the best remedy for this ailment. Many factors can trigger cold sores, including an imbalance of amino acids or a lack of l-lysine (an essential amino acid provided in foods), too much stress, and overexposure to sun. To protect yourself, always wear a sunscreen on your face and lips when outdoors, and keep it on continuously. Some trigger foods that can cause an outbreak include almonds, peanuts, citrus fruits, and chocolate. Also keep your immune system up by getting rest. If cold sores are reoccurring, find out why your immune system is so low, and deal with that problem.
Fighting a cold using combinations will show quicker results. Echinacea mixed with golden seal makes an excellent formula, and rose hips contain vitamin C, known for its power to boost the immune system. A good synergistic combination to fight off cold symptoms includes rose hips, chamomile (calms), yarrow, golden seal, myrrh, peppermint, sage, slippery elm (also eases sore throat), lemon grass, capsicum (stimulates), yerba santa, mullein, and astragalus.
Of course, good old garlic is always a good remedy anytime your immune needs a boost. Throat lozenges with zinc, licorice root, vitamin C, and slippery elm also are helpful for coughs and sore throats.
Begin using any or all of these remedies after exposure to anyone contagious. Drink plenty of water to help your body flush out the cold, stay warm, and try a sweat bath.
Echinacea (Echinacea augustifolia, or Echinacea purpurea) is a flower that has been discovered to be a mild healer and an excellent support herb for cold and flu symptoms.
Different types of echinacea are available, and some are not useful in fighting a cold. Try to obtain echinacea purpurea, which is more effective than Echinacea angustifolia. Echinacea helps boost your body’s white blood cells, which are important in fighting infection. Echinacea works somewhat mildly in the body, so you might have to take it often. You can take two capsules every two to four hours when fighting off a cold. Echinacea also has an affinity for the respiratory system and helps to dry up a runny nose. This herb is safe for both adults and children.
A good way to support eliminating dissolved cholesterol from the body is by taking a fiber supplement daily with your guggul. Psyllium hulls, apple pectin, and oat bran are all excellent fiber supplements alone or in combinations to help absorb fat and remove it from the body via the intestinal tract. Then speed up the process with a couple capsules of cascara sagrada at bed time each night. This will increase the bowel’s peristaltic action and help to push out all that grabbed fat by morning. Furthermore, capsicum sprinkled on foods in place of salt will boost circulation and encourage arterial cleansing. Some osteopathic doctors will offer chelation therapy or can provide a good reference for you. Chelation therapy is a practice administered intravenously to strip built-up fat from arterial walls. Keeping the bowel clear to make room for the harmful fat to leave the body will speed recovery; the use of fiber supplements will help this along.
Guggul (Commiphora mukul) is a plant resin extract found in India that contains properties similar to niacin and fish oils—it supports and cleans the circulatory system. Some have described guggul lipid as the most powerful cholesterol-lowering herb known. It is best to try to find a standardized product to ensure that the beneficial part of the plant (guggulsterones) are present in each pill. Once the guggul cleanses the fat from your arteries, you will need to help your body eliminate the fat. Let’s see what other herbs you can use to support this process.
Basically, having a high cholesterol level means that you have a lot of fat in the blood. When the fat begins to adhere to the walls of your arteries, this can lead to hardening of the arteries, or coronary artery disease—and that can give you a heart attack. The good news is that plenty of great herbs can help emulsify that blood fat and protect you from heart diseases.
Eating too much saturated fat, such as deep fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses, and other dairy products, can sometimes cause high cholesterol. The liver is responsible for synthesizing all this fat and can use some support and cleansing. Stress also has been found to be a factor in raising blood cholesterol levels, too.
Once the battle is over, the healing can begin. You will need to rebuild your body after the destruction so that you can maintain your health and live preventatively. Hopefully you will have added the good things to your diet and lifestyle that have helped you win and recover, and it will serve you to keep those good habits for prevention for the rest of your life.
Maintaining your health with nutrients such as alfalfa (rich in minerals), bee pollen (nourishment for the body), antioxidants, acidophilus, enzymes, and red clover will keep your good cells strong and will serve as your preventative program.
Chemotherapy is a radical chemical therapy that kills cancer cells in the body. The bad news is that it kills good cells, too—you can think of it as a big bomb being dropped on the battlefield. Chemotherapy can make some people very ill and can even make hair fall out. Consider using herbs to do your best to protect your body from the side effects of chemotherapy, and discuss these things with your doctor also. Some controversy has arisen about antioxidants during chemotherapy.
Some believe that the antioxidants will lessen the effect of the chemo by removing it from the body. I believe that anything that you can do to protect the good cells that you have will strengthen you. You will have to discuss this with the health care professionals you work with and must make up your own mind. Bee pollen and coenzyme Q10, have also been used to help combat the side effects of chemotherapy treatment. Talk to some folks who have gone through chemotherapy using antioxidants with success, and see what you think.
Eating 10 raw almonds a day has also been recommended for folks with cancer. Eat them between meals to help balance blood sugar level. Because the cancer-fighting battle is a serious one, you are going to have to use more than just one herb or supplement to boost your immunity, cleanse the body, bring oxygen into the cells and balance the hormones. Best combinations are listed in the chart at the end of this chapter and include other blood cleansers such as pau d’arco, a bowel stimulator such as cascara sagrada, and a combination called Essiac formula or tea. Essiac formula is a Native American formula used to fight cancer. It was passed down from the Cherokee tribe to a Canadian nurse in the early 1920s and was used successfully by hundreds over the years. (“Essiac” is the nurse’s name spelled backward.) Some refer to this tea as “E tea.”
Other supplements that can aid you in your fight include all the antioxidant vitamins that help fight free radical damage. Some antioxidant vitamins and supplements include vitamins E and C, beta carotene, grape seed, pine bark extract, zinc, shark cartilage, reishi mushroom, germanium, food enzymes, acidophilus, and fish oil lipids known as Omega-3 oils or Omega-3 fatty acids. These are designed to help your body digest proteins (many people with cancer have poor protein assimilation), cleanse the bowel, and build immunity. In addition, it is imperative to eat primarily organic fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers found on non-organic foods can only add to your enemy cells. Take the energy required for digesting solid foods, and juice your organic fruits and veggies. Your body can utilize the extra energy to get well.
If your cancer is hormonally induced (involving the reproductive organs), it is a good idea to stay away from animal products unless they are organic. The hormones given to non-organic cows and chickens can be passed on to you through their flesh or products, and this can unbalance your own hormones. That’s not to mention that the pesticides put in the feed for these animals could be lingering in the animal products you ingest. Soy products contain substances that block receptor sites for hormones and may help balance your own hormonal levels. See your physician or holistic practitioner before you begin a soy supplement.
Complementary help includes bowel cleansing. You can administer your own enemas at home or see a colonic irrigation specialist. Laughter also is good medicine. Watch uplifting movies and read inspirational books, and avoid negative situations while you are battling cancer—or at any time, for that matter!
The thymus gland, a butterfly shaped gland that sits at about the top of the breastbone at the bottom of the throat, is responsible for making immunity cells.
Tapping this area with your fingers is called thymus thumping and may help stimulate T-cell production.
A myriad of herbs and supplements exist to boost your immune system and detoxify the system. For simplicity’s sake, I have had to choose a best single herb for each ailment. In this case, it would have to be red clover.
The purplish flowers of this common clover plant have been used medicinally to cleanse the blood, liver, and lymphatic system. Red clover is a tonic and is believed to help cancer patients because of its ability to aid protein assimilation. Red clover is rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin C, and magnesium.
Red clover is an excellent blood cleanser and is used for a host of ailments, including acne, athlete’s foot, bronchitis, leukemia, psoriasis, skin cancer, skin diseases, and whooping cough.
