Top Ten Medicinal Plants

[Leshy]

Time to revive this amazing thread me thinks...




With Autumn around the corner and the colder nights drawing in , I'm sure some folk will find this useful...


Here's some additional information on plants that have medicinal value...


https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/hedgerow-medicine-autumn



Comfrey
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/why-you-should-be-growing-comfrey


Yarrow

https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/yarrow-and-its-medicinal-benefits

Mullein
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/read...llating-flower-unexpected-bushcraft-companion

Elder
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/medicinal-benefits-elder

Moringa
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/amazing-moringa-medicinal-edible-easy-grow

Ferns
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/medicinal-benefits-ferns

Rosehip
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/medicinal-benefits-rose-hips



👍

PS-

British Red , what an amazing herb store you got there...
Thanks for sharing

 

[acheter]

Ginger is one spice that I recommend keeping on hand in your kitchen at all times. Not only is it a wonderful addition to your cooking (especially paired with garlic) but it also has enough medicinal properties to fill several books.

Ginger is best known for its antinausea effects but also has broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-parasitic properties, to name just several of its more than 40 scientifically confirmed pharmacological actions. It is anti-inflammatory, making it valuable for pain relief for joint pain, menstrual pain, headaches, and more.

The pain-relieving potential of ginger appears to be far-reaching. Along with help for muscle and joint pain, ginger has been found to reduce the severity of migraine headaches as well as the migraine medication Sumatriptan – with fewer side effects.4

Ginger also shows promise for fighting cancer, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, asthma, bacterial and fungal infections, and it is one of the best natural remedies available for motion sickness or nausea (from pregnancy or chemotherapy, for example).

Taking one gram of ginger daily may help reduce nausea and vomiting in pregnant women, or those with migraines and ginger has been shown to work better than a placebo in relieving morning sickness.5

Ginger is also a must-have if you struggle with indigestion, and it does more than simply relieve pain. Ginger contains powerful protein-digesting enzymes and helps to stimulate the emptying of your stomach without any negative effect, and it’s an antispasmodic agent, which may explain its beneficial effects on your intestinal tract.

Many people enjoy ginger tea on a regular basis, and this is one of the simplest ways to use it. Simply chop off a couple of inches of ginger root and let it steep in hot water for fresh ginger tea. I would advise against using it daily as it can lead to an allergy and is what happened to me about twenty years ago.

You can also peel the root using a paring knife and then slice it thinly (or grate it or mince it) to add to tea or cooked dishes. You can’t go wrong by adding ginger to stir fries or even your favorite homemade chicken soup. For serious issues, a natural health care provider can help you get the maximum therapeutic benefits of ginger.

 

[Leshy]

Definitely! Ginger and garlic are very useful indeed , not just in winter .
Cheers
👍

 

[Alexa222]

Good job! But I think cinnamon is missed. It's useful for treating bronchitis and asthma. It also helps those who have cardiac disorder or fever.

 

[TeeDee]

Tumeric seems to be getting alot of interest ref stopping or limiting Alzheimers


https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=2211&pageNumber=5

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/turmeric-produces-remarkable-recovery-alzheimers-patients

 

[Janne]

Not a plant per se, just the most useful and efficient plant based medication: Charcoal.

 

[Leshy]

Tumeric seems to be getting alot of interest ref stopping or limiting Alzheimers


https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=2211&pageNumber=5

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/turmeric-produces-remarkable-recovery-alzheimers-patients

Great stuff Teedee !👍

Turmeric is also been found to be possibly a great anti carcinogen ...



More here:

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/abo...r-questions/can-turmeric-prevent-bowel-cancer


Edit: I've removed the previous statement as it was perhaps misleading.

Whilst it is a promising possibility, there is no sufficient evidence nor enough research done to confirm that it will cure or indeed entirely prevent cancer growth.

 

[Janne]

Can I just point out that there is no scientific evidence that it prevents and cures Cancer?

The research and tests done are mainly In Vitro ( test tube) and very limited. It will take years before clinical tests show if it helps or not.
But the indication is that it has some effect.

 

[Leshy]

Can I just point out that there is no scientific evidence that it prevents and cures Cancer?

The research and tests done are mainly In Vitro ( test tube) and very limited. It will take years before clinical tests show if it helps or not.
But the indication is that it has some effect.

Of course Janne , your absolutely correct , there is no evidence to show that it will definitely cure or prevent , but not all studies are in vitro .
quite a few studies and tests have shown promising results...
An excerpt...
Quote
"

A phase I clinical trial looked at giving curcumin to 25 patients with pre cancerous changes in different organs. This study seemed to show that curcumin could stop the precancerous changes becoming cancer.
...
Research has also shown that there are low rates of certain types of cancer in countries where people eat curcumin at levels of about 100 to 200 mg a day over long periods of time.
A number of laboratory studies on cancer cells have shown that curcumin does have anticancer effects. It seems to be able to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing. It has the best effects on breast cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer and skin cancer cells.

A 2007 American study that combined curcumin with chemotherapy to treat bowel cancer cells in a laboratory showed that the combined treatment killed more cancer cells than the chemotherapy alone. 

A 2007 American study in mice seemed to show that curcumin helped to stop the spread of breast cancer cells to other parts of the body.
"
End quote

👍

 

[Janne]

Of course Janne , your absolutely correct , there is no evidence to show that it will definitely cure or prevent , but not all studies are in vitro .
quite a few studies and tests have shown promising results...
An excerpt...
Quote
"

A phase I clinical trial looked at giving curcumin to 25 patients with pre cancerous changes in different organs. This study seemed to show that curcumin could stop the precancerous changes becoming cancer.
...
Research has also shown that there are low rates of certain types of cancer in countries where people eat curcumin at levels of about 100 to 200 mg a day over long periods of time.
A number of laboratory studies on cancer cells have shown that curcumin does have anticancer effects. It seems to be able to kill cancer cells and prevent more from growing. It has the best effects on breast cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer and skin cancer cells.

A 2007 American study that combined curcumin with chemotherapy to treat bowel cancer cells in a laboratory showed that the combined treatment killed more cancer cells than the chemotherapy alone. 

A 2007 American study in mice seemed to show that curcumin helped to stop the spread of breast cancer cells to other parts of the body.
"
End quote

��

Note the word 'seemed' .
Many cancers are difficult to diagnose, are 'luxury living cancers' or only occur in an aged person.
The countries where Curcumin is consumed have a very large% of a very poor population. With a very low average life expectancy. And non existent health care.
( No diagnosis of cancer done, dies of other diseases, no post mortem to put a diagnosis)

It would be interesting if a study was made in UK of the Curmerin eating population vs the non curmerin eating one.

 

[Leshy]

Fair enough, the word 'seemed' relates to one of those tests, sure it is subjective but there are the details of the American studies ... Where combined with chemo was more effective.

Good point about the study in the UK. It looks as cancer research UK are indeed very interested in these tests and are quite possibly trialing studies right now.

 

[Robson Valley]

You don't have any old people. Medicine men and medicine women to turn to.
10,000 years or more experience with the herbs of the Americas.
Match that body of experience.

My D1 is a researcher in Emergency Medicine at Stanford University.
She tells me that there's a huge list of plants which has been chopped up and each species is being researched,
sometimes with very good experimental results.

At the same time, I recall her experiences in the conduct of experimental drug trials in a hospital setting.
Those things won't see application in any of our lifetimes. Much of the issue is to find candidates that aren't
messed up with all kinds of other problems.

 

[Janne]

Chopping up plants, fungi and scraping molds have produced quite a few medicines we use today. Antibiotics, painkillers and many, many more. Mother Nature can provide us with a inimaginable wealth of compounds we can benefit from, yet we treat her like garbage.
Yes, the criteria for testing today is so stringent it is borderline ridiculous, but it can still be done in less economically favoured countries.

In the early 1980's my plutoon were babysitting a Japanese research team in the Swedish mountains. Late autumn, frosty nights. They took samples of soils and so on, including old reindeer horns. The interpreter said it was antibiotic researchers.

 

[Toddy]

In Europe, Germany in particular, herbal 'drugs' are both well researched and considered.
Search for phytopharmaceuticals and there are loads of both well researched and peer reviewed books and articles. There are also a great depth and history of their uses and contraindications.

Books like Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals….
(this is a ridiculous price, I think I paid something like forty quid for mine when it was new !)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Herbal-Drugs-Phytopharmaceuticals-Third-Wichtl/dp/0849319617

I'm not claiming that the texts from places like the Indian subcontinent aren't of value either, just that our mindset and our confidence is more comfortable with plants and reports that we are more familiar with.

M

 

[Leshy]

Additionally, to make matters more difficult and confusing, I believe the Codex Alimentarius ,and the people dictating it ,
(http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/)
are responsible for conveniently criminalising and discriminating certain plants and vitamins ,despite millennia of positive human consumption and indeed beneficial results from the use of these natural compounds, not only for medicinal purposes , but also from a nutrition perspective.

Whilst simultaneously, allowing and giving the "green light" for pesticide residues, GMO's , food additives and synthetic hormones to name but a few...

So it begs the question:

Is this effort , (the creation of such a codex ), by the F.A.O. and the W.H.O. really intended to benefit the people ?...or does it serve to line the pockets of the corporate industry?(Being it Big Pharma or the food , agriculture and bio-tech industries).

Which now brings me back on subject...

Either way, it makes me wonder if these labs and tests carried out in research centers worldwide , are really as unbiased as they should be...
After all they have to be funded...

And those funds are scarce these days, unless there are invested interests.

I'm sorry if I sound cynical , but as they say;

" if you scratch the surface of a cynic , you'll find a disappointed idealist"

and I guess that will be me ... 😒

My point is , that as the title of this thread suggests, people are slowly re-aligning themselves with the beautiful planet and all its natural composition.
The urge to be outdoors ; the wish to learn more about the environment that surrounds us and what it provides ; the return to a simpler life of times gone by; and the reach to our ancestors for lost/forgotten knowledge in all things related to plant lore and foraging , is something to be applauded and it is what brought me to Bushcraft ! ...seems that we are definitely increasing in numbers too...

👍😁

 

[Robson Valley]

That happens here = the wisdom of 10,000+ years of familiarity with the flora of the Americas has been rejected by the establishment.
Our indigenous people don't pay much attention. It's us honky white folks that miss out. Little by little, even simplistic things like Stevia
are becoming incorporated.

Haven't read it yet but there's quite a section in Ellsworth Jaeger's volume = Wildwood Wisdom, on medicinal plants.
Somewhere in my library, I have a 2cm thick volume called Medicinal Plants in Canada.
I'd rather not select any top 10 as there's a whole lot more than 10 things that can go wrong with a person.

 

[Leshy]

On another note, oregano oil is also worth a mention...

Good stuff 😉

http://m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/4274795