Ginseng, Power Herb

Posted by Beryl on Apr 22, 2009 • (1)

Ginseng is a herb that has been attributed many, many powers. Many years ago, wars were fought defending ginseng lands. These days, products still line the shelves of pharmacies, promising all sorts of things – from virility to improved brain power. Some of these claims have been scientifically substantiated, others – well, they are just [...]

Devil’s Claw – Bute Alternative?

Posted by Beryl on Apr 22, 2009 • (2)

Devil’s Claw, otherwize known as Harpagophytum procumbens, grows only in the Kalahari desert in Namibia. The roots are collected in the wild and exported all over the world, where they are extremely widely used in human as well as animal medicines. Although a great deal of controversy exists among researchers as to whether it works [...]

Echinacea

Posted by Beryl on Apr 22, 2009 • (0)

History
Echinacea has a colourful history. It was first used by American Indian tribes. Only the medicine man knew the secrets of the various plants which he would use to heal diseases. And he would only pass on these secrets to his successor when he felt himself to be near to death. So it was a [...]

Garlic – As Good as Ten Mothers

Posted by Beryl on Apr 22, 2009 • (1)

History
Garlic is one of the oldest herbs used medicinally by man. As early as 3000 BC Chinese scholars wrote of garlic.Ancient Egyptians worshipped it as a god. Garlic was of such value to them, that 15 pounds of it would purchase a healthy male slave. It was also reported that the pyramid builders went on [...]

Fattening Fenugreek

Posted by Beryl on Apr 22, 2009 • (0)

Fenugreek, with its aromatic odour and strong flavour is more commonly used in curry powders than as a medicinal herb. Looking back in history, however, it was used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians to:

prevent fevers,
comfort the stomach,
be a poultice for abscesses, boils and carbuncles,
soothe sore throats and treat colds,
cure baldness in men, and
“fatten” [...]

Kelp – friend or foe to animals?

Posted by Beryl on Apr 22, 2009 • (1)

A lot has been written about the dangers of feeding kelp (seaweed) to animals (and humans). To quote Owens & Huntington in “What’s in a Label”, seaweed contains “lots of iodine and precious little of anything else”. They warn of iodine toxicity, amongst other things.
Let me explain what nonsense that is.
Firstly, kelp contains 46 minerals, [...]