Cat's Claw: Nature's Medicine Cabinet, Part 2
Viana Muller, Ph.D.
In Part One of this series, I provided background on Cat's Claw, and discussed how it supports gut health and gastrointestinal issues. In this part, we’ll look at many other benefits of Cat’s Claw that make it a superstar in nature’s medicine cabinet, supporting immune health, brain performance, and the cardiovascular system, as well as fighting inflammation.
Cat’s Claw and Immune Health
The microbiome – the combination of bacteria, fungi, and viruses living in our gut and intestines – is not just about gut health. About 70 percent of our immune response takes place in the microbiome. There, Cat’s Claw’s unique combination of alkaloids and antioxidants enhance the microbiome’s ability to fight harmful pathogens that cause discomfort and prevent optimal digestion, as well as infections.
Cutting-edge research has shown Cat's Claw has significant benefits as a nutritional therapy to support healthy immune function in people with viral infections, including influenza, HIV, and even AIDS, as well as some bacterial infections. Cat’s Claw is even being studied as a potential treatment for COVID-19. (Citation: www.ncbi.gov)
Mary S., a long-time customer and fan of our company’s Royal Cat’s Claw™ tincture, reports that, after being consistently disappointed by prescription antiviral drugs, she now reaches for Cat’s Claw whenever she feels a viral cold sore developing. The good news: her cold sores disappear overnight!*
Cat’s Claw and Brain Performance
Did you know that your microbiome is also home to what’s sometimes called your “second brain,” or more formally, the enteric nervous system, or ENS?
Your ENS is a mesh-like system of more than 500 million neurons – nerve cells – that line the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the rectum. Like the brain, the ENS produces and uses neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin that affect our mood and behavior.
In the bestselling book, The Mind-Gut Connection, author Emeran Mayer, MD writes: "Every day more and more scientific literature offers evidence that disturbances of brain-gut interaction have implications for a wide array of health issues, from conditions like food sensitivities and functional GI disorders, to psychiatric disorders like depression…”
It makes sense, then, that Cat’s Claw, with its ability to support a healthy gut microbiome, can also support a healthy ENS. In fact, researchers are discovering that a healthy microbiome is directly linked to reduced rates of depression and anxiety, and improved mood, wellbeing, and cognition. Many of our customers report that regular use of our Royal Cat’s Claw™ improves their mood far better than prescription antidepressants. Carl G., a 63-year-old man who was taking Cat’s Claw to relieve constipation, asked me, “Viana, what’s this Cat’s Claw got in it? I feel so happy since I started taking it.*”
In the burgeoning field of nootropics – substances that can boost brain performance – Cat’s Claw is also getting much-deserved attention. One of the alkaloids in Cat’s Claw, Rhynchophylline, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects, helping to enhance mood, memory and cognition. Research even found that Cat’s Claw can inhibit the deposit of amyloid-beta protein in the brain – a key factor in Alzheimer’s disease. This finding led Dr. Alan Snow, a neuroscientist and Alzheimer’s researcher, to say that Cat’s Claw may be a “potential breakthrough for the natural treatment of both normal brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.*” (Citation: www.nature.com )
Cat’s Claw and Cardiovascular Health
In the U.S., heart disease is the leading cause of death, and a major cause of disability in millions of Americans. Again, Cat’s Claw shines! In various studies, Cat’s Claw has been shown to help reduce the risk of blood clots and stroke, reduce blood pressure, and improve circulation.* (Citation: www.ema.europa.eu)
Research also shows that regular use of Cat’s Claw can promote cardiovascular health by reducing C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker. CRP can predict adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, and is also considered a marker for plaque buildup and clots in our arteries.* (Citation: www.sciencedirect.com)
Cat’s Claw and Inflammation
The anti-inflammatory properties of Cat's Claw also have an impact on a variety of inflammatory conditions, including upper respiratory infections, allergies, and the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and bursitis. In his book Vibrational Healing, Richard Gerber, MD said that Cat's Claw "shows great promise for the treatment of arthritis.”
Nicole Maxwell, a renowned pioneer of botanical research, learned about Cat’s Claw from indigenous healers in Peru. In her book Witch Doctor’s Apprentice (healers and shamans were referred to colloquially as “witch doctors” at that time), Maxwell wrote about a dual cancer/arthritis patient. “I learned that a man whose lung cancer was cured by uña de gato had, after continuing dosage, found that he could walk normally and even climb stairs, even though for years he had been badly crippled by arthritis…Could it be that this plant might perhaps be giving a tremendous boost to the immune system? I couldn't think of any other way of examining the diversity of its effects, its ability to eliminate so many problems that, as far as my limited knowledge let me guess, appeared to have only one thing in common: they were all degenerative diseases…*”
Knowledgeable holistic veterinarians are even recommending smaller doses of Cat’s Claw for pets. One of our favorite testimonials came from Amelia R. “I only trust Whole World Botanicals to produce unadulterated products. As much Royal Cat’s Claw™ as we drink here, that’s important. Even my dog gets the tea in his gravy to reverse his arthritic leg pain and he is starting to walk normally again. Thank you for the work you are doing!”
