Tag Archive for: therapeutic herbs

Cat’s Claw: Nature’s Medicine Cabinet, Part 2

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When I’m not feeling well, it’s often a sore throat, a headache, a feeling of discomfort in the gut, or a mix of low energy and mental malaise. Others might have aches or a touch of arthritic pain. But these vague and common symptoms are not likely to send me – or you – running to a doctor, because doctors often just stare blankly, order various tests, and, when the test results come back, end up saying “everything is fine.” That’s why my first response is often to turn to Cat’s Claw.

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Cat’s Claw: Nature’s Medicine Cabinet, Part 1

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When I’m not feeling well, it’s often a sore throat, a headache, a feeling of discomfort in the gut, or a mix of low energy and mental malaise. Others might have aches or a touch of arthritic pain. But these vague and common symptoms are not likely to send me – or you – running to a doctor, because doctors often just stare blankly, order various tests, and, when the test results come back, end up saying “everything is fine.” That’s why my first response is often to turn to Cat’s Claw.

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Peruvian Botanicals: The Secret to a Healthy Weight

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I’m the first to admit that although I eat a mostly organic diet, avoid bread, and haven’t eaten four-legged animals in more than 40 years, I am not a poster child for healthy eating. I love ice cream, carrot cake, macaroni and cheese, and rich lemon tarts from our local French bakery. (And don’t get me started on pizza!) I’m usually successful at pulling back from these delicious foods, but not always! They are, after all, some of life’s most delightful pleasures!

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Reconnect—with a Soul Warming, Body Restoring Cup of Tea

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Tea drinking is integral to every culture and is so much more than a beverage. A cup of tea in most cultures represents relaxation, connection, and ritual — from the Japanese tea ceremony to the British cuppa.  But in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, people worldwide are reconnecting with another aspect of tea.  Tea as “root medicine” and “leaf medicine” has been essential to the lives of many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

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Love Is in the Air with Royal Maca!

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Valentine’s Day is on the way, and love is in the air! At least love is supposed to be in the air! For far too many of us, age, stress, and the environment are wreaking havoc on our hormones and preventing passion! That means there’s never been a better time to consider Maca to rev up your hormones!

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A Holiday Message for 2023

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We have chosen the king of the Peruvian rainforest as the vehicle for our holiday message—the Yanapuma, or Black Jaguar—who adorns the front cover of a new book of poetry, Poems by Elena de Nazca. This unique book of magnificent poems is by Elena Rojas Martinez, a cofounder of Whole World Botanicals.

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Desmodium: Nutritional Support for the Lungs and Free and Easy Breathing Through Nasal Passages

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Desmodium (Desmodium adscendens) is a little known but highly effective botanical native to Peru, Jamaica, Central America, and West Africa. For centuries, Desmodium has been used to support and promote lung health, ease breathing through nasal passages, and to relieve pain.

Q: What is the best herb in the world for opening the bronchial tubes in your lungs?
A: Desmodium adscendens

Q: How does it compare with Ephedra?
A: Ephedra is also good for opening the bronchial tubes but it can increase your pulse rate and raise your blood pressure.

Q: What is Desmodium adscendens traditionally used for?
A: Asthma, bronchitis, collapsed lungs, allergies, liver detoxification, to relieve back, shoulder, and knee pain, for menstrual cramps, ovarian inflammation, and pain.to name a few traditional uses.

Addy, M.E., Awumey, E.M., “Effects of the extracts of Desmodium adscendens on anaphylaxis,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1984, Aug 11 (3), 283-92.

Abstract: Desmodium adscendens, used by herbalists in Ghana for the treatment of asthma, is anti-anaphylactic in vitro. As the plant material is administered orally, in vivo studies of its anti-anaphylactic property were undertaken using the guinea-pig. The results show that both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of D. adscendens, when taken, orally, reduce anaphylactic contractions, interfere with histamine-induced contractions, and reduce the amount of smooth muscle stimulating substances released from lung tissue of guinea pigs.

McManus, OB, et. al., “An activator of calcium-dependent potassium channels isolated from a medicinal herb,” Biochemistry, 1993, June 22. 32 (24): 6128-33.

From Abstract: Large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium (maxi-K) channels play an important role in regulating the tone of airway smooth muscle and the release of bronchoconstrictive substances from nerves in the lung. Crude extracts of Desmodium adscendens, a medicinal herb used in Ghana as a treatment for asthma, inhibit binding of monoiodatyrosine charybdotoxin (1251-ChTX) to receptor sites in bovine tracheal smooth muscle membranes that have been shown to be associated with maxi-K channels. ……….This natural product is the first example of a high-affinity activator of calcium-dependent potassium channels and is the most potent known potassium channel opener.

Significance: Calcium-dependent potassium channel openers have the capacity to open the bronchial tubes and take a person out of an asthma attack in a short period of time. In Ghana, Desmodium adscendens is given to patients who appear in the emergency room of a hospital with an asthma attack. If the person is still able to swallow, strong Desmodium adscendens tea is administered, usually giving relief within a few minutes.

Can You Take Royal Maca in Combination With Birth Control Pills?

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Below is a recent exchange between one of our customers (Denise) and our co-founder, Dr. Viana Muller. Denise wanted to know if she could safely take Royal Maca ® with the birth control pills her doctor prescribed her. Please take particular note of Dr. Muller’s last response in the exchange.

Hello,

I am 41 almost 42 and have had a long period of mood swings, sleep insomnia, and PMS problems. My women’s doctor prescribed me with birth control pills. I stopped them last cycle because my anger emotions seemed to be getting worse. That left me bleeding for about 3 weeks and in severe pain. I am now on them again and want to go through the whole 3-month cycle to see if they will help this time.

But, in the meantime, I found your product. I seem to feel that I am going through menopause. My mom went through it when she was 42 also. There seems to be no help out there though unless you are much older. I have not had hot flashes, but I have had a terrible time falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night along with the severe mood swings.

My question is if I can take the Royal Maca while I am taking the birth control pills? The pills I am taking are called Seasonique.

Thanks for the help!
Denise

Denise,

It is not advisable to combine your Seasonique with Royal Maca®. If you started a few days ago, you could stop the Seasonique and start the Royal Maca ® right away. It should be excellent for the symptoms you describe which are not unusual in perimenopause. However, if you have been taking the Seasonique for a few months, you will need to be off of the Seasonique for four weeks before you start the Royal Maca ®. Meanwhile, during those 4 weeks, you can take Royal Camu ®, 3 caps or 1/2 tsp. 3 times a day AWAY FROM FOOD. Which translates 1/2 hr. before eating or 2 hrs. after eating. This should give you pretty good support for the 4 weeks until you can switch over to using the Royal Maca ®.

If you weigh 115 lbs or less or are very sensitive, you will need to start the Royal Maca ® (after 4 wks) at a dosage of one capsule daily taken with breakfast. If you weigh more and not highly sensitive, then you can take the average 2 caps a day for a woman who still has a period. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to write back with them.

Best,

Viana Muller, Ph.D.
Whole World Botanicals

Thank you for your input. That sounds good!! I think I will wait to go onto Royal Maca and will take the Royal Camu as advised after I finish a whole 3 month packed of Seasonique because last time I stopped in the middle of the package I felt awful and was bleeding for 3 weeks. I did take 1/6 tsp. of Royal Maca this morning because I was so emotional this weekend and it made me feel good. So, once I finish the Seasonique it looks like I found something I can fall back on.

Does that sound like it would work? I just felt so bad when I stopped the Seasonique that I’m afraid to stop it again in the middle of the package. I’ve been taking Seasonique for 4 weeks and I have 8 left to go.


Thanks,
Denise

Hello again!

I was wondering if I can take the Royal Camu while I am on the birth control pills. Like I mentioned earlier when I stopped taking the pills the first time, it left me in a lot of pain and bleeding for an extended period of time. So am reluctant to stop again in fear I will have those same symptoms again. I appreciate your help!

Thanks,
Denise

Yes, you can. There is no conflict at all in this combination. The problem arises from combining Royal Maca® with estrogen, phytoestrogenic herbs, such as Black Cohosh, or isoflavones of soy, or even DHEA or pregnenolone–precursors of estrogen.

But if at some point you want to switch to Royal Maca®, you will need to either switch to progesterone-only birth control pills or to stop birth control pills altogether and wait for 4 weeks. If you do this, you can increase your dosage of Royal Camu® by taking 3 times a day — either 2 or 3 caps each time. Camu-Camu provides nutritional support for reproductive system health and provides some relief from hot flashes, according to many testimonials WWB has received.

V.M.

Note

For more information on Maca root and our Royal Maca® botanicals, click here.

Featured image courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net

Royal Desmodium Provides Superior Relief of Minor and Occasional Back Pain by Taking Muscles Out of Spasm

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Desmodium (Desmodium adscendens), a rainforest plant native to Peru, Jamaica, Central America, and West Africa is also called “Strong Back Herb” in Jamaica for its ability to relieve back pain and neck pain. Royal Desmodium™ takes all muscles out of spasm – including the smooth muscles of the lungs (useful in asthma attacks) and the smooth muscles of the uterus (helpful for menstrual cramps). It also promotes a healthy inflammation response and speeds healing of injuries to knees, shoulders and other joints and tendons of the body. Most of the research on this herb has been performed in Ghana and it is a well known West African herb. In Peru, it is known as Amor Seco or Pega Pega.

There is false information on the Internet which erroneously claims that Desmodium adscendens is also known as Manayupa.  Manayupa is the common name for Desmodium molliculum, which grows in the Andes – and which is often confused with its stronger more effective rainforest “cousin”, Desmodium adscendens.  Desmodium molliculum does not take muscles out of spasm in the dramatic way that Desmodium adscendens does.

Since Whole World Botanicals began offering this herb to our customers, Royal Desmodium™ has become famous in certain circles of martial artists and bodybuilders who seem to frequently injure themselves!

Here is what one of our customers has had to say about his experience with Royal Desmodium™ Strong Back Support.

“I have always been a very athletic person. Over the years, I have suffered a lot of sports injuries. Now when I play racquetball, I get a lot of knee pain and it takes me about a week to recover. A few months ago, my wife got me to try Whole World Botanicals’ Royal Desmodium Strong Back Support™. I take 2 squirts three times a day the day I play and within 36 hours, my knees feel fine!” *

–Mari B., Miami, Florida, age 29

Featured image courtesy of Pexels.com

A Holiday Message for 2021

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Viana Muller and Elena Rojas-Martinez, Co-founders, and the entire staff of Whole World Botanicals, wish you a blessed holiday season and a new year filled with abundant health and prosperity.

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