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FOX News Health Column » The Medicine Hunter
Chris Kilham writes a weekly wellness column for FOX News Health as The Medicine Hunter. This activity with FOX provides an opportunity to reach a lot of people and puts Medicine Hunter in position to play an influential role in advancing the conversation about medicinal plants. The FOX News Health site gets over one million unique visits daily. We truly appreciate your comments and shares from the FOX site — your show of support for this work makes a real difference in spreading the word. You can also "LIKE" Fox News Health on Facebook.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, according to the American Pain Foundation. That’s a lot of pain. And that adds up to a lot of drug use, notably the category called NSAID’s, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), diclofenac (Voltaren) and Celebrex belong to this class of drugs. These drugs are designed to inhibit activity of what is known as the COX2 enzyme, a...
Sunday, May 8, 2011
It’s spring, and the trees are greening, the birds are chirping, and the days are longer and warmer. It’s time to shed the darkness and slower pace of winter, and to invigorate yourself for the warm season ahead. In other words, It’s time for some spring detox, to pep up the body’s organ systems and to clear out the metabolic debris that has gathered in your body over the past few months.
Detoxification can be a lengthy process involving fasting...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Don Alejandro the shaman shakes a rattle stick, provoking a sensuous cascade of clicking sounds. He chants softly in the Peruvian night, invoking spirits to assist in healing and enlivening our small group. About 12 of us sit outside on the grass of my friend Sergio’s lawn. In the neighborhood roosters are crowing, and dogs bark next door for a time. Two blocks away, Pacific ocean surf is pounding the beach at Chorillos. Alejandro has a blanket...
Saturday, April 2, 2011
If Manaus is the gateway to the Brazilian Amazon, the herbal shops at the municipal market are essential attractions. At the bustling Mercado Antonio Lisboa, marble floors are worn down by a century of footprints. The medicine shops deliver a variety of medicinal barks, leaves and roots. Among the herbal treasures displayed there are legendary sex-enhancers.
Even before visiting Manaus, I had learned that the use of catuaba and muirapuama...
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Recent events in Japan, with the earthquake, the tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear reactor crisis, have made all of us much more aware of the potential for exposure to excess environmental radiation. And while at this point in time we have not seen a Chernobyl-scale disaster in Japan, the scenario there is still dicey and a day-to-day emergency. At this point in time, we do not know how this will go. We may or may not see a large number of...
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Most of the time when people think of super fruits or healing plants, they don’t tend to think of bananas. Yet bananas are powerhouses of protective ingredients, and are especially good for mind and mood. As Hippocrates said so famously, “let your food be your medicine.” With that in mind, let’s explore the medicinal benefits of bananas.
For starters, bananas are rich in natural fiber. As most people are aware, Americans typically get too little...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
According to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, approximately 10 percent of Americans are taking antidepressant medications.
This means that over 31 million Americans are gobbling Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Elavil, Norpramin, Luvox, Paxil, Wellbutrin and other antidepressant psychiatric drugs like M & M's. This drug use accounts for billions of dollars in pharmaceutical sales annually (9.6 U.S. billion in 2008).
Yet...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The great Amazon rainforest is both the most bio-diverse place on Earth, and the largest natural pharmacy. Many hundreds of Amazonian native remedies have been well documented and studied.
Among them, one of the very most popular is chuchuhuasi (Maytenus krukovii), a very large canopy tree, whose bark has been used as a general remedy for many centuries. Shamans, medicine men and women commonly employ chuchuhuasi for both curative and...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Yes, it has a strange name. No, you most likely haven’t heard of it before. And yes, it is definitely a fruit you need to know. It’s Gac fruit (Momordica cochinchinensis), a strange and beautiful red fruit originating from Vietnam, where it is harvested in December and January. The fruit is cultivated throughout Southeast Asia and China, often as an ornamental plant due to its magnificent color. Also known as Chinese bitter cucumber, cundeamor...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
We breathe every single minute of every day, and without breathing we cannot live.
But as is the case with all parts of the body, often people experience difficulty breathing fully, due to impaired sinuses. Also known as the paranasal sinuses, our sinuses are connected to our nasal cavities, and include the maxillary, frontal, ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses. When we have a cold or allergies, the sinuses become inflamed, the sinus tissues swell and...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
There has been some buzz lately in the medical/science community about an article published in last year's issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, which announced findings that novel lectins found in bananas may help to prevent the transmission and spread of HIV.
The study, originating from the University of Michigan, suggests that eventually many lives may be saved as a result of the development of Ban Lec, a concentrated extract of...
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
True healing puts into order the body, mind and spirit with the past, present and future. What kind of agent or method or formula or treatment can help to effect such sweeping, integrated healing? I offer for your consideration ayahuasca, a psychoactive potion indigenous to the Amazon rainforest. Made from the vine Banisteriopsis caapi (called caapi) and the leaf Psychotria viridis, (known as chakruna) ayahuasca is considered among natives in...
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Cold season has officially arrived, with coughing, sinus congestion, and the dullness that colds impart. Fortunately, natural cold remedies can help you to beat colds more quickly, and reduce the severity of symptoms. Here are a few of my favorite remedies, which are free of side effects.
1. Fresh Ginger root
Spicy and inexpensive, fresh ginger root is my all-time favorite pick for cold care. Buy ginger fresh (organic is preferred), and cut a...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The holidays are upon us, and we are in that period when we tend to eat a bit more, drink a bit more, and perhaps take a break from regular exercise. There are gatherings and parties, and it’s easy to get caught up in all the festivity. At the same time, as we eye the New Year, we often turn our minds to ways that we can live in healthier ways.
Here are some healthy holiday gift ideas that not only may be more fun than giving yet another...
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News Health and I now have an official tradition that’s two years old. We get together around the holidays and drink cocktails. So what’s a big deal, right? Most people do the same. Our challenge, though, is to add ingredients that make the cocktails a bit healthier. All the usual caveats remain in place.
The Rules: drink responsibly, don’t drink and drive, and never drink and talk politics. After that, it’s time to get...
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Long ago in another period of my life, I lived in a communal household. My housemates and I practiced yoga together, ate natural foods, and learned how to cook, plant an organic garden and make bread together. We had a greenhouse, and we milked our own goats. For a while, I even learned to tend bee hives and collect honey. It was a lively and mind-opening experience. In that household, I learned to use spices and seasonings of all kinds. One of...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Recently I spent time in Napo Province, in the beautiful South American country of Ecuador. I was there to study two plants, one of which is a relatively unknown tea called guayusa. Guayusa enjoys a history of use among some native tribes in Ecuador, notably the Jivaro tribe. Among the Jivaro, the drinking of guayusa is a daily event and a morning ritual.
Historically the Jivaro would rise early, make a fire, boil a pot of guayusa leaves, drink...
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Varicose veins are basically veins that bulge. Varicose veins on legs are most common, but hemorrhoids are also varicosities. And while advanced varicose veins may need to be dealt with surgically, there is herbal treatment for mild to moderate cases, in the form of horse chestnut.
Native to the central Balkan peninsula, horse chestnut is a large deciduous tree up to 100 feet tall, with smooth gray bark which becomes scaly with age. The seeds...
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Have you ever stood in the produce aisle of a supermarket, wondering how hot the chili peppers are? Are they mild? Are they blistering hot? How can you tell? There are many varieties of hot chili peppers, some long and some short, some green and some red. Which ones will add just the right amount of spice? Which ones will have you dialing 911?
With more than a quarter of the world’s population consuming hot chili peppers on a daily basis, there’...
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Recently I traveled to the South American country of Ecuador, where I continued a long-time passion, investigating cocoa. This has been a subject of great interest to me, and I wanted to see for myself the legendary cocoa plantations of Esmeraldas Province in Ecuador, where some of the world’s finest cocoa beans originate. Many people involved in the cocoa trade consider the fine beans of Esmeraldas as some of the most flavorful and aromatic of...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Recent studies show that saffron may play a valuable role in delaying mental decline in cases of Alzheimer’s disease.
But before I get to those studies, here's a little background on saffron: The world’s most expensive spice by weight, saffron is the stigmas of a variety of crocus flower. Stigmas are thread-like female reproductive parts of the flower. In the case of saffron, the stigmas are brilliant red or orange, and have been used since...
Thursday, October 28, 2010
On May 13, 1957, an article on the cover of Life Magazine written by a vice president of the Wall Street banking firm J.P Morgan ignited the psychedelic revolution.
In 1955, R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina, journeyed to southern Mexico, where they encountered a native woman named Maria Sabena, who conducted sacred ceremonies employing hallucinogenic mushrooms. The first non-natives known to participate in these rituals, the Wassons were...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Life is just plain bizarre. It’s hard enough earning a living and making our way in the world, without failing mandatory drug tests when you haven’t done any drugs to warrant the result. I’m talking about eating poppy seeds and hemp foods. Yes, they can indeed cause you to fail a drug test. This does not happen often, but it does in fact occur from time to time.
A recent Pennsylvania case involves new mother Elizabeth Mort, who failed a drug...
Friday, October 15, 2010
By now, pretty much everyone has heard of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the mysterious and widespread disappearance of vast numbers of bees. In 2006, U.S. beekeepers sounded the alarm that they were witnessing tremendous declines in bee populations. Worker bees were abandoning their hives en masse and simply vanishing, leaving queen bees and young bees behind. Only a very few were found dead near hives. By this point the situation is very bad...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Recently my wife Zoe and I stopped into a place called Buck Nuts, in Saco, Maine, which is close to where we spend vacation time and weekends in the summer. The sign on the outside of the store confused me a bit and I wondered if perhaps everything in there cost a dollar. It didn’t. But what we discovered was an extensive selection of nut mixes of all types, from sweet to salty to spicy. I was impressed to find such a place in little Saco....
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Dear readers – even as you peruse this article, I am in the North African country of Morocco, in the ancient city of Marrakech. I am attending a conference called IFEAT (International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades). I was asked to attend and speak at this conference by my largest client, Naturex, for whom I do a lot of plant exploration around the globe. Naturex buys herbs in huge quantities, and then makes extracts of those...
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Click on image above to read this story on Fox News Health.
Today the most popular use for Devil’s claw root is to relieve arthritis. There are no known negative side effects or drug interactions associated with Devil’s claw. We like Standardized Devil's Claw Capsules, by Nature's Way.
Even healthy, active people will experience joint and muscle pain due to exertion and aging. Enter devil’s claw to the rescue. Devil’s claw root is the common...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
As a medicine hunter, I travel the world in search of cures, plant-based therapeutics for a variety of health needs. About six times per year, I plan a research trip, usually to some far-flung land. My investigations in the field have led to heightened awareness of a variety of beneficial plants such as kava and maca and noni and tamanu, which are now popular herbal supplements, and to some candidates for new drug development.
Believing that...
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A large percentage of the American population is overweight, and many people sincerely wish to be slimmer. Fat is a national obsession, and marketers of everything from breakfast cereal to carbonated beverages to books want a piece of the overweight pie. The struggle to achieve or maintain a desired weight is fraught with fad diets, crash diets, diet pills of every description, and ten thousand contradictory recommendations. And while there is...
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The tale of hot chili peppers is one of jumping from plant to pot, one nation after another. Though we do not know exactly when chilies were first discovered, approximately 10,000 years ago appears to be a pretty safe bet. Chilies were among the very first crops cultivated in the Americas, somewhere around 4000 B.C. Seeds found south of Mexico City date native pepper use there around 7000 B.C., while seeds found in northern Peru show chili use...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
This is a story that circulates anew every few years, concerning nutmeg used as a recreational drug. Yes, I’m talking about nutmeg the common kitchen spice. Originally from Indonesia, nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is widely cultivated in the tropics, notably in the Caribbean, the island of Grenada, Indonesia, and India’s Kerala Province on the Arabian sea. I have seen nutmeg growing in the South Pacific and on the exotic island of Penang, and it...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I recall eating pomegranate as a kid, figuring out the best way to get the firm, juicy fruit off of the super-abundant seeds. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to tour much of Morocco’s countryside and to meet many people who work with medicinal and beneficial plants. One day several hours outside of Casablanca, I was touring through a pomegranate orchard. There I saw, for the first time, this fruit that has recently captured the...
Monday, August 9, 2010
Are they confused in Washington, D.C., or just deceptive? That is the burning question. You be the judge. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency “The FDA noted “that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use.” This statement was released to the general public after the Feds...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
During the years 1573 to 1578, a German physician named Leonhardt Rauwolf traveled throughout Turkey, Syria and Persia. Along the way he noted the use of various plants, and collected numerous specimens. Rauwolf wrote an account of his travels in which he was the first Westerner to describe coffee, which made him feel “curiously animated.” Rauwolf’s comments on coffee stirred interest in the beverage among Europeans, who looked to...
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A small red Chinese berry once obscure in other parts of the world has made its way into the US and European markets. That berry is goji. Also known as Chinese Wolfberry, goji is a nutritious snack and a widely used agent in traditional Chinese medicinal formulas for overall health and vitality, liver detoxification, and for improving eye health. The botanical name of goji is Lycium barbarum, and the bush from which this berry derives is...
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Even people who are in good physical condition can suffer joint pain, and many adults wind up with osteoarthritis. Often, these people use over-the-counter or prescription anti-inflammatory drugs. But there is an alternative, called boswellia.
Boswellia refers to the resin of various species of Boswellia, which are shrubs and small trees native to the Red Sea region, northeastern Africa, and the mountains of central India. The gummy resin of...
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Indian subcontinent offers a spectacular wealth of health-enhancing plants, and my job is to find them. Last year while medicine hunting in the land of Ayurveda, India’s traditional system of medicine, I came upon Jeevani, which means "source of life"; I was traveling with an Indian scholar named Ramakrishna when we made our way to the little town of Palode, almost at the very southernmost tip of India. There we visited a spectacular...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
If you have paid attention to the news lately, then you know that there is a lot of buzz about coffee and its possible protective effects against Alzheimer’s disease. But I have concerns that this information is being reported incorrectly.
A study published in 2002 in the European Journal of Neurology followed 54 men over a 20 year period, and found that those who drank coffee had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease than those who did not drink...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Perhaps you feel nervous or anxious some or all of the time, but just don’t want to take drugs to calm yourself down. If you wish to allay your nervousness without becoming dependent or suffering unwanted effects, you can turn to Passion flower, or Passiflora incarnata. Also known as May apple, this traditional remedy for calming nerves enjoys a long history of safe use, a very significant body of science regarding its compounds, and human...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
When I first began studying herbs in 1970, pretty much the entire herbal category was spurned, ridiculed, and marginalized by medical experts and by the media. People who favored natural healing were fruits, nuts and flakes. Real medicines, or pharmaceuticals, were credible and tested, whereas herbs were anachronistic and untested- possible even unsafe. We have come a very long way since then. Today studies on herbs show up in medical and...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
By the time this article is posted, I will be high up in the Andes mountains of Peru working with maca, a plant I have focused on for over 12 years. It seems fitting, then, to share some information about maca with you.
Maca, Lepidium meyenii , is the only cruciferous plant native to Peru. The cruciferous plants include rapeseed (the source of canola oil), radish, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, Chinese cabbage, mustard, garden...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
By the side of a rutted, muddy road up the Rio Aguaytia in the Peruvian Amazon, my friends and I stopped to admire a stand of Croton lechleri – Dragon’s blood trees. The tall trees bore a mottled-white and gray bark, and a couple of the trees also featured diagonal slashes. They had been previously cut into with a machete’ to yield the resinous sap for which the tree is deservedly famous. Dragon’s blood, they call the sap, which runs from the...
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Even healthy men who exercise stand a high likelihood of incurring BPH around age 50. BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, usually accompanied by urinary difficulties, most notably frequent nighttime urination. Left untreated, BPH can increase susceptibility to urinary and bladder infections, and kidney stones.
Enter saw palmetto, the berries (and various preparations made from them) of the...
Chris Kilham writes a weekly wellness column for FOX News Health, as The Medicine Hunter. This activity with FOX provides an opportunity to reach a lot of people and puts Medicine Hunter in position to play an influential role in advancing the conversation about medicinal plants. We truly appreciate your comments and shares from the FOX site — your show of support for this work makes a real difference. Thank you!
