As we are well into the season of late Summer, more cases are presenting at my clinic with Spleen and Stomach issues. One of my latest was a GERD client, whom I will call Bob. In his late 40s, Bob has had GERD for over 20 years and has tried everything. He currently is on two medications but still experiences terrible burning at night.

Most GERD cases I see are a combination of the patterns Cold Dampness in the Spleen and Liver Qi Stagnation. The Cold Dampness in the Spleen congests and slows digestion while the Liver Qi Stagnation attacks the Stomach, causing its contents to move upward instead of down. In this case we use Damp-dispelling and Qi-regulating herbs to clear the GERD.

Bob, however, presented with different patterns. He has Cold Dampness in the Spleen, yes, but with little Liver Qi stagnation, although he does lead a stressful life. Instead, he has many symptoms of Stomach Heat – a thick yellow coat in the center of his tongue, a big and fast stomach pulse, easily bleeding gums, some bad breath and of course, the acid reflux.

This pattern combination represents a different treatment approach, one of clearing Cold Dampness in the Spleen along with clearing Damp Heat from the Stomach. The formula of choice for this is Pinellia Combination. It contains pinellia to dry the Cold Damp in the Spleen and scute and coptis to dry the Damp Heat in the Stomach. Further, it includes ginseng to tonify Spleen Qi so Dampness doesn’t collect and congest.

After taking this formula for two weeks with excellent results, Bob ran out of the herbs. As he was on a camping vacation, he had to do without and his symptoms returned. Thus, we knew the formula was working effectively and could separate this from the other treatments we did in session together.

This case not only demonstrates how necessary it is to first make a differential diagnosis before automatically treating a health condition, but it further represents how important it is to treat the person who has the disease and not the disease itself. As has been so wisely stated before, “One disease, many formulas; one formula, many diseases.” Further, it shows how one may treat a combination of Heat and Cold factors by simultaneously using herbs that clear Heat and dispel Cold.

As a further note on GERD, along with taking the appropriate herbal formula, it’s important for long-term correction to make dietary changes of course, but also to “re-surface” the denuded linings of the stomach and esophagus. For the latter I recommend “Gastric Soothe” by Source Naturals (a zinc-based supplement) instead of using slippery elm or marshmallow, because these herbs are dampening, contraindicated in patterns with Dampness.

PINELLIA COMBINATION

(Stomach Purging Decoction with Pinellia)

Pinellia (Rhizoma Pinelliae, Ban Xia)
9-12 g

Dried Ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis, Gan Jiang)
9-12 g 

Ginseng (Panax ginseng, Ren Shen)
6-9 g 

Scutellaria (Radix Scutellaria, Huang Qin)
6-9 g 

Baked Licorice (Glycyrrhizae praeparatae, Zhi Gan Cao)
3-6 g 

Coptis (Rhizoma Coptidis, Huang Lian)
3-6 g 

Jujube (Fructus Ziziphus, Da Zao)
3 g or 3 pcs 

We have just moved into time of year that corresponds to the Spleen and Stomach according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. This means that the energy of those organs flourishes now and is at its strongest – or should be. This time lasts from approximately July through mid-September, and while these organs' effects are most strongly felt at the end of the season, now is the time to protect these organs and keep them strong.

The Spleen and Stomach are partners in the Earth Element. This is the most
prevalent and influential element of all five (the others being Metal, Water, Wood and Fire). First of all, it encompasses the organs of digestion and good digestion is a major key to health. But secondly, the energy of the Spleen and Stomach surfaces at the end of all the other element seasons, so that the last two weeks of every season is a mixture of its native element's energy plus the Earth Element energies.

For example, we just finished the Heart and Small Intestine season that ran
from mid-April to near the end of June. For the last two weeks of this time, these Fire Element energies were influenced by the Earth Element energies as they surfaced at that time. This means that along with Fire signs of palpitations, for instance, indigestion signs may have been present as well.

The Earth Element influence and its organs are influential in many ways. The Spleen is responsible for the assimilation and transportation of nutrients
throughout the body (metabolism). As this occurs on all levels, Spleen Qi not
only controls food and fluid metabolism, but also cell respiration and other
similar metabolic functions.

The Spleen opens to the mouth and manifests on the lips. It rules the sense of taste, lymph and saliva along with muscle tone and development, the flesh and limbs. Spleen Qi is in charge of keeping the organs in place and the Blood in vessels. The flavor associated with the Spleen is sweet, meaning that a little sweet strengthens the Spleen while too much weakens it.

The Spleen hates to be damp (externally in the environment or internally in the
body), as this interferes with its ability to transform and transport food and fluids. As well, excessive sitting and the emotions of worry, melancholia, nostalgia and obsession target the Spleen. Conditions involving any of the above factors both indicate a Spleen/Stomach imbalance and can likewise cause one.

A weak Spleen causes poor digestion, low appetite, gas, bloatedness, acid
regurgitation, loose stools, undigested food in the stools, malnutrition, weakness
in arms and legs, fatigue, poor muscle development, edema of abdomen, hips
and thighs, blood spots under the skin, easy bruising, lack of sensation of taste,
prolapsed organs, frequent bleeding, abdominal distension, obsession, worry,
and anemia.

To tonify Spleen Qi, use herbs such as ginseng, astragalus and dioscorea
(Chinese wild yam). To tonify Spleen Yang, warm it with a heating herb such as dried or fresh ginger, give a yang tonic such as psoralea. To transform Spleen dampness, give herbs like agastache or cardamom.

The best way to treat and protect the Spleen and Stomach (digestion and
metabolism) is through diet. Foods that are cooked and warm in temperature
most closely match our own digestive fires and so metabolize and assimilate
easiest. This means that although it is hot outdoors, the intake of raw foods,
salads, juices and fruits should be limited and balanced with cardamom or fresh
ginger. Likewise, iced drinks and foods (ice cream, etc.) also need to be limited
and balanced with warming spices to protect the digestion. Doing so will promote
good digestion throughout the year and prevent those late season Earth Element
experiences of gaining weight without being able to lose it (one of the “delights”
of late summer for most!).

Above: Richo Cech in Zanzibar

Just as a horse whisperer understands the particular needs and psychology of horses, a plant whisperer is one who can receive the subtle communications from plants revealing their special needs for successful cultivation.

In both instances, only someone with a unique aptitude who is willing to invest years of patient observation and trial and error may attain such a gift. I would certainly designate Richo Cech, herbalist, horticulturist, world traveler, archaeologist, linguist, author, founder and owner of Horizon Herbs, as just such a 'plant whisperer.' He has patiently mastered the secrets of cultivating wild medicinal herbs, some of which have never been successfully cultivated before, such as Osha (Ligusticum porteri) and Mandrake (Mandragora species) to name only two.

Simply put, Richo is an herbalist who knows plants from the ground up – and that is very rare.

Richo recently spoke at our annual East West Herb School Spring seminar. Students had an opportunity on two occasions to appreciate Richo's profound wisdom and understanding regarding the cultivation of wild medicinal herbs. His second presentation focused on his recent trip to Zanzibar where his ability to speak Swahili allowed him to converse with natives of the region.

Richo works with an incredibly diverse range of medicinal, edible, rare, and all organic plants at his farm located in a small temperate region of Southern Oregon where he lives with his family and associates. Horizon Herb Farm has grown to become the country's leading source for hard-to-find medicinal herbs. He is occasionally smitten with the passion of wanderlust that, besides seasonal appearances at various herb conferences around the country, includes forays into exotic distant lands in search of medicinal plants and the people of those regions who know how to use them.

As a master herb gardener, Richo knows the optimal placing, sun exposure, watering, soil conditions and other requirements that go into successfully cultivating plants, especially non-cultivar species of wild medicinal herbs. Many of us whose focus has been in other areas of involvement with herbs such as education, clinical practice, research and product development, have only limited time for such gardening ventures. The result is that each year we expend considerable time and money to purchase and attempt to grow the same plants or seeds that we were unsuccessful cultivating in previous years. Fortunately, Richo's new book, The Medicinal Herb Grower: A Guide for Cultivating Plants that Heal (Volume 1), is the next best thing to having a master gardener like Richo by your side.

What sets medicinal plants apart from the rest

In The Medicinal Herb Grower, Richo describes how food crops called cultivars are loaded with nutritious and tasty primary compounds, such as starch, sugar and proteins. But in the case of medicinal herbs, their desired properties mostly come from secondary compounds consisting of aromatic, acrid, bitter or even toxic compounds such as alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins and glycosides in relatively low concentration. These secondary compounds arise as part of the process of "attracting pollinators, repelling browsers, defending themselves, or communicating with other plants, insects, and vertebrates - including humans."

What distinguishes plants used for food from those used for medicine is food plants’ comparative lack of secondary compounds as compared to medicinal herbs. It is these secondary compounds evolving out of the stress and struggle for a plant's existence that make them useful for treating imbalances and diseases within our own psycho-physiological systems.

Richo declares himself "leery of hybridization, tissue culture, and genetic modification of medicinal plants" because they alter the concentration of naturally evolved secondary plant compounds. He asserts that these practices render an herb "less predictable and less dependable for medicinal use" and consequently diminish our ability to rely on traditional wisdom to inform us of its use.

Personally, I don't think this is a sufficient reason to not avail ourselves of the ability to alter plants to suit our perceived needs. In fact, through selective cultivation, hybridization and other methods, people have always altered plants to suit their needs. Even Richo points out how certain strains of medicinal plants such as German chamomile, garden sage and valerian have been selected for higher levels of those secondary compounds associated with medicinal properties. Just as the greatest horticultural advance in history has been the cultivation of cannabis over the last 40 years, from a weed during the late 1960s to a plant today that literally reeks of mind-altering tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), similarly there is a long history of intentional cultivation to produce the most effective medicinal plants.

Working with nature

Richo's book reminds us of how to work with, rather than against, nature; and it reminds us that this practice is best both for medicinal plant cultivation as well as a strategy for healing. Both healer and plant whisperer must first acknowledge the need inherent in any cultivation or healing problem. It is out of that need, based on passive observation, that one can plot a strategy to work with the life force. It is always a task best done with humility and respect, and as such may require a considerable amount of patience.

Two stories from The Medicinal Herb Grower illustrate the patience it takes to make a plant thrive. One is the author's attempt to cultivate eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus), considered an adaptogen tonic in the ginseng family. Richo describes how, after getting off to a good start in his open garden area, by midsummer in hot and dry southern Oregon "the leaves crisped on the plant like bread left too long in the toaster."  He considered how the plant grows in Siberia, "flourishing in thick stands around the margins of cold lakes."  So in the Fall he decided to transplant the suffering plants into a tree-shaded area near the creek. In subsequent years "the ants danced on the eleuthero flowers, and the branches grew heavy with fruit." From this he learned how the placement of plants can be critical to successfully growing them.

Another story relates how he was able to fulfill a perhaps ancestral yearning to grow mandrake. This rare plant of European origin has a long history dating back to biblical times for use in magic and medicine. It is considered rare and difficult to grow. At first, Richo planted the seeds in gallon containers and set them in the best spot in his shadehouse. Each year the sprouts would appear in the early spring and mysteriously die back in a couple of months. By the third year this was still happening! He asked a friend who had lived in the Middle East about their native habitat, who said they grew "out in the open, among the rocks, in alkaline soil," without much rain. Richo placed his seeds accordingly, and now is the proud steward of thriving five year-old mandrakes.

The Medicinal Herb Grower: Practical and a pleasure to read

The Medicinal Herb Grower is no dry manual; Richo’s prosaic flair makes reading the book a delight. In a section entitled “A Tour of the Horizon Herbs Seed Farm,” he writes, "The creek flows through the year, in the summer slurring over slimy boulders, in the winter chattering whitewater, boulders scrubbed clean, periwinkles holding on beneath for dear life. There’s a secret western garden under the shade of a maple that reaches her arms up from the yin-soaked streamside to clasp to her breast, like a yearning mother, a shade garden of her own making."

From a practical standpoint, I particularly loved Chapter 5 – “Rules of Green Thumb.” I think if someone who sincerely believes that they don't have the ability to grow things reads and follows all or some of the 17 suggestions (by my count) of this chapter they can't fail.

There is something so universal about this book that it is destined to become a real classic for anyone interested in cultivating medicinal herbs. It offers everything one needs to grow a successful garden, whether it be of flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, medicinal herbs, or a mixture of all of the above. Richo flat out states that the best protection against pests is diversity.

The Medicinal Herb Grower is chock full of practical information about every aspect of gardening, from seed preparation, to building a green house or a shade house, to various methods for making compost, to proper plant positioning, watering and drainage, along with more advanced methods for growing. All of it is drawn from the author's personal experience which, in my opinion, is the secret of a good book. It's hard to believe that so much practical information can be presented in such a short space and still have room for the author to express his poetic and philosophical life views and even tell stories of his working as an archaeologist where he explored the early roots of gardening at the Koster site in southern Illinois which dates back to 7500 B.C.E.

Richo’s book has been celebrated and recognized by other prominent herbalists and horticulturists. Jim Duke, PhD, herbalist, botanist, formerly with the Department of Agriculture, and author of 20 books on herbal medicine, says The Medicinal Herb Grower is "a very different book – no bibliographic echoes, all good gardening and nature first hand. This book is a pleasure to read, and a treasure of valuable cultural information."

Christopher Hobbs, renowned herbalist and botanist, himself an author of dozens of books and articles on herbs, describes Richo's book as "the most definitive herb grower's guide on the planet, a book that breathes with aliveness, humor, and how to really do it!"

I recall my first childhood attempts at gardening on small a plot my mother gave me to “grow things.” Each day I would lovingly return to my small plot and fuss with the plants, instinctively digging and loosening the soil around their bases (a technique called “Rubber Fingers” by Richo in Chapter 13 – which goes to show that if we want to acquire a green thumb, we must first be willing to have dirty thumbs!). I seem to remember how wonderfully everything grew without the addition of soil nutrients.

I've been gardening ever since that boyhood plot and couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. Through The Medicinal Herb Grower and his visit to my home and as a guest teacher to our seminar I personally find Richo to be rich source of useful information and inspiration that has made a positive difference in my gardening this year.

During the 1970s on one of my trips to Bangalore in southern India, I made it a point to seek teachers, schools and hospitals that were exponents of Ayurvedic medicine, which at that time was still barely known in the western world (particularly the United States).

One Ayurvedic hospital I visited was a multi-story building with many departments dedicated to specialty treatments. Doctors in the leech therapy ward showed me how a patient with severe psoriasis lesions was nearly completely cured after an application of a single leech in the center of the lesion. They explained how the leech selectively drew out the ‘bad blood’ causing psoriasis and allowed for fresh new healing blood to circulate.

With its entrance situated on a busy street, the eye treatment ward was open to walk-in traffic and the usual session took only a few minutes to complete. It consisted of walking in through one door, where one used an eye cup to bathe each eye in well-strained triphala tea, followed by the application of a single drop of honey in each eye. Finally, after completing a simple series of eye exercises (rolling the eyes around clockwise, then counterclockwise, then quickly up-down, left-right, and diagonally) the patient walked out the next door.

India has always been concerned with maintaining eyesight, and cataract surgery was performed there as early as the 6^th century BCE by the physician Sushruta.

Our vision is among the things that we all take for granted – until something goes wrong. Unfortunately, the deterioration of vision is one of the inevitable consequences of many actions, including aging.

The major source of eyestrain doctors once warned against was reading too much, especially in dim light. But with the advent of cameras, movies, TV, and computers, there is an increasing demand on our eyes and the need to maintain their health.

Check out the statistics on “Americans Affected by Age-related Eye Disease” on Prevent Blindness America’s website. The numbers of Americans affected by blindness and cataracts, among a host of other diseases, is staggering.

Turning 71 years young, I’ve had occasion to think about my eyes a lot lately. With years of abuse including long hours at the computer and yes, I must admit, TV, what can be done to help heal and preserve eye health?

(Pause as I interrupt the writing of this with an eye exercise – perhaps you might be persuaded to join me? Look away from the computer, roll your eyes a few times in both directions, and then in both diagonal directions. Rub your palms together and place them over both eyes for a minute. Now that is what I consider a refreshing break for the eyes! Anyone who works at a computer for long stretches should make it a point to do this every 30 minutes to help preserve your eyesight. Students in classrooms staring intently at a board, PowerPoint, teacher whatever should also be encouraged to practice such an eye break.)

Triphala eye treatment

The following is used as treatment of all the eye diseases mentioned in the link above as well as the more common eyestrain.

You will need the following:

• Triphala powder or you can use triphala tablets (I’m proud to say that under my direction, Planetary Herbals was the first company to introduce Triphala to the West and has the finest quality triphala available under the name “Triphala Gold.”)
• An eyecup – you can purchase this at a drug store
• Fine linen or cotton cloth for straining
• Potassium sorbate – an extremely safe food grade preservative that will prevent mold, fungus and bacteria from forming in the triphala eyewash solution. This is very cheap and available in most supermarkets or online.
• A small sterile jar with a tightly-fitted cap

Preparation:

Add one teaspoon of triphala powder or 4 Planetary Herbals Triphala Gold tablets to one cup of boiling water. Allow to stand covered overnight.

Strain the triphala water carefully through a fine cloth and be sure to remove all the solid particles.

Dissolve a quarter teaspoon of the potassium sorbate into the strained mixture.

Store your triphala solution in a small, sterile, tightly covered jar in your bathroom.

To use:

Partially fill the eyecup with the triphala solution and bathe one eye. Repeat this process on the other eye with new solution. There may be a very slight smarting sensation, but your eyesight and vision should feel immediately relieved and better afterward. In fact, you may not realize until after doing the triphala eyewash how much stress and tension you were carrying in your eyes.

Why use triphala?

Triphala is a formula that I consider the greatest in the world and that everyone should be taking not only for treatment but for maintaining health and wellness. Triphala is routinely prescribed by Ayurvedic physicians as at least part of a treatment for nearly all diseases. It is a common Indian household remedy so famous that one saying is “No mother? Don’t worry so long as you have triphala!”

Triphala consists of three medicinal fruits. Their English names are as follows: Belleric myrobalan, Chebulic myrobalan and Emblic myrobalan (Indian gooseberry). The popular Sanskrit names for the three herbs in triphala are Vibhitaki (or bibhitaki), Haritaki and Amalaki (or amla), respectively.

The advantages of triphala taken both internally and externally are its powerful, antioxidant-rich, nourishing, rejuvenating and detoxifying properties that work on the digestion, stomach, liver, kidneys and intestines and have no contraindications or adverse side effects. Triphala is safe for all ages. It can be taken daily or weekly as one so desires.

Taken long-term, triphala controls and reduces blood lipids, relieves high blood pressure as it improves blood circulation generally, reduces excess weight, regulates bowel movement even for those who suffer from laxative dependency, and gently treats IBS and other intestinal diseases. It helps detoxify the liver, is an effective treatment for acid reflux disease, and improves colon health by creating a chemical environment favorable to the proliferation of beneficial colon bacteria, either complementing or lessening the need for other probiotics. It heals ulcers, has extremely potent antioxidant activity and promotes the production of red blood cells.

As if all of this were not enough to expect of a single herbal formula, triphala is also good for the respiratory system, improving immunity, preventing and treating colds and coughs and helping to remove mucus accumulation from the chest. For the nervous system, triphala improves brain function, strengthens the nervous system, and prevents diabetic neuropathy. It helps counteract fatigue because of its ability to remove lactic acid, which is the main cause of fatigue. Triphala is anti-inflammatory and anti-viral as it stimulates bile secretion and normal peristalsis.

It may seem to many of you that I’m indulging myself in hyperbolic excess but I assure you, thousands of years and thousands of Ayurvedic physicians past and present can’t be all wrong. If there ever was such a thing as an herbal panacea, triphala would be at the top of the list.

However, in most cases – and this is a plus – its benefits are not immediately felt (except for improved digestion and bowel function). This means that the effects of triphala are foundational and deeper. This is why all Ayurvedic physicians prescribe triphala as part of a treatment for all diseases and it is why it should be a mainstay of all health disciplines, conventional western, naturopathic, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), chiropractic and so on. The integration of triphala into all forms of health care is the beginning of the creation of what I teach as Planetary Herbology: the integration of Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic systems of herbal medicine.

Honey for Eye Diseases

The use of honey as a treatment for the eyes extends far back in antiquity. As early as 350 BCE, Aristotle wrote that “White honey . . . is as good as a salve for sore eyes.”" Even as recently as 1945, in India, lotus honey was described as a panacea for the eyes. In places as distant as India and Russia during times when drugs were scarce, honey was used as standard practice with high efficacy for the treatment of all forms of inflammatory diseases of the eyes and styes. Honey for eye diseases is also used in Islamic medicine.

This page provides the most succinct and comprehensive presentation for the use of honey for treating eye diseases I could find.

As mentioned above in my recollection of the eye ward at the Ayurvedic clinic, they simply inserted a single drop of honey in each eye. However, the protocol outlined on the site given above seems much more systematic and beneficial. The entire process can take up to six months, but remember that most of the eye diseases described above are considered incurable. So the question is, how much is your eyesight worth?

Castor Oil

Finally, another easy to apply natural eye remedy is castor oil. This is particularly good for treating dry eyes and cataracts. Simply apply two drops of pure castor oil in each eye before retiring to bed.

For example, Ligusticum porteri (now available as a Planetary Herbals extract), commonly known as "osha," has been found to lower viral count in chronic hepatitis C patients. Traditionally, the herb is considered "big medicine" by southwestern natives who widely utilize this herb in ceremonies and as treatment for a wide variety of conditions including sore throat, and all viral diseases including the flu.

In the marketplace, a typical consumer presented with the choice of capsules of pure lomatium versus capsules of lomatium blended with other herbs would most likely choose the former.

Are formulations better than singles?

Assuming that it is well crafted by an experienced herbalist, a formula consisting of two or more herbs can often more effective than a single herb. The operative word here is 'can' – not always.

Strange how often the first things you hear on your learning path often prove to hold the greatest weight in life. My first Chinese herb teacher, a Taoist named Foon Lee Wong who operates a curio shop on the outskirts of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, once off-handedly said that herbs used together represent more than anything we find in nature -- in other words, herbal formulations are 'unnatural' or perhaps 'supernatural,' as in beyond nature.

In a very real sense an herbalist uses herbs as a musician uses individual notes or an artist uses colors and shapes to create something unique and hopefully therapeutically effective.

Herbs are combined in formulas with particular objectives in mind. For example:

To complement or augment a primary intended therapeutic action: For instance, we might use more than one antiviral herb together to have a wider range of effect in treating viruses. Or we might use several complementary tonics together for a wider range of tonification.

Or, we might add some herbs because we can see the need to support an internal organic function in order to help the body achieve relief of a specific symptom. In other words, extra support for the digestive or urinary systems will help more effectively treat the underlying cause.

We might add in a smaller amount of an herb that slows down the liver's ability to neutralize any strange substance that enters its portals. Usually this would be a small amount of a spicy herb to bypass the liver P450 enzymes. This allows the active principles of an herb to remain in circulation longer than if it were used alone.

Or we might add a small amount of an antispasmodic herb to relieve any physiological resistance to the unique qualities (taste, texture, etc.) of an herb.

However one of the most fascinating phenomena around herbal formulation is how a particular combination, even a ratio of two or more herbs can biochemically optimize the primary ingredients in the herbs themselves.

Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine includes thousands of preparations, sometimes in exact prescribed rations and amounts that have been passed down over millennia because of some unique experientially proven benefit.

Given today's research capabilities, it is difficult enough to try to understand biochemically why some herbs do what they do. Each herb contains thousands of unique compounds. Compound this with trying to analyze an ancient traditional herbal formula containing two or more herbs, and you can see what a challenge this would be! (And that's assuming that there is a will and funding for such research –- which by and large in the West there is scant little of either.)

Over 50% of all pharmaceutical drugs were or are derived from plants. Are there miracle cures in the vast but dwindling Amazon rain forest? Absolutely, but thus far only a handful of drugs have made it to market (including quinine, codeine, morphine, and cocaine). While visiting the Amazon, I spoke with one of the leading Western ethnobotanists whose job it is to discover and send back plants to pharmaceutical companies that may have a value in medicine. He said he's sent them hundreds but because they are unable to isolate, synthesize and therefore patent a single active constituent, all of this traditional knowledge of therapeutic plant usage goes to waste.

In the case of herbal formulas, the challenge to isolate and synthesize is exponentially greater.

Finally, research that supports formula synergy

So given all of the above, you can imagine how excited I get when I find a research paper that substantiates the value of an herbal formula over a single plant, in this case where the herbs work on each other to optimize certain therapeutic properties and effects.

While researching the effects of the Chinese herb dang gui (Angelica sinensis) as a blood tonic especially for women, I accidentally came upon a study of a famous ancient Chinese two-herb formula Dang gui bu xue tang (DBT) which consists of one part dang gui and five parts huang qi (astragalus root). This formula has a wide range of use and is traditionally prescribed alone with other herbs or in soups for anemia, uterine bleeding, post-partum bleeding, fatigue, and symptoms due to hormonal deficiency including osteoporosis.

The odd thing is that the formula is for blood deficiency but dang gui, the herb regarded as the sovereign blood tonic in Traditional Chinese Medicine, is used in a much smaller amount than astragalus root, an herb used as a qi tonic. Why?

The study "Verification of the formulation and efficacy of Danggui Buxue Tang (a decoction of Radix Astragali and Radix Angelicae Sinensis): an exemplifying systematic approach to revealing the complexity of Chinese herbal medicine formulae" demonstrated the higher therapeutic efficacy of the two herbs together with the primary herb being a one fifth the ratio to its secondary counterpart.

The researchers speculated as follows:

"The saponins may liquefy and make the primary properties of ferulic acid and ligustilde in dang gui more bio-available. When boiled it seems that the ferulic acid and ligustilide in dang gui are oxidized and degraded which is far less when astragalus is combined in the 5:1 ratio with dang gui. Finally it's possible that the stability of the active constituents are improved by having the different plant chemicals together."

While none of this is conclusive, it sure supports Foon's notion that an herbal formula is more than the sum of its parts.

No matter where you live – snowy Michigan or sunny Florida – Spring is upon us. In nature, this energy is represented by sap rising and buds bursting. Likewise, these same energies stir within as we feel drawn outdoors and into more activities. While it is nearly time to enjoy warmer weather, it is also one of the two most susceptible times of the year to catch colds and flu. 

Although your internal body heat is rising toward the surface (like the trees' sap), the air is still cool and it’s important to remain warmly dressed outdoors. The shining sun and hint of warmth encourage us to shed heavy clothes and act like it’s summer. Yet, this is exactly how those spring colds and flu begin. This is also the windy season and exposed necks invite pathogens to invade the body. Foil that flu bug by wearing a scarf outdoors and keep those layers on.  

Likewise, refrain from eating cold foods and drinks (iced drinks and foods, juices, raw foods, salads, soymilk) until summer arrives. Continue eating cooked foods and protein until your body adjusts to fluctuating temperature changes. Add in a large variety of cooked vegetables, dark leafy greens, some whole grains and cooked fruit and you will stay well through this vulnerable time. 

Read on for more of my favorite spring health tips!

Dandelions

To enhance your health, add dandelion to your diet to cleanse the liver. Dandelion greens, roasted dandelion “coffee” and dandelion in grain drinks are all ways to imbibe this herb.

In Europe, dandelion root is roasted and combined with chicory root to brew dandelion "coffee." This full-bodied drink does exactly the opposite of coffee: it clears heat toxins and congestion from the Liver rather than puts it in. Further, while coffee (and caffeine in general) robs the Kidney’s trust fund of inherited energy, dandelion helps them in their proper function of filtering fluids. 

Keep those dandelion "weeds!" Clean your physical house by turning your dandelion weeds into a nutritious cooked salad. These slightly bitter greens are high in iron, potassium and Vitamin A. Add a touch of lemon juice and flax oil for a dish potent in vitamins and minerals.

Bitters

Bitter tasting herbs can make a drink to stimulate bile production, aiding appetite, digestion and elimination. Europeans regularly sip a small glass of bitters before meals. Combine 1/4 ounce each powdered roots of dandelion, burdock, gentian, sarsaparilla, yellow dock and fennel seeds, and 1/8 ounce dried citrus peel and licorice with 1 quart rice wine, vodka or good quality red wine. (Add 1/8 tsp. each of nettle and seaweed and you have a hefty mineral tonic as well!) Soak for two weeks, shaking the mixture daily. Strain, then take 1 tsp. before meals. 

Roses

Make fresh rose petals into a tea and drink 3 cups a day to treat PMS, depression and menstrual irregularities. Alternatively, chop rose petals finely, mix with honey and eat freely as is, or as a tasty spread on bread or crackers. Rose petals are calming, regulate Liver energy and harmonize the Blood. 

Spring Cold and Flu Tea

This powerful antiviral tea mimics an effective Chinese remedy that quickly clears colds and flu: Combine 1/2 ounce each dandelion root, forsythia fruit and isatis leaf in 1 quart water and simmer covered 20 minutes. Add 1/2 ounce honeysuckle flowers and simmer another 10 minutes. Strain and drink 1 cup every 2-3 hours until symptoms are gone. 

Spring Allergies

Spring winds often begin the allergy season. Those who sneeze frequently and have allergies often benefit by taking milk thistle. This herb clears the Liver, which in turn calms sneezing. Take 2-4 capsules, or 1 tsp. powdered seed with water, 3 times a day.  

Liver Cleanse

Cleansing the Liver in spring is an excellent way to remove stored toxins and winter’s accumulated fat. Blend and drink a mixture of 8 ounces water, 8 ounces apple juice, 1-4 cloves garlic and 1-4 tblsp. olive oil each morning on an empty stomach for four days in a row. Follow with a cup tea decoction of 1/4 ounce fennel seeds and 1/4 ounce dandelion root. If appropriate for your body, also fast on warm apple juice and green vegetable juice, and take 1-2 “00” capsules cayenne powder 1-3 times daily. 

Spring Kicharee

Kicharee, a traditional dish of India, is called the “food of the gods” and by legend is said to cure all illnesses if eaten exclusively for 10 days. Balanced in cooling and warming energies, it is highly assimilable. Kicharee is a great food to fast on for three to 10 days in the spring as it detoxifies the Liver and Blood and neutralizes acids without causing nutritional deficiencies. Turmeric decongests and cools the Liver and purifies Blood, cumin warms and stimulates digestion, coriander aids digestion, mung beans detoxify and cleanse Blood and ghee stimulates digestion.

While the traditional recipe just uses rice, mung beans, ghee and the spices, here several vegetables are added: burdock to cleanse the Liver and Blood, carrots to support digestion and fluid metabolism, shiitake mushrooms to strengthen Blood and immunity and support Liver function and kelp and dark leafy greens to detoxify the Liver and provide important minerals. For those with weakness, low energy, poor appetite or lowered immunity, use chicken stock. 

• 3 cups water or chicken stock
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1/2 cup mung beans
• 1 small strip kelp, washed
• 1/3 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds or powder
• 2 Tblsp. ghee (clarified butter) or sesame oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 burdock root, scrubbed and thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 cup chopped dark leafy greens (dale, collards, dandelion, mustard)
• Seasonings: salt, lemon juice 

Cook rice, beans and kelp in water or stock for 45 minutes. Brown spices in oil. Stir fry onion, mushrooms, burdock and carrot in spiced oil. Boil greens in an inch of water for five minutes and strain. Combine all ingredients together. More water or stock may be added to make soupier, if wanted. Add any desired seasonings. 

The Naming of Names: The Search for Order in the World of Plants by Anna Pavord (New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2005) is hardly a new book, but it's new to me and worth mention. This book reads like an exciting true life adventure -- a Raiders of the Lost Ark-type romp through 2,000 years of plant taxonomy (an enthusiastic description which, I confess, oversimplifies the subject matter somewhat).

I found this book to be a gem in its description of the history of how people came to tell one plant from another. Humans have needed to positively identify plants because of plants' usefulness as food, fuel, shelter, clothing, and last but not least, medicine. As an herbalist, this last part is of particular interest to me.

Consider how the discovery of North and South America and all the Pacific islands was the result of a search for herbs (i.e., a more direct spice route to the Far East). Consider how the first industry of North America was the export of vegetables and medicinal herbs that were quickly assimilated into the fabric of European culture. But despite this, it took until the 18th century and the system of taxonomy by Linnaeus for people to develop a way to to identify, name and classify plants!

From this wonderfully unique angle, Pavord weaves a fascinating and little known story, complete with beautiful illustrations. In The Naming of Names, we learn about most if not all of the most important herbals since the time of Dioscorides throughout the medieval period.

The book addresses several nagging questions that had been bumping around in the back of my mind for years. It also affirms at this crucial time the vital role Islamic scholars played in preserving and evolving the wisdom of the ancient world while Europe was mired in the anti-intellectual Christian "Dark Ages."

One question I had was: Why did the many versions of the old medieval manuscripts of Dioscorides' herbal have such primitive depictions of herbs described in the text? It turns out that such books were copied from original Arabic translations of Dioscorides by Islamic scholars, and enlightened as these scholars were when it came to preserving this knowledge, they were prevented from rendering real-life depictions of anything -- from Allah to his creation, including plants and animals. Thus, they had to resort to a more decorative rendering that often had little resemblance to any of the plants described in the text.

Of course this changed with the great herbals of the Renaissance and Enlightenment period, whose gorgeous and detailed botanical drawings and paintings are featured in The Naming of Names.

Pavord's book represented for me a fascinating 2,000 year-journey that helps us western herbalists to establish a connection with our past and perhaps even piece together the long-lost record of our own Western Traditional Medicine. Without the luxury of a written record like the Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine systems, we need all the information we can get, and this book provides it beautifully. You can find it at Amazon here.

P.S. Maybe you'd like to read another review of mine -- this one on my other love, music. These are my impressions of the recent Mozart Festival at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA.

Students and clients often ask me, "When the best time is to take my herbs?" This is a very good question, and there are several different answers. (However, in truth, the best time to take herbs is when you remember to take them.)  

Often, when people try to follow rules, they invariably can’t comply, or they forget, or some other thing happens and then before you know it, the time has passed and the time to take the herbs was missed. Then it’s on to the next required time and if this is also missed, the day soon passes and the herbs are never taken at all.  

Taking herbs this way can be hit or miss. With such infrequent ingestion, they help very little or are entirely ineffective. This is why I say, take the herbs when you remember them! 

But if you want to know the real “rules” for taking herbs –- what will make them most effective in their use –- here they are (and they are given in Lesson 9 of the East West Herb Course). Keep in mind that these “rules” are not necessarily agreed upon by everyone, so you’ll find herbalists who have other ideas instead. But these are generally the ones most acceptable. 

In general, the time herbs are taken has to do with efficiently getting them to the part of the body they most affect. Thus:  

• Herbs treating the upper part of the body (heart/lungs/head) should be taken after meals so the food in the middle of the body slows their descent, and they stay in the upper part of the body longer.
• Herbs treating conditions in the middle part of the body  (spleen/pancreas/stomach/liver/gallbladder) should be taken just before or during the early part of meals, so they stay in the middle part of the body for a longer time, along with the food being digested.
• Herbal formulas targeted toward the lower part of the body (kidneys/bladder/intestines/genitals) should be taken between meals, when the stomach is empty, so they have a free passage to the lower part of the body.  

Of course, if the disease is urgent, herbs may –- and should –- be taken at any time and, in fact, they should generally be taken more frequently anyway. 

Further, if digestion is weak, herbs are best taken with meals, as this is when the digestive juices most strongly flow. 

If people continuously forget to take their herbs, even if told they can be taken anytime, help set a convenient location and schedule. Put the herbs in the kitchen by spice jars or some other obvious place, or put them in the bathroom by the toothbrush, or put them on the bedside table, wherever they will be easily seen at the appropriate times. 

Generally, when people are eating they can remember to take herbs. Most can take them with breakfast and dinner, but often miss lunch since they’re gone all day. If this happens, the third dose can be taken at bedtime.  

If none of this works, and the person (or you!) keeps forgetting to take the herbs, remember that the herbs can be taken anytime!

It's no secret that acid reflux is a widespread condition. Just think of all the antacid, Nexium or Prilosec advertisements you've seen lately. Some people eat Tums, an alkalinizing form of calcium, like candy.

But you don't have to resort to taking expensive prescription drugs or chewing bushels of antacids. If any condition is made to be treated by herbal therapy, it is acid reflux (or GERD, or heartburn).

What causes acid reflux? Among common causes are the following:

• an imbalanced diet, too high in irritating, hot, spicy and acidic foods (not including vinegar or lemons, however)
• stress and worry
• eating too fast
• not chewing well enough (chewing allows your saliva to predigest the food before it even reaches your stomach)
• erratic eating habits
• not enough water (especially after a meal)
• insufficient stomach acid

The most prevalent reason by far is insufficient stomach acid. When we don’t have enough digestive secretions in our stomach, food is allowed to stay in the gut too long with resultant fermentation and gas. This is one reason that just about every culture in the world has its own bitters recipe. For example, I often recommend the Italian liqueur called Fernet-Branca to patients as a digestive bitters. A tablespoon before and/or after meals stimulates the secretion of saliva, bile and stomach acid, which in turn aids digestion. Ayurvedic medicine has a traditional wine called Draksha used for a similar purpose.

The old standby of a teaspoon each of pure, undistilled apple cider vinegar and raw honey stirred together in a small glass of warm water is a very effective treatment for about 85% of the cases of GERD.

In Ayurveda, a primary formula to aid digestion is called Avipattikar Churna. It consists of trikatu herbs (black and long pepper and ginger), cyperus, cardamom, cinnamon leaf, clovers trivit (Operculina turpethum), vidanga (Embelia ribes) and raw sugar. It is specific for hyperacidity, heartburn, biliousness, vomiting, indigestion, dropsy, rheumatism -- in other words, for any pitta (fire) type disorder. One to four grams or two to eight tablets are taken two or three times daily, after meals with warm water. This remedy is commonly available from Ayurvedic supply companies such as Bombay Bazaar of India in Berkeley or Banyan Botanicals.

Planetary Herbals has two products that can be used to aid digestion: Digestive Comfort Tablets and Digestive Grape Bitters.

If you have money to burn, you can try the pharmaceutical alternatives to the above simple remedies listed above. You may already know that pharmaceutical companies get to have an exclusive right to the sales of the products they produce for a period of seven years. When this term expires, other companies can manufacture similar products as ‘generics’ at a greatly reduced cost. The heartburn drug Prilosec is one of the best-selling prescription medicines in history. Sales in the past five years alone amount to $26 billion. The reason is not only its popularity but its steep price: about $4 per pill.

As it so happens, the patent for Prilosec expired April of 2001. Still there is no inexpensive generic on the market to take its place. This is because in 1995, a team of lawmakers and scientists, aptly called (I kid you not) “Shark Fin,” seeing the end of its Prilosec cash cow coming, began a list of nearly 50 possible solutions to the patent-expiration disaster facing the company.

One list item was to find a new heartburn remedy that would work better. No, it’s not apple cider vinegar and honey, nor Digestive Comfort, nor a digestive bitters and not even Avipattikar Churna. It is the successor to Prilosec known as Nexium, and like its predecessor was originally sold for $4 a pill, but you can find it available at varying discount market prices averaging around $1 a pill. Now the successor to Prilosec and Nexium is called Prevacid and it is sold for, you guessed it: $4 a pill.

The fact is all of these products produce pretty much the same results. None of them are curative in any way; in fact, by suppressing digestive acids, it’s a question as to whether they will ever treat the underlying cause of the disease.

The problem is that an otherwise simple-to-treat condition like acid reflux is often mismanaged or allowed to linger so long as to cause physical damage that takes a lot longer to repair.

Those with an advanced case of GERD may find pharmaceutical products necessary (but shop around for generics and check off-shore sales on the internet). If your esophagus is not badly eroded, it is possible to eventually heal your condition. For some, the questionable choice of laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery is an option. Ironically, assuming all goes well with the surgery, for the rest of your life you will have to eat very slowly and smaller than usual amounts -- something that should have been done before GERD ever became a degenerative, chronic condition.

How do you know you have bad digestion even before you experience heartburn? Bloating, swollen abdomen after meals, and sometimes a lot of gas. Charcoal tablets are the most immediate remedy to stop farting and gas but they are not a true fix. If these problems are allowed to persist, you may eventually end up having to treat the more serious condition of GERD.

The moral of this blog is: If you have digestive problems of any sort, don't wait until they cause damage that is impossible to reverse. Give the natural remedies suggested here a try or visit your local herbalist.