by Daneel Ariantho
In the not too distant past, there was little clinical data on herbs, and what did exist was mostly published in Germany. Today, however, researchers around the world are now busy publishing new information related to the healing power of herbs and there is now proof that they are a viable treatment for a wide range of ailments, including aging.
As we get older, and more vulnerable to the ravages of time, concerns about aging become more important. However, two super powerful herbs that can help slow the aging process, garlic and ginkgo, have proven to be effective in the treatment of cholesterol, cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental acuity, and anti-depressant-induced issues. And more good news both can be grown in a backyard medicinal herb garden.
A word of caution before you embark on a healing process with herbs, consult your doctor first. This is especially important if you are pregnant or nursing, have a chronic medical condition, or take prescription medication regularly.
Garlic for Cholesterol – At the New York Medical College in Valhalla, researchers found that one-half to one clove of garlic a day reduced cholesterol by nine percent. If you’d rather not eat fresh garlic every day, garlic supplements have a similar effect.
Garlic for Cancer Prevention – In a long-term Iowa Women’s Health Study, researchers followed 41,837 middle-aged women and found that those who ate the most garlic had the lowest risk of colon cancer. A few cloves a week cut risk by 32 percent, and a greater intake further decreased the risk. Further studies have also shown that garlic helps reduce the risk for bladder and prostate cancer.
Ginkgo for Alzheimer’s Disease – The prestigious journal of the American Medical Association published a study of 202 people with Alzheimer’s who were given either a placebo or ginkgo extract (120 mg a day). In twelve months, the ginkgo group was found to have retained more mental function, and subsequent studies have corroborated the finding. Ginkgo improves blood flow around the body and through the brain.
Ginkgo for Mental Acuity – Four recent studies published in Phytotherapy Research show that ginkgo improves mental function in people who are cognitively normal. Healthy adults, ages 30 – 59 were given ginkgo (120 to 300 mg per day) or a placebo. The herb was found to be directly related to improved memory capability. Suggested consumption is a standardized extract of 120 to 240 mg a day.
Ginkgo for Sex Problems – In a study by the Journal of Urology 60 men with erection problems, caused by narrowed arteries and impaired blood flow to the penis, were given ginkgo (60 mg a day). After six months over half the men studied gained erection capability. In addition, a great number of people today take antidepressants but at a steep price — a substantial risk of libido loss, erection impairment, vaginal dryness and the inability to reach organism. Researchers at the University of California gave ginkgo (209 mg per day) to 63 people suffering from anti-depressant-induced-sex problems and found that the herb helped 91 percent of the women and 76 percent of the men return to normal sexual function.
Garlic and ginkgo are powerful herbs in treating problems associated with aging, and can be grown in almost any backyard medicinal herb garden. Add these herbs to your arsenal of home remedies and start getting positive results for any of the aging problems discussed in this article.
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Our names are John Schepper and Maggie Guscott and we’ve been herb garden enthusiasts for many years. For more information on medicinal herb plants and more, please visit http://www.herbgarden4beginners.com and be sure to sign up for our free 10-lesson mini eCourse, Herb Garden for Beginners.
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@prschuster
“I’m glad I’m? not the only one speaking against this trend.”
Unfortunately, within the lay community, we are amongst the very few…
Within academic circles,as you can see in this video, we would be amongst more numerous company – but still in the minority…
Nonetheless, I have faith in human rationality and expect that the “understanding” of addictive behaviour at this point in time will be looked back upon by our future successors as a quaint little period of folk science…
@prschuster
“I think that’s why the usual attempt by addicts to rationalize their use, because they don’t like to give up their major source of pleasure and comfort, has been relabeled as “denial” to make it look as though they can’t even recognize what’s going on.”
EXACTLY!!!
This is the central pitfall of the 12 step and biomedical models…
It sets the problem in concrete and creates rationalisations for continued use…
Hammersley 1967, I’ve noticed that you post regularily on these videos about addiction to criticize 12 step programs and the medical model of addiction. This trend of medicalizing every social problem under the sun really irritates me and the disease model is about the worst example of this. I’m glad I’m not the only one speaking against this trend.
@Hammersley1967 OK, so we basically agree that there is an attempt to make unwarranted connections between addictive behavior, emotional problems associated with addiction & brain functioning (so called “biopsychosocial disease” of addiction). I think that’s why the usual attempt by addicts to rationalize their use, because they don’t like to give up their major source of pleasure and comfort, has been relabeled as “denial” to make it look as though they can’t even recognize what’s going on.
@prschuster
“It starts with talk of neural wiring and brain chemistry, and then it takes an illogical leap into the realm of psychology”
I agree, except that I think that it works in reverse to this.
It starts with the behaviour, then moves to the psycho-emotional (sound reasoning), and THEN makes the illogical (and unfounded) leap to the neuro-pathological.
I agree that it is the medicalising (pathologising) of the emotional/behavioural dimension of the human condition that is problematic.
@Hammersley1967 My point about the disease model is precisely what you’re talking about. It starts with talk of neural wiring and brain chemistry, and then it takes an illogical leap into the realm of psychology as it tries to connect the psychodynamics with the physical changes in the brain. It treats the emotional and compulsive aspects of addiction as if they were hardwired into the brain. That’s why ASAM tries to compare addiction with schizophrenia or parkinson’s. We really agree here.
@prschuster
[3]
It is not the PSYCHO-logising of the problem that leads to chronic, pathological conceptions of the problem.
It is the PHYSIO-pathologising of the problem that leads to these erroneous and self defeating conceptions of, and approaches to, the problem.
See, I disagree that the “disease” model advocates “thought disorder” – it is about the pathophysical.
Pathophysiology is a materialist, “hardwired” phenomenon…
Psychopathology is a plastic, fluid and changing dimension…
@prschuster
[2]
Moreover, as a “thought disorder” (as opposed to “disease”) it firmly roots the problem within the realms of cognition and behaviour – which are eminently plastic and malleable dimensions…
A “thought disorder” is merely that – a disorder of though process…
Something that has been successfully “treated” (changed) with cognitive and behavioural techniques (CBT, aversion therapy, social learning theory, etc, etc) with permanent results…
@prschuster
[1]
“Defining addiction as a “thought disorder” sets up a paradigm of intervention and treament that allows for insurance? coverage, while it gives chem dep professionals a perfect excuse for the poor prognosis of this made up disease.”
But only if it is DIAGNOSED as disease…
Defining or approaching it as a “thought disorder” should in no way imply a physiopathology which is the necessary criterion for biomedical treatment and any insurance coverage thereof…
@Hammersley1967 Defining addiction as a “thought disorder” sets up a paradigm of intervention and treament that allows for insurance coverage, while it gives chem dep professionals a perfect excuse for the poor prognosis of this made up disease. It acts as a rationale for coercive measures in drug courts. It can then be treated as a chronic relapsing disease and it gives credence to all this talk about “denial” – a clever way to make rehab clients doubt their own thoughts (stinking thinking).
@prschuster
“The disease model is really about defining addiction as a thought disorder.”
I LIKE THAT!!!
That’s a REALLY GOOD way of putting it!
THOUGHT DISORDER
But why should we go all the way to the disease conception?
And you are right.
When we go all the way to disease conception it tends to define (addictionize) the individual totally rather than addiction just being a PARTIAL thought anomaly.
@Hammersley1967 Of course, the disease model isn’t just about chemicals and neural connections. Everything we do, think or feel is mediated by neural connections. The disease model is really about defining addiction as a thought disorder. It’s the belief that the addiction has so thoroughly taken over your mind that you are incapable of making rational decisions so you must be forever “in recovery”. What scares me is that most people don’t realize the Orwellian implications of this.
@Hammersley1967 Of course, the disease model isn’t just about chemicals and neural connections. Everything we do, think or feel is mediated by neural connections. The disease model is really about defining addiction as a thought disorder. It’s the belief that the addiction has so thoroughly taken over your mind that you are incapable of making rational decisions so you must be forever “in recovery”. What scares me is that most people don’t realize the Orwellian implications of this.
@Hammersley1967 I know that 97% of treatment centers push a program that works for less than half the population. It’s ironic . Why can’t they face the fact that there’s a lot of different schools of thought going on today… Oh I know… It’s because AA got there first and so it dominates the recovery landscape.
@prschuster
“I agree that 12 step programs don’t work very well for most people.”
And yet it occupies 97% of the treatment industry in the United States…
@prschuster
“The disease model? crosses the line when they consider behavior to be a disease. If they’d just state that there are brain changes associated with addiction and stop there”
Unfortunately, the brain changes when fear or anger is acutely and chronically experienced and expressed as well…
Should we call fear and anger disease?
Where does it end?
It seems that we have lost control of the concept (which is all the disease model is)…
@Hammersley1967 The disease model crosses the line when they consider behavior to be a disease. If they’d just state that there are brain changes associated with addiction and stop there, it would be OK. I don ‘t doubt that brain changes can influence your behavior, but no one can tell me that an addict is incapable of making the choice to quit, regardless of how hard it is to do so. That doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.
@Hammersley1967 The disease model crosses the line when they consider behavior to be a disease. If they’d just state that there are brain changes associated with addiction and stop there, it would be OK.
@Hammersley1967 I agree that 12 step programs don’t work very well for most people. If more 12 step people would recognize that, I would be happy for them and be on my way. But the dominant attitude right now is that alternative methods are somehow considered to be the exception to the rule, so they are marginalized.
@prschuster
I agree, but that’s the problem with biomedical “disease” models of addiction…
They don’t conform to the medical criteria for disease classification…
That is biomedical “disease” models don’t comply with their OWN paradigm’s disease classification criteria…
@prschuster
“there are a lot of people who do well with 12 step programs”
There are…
But unfortunately, the research shows that for every person for whom the 12 step model is effective for, there are 19 for whom it is unsuitable and ineffective for…
@Hammersley1967 Those researchers didn’t explain their methods in enough detail to really assess their usefulness. Maybe addictive cravings can be measured this way. It still doesn’t take the place of personal choice and the responsibility of the addict to make that difficult decision to quit, though. As long as these researchers don’t spout the line that you are powerless to make that choice for yourself, I think they could be onto something.
Apparently, there are a lot of people who do well with 12 step programs. I don’t think anyone wants to deny free access to AA or NA meetings. My only objection is that the vast majority of addiction counselors and rehabs offer only a 12 step approach with little or no mention of alternative methods. That’s just cheating your client and it’s unprofessional to withold useful information.
12Step program are predominatly religious in nature,most of these programs should be suite for 1St. Amendmne Violaltion and have them pay back all the money wasted in treatment.12 Step programs do not get close to any thing any one else would call treatment,and preferr to blame their patients for their incompetent work.
The medical “researchers” don’t actually articulate what is specifically “wrong” with the addict and/or alcoholic “brain”. In fact they seems to suggest that every substance dependent has a unique “dysfunction” (some parts of the brain “under-perform” whereas other parts “over-perform”).
Every brain works uniquely. No two brains are exactly the same…
Sounds like faith-based healing using the medical MODEL and the RELIGION of “scientism” to me…
MORE “DISEASE THEORY” GARBAGE…