Posts tagged Herbs

Kudzu is Chinese herb that has been identified for the treatment of alcoholism. Anyone who even had an addiction will tell you that recovery from addiction is one of the most difficult tasks that life throws at us. Whether to tobacco or heroin or something in between is not just addictive, and those who help the “self-afflicted” lobby, but for the grace of God .. .

Addiction to alcohol dependence is now perhaps the most widespread in the world. There are now more than drink alcohol than smoke and alcohol problems are not only a social problem but caused the deaths of more than 100,000 per year in the United States. One shudders at the thought of worldwide deaths. It has been suggested that chemical dependency, as opposed to the physical habits chemical agents may have. Although the jury is still out on this one, there were some positive results in the treatment of addicts with natural remedies.

One of these natural remedies is the Chinese herb kudzu. Kudzu is a vine that can grow almost anywhere: the earth in fields and lightly wooded mountains. It is found throughout China, and also in the states of South-eastern United States. The reason for this distribution is remarkable is that the system was introduced in the United States from Japan in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

The large flowers attract gardeners who propagate, and as it turned out that the plant made good fodder for animals, nurseries grew up in Florida and in animal feed. Its effect in preventing soil erosion has made it popular during the 1930s and 40s, when the farmers per hectare were paid for the cultivation of kudzu. Forage and ground cover were the original uses of this grape variety in the United States regardless of their medical applications over the Pacific.

Before it is recognized as a useful treatment for alcoholism, the vine has been used for generations in China to treat ailments such as headaches, flu, high blood pressure symptoms, dysentery, muscle pain and colds. It is still used to treat digestive disorders and allergies and find pectoris use in modern medicine in the treatment of angina.

The root, which is mainly used, which provides up to six meters high a wealth of active ingredients. These include isoflavones daidzein, including glycosides and isoflavones, mainly puerarin and daidzin to. However, it is in its application in the treatment of alcoholism as the root user creates interest.

Studies in the 1960s given to animals with the desire of alcohol, daidzein and daidzin reduced their alcohol consumption if it is offered, and other studies have shown that the mechanism of this inhibition was required by enzymes to convert alcohol. This is not successfully repeated in humans, but the effects on animals can not be coincidence. Or is it? This question can be from those that kudzu is effective, although many laboratory studies have shown that it certainly reduces the consumption of alcohol by persons with a usual intake of heavy fabric answered.

All other substances were used to try to combat the incidence of alcoholism in the western world, none have been found really effective. The three recognized treatments of Campral (acamprosate calcium), approved by the FDA in July 2004 working naltrexone (Revia) and Antabuse three options approved. Campral is useful if you stopped drinking and detoxification, naltrexone interferes with the way the brain “reward” to the drinker and Antabuse give unpleasant side effects, which are directed at the drinker to drink. Br
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Although all have side effects of one kind or another, they have been approved by the FDA and must be safe, if recommended. But none has natural, kudzu has been found to have no known side effects. This is a type of pea, and you know, it grows to a foot a day? Fortunately, it only grows about 20 meters!

It is the absence of side effects of kudzu makes it so attractive for the treatment of alcoholism, although other tests are needed before evidence can be declared to be effective in cast iron. Most tests have so far been conducted on heavy alcohol users to be true, but they all found the system to effectively reduce the amount that each member of the study drank, even if no restrictions were placed on them.

Future studies should probably be developed to determine if the treatment is safe for groups such as pregnant women, young and those with certain medical conditions such as liver problems. Naltrexone should not be used by anyone with serious liver problems and even Campral is appropriate only if you have no more than moderate liver problems. Because alcohol can be reasonably expected from liver disease and treatment that is safe for these people would suffer welcomed.

A 2002 meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in San Francisco called St. John’s wort and kudzu as the two most promising treatments for alcoholism. The mention of St. John’s raises an interesting point that should be discussed. That is the issue of standardized doses, and what can happen when the doses of natural products not related to the identified active component standardized.

The reason for the importance of the fact that all sources of grass particularly well endowed with active ingredients. For example, although a dose of 2.5 grams per day from kudzu root may be recommended as the content of isoflavones percent vary in different roots. This change means that the amount of active ingredient in a 2.5G dose is taken to be different than others, unless of standardization.

The reason St. John’s Wort brought this to mind that has been standardized to this facility, for mental problems such as depression, drug content. It was standardized to 0.3% hypericin, a napthodianthrone cause an increase in dopamine levels. However, there a standard dosage of Hypericum inconsistent results and why it could not be identified. It has now. The active ingredient is now known that they do not hypericin, but hypeforin, known as prenylated phloroglucinol. The grass is now standard on this matter.

This is a demonstration of the importance of identifying the active ingredients in a drug treatment accurately, and also to standardize the dose. Kudzu doses should be standardized if their effect is to be consistent. There is now little doubt that addiction recovery is possible with Chinese herbs like kudzu, and who knows what they have to offer other advanced civilizations like the Chinese.