Medicine, the Natural Way
manual
Sickness solutions straight from the soil
By Elizabeth Marvel, Jayplay writer
photos: Jeff Brandsted
You wake up, but can barely open your eyes. You can hardly hear the alarm clock going off across the room because your ears are buzzing. Your throat aches and your mouth is as dry as a desert. You wipe the sweat from your steaming forehead and let out a moan. You're miserable. You need a doctor.
But instead of going to your usual doctor, you decide to try something different. You want a natural cure for your ills. So, you look in the Yellow Pages to find a doctor who practices natural medicine, a naturopathic doctor. After some searching, you find Dr. Peter Kimble of Lawrence, who practices natural medicine. He decided to become a naturopathic doctor because he says conventional medicine is not always the answer. "I had done some work in conventional medicine and I saw that it was not always necessary," Kimble says. "For instance, conventional doctors rarely look at diet or nutrition before they use pharmaceutical drugs, and these are things that should be looked at first."
Naturopathic doctors (N.D.s, instead of M.D.s) use non-invasive natural medicine. The Council on Naturopathic Registration and Accreditation says these doctors are trained in anatcmy, physiology, nutrition, herbology, acupressure, muscle relaxation and other areas. Naturopaths are allowed to diag
are allowed to diagnose and treat patients because they are licensed he a l t h c a r e providers, just like regular doctors. They also have school training similar to M.D.s. Naturopathic doctors have undergraduate degrees similar to normal doctors, and after completing their undergraduate work, they go on to do a four-year residential course at
specialized school for naturopathic medicine.
Naturopathic doctors offer a range of services to their patients. Some of Kimble's services include dietary and nutritional supplementation, botanical medicine/herbal remedies and hydrotherapy (the use of water for treatment). She also provides Oriental medicine and homeopathy, which is like vaccination, but instead of using a virus to prevent an illness, naturopaths use natural herbs or plants that when taken in minute doses, produce the symptoms that the sick person has. In theory,
this herb or plant will cure the person of his illness.
One significant part of naturopathy is botanical medicine. Kimble says herbs have been used successfully to treat menstrual cramps, depression, infections, migraines and allergies, among many other illnesses. If someone wants to use herbs to cure an illness, Kimble recommends going to a naturopathic doctor for treatment or buying pre-prepared herbs from a natural foods or health store.
Hal Sears manages the wellness department at The Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa St. He has been in the herb business for 30 years and trained with herbalists in California in the 1970s. He says The "Merc" sells many types of herbs in both bulk and capsule form, and they are generally inexpensive. "Most of our capsule herbs run from $6 to $15 for a bottle, depending on what herb it is," Sears says.
To avoid sickness in the first place, Sears recommends eating as healthy as possible. If your diet isn't sufficient, he recommends taking antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamins A, C and E, and a calcium supplement.
Keep in mind that herbs can be poisonous, just like pharmaceuticals. "Something that's used in a small amount herbally may be as toxic as a large dose of pharmaceuticals," Kimble says. "Herbs aren't regulated like pharmaceuticals are." Kimble encourages students to research before going out and buying an herb. Every person is different, and will require a different dosage.
Kimble recommends these herbs to solve your specific illnesses.
For headaches and migraines,
try feverfew or butterbur.
Kimble recommends stinging nettle. It can help with pollen, seasonal vinuitis, grass and ragweed allergies.
For seasonal allergies,
For menstrual cramps,
try cramp bark (yes, that's its common name).
For golds
Kimble says there are a few good things, but andrographis is one of the best solutions.
For a sore throat,
it depends if you have a viral or bacterial infection. But Kimble suggests using goldenseal.
Kimble has some words of advice for those wanting to use herbs for illness. "It's not always wise to self-medicate. That's what professionals are for," Kimble says. "There's a big factor in herbs. Even If you self-medicate, you may not get the right dosage or potency...It may not work."
- Elizabeth Marvel can be reached at emarvel@kansan.com.
30