Last month, we included an article on an herb known as Echinacea. Several weeks later, I became involved in a discussion about the merits of herbs, and was dismayed to hear how many in that particular group did not understand the many health benefits of herbs. Because of this, I realized that maybe I was putting the cart before the horse, by doing articles on specific herbs, instead of starting with an explanation of herbs. I hope to remedy that this month by raising awareness of herbal therapy.

Also, this newsletter has an article about Silica, and the importance of having it in our daily diets. Though it is a little known essential trace mineral, the definitive word here is essential. Evidently, tests have shown a distinct correlation between dietary Silica availability and normal growth patterns in both animals and humans. Hopefully, this article will heighten your appreciation of its necessity.

I must also take this opportunity to mention that we recently received the results of a placebo controlled clinical trial study that was conducted using the Collagen Type II in our CellRenew product. This study was conducted by two rheumatologists on 89 patients with varied arthritis symptoms.

The results showed an 89.9% positive response in 45 days.

We have uploaded a summary of the study and a table of the results to our web site. If you experience symptoms of arthritis, or you know someone who does, please take the time to review results here.. They are encouraging.

In a future issue of this newsletter, we will be instructing our readers how they - or someone they know - may submit an application to become involved in another trial using the same material. So stay tuned.

For your good health. . . .

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Silica, also referred to as dietary "Silicon", is a little known trace mineral. It is a mixture of silicon and oxygen - two of the most common elements in our environment. The importance of silica, in the proper maintenance and function of human (and animal) health, can no longer be ignored.

In 1878, Louis Pasteur believed that the need for silica in treating many diseases, would someday be widely recognized. Various scientists, in the 20th century, supported Pasteur's theory by extensively studying the effect of silica on animal and human life.

Through research done in 1972 at UCLA, Dr. Edith Carlisle found that silica is an essential trace element, necessary for normal bone development. The developed internal organs. It was determined that optimal growth and skeletal development could not occur without adequate amounts of this essential trace mineral. While studying mice, depressed growth and skull deformities occurred due to an inadequate supply of silica.

Humans showed the following symptoms when lacking a sufficient amount of silica in their diet: cardiovascular and arterial problems, fragile bones, joint deterioration, digestive disorders, along with weakened gums and teeth.

Once supplied with the appropriate amount of silica, the above symptoms showed considerable improvement, in addition to this: collagen levels elevated, calcium absorption increased, and cardiovascular support strengthened. The texture of the hair, skin and nails showed improvement, as well.

Scientists also discovered that silica is important for making the collagen matrix structure, where calcium deposits are used for building and strengthening bones. Silica is so imperative for forming healthy bones, that some scientists believe silica supplements are even more important than calcium for maintaining bone strength.

Earl Mindell, author of the "Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible" says "many athletes and body builders take silicon supplements to help prevent connective tissue injury and to speed recovery, if they are already injured."

A well-known New York nutritionist, Edward Lemmo, says silica is "the mineral-building block that promotes healthy bone and connective tissue and helps prevent premature aging and cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases." It is believed that silica can help protect against Alzheimer's, because it decreases the amount of aluminum absorbed by the body.

Silica supplements become even more necessary as we age, because the human body absorbs and uses less of it, with each passing year. This may be one reason we lose flexibility and joint stability as we get older. In Jack Williams column "Keeping Fit", he writes, "because silica is essential for collagen production, it's not a leap to assume that a decline in silica content in the skin can lead to visible signs of aging."

In addition to our ever increasing need for silica, another challenge is that silica cannot easily be found in large quantities in most foods. Though it can be found in certain cereal grains, such as: oats, millet, barley, wheat and potatoes, along with fruits, beets and turnips - most silica is usually lost in the refinement process of these foods.

The average daily intake of silica from the diet is approximately 20 to 50 milligrams per day, but the optimum dose is higher. Researchers are finding that by supplementing the diet with a minimum of 40 milligrams of silica a day, the skin shows an improvement of elasticity, texture and thickness. Added benefits include helping weakened teeth and gums, strengthening bones, and decreasing hair loss. Overall, silica was found to help the body repair, rebuild, strengthen, and lessen or eliminate many body ailments associated with aging.

Silica is considered safe and virtually non-toxic. For easiest assimilation, the best form is to take it in liquid, for internal assistance, or lotion for direct application to the skin. Nutritionists can recommend as much as 1000 milligrams per day.

RESOURCES:

"Silicon Biochemistry," Ciba Foundation Symposium 121. John Wiley & Sons, 1986.

"Silica," Edward a. Lemmo, Ph.D. Keats Publishing, Inc., 1998.

"Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible", Earl Mindell.

"Public Eye - Keeping Fit," Jack Williams. San Diego Union-Tribune, July 13, 1998.

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The most ancient form of health care known to man is herbal medicine. For generations, herbs have been used to provide medicinal benefits. Historical records have shown that Egyptians, Romans, Native Americans and many other cultures have used herbs to cure most ailments. Even the word "drug" has its roots from this natural healing method. "Drug" is derived from the Dutch word "drogge", meaning "to dry", which is one of the more common forms of herbal medicine.

For years, pharmaceutical companies have used healing properties from herbs to produce drugs. Approximately 25% of prescription drugs come from plants and are similar in purpose and use to that of ancient times. Of the approximate 500,000 plants, including subspecies, in the world today, a mere 5,000 have been studied for their medicinal benefits.

Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago says, "This illustrates the need for modern medicine and science to turn its attention to the plant world once again to find new medicine that might cure cancer, AIDS, diabetes. . . .Considering that 121 prescription drugs come from only ninety species of plants, and that 74 percent of these were discovered following up native folklore claims, a logical person would have to say there may still be more jackpots out there."

There are reasons why modern medicine has retreated from using pure herbs in treating illness and health problems. The main reason has to do with economics. Herbs can not be patented. Another reason is that the gathering and preparation of herbal medicine is neither as easy to control, nor are supplies as constantly available, as laboratory pharmaceuticals.

In developing new drugs from plants, a point often ignored is that the removal and isolation of the active ingredient may leave out other healing properties contained in the plant.

Nature knows best how to balance all the essential healing properties, and when we extract only specific ingredients from the herbs, we tend to lose a vast array of other healing characteristics the plant may offer.

These "missing" properties could be needed as enzymes, catalysts, buffers, etc. When we use these properties in their complete form, the body may better use this balance of ingredients - as nature intended - for healing, and not just masking symptoms.

Andrew Weil, MD, of Tucson, Arizona says that herbs have a slower and less dramatic effect than drugs, in the initial results. . . . "doctors and patients accustomed to the rapid, intense effects of synthetic medicines may become impatient with botanicals for this reason."

Even so, herbal medicine is having a resurgence in popularity. Executive Director of the American Botanical Council, Mark Blumenthal says, "the revival of interest in herbal medicine is a worldwide phenomenon."

David Hoffmann, of the American Herbalist Guild, says herbal medicine". . . has an abundance of gifts to offer both individuals in search of health and a society in search of compassionate, affordable health care. With the growing recognition of the value of herbs, it is surely time to examine the professional therapeutic use of these herbs. There are profound changes happening in the American culture and herbal medicine (green medicine) is playing an ever-increasing role in people's experience of this transformation."

Due to growing interest in natural healing, increased availability, few side effects, along with being one of the least expensive ways to improve our health, the popularity of herbal medicine will continue to grow as we enter the 21st Century.

Next month: "The Various Forms and Use of Herbal Medicine"

RESOURCES:

"Prescription For Nutritional Healing: A Practical A-Z Reference To Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements", James F. Balch, M.D., Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C. Avery Publishing Group, 1997. (Available through our Book Store)

"Alternative Medicine," Burton Goldberg Group. Future Medicine Publishing, Inc., 1994.

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