herbs

I have put together a small publication incorporating information on herbs and dietary
supplements in what I call my “Shotgun Hypothesis.” Below are the principle herbs I use in my
attempt to cope with COPD and to have a healthier life style in general. This page will be
updated and added to from time-to-time. Perhaps when the publication is completed, this page
can be used as a newsletter for the Shotgun Hypothesis.

This short list contains the herbs I live or die by. I have several years of experience growing and
using these herbs and am truly convinced they are very beneficial. Except for garlic, all of the
pictures of herbs are from my own beds.

Garlic - is as close to being a miracle healer as we have and I am including manufactured
medications. It is antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal and anthelmintic (worms). It is also a good
expectorant. The sulfur compounds in garlic account for much of its beneficial properties. It is my
choice of treatments for combating respiratory infection. Since these infections can be bacterial or
viral, garlic fights either or both. It is not as fast in its cure as a commercially produced antibiotic, but
much better for viral infections than so-called modern medicine has devised in the form of drugs.

A garlic bulb is composed of several independent pieces called cloves. One
medium clove has been reported to be equivalent to 1/10 of a dose of
penicillin. Ten cloves is a big dose of garlic! The most I have ever taken is
three or four cloves at the same time and maybe 12-15 in a 24 hour period. It
is difficult to equal the dosage of penicillin with garlic but it always seems to
work for me. Also, I am taking several other herbs including echinacea,
thyme, and rosemary in addition to zinc to combat an infection. One thing to
bear in mind about herbal medicine is that it is not a fast cure. It is not a magic
bullet. It should be used more for preventative than as a cure.

Of course, the down side to using garlic is garlic breath. This prevents many from using the best
medicine available. Garlic cloves should be consumed fresh, either home-grown or purchased at a
local grocery store. The outer skin is removed from a clove and it is either chewed or sliced into
smaller pieces for easier consumption. A clove should not be swallowed whole.
All the years I have preached the merits of garlic, I have not made a single convert that I know of.
The typical reaction is: “I bet you're not bothered by vampires.” Well, they are right. I have never
experienced a problem with vampires. One more benefit for the miracle herb.

My wife's late uncle once gave me a book devoted to the praise of garlic and vinegar for health
benefits. This may have been the start of my using garlic on a routine basis. I know it is when I
began using apple cider vinegar a couple of times daily. I think the book recommended three times
a day, but with all of my other supplements, I opted to cut one. I start my day with two teaspoons of
apple cider vinegar mixed in a glass of water. I take a second round after supper. It offers me a
quick benefit in the morning by allowing me to cough up phlegm from my throat. Some usually comes
up directly after drinking the vinegar. There are a lot of beneficial minerals in the vinegar. My oldest
daughter told me that regular dosages of apple cider vinegar strengthened her fingernails.

Onion - is botanically close to garlic and offers most of the same medicinal qualities, but it takes a
lot more onion to get the same benefits as garlic. Although not as potent, onion is a workable
substitute, or even better, an additional health benefit. Sweet onions are lower in sulfur content and
not as medicinally beneficial as regular onions. When fighting an infection, I use more onion than
normal. I don’t grow my own, but get several gift garden-grown onions throughout the year. I also
pile it on at salad bars.

Rosemary - One of my favorite herbs. I have four medium size shrubs and
two smaller ones. I had a prostrate rosemary, but it fell victim to drought,
flood, cold temperature, or disease. Maybe a combination. I usually use
rosemary in a tea at least five times a week and sometimes eat the leaves
fresh. For the tea, I cut three rosemary terminals about three inches long. I
use three sage leaves (various sizes) and one lemon grass leaf (usually
about 18-inches long). After washing the foliage, it is crammed into a tea
ball. A cup of tap water in a microwave for two minutes, the tea ball inserted
and the tea is steeped for 15-minutes. It is good for many things including
memory. It seems to act as a good expectorant when eating the fresh
leaves. And it sure does smell good. I like to rub the leaves between my
fingers and then smell them. The scent lingers on the fingers a long time.
Rosemary grows year round here. I have never been without fresh
rosemary so there has been no need to dry any although I have dried some
and it keeps well.

Sage - I read that sage and thyme are good for fighting the tooth plaque bacteria. I used a tea
every day for several months. It has helped some, but my dentist still has to scrape my teeth pretty
hard to remove the plaque on my semi-yearly cleaning. When I first started the sage/thyme
treatment, I ate fresh leaves. I used my tongue to work the rough sage leaf pieces over my teeth at
the gum line. Thyme stems are a little hard to chew so I started making a tea by using three sage
leaves and three pieces of thyme about 4-inches long. The foliage is washed and placed in a tea
ball and steeped for 15-minutes in water that has been brought to a boil. I normally make two cups
of tea with the same tea ball about 3-4 hours apart. I sometimes eat the foliage after the tea has
been brewed. If I don't eat the leaves, I bury the remains in one of my herb beds the next day along
with any green tea bags I might have used.

Thyme – has several medicinal actions, two of which I use it for: anti-microbial
activity and as an expectorant. I began using thyme with sage as a plaque
fighter. The past two years, it has become one of my main aids for my
respiratory problem. I make a tea as described for sage.

Gotu kola - The Chinese once claimed that eating one gotu kola leaf a
day extends the eater's life expectancy 1000 years. That was good enough
for me to include gotu kola in my shotgun arsenal. Now it is touted for
memory maintenance. I believe that the herb has properties that increase
blood flow to the brain, much like Ginkgo bilobia. Scott and White Hospital
in Temple, Texas is involved in studying gotu kola for it potential use as an
anticancer agent.

About three years ago I experienced a burst of hair growth on all parts of my body including
the bald spot on the top of my head which is now covered with hair to some extent. People have
told me I could get rich with my hair growing formula. The problem is: I don't know what is
responsible for the hair growth from the many things I take. Hair growth wasn't something I was
trying for. It just happened. A bonus. I tend to think it is a combination of several of the herbs
and supplements. Gotu kola and Ginkgo both stimulate blood flow in the brain area. I'm
reasonably sure these two herbs are at least partially responsible for the hair growth. Other
hair-growth aids potentials are: garlic, rosemary, ginseng, apple cider vinegar and perhaps
melatonin and DHEA. It could be a combination of all the supplements I use. If it was something
simple, it would have been discovered and exploited long ago.

Echinacea (Purple Cone Flower) – This herb ranks a close second to
garlic as my most useful herb. It’s a native American plant and used
extensively by Native Americans. It’s antibiotic quality and the ability to
stimulate the immune system are my prime uses. All parts of the plant are
medicinally useful, but the roots are the most effective. Although I dry
roots to use, I seldom do because I normally produce a prolific seed crop.
I mainly use seed for medicinal purposes. I normally take 12 seeds a day
when I am fighting an infection although I have seen warnings to not use
more than six seeds a day. The seed are very convenient to store and
easily packed for a trip. The seed produce a numbing effect on the
tongue when chewed. Echinacea blooms practically year round where I
live. (The above photograph was taken in December).

The above is an excerpt from the booklet, My Shotgun Approach to Wellness by Ken
Woodard and is intended for information only. It does not claim to prevent or cure any
disease. Anyone using medicinal herbs should consult a professional health care
provider before doing so.