Fw: THE HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE IN NORTH AMERICA (Part Four)

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Saturday, November 29, 2003 2:04 AM

THE HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE IN

NORTH AMERICA (Part Four)

 

 

http://www.redflagsweekly.com/caldecott/2003_nov17.html

 

 

THE HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE IN NORTH AMERICA

 

(Part Four)

 

By RFD Columnist, Todd Caldecott

of Clinical Herbal Studies

Wild Rose College Of Natural Healing

Calgary, Alberta

 

Email: phyto

Website

 

In this major series, RFD Columnist, Todd Caldecott explores the history of

herbal medicine in North America, with the view of fostering a better

understanding of the issues that face modern herbalists and a greater

appreciation of the evolution of the relationships between alternative,

complimentary and conventional medicine.

 

Herbal medicine in North America has a long and venerable tradition, from

the First Nations practices that were in existence thousands of years before

the first colonists arrived, to the development of four-year clinical

programs at the turn of the last century.

 

Thomson's patented system of medicine

 

According to Thomson's conceptual framework of bodily function, heat was

synonymous with vitality, whereas cold " was the cause of disease " (Thomson

1841, 506) Thomson states " that to restore the heat or animal warmth to its

natural standard was the only way that health and strength could be

produced " (Thomson 1841, 506). Thomson felt that only " after restoring the

natural heat of the body by clearing the system of all obstructions, and

causing a natural perspiration, the stomach would digest the food taken, by

which means the whole body is nourished and invigorated and the heat of the

body. is able to hold its supremacy " (Thomson 1841, 506). Similar to

Ayurvedic medicine, Thomson believed that heat radiated outwards from the

stomach to the periphery of the body, and was thus the foundation of health.

" The heat is maintained in the stomach by consuming food; and all the body

and limbs receive their proportion of nourishment and heat from that source;

as the whole room is warmed by the

fire which is consumed in the fireplace " (Thomson 50, 1825). Thomson

believed that concretions could build up in the stomach, impairing

absorption and weakening digestion. Thus, cleaning the stomach of these

concretions was tantamount to regaining health. To do this Thomson felt " all

the art required " was " to know what medicine will do it, and how to

administer it, as a person knows how to clear a stove and the pipe when

clogged with soot " (Thomson 190, 1825).

 

According to Thomson's theoretical framework, diseases would arise when the

internal heat of the stomach was obstructed from circulating to the

periphery, or if an attack of cold or shock came from without, obstructing

the natural flow of the internal heat. Following this theory, Thomson

advocated diaphoresis, or sweating therapies, as a general cure to " remove

all obstructions from the system (and) restore the powers of digestion "

(Thomson 506, 1841). Thomson felt that to " promote a natural perspiration is

universally applicable in all cases of disease, and therefore may be

considered as a general remedy " (Thomson 506, 1841). Thomson believed that

the presence of fever was the most important single factor in overcoming

disease, and where obstruction or a deficiency of heat promoted disease, he

sought to induce a fever to assist the body in its battle to overcome the

underlying pathology of coldness.

 

Throughout Thomson's writing he refers to " canker " as an archetypal form

that disease can manifest. What Thomson referred to as a canker were the

physical symptoms of coldness, noticed as the " white .coat(ing) that was

attached to the mucous membranes " (Thomson 507, 1841). " Canker and

putrefaction are caused by cold, or want of heat, for whenever any part of

the body is so affected with the cold so as to overpower the natural heat,

putrefaction commences; and if not strong enough to overcome its progress,

it will communicate with the blood, when death will end the contest between

heat and cold, or the powers of life and death by deciding in favor of the

latter " (Thomson 507, 1841).

 

The remedy Thomson considered of prime importance to restore the natural

heat of the body was Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), what he would later call No.

1 in his patented system of healing. Using the analogy of the wood stove,

Thomson compared the activity of Lobelia to dry wood shavings added to a

dying fire, enkindling and ensuring a proper burn to draw the smoke out

through the chimney. Thus Lobelia was stimulant to digestion, and promoted

the movement of the stomach's heat to the periphery, correcting circulation.

And just as the cause of a fire that will not burn properly can be the

accumulation of soot in the stovepipe, Lobelia could also throw off the

canker through its emetic activity. " It is searching, enlivening,

quickening, and has great power in removing obstructions " (Thomson 589,

1841). But just as kindling burns quickly, Thomson found that the activity

of Lobelia " .soon exhausts itself, and if not followed by some other

medicine, to hold the vital heat till nature is able

to support itself by digesting the food, it will not be sufficient to

remove a disease that has become seated " (Thomson 589, 1841). He began a

search for such a remedy.

 

Thomson tried various pungent herbs, such as Ginger (Zingiber officinalis),

Mustard (Brassica nigra) and Peppermint (Mentha piperita) to hold the heat

in the body, and while he had good results with these herbs, found them to

be " .more or less volatile, and would not have the desired effect " (Thomson

591, 1841). One day in 1805, on a trip to visit some friends on a farm in

Massachusetts, Thomson stopped in at a local residence. When he entered the

house he saw a large string of Cayenne peppers hanging on the wall. Although

he knew them to be pungent in nature, he wasn't sure of their medicinal

activity. He purchased the string of peppers and took them home, prepared a

powder from them, and experimented upon himself. The taste and resulting

effect was remarkable to Thomson, certainly the most pungent and heating

herb he had ever tasted. Thomson later put Cayenne to the test when he felt

a cold coming on, and found that it promoted a good perspiration and

dispelled his symptoms.

Thomson felt at last he had found his No.2 medicine, Cayenne pepper

(Capsicum annuum), something to sustain the fire of digestion after Lobelia

had enkindled it. According to Thomson, Cayenne " .is no doubt the most

powerful stimulant ever known; its power is entirely congenial to nature,

being powerful only when raising and maintaining the heat, on which life

depends. It is extremely pungent, and when taken sets the mouth as it were

on fire; this lasts, however, but a few minutes, and I consider it

essentially a benefit, for its effects on the glands causes the saliva to

flow freely, and leaves the mouth clean and moist " (Thomson 593, 1841).

 

While Lobelia and Cayenne were to become the mainstay of many of his

treatments, there were many more herbs that Thomson found useful in

practice. In deep-seated conditions, after he employed Lobelia to stimulate

the fires of the body and Cayenne to hold it, Thomson found he needed

something else to continue the work of removing the canker, without

necessarily promoting emesis. For this purpose he employed the pungent and

astringent Bayberry bark (Myrica cerifera). " This valuable article may be

taken separately, or compounded with other substances, and is the best

remedy for canker that I have ever found. " Thomson soon found other plants

that could do the job as well as Bayberry, and began to use other, similarly

astringent and warming herbs such White Pond Lily root (Nymphaea odorata),

Sumac leaf (Rhus glabra), Hemlock bark (Pinus canadensis), Witch Hazel bark

(Hamamelis virginiana), Red Raspberry leaf (Rubus ideaus), and Marsh

Rosemary root (Statice limonium). Having established

these three primary classes of therapeutic activity, Thomson used this

approach repeatedly, with excellent results. Thomson was by no means limited

however to these three simple approaches however, and as his experience grew

so did the subtly of his practice. We find that he added plants to his

therapeutic armamentarium continually. After using No.3 to remove the

canker, Thomson then gave his No.4 remedy to correct the digestive organs

and enhance secretion, which could be dosed as a single or combination of

bitter tasting herbs such as Balmony (Chelone glabra), Bitter root (Apocynum

androsaemifolium), Poplar bark (Populus tremuloides), and Barberry (Berberis

vulgaris).

 

Thomson's No.5 remedies were intended to be restoratives to the entire body,

prepared as a syrup containing crushed Peach kernels (Prunus persica),

Cherry pits (Prunus virginiana) and Myrrh resin (Commiphora mukul). This was

an especially important formula in the treatment of dysentery, which Thomson

used with great success in the Cholera epidemics. Finally, Thomson developed

his No.6 remedy or " Rheumatic drops, " composed of equal parts Myrrh gum and

Cayenne pepper, to treat pain and restore circulation. Thomson had learned

of the importance of Myrrh when he was a young man working in Vermont, on an

acreage his father had bought. Thomson had badly injured his foot, and an

old Canadian passing through the area commended the usage of Myrrh tincture

(Haller, 23). After this experience Thomson began to use it on others, and

upon mixing it with Cayenne discovered that the remedy worked even better.

 

In addition to these six basic components of his therapeutic program,

Thomson also made great use of the now endangered orchid, Lady's Slipper

(Cypripedium pubescens), as a reliable antispasmodic and substitute for

opium. Overtime, Thomson would add more and more botanicals to his system,

and through his efforts many of our most important medicinal herbs were

introduced into widespread usage, such as Goldenseal root (Hydrastis

canadensis), Osha (Ligusticum porteri), and American Ginseng (Panax

quinquefolium) (Wilder 1904, 454).

 

Although nothing can truly compare to the barbarous practice of the

" Regular " doctors, Thomson's therapeutic approaches were certainly no

cakewalk. In one example of Thomson's courses, a patient would be steamed

until he or she were sweating profusely, when the " .veins have become full

upon the feet, hands and temples " (Thomson 1825, 83-4), and then put to bed.

The second phase of the treatment would continue with the patient drinking a

mug of hot wine sweetened with molasses, to which had been added

teaspoonfuls of Lobelia, Cayenne, and Bayberry powder. A similar preparation

would then be injected rectally, and all would continue to be administered

every so often until the patient began to vomit. In between bouts the

patient would be given a bland gruel and some Pennyroyal tea (Mentha

pulegium). Emetic therapies would only be discontinued once the practitioner

had determined that the patient had successfully purged the canker. Once

their stomachs settled the patients typically felt

much better, and shared in a glass of bitter aperitif to celebrate their

health (Griggs 1981, 166-67).

 

CONTINUING

 

 

 

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