TRADITIONAL HOME AND HERBAL REMEDIES

Jan de Vries was not only interested to learn everything about my experiences of when, where and how to collect herbs and which methods were to be followed, he also insisted on taking part in the actual process of extracting beneficial ingredients. As he was a trained and qualified pharmacist, he was already familiar with the world of plants and herbs and had considerable knowledge in this field. He accepted an invitation to join our firm which gave us the chance to establish a working relationship which has lasted for years. He was one of my best pupils, if not the very best, and he had the opportunity to further develop his given talents in the field of natural medicine.

I was very happy to share with him my enthusiasm for nature and the world of plants, as originated by the sovereign power of the Creator. He was also prepared to accept my principle that herbal medicine should always have priority in the treatment of illnesses.

As a result of our experiences we both agreed that through knowledge and advice on natural methods and herbal remedies it was possible to improve one’s health and keep illnesses at bay. Nature itself is capable of healing.

Drawing on many years of experience I was able to convince Jan de Vries completely that herbal medicine in combination with a natural diet could create positive responses in the body in order to ward off ailments. By creating the right conditions for the body and supplying it with the correct nourishment, one is able to activate one’s own regeneration system. In this way it is possible to overcome as well as cure ailments. We realise more and more, and my experience over many years in practice has contributed to this, that we don’t just have an important role to play in the curing of illnesses, but also in the prevention of medical disturbances. This requires us to put emphasis on preventive medicine. Prevention is better than cure.

This principle plays a major role in our programme. In an effort to clarify this to patients and other interested parties, I myself have written several books, such as The Nature Doctor.

Jan de Vries was immediately prepared to share with his friends and later with his patients my experiences and he recommended these books for their information. He is, I am pleased to repeat, my most successful ‘pupil’. His success from which many patients have benefited is, however, not only a result of his talents, it is also thanks to the Creator who has supplied so many plants with healing powers.

I am very pleased that Jan de Vries is making the effort of sharing his knowledge and experiences with us on paper. His books are written in simple language, readily understood by both patients and laymen alike. In them he deals with natural ways and methods using herbal remedies to overcome ailments and illnesses.

It is important that not just the obvious symptoms are cured as conventional medicine would teach us. We must look for the cause of the illness in order to continue the treatment and find a cure for the source. Very little benefit is obtained by clearing up an ache or easing a sensitivity if we are not able to eliminate the cause. In order to do this we should study the whole person and attempt to recognise which factors have contributed to this condition. There could be very many reasons – for example, a breathing difficulty or a movement disorder, shortage of oxygen, rest or sleep. There can be so many causes of a biological imbalance.

Jan de Vries has acquired and developed a vast knowledge in this area. With perseverance he builds up an overall picture of total health, not forgetting the physical and mental conditions of the patient.

I am convinced that in this book he will show many sufferers the right way to recovery in plain and simple language. It is an excellent complement to my books, as we have both sincerely attempted to serve our fellow men and share with them our knowledge acquired from our understanding and experience of the bounty of nature.

Browsing through this medical library and looking into the medical history prior to the establishment of homoeopathy, we saw remedies in books which are being used to great effect today. Looking at it, we can be grateful that in this day and age so much of ancient medical knowledge has been rediscovered. After all, if perhaps a fraction of all the money which is spent in medical research today had been spent to research God’s natural healing gifts to mankind, I am sure that we would have gained a lot of knowledge. Weren’t even the healing properties of Digitalis or foxglove found by accident? And haven’t they been a blessing to millions of people?

I was greatly surprised when Alfred Vogel and I took a group of medical students into the Jura Hills and showed them weeds, herbs and roots which were growing there and of which the students had no knowledge. My dear old friend, Alfred Vogel, who gave his lifetime to the study of herbs and plants used medicinally and was a blessing to so many people, told this group about some of the purposes of these horticultural gifts over which we often tread without realisation of their healing powers.

I remember very well as a child that a very old herbalist lived in our town. Many people went to him and even though his knowledge of the healing properties was limited, he was in great demand. I also used to sit at my grandmother’s feet and listen to her wonderful stories about the gifts with which Mother Nature had supplied us. Her knowledge had been passed down from her mother and some of these old treatments we can see back in use today.

It is a really wonderful thing to think that in our lifetime some of these marvellous remedies are again getting the attention they deserve.

I have been practising in Scotland for over 15 years. If we look back over the history of medicine, even as far back as the thirteenth century, many of the beautiful abbeys in Jedburgh, Kelso, Melrose, Dryburgh, Newbattle, Holyrood, Kilwinning and even Culzean Castle had herb gardens. Everywhere we find here the learning of what was given by nature to alleviate human suffering. Each monastery or priory had translations of ancient medical books in which herbs used by the monks were described. Medicinal plants include the rose, bean, savoury, cumin, fennel, lily, sage and mint, etc. There are a huge variety of wonderful plants, herbs and roots which were used then and are in use once again today. If I think, however, of the treasures of horticulture which have not yet been researched and the knowledge we might still gather, then that research will be more than worthwhile.

I fully realised this during a visit to South Africa when in the Cape Province I was shown some herbal plants which had never been researched before, till an old professor, anxious to learn more about them, conducted some experiments with the plants. One of these plants today is being used for cancer treatment.

Time and time again we are left to stand in wonder and amazement by the life energy contained by some plants, roots and herbs.

If we look deep into the resources of the British Museum in London, where Britain’s oldest and most precious manuscripts are kept, we see writings compiled over centuries. We are again surprised by the wonderful healing methods which were used by our forefathers, whose knowledge we have inherited through these manuscripts. Few people are aware of the existence of these books, let alone have the opportunity to study them, but the knowledge we can gain here is considerable. They give us an insight into the medical history of Britain over the centuries and describe many natural healing methods which once more are gaining popularity.

Varieties of herbal potions have often unjustly been referred to as placebos. Nowadays, though, we know that herbal potions have been of assistance to many people. The magical workings of extracts and mixtures have been used for centuries to the benefit of mankind. Much is written about these simple, harmless and generally useful remedies. Even the Primitive Physic or The Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases, composed by John Wesley (1703–1791), had reached its 21st edition by 1785. All these writings, including today’s publications, give us an insight into the traditions of old folk medicine.

I would like to take you for a walk in the kingdom of herbs, plants and roots and all that grows in God’s nature. I will pick a few leaves, pull a few herbs, look at a few weeds and tell you why over the years they have been of such help in my practice.

Some traditional British, especially Scottish, herbs have been used throughout history as home remedies. I not only marvel at their efficacy and suitability for so many purposes, but I am also surprised at their multitude. It has been a pleasure to me that not only my old gardener, who has been so loyal to me over the years, but also a doctor’s widow from South Uist as well as many other people have given me information. I feel privileged that so many patients have shared with me some of these old methods and cures which have been handed down for generations by their forefathers, and it is my sincere hope that the reader of this book will get the same pleasure and benefit.

Over the more than 30 years that I have been in practice, thousands of testimonials from all over the world have reached me. If ever I were asked if I believe that there are plants, roots and herbs to cure every illness, my honest answer must be: YES.

The effects of the medicinal properties of that which grows in the soil is the way to good health. Many people, having gone through the conventional channels of doctors and hospitals, have come to me and I have turned to nature for advice. They have been able to regain their health, with the aid of some perhaps old but not forgotten methods.

I clearly remember a period during the Second World War when my mother was asked to help out in the badly hit area around Arnhem. The house where she was based was next to a monastery and I got to know an old monk there in charge of the herbal garden, who taught me some of his knowledge.

The first herb I learnt about was the marigold. I looked at this flower, whose Latin name is Calendula officinalis, and learnt that it was used by the Romans on the first day of every month. I did not know it then but found out later that Calendula is a wonderful remedy to aid the healing of wounds. The monk also told me that the old alchemists would chase away evil spirits with the Calendula. With all his interesting stories he aroused something in me and my interest in the field of herbal medicine has never waned.

The monk also told me about the Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) and though I was not aware then, nowadays Shepherd’s Purse is used as an effective remedy for internal bleedings and also for menstrual problems.

He showed me the Centaurium umbellatum – our cornflower – and told me that the old Greeks used this plant for stomach problems and to improve the appetite. However, in our modern society Centaurium is a wonderful remedy for the problem of anorexia nervosa.

I could go on, but in this book I will mention some of the remedies I prescribe quite often and which have become the mainstay of my practice.

It is fascinating when we look at herbs today, to realise the link they give us with the ancient civilisations of China, Greece, Egypt and India – countries where I have looked at herbs and found the herbs of modern day are the same as we read about in the Bible or even in the Sumerian tablets of 2000 BC.

The practical use of herbs or plants for either culinary or medicinal purposes will give the reader an idea of how much can be done to alleviate suffering through the use of these harmless remedies. A good herbalist is merely concerned with the question of why the body has not been able to heal itself. He will try to direct and influence the vital force or the life energy with the help of herbs and plants to overcome the problem.

The majority of illnesses can be cured by herbalism, which can also be used as a prevention of disease. When I travelled to China, where I worked for a period of time, I learnt to combine traditional and preventive medicine. These methods combine well together and preventive health care is so important because of the way our bodies are under attack in these modern times. It is of the utmost importance that we keep the vital force of the plant as unadulterated as possible. One of the reasons I like Alfred Vogel’s preparations is that when I studied with him I witnessed that he only used fresh herbs and plants. Their juices were extracted and conserved so that the obtained product was as fresh as possible. He was almost the only person in the world who managed to do this.

It is impossible to always explain the exact workings of those plants and herbs created by God. The well-known Emil Schlegel stated that each blossom which blooms in the garden and each leaf which grows, speaks a mystic language. We then realise that today in this busy life of ours there are things we just cannot explain and that are beyond human understanding, but which we have to accept as gifts to help mankind. We have to respect this healing power. A well-known Dutch poet puts it beautifully:

This remedy has indeed been a blessing to numerous people. The herb is not found a great deal in this country, although it could grow well enough in Britain. The plant and flower originates from Mexico, where it is used in the treatment of infections and inflammations.

Echinaforce, made of 95 per cent Echinacea purpurea herba and 5 per cent Echinacea purpurea radix into a fresh herb preparation, can be used as a non-specific therapy. In Germany and Switzerland it has become very popular and today it is known as one of the finest natural antibiotics. Echinaforce causes an increase in the body’s resistance against colds and it is suitable in case of dermatological problems. Internally it clears septic processes and the processes of inflammation, giving a faster healing effect.

After working with this particular remedy for nearly 25 years, I was not surprised that Alfred Vogel singled out the preparation for mention in the interview, because even today I am still amazed at the results my patients receive from the use of Echinaforce.

One day, a young couple, who are both doctors, contacted me. They had tried unsuccessfully for a baby and asked me for some advice. After a period of time I received a card bearing the news that a baby girl had been born, to everyone’s delight. Not long after the birth of the baby, however, the father phoned me in despair and told me that the baby was in hospital where numerous antibiotics had been tried, but that the baby’s constant diarrhoea could not be stopped. He was desperate and asked if I could perhaps think of something which could be of help. I told him about Albert Schweitzer, who treated so many people in Lamborene successfully with the Echinacea extract. I also told him that if he phoned Alfred Vogel, he would immediately be told to use Echinaforce and I reminded him that we had discussed this remedy before and that I had experienced occasions where everything else had failed and yet Echinaforce had brought results.

I instructed him to start carefully with five drops, three times a day, and then step it up a little. After a week he phoned me to say that to his delight the remedy had worked and that his daughter was saved. Proof again indeed of what a wonderful remedy this is.

A patient comes to mind who lives close to my clinic and who had a dermatological problem which I diagnosed after a few tests as being a wheat allergy. Even after banning wheat from her diet, the problem persisted and she despaired. I prescribed a massive dose of Echinaforce: three time daily 30 drops and within ten days the problem was cleared. How grateful she was.