[MPWG] herbal remedies associated with heart drugs

Thu Feb 4 10:26:17 CST 2010

My institution is currently doing some work with New Chapter (notably,
botanical inventory on their organic farm, Sacred Seeds medicinal forest
garden, and nature preserve in Costa Rica), and I can definitely confirm
that they have NOT been bought by a pharma.

________________________________

From: mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:mpwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of
marguerite uhlmann-bower
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 9:40 AM
To: Jean Giblette
Cc: mpwg at lists.plantconservation.org; Andrea Schwarzbach
Subject: Re: [MPWG] herbal remedies associated with heart drugs

Thank you thank you, Jean. 

Which brings up a question for me after reading your thoughts. 

Can someone out there please shed some light for me on a rumor I heard
not too long ago
about a pharmaceutical company (?) having purchased New Chapter. Yes,
New Chapter. 
That wonderful grass roots company. Is it true? Not true?

I emailed New Chapter a couple weeks ago and have yet to hear back from
them on this.

OK. So lets say they did 'sell out' to big pharma. 

Now what? Its the American way is it not? More is better. Growth is what

capitalism is all about. I was just having this conversation with my
husband this
a.m. So how do we as Americans be happy with what we have? Maintain /
sustain?  
Accept less as more? 

Am I ready to give up my house b/c I can't afford to live here or do I
sell 
out to someone that will enable me? 

Its no different than what we're seeing here in New York. Farmers and or
land 
owners selling out to Gas Co's for the other kind of green even though
they're 
well aware that the land that feeds us is going to be fracked, poisoned
and cut in half. 

Money talks. We know it. AMA, Pharmaceuticals, Corporate America know it
too. 
Actually, isn't that why man becomes doctors. Our mothers told them 'go
to school, become 
a doctor and make lots of money'. 

But money, more is better, capitalism, fear, power over, are all
effecting herbs,
leeching out the health of our plants and trees.

Marguerite

On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Jean Giblette <hfg at capital.net> wrote:

Many of our perception problems regarding medicinal plants are caused by
the industrialization of medicine.  Within the past century or so, we
have come to assume that medicine is (a) manufactured (b) from "raw
materials," (c) extracted from the earth, (d) by indigenous poor (i.e.
rural) people, and (e) the more refinement added, the more "value"
assigned.

Each one of these assumptions is an artifact, now being challenged.  The
establishment of Oriental Medicine in North America has helped us return
to the full context of medicine, which definitely includes food.
Traditional Asian medicine, guided by sophisticated theoretical
constructs including detailed models of human health, recorded
contextual medicinal uses of one-quarter of their known plant species.
(Their temperate zone species are closely related to those in the other
northern temperate regions.)  So --hello! -- it's not the biochemicals
in the plants, it's the many elaborate ways to choose, combine and
integrate the plants into the diet.  (Yes, we have decades worth of
details to work out.)  

The leading-edge medicinal plant cultivators are returning us to the
knowledge of how plants can express the power of a highly-biodiverse
setting, like wild plants in a healthy biome, to maximize their healing
potential.  The cultivators/stewards are also beginning to insist on
parity pricing, in acknowledgement of the principle of economic
sustainability.  I believe this process is inverting the "value chain."

The paradigm shift is occurring despite the efforts of the industrial
Powers-That-Be to hold it back.  Their reactions may be oppressive, but
more and more health professionals are realizing what's happening and
are proceeding to educate themselves.  

Anyone in doubt about Pharma's goals and methods, including how
published papers are sometimes manufactured for a pre-determined
conclusion, read this book:  Peterson, Melody, 2009. Our Daily Meds: How
the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves Into Slick Marketing
Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs  (Picador
paperback).

Also, remember that Pharma now owns the largest dietary supplement
corporations, so the line between drugs and herbal products has been
blurred.  The operative concept here is "manufactured product."

We have our work cut out for us, good luck to everyone.

Jean

On Feb 2, 2010, at 7:06 PM, Andrea Schwarzbach wrote:

	Hi!
	The CNN report mentioned below is summarizing  a recently
published paper [Tachjian A, Maria V, Jahangir A. Use of herbal products
and potential interactions in patients with cardiovascular diseases. J
Amer Coll Cardiol. 2010;55(6). [DOI:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.07.074] that has
major flaws and is obviously written by someone who is a specialist in
cardiology but certainly has no clue about botany or medicinal plants. 

	You might be interested in a press release by the American
Botanical Council regarding the original paper pointing out some of the
many mistakes.

http://cms.herbalgram.org/press/2010/Response_CardiologyArticle.html

	Best wishes,

	Dr. Andrea Schwarzbach
	Associate Professor
	University of Texas-Brownsville
	Department of Biological Sciences
	80 Fort Brown
	Brownsville, TX 78520

	On 2/2/10 11:33 AM, "Emanuela Appetiti"
<ceo at medicaltraditions.org> wrote:

	HI!

	Thought you might be interested in this article about some
herbal remedies affecting the activity of heart drugs, appeared today in
CNN health:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/01/moh.healthmag.remedies.avoid/

	Best,

	Emanuela Appetiti

	<http://medicaltraditions.org/> 

	ceo at medicaltraditions.org <mailto:info at medicaltraditions.org> 

	+1 202 633 0967

	PO Box 7606
	Washington, DC 20044-7606 
	USA

	www.medicaltraditions.org <http://medicaltraditions.org/> 

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Jean Giblette, Director

HIGH FALLS GARDENS

Box 125 Philmont NY 12565

518-672-7365, hfg at capital.net

www.highfallsgardens.net

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Disclaimer
Any advice given on this list regarding diagnosis or treatments etc.
reflects ONLY the opinion of the individual who posts the message. The
information contained in posts is not intended nor implied to be a
substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific
medical condition or question. All medical and other healthcare
information that is discussed on this list should be carefully reviewed
by the individual reader and their qualified healthcare professional.
Posts do not reflect any official opinions or positions of the Plant
Conservation Alliance.

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-- 

Marguerite Uhlmann-Bower, R.N., Herbalist
TheHerbalNurses(tm)
226 Kelso Rd. / Sanders Lane 
East Meredith, NY 13757
(607) 278-9635

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