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Adapt Yourself to Health with Sutherlandia
By: Jason Mordecai
Sutherlandia is an adaptogenic, nitrogen fixing legume with immune boosting, cancer fighting and anxiety lowering properties. With all these qualities, there is little wonder why that in the past and in modern times it is regarded as a tried and tested African herbal remedy.
Sutherlandia?s immune boosting properties have prompted a great deal of research especially in the context of cancer and HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Sutherlandia is traditionally named Kankerbos (Cancer Bush) by the Afrikaans nation, and inWele (hair) by the Zulu nation. This unusual name derives from the idea that the medicine would literally ?pick a person up by the hair, and set them on their feet again?. Sutherlandia has enjoyed a good history in the field of traditional medicine. It has been used traditionally for a variety of ailments including stomach aches, internal cancers, colds, influenza to name a few . The plant presents as a small, soft wooded shrub that can grow up one meter in height. The leaflets are grey-green in colour, giving the bush a silvery appearance" . The leaves are very bitter tasting, however we have noticed that with time, one actually gets used to the taste.
Sutherlandia is relatively easily grown in your garden making it an accessible herb for those of you who enjoy making your own herbal concoctions. Dosing yourself with Sutherlandia is also relatively easy, usage is suggested as follows: "Half a bunch (?10g = 3 tablespoonfuls) of dried ground herb is infused until cold with one liter of boiling water, then strained and taken in half teacupful doses (90ml) three times daily. Children 6 ?12 years: one quarter teacupful (45ml)" . The herb can also be dried and crushed and added to food for horses, dogs or even sheep. It is usually taken as a bitter tonic.
In modern times, research has provided a great deal of information about Sutherlandia. Much in the same way that the herb is able to adapt to harsh dry conditions, it also assists the human body in adapting to difficult times. Sutherlandia has been identified as an adaptogen, a term coined by Russian Scientist Dr. Nicolai Lazarev, referring to a natural herb that increases the body's resistance to stresses such as trauma, anxiety and bodily fatigue . In other words Sutherlandia assists the body in adapting to and fighting off invaders, a crucial quality especially in the context of HIV. Sutherlandia functions as a superb chemical factory producing a number of health enhancing compounds, these include L-canavanine, pinitol, GABA, asparagines and a novel triterpenoid glucoside known as SU1.The published biological activities of these compounds appear to validate some of the traditional uses of the plant, and further support the use of the plant as a quality-of-life tonic in cancer and AIDS patients .
Important chemical constituents of Sutherlandia:
? L-Canavanine is known to occur in high levels in certain seeds. What is unusual is that significant levels of this compound are found in Sutherlandia leaves. This potent non-protein amino acid is an L-arginine antagonist with documented antiviral, anti-bacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities.
? Pinitol, a known anti-diabetic agent, has been isolated from Sutherlandia leaves, and quantitative work is in progress. A US Patent suggests that pinitol may have clinical application in treating the wasting in cancer and AIDS patients.
? GABA was isolated from dry Sutherlandia leaves in levels up to 14 mg/g dry weight. This inhibitory neurotransmitter could account for the use of the plant for anxiety and stress, and for the improvement in mood and well-being experienced by many patients.
Sutherlandia is an excellent adaptogenic tonic which dramatically improves the quality of life of patients with full-blown AIDS. The plant gives a sense of well-being, energy and vitality to all users, including cancer patients. It also has direct anti-cancer and anti-viral activity. It should be noted that Sutherlandia should not be used in conjuction with any anti-retrovital therapy .
As always, one can never over emphsize the importance of addressing your health holistically, if you are going to use Sutherlandia as an immune booster or for other reasons, take a few life changing steps along the way:
? Address the things in your life that "get you down". When a person suffers from depression and stress, the body is flooded with a pool of immune suppressing chemicals, negative emotions affect our bodies negatively
? Lower your in intake of sugar, processed and fried foods
? Use a good vitamin supplement
? Increase your intake of water
? Increase your intake of fruit and vegetables, organic is best (especially if you have grown them in your own garden! In fact gardening is widely regarded as an immune boosting activity)
? Ensure you get adequate exercise.
Clinically proven Sutherlandia products are available and can be found at: www.fevertree.za.com.
References:
1. Van Wyk, B-E., Gericke, N.P.and van Oudtshoorn, B. (1997). Medicinal plants of South Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria.
2. http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/plantsfram.htm
3. http://www.sahealthinfo.org/traditionalmeds/monographs/sutherlandia.htm
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptogen
5. Information Courtesy of Robert Picton - Imbizo Technologies
6. Empowerment concepts ? David Patient & Neil Orr
Disclaimer:
The content provided is not intended to be a substitute for qualified medical advice
Jason Mordecai is an educator and researcher with interests in Neurolinguistic Programming, Psychoneuroimmunology, herbalsim and entrepreneurism in Africa. He currently runs an innovative business that sources and supplies raw materials and products focusing on African Medicinal herbs. For more information see his website http://www.fevertree.za.com |  |
