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My friend and I hacked a narrow path through the underbrush. It was the second day of our journey, deep into the jungles of the Amazon. I was on my way to speak to a curandero, a native healer, about a plant the locals believe has magical healing properties. They use this herb in many rituals. When we finally arrived at the small village, the curandero prepared a bath infused with the herb. It smelled a little like garlic, and he said it would protect me from witchcraft. I was happy to wash away the grime. But I noticed my scratches, scrapes, and bites seemed to heal as the herb took effect. Afterward, the curandero described other ways they use this miracle plant. It brings down fever and helps with parasites and fungus. They use it for aches and pain, colds, coughs, and skin diseases. He had me rub it on my skin to protect against insects. The plant they gave me turned out to be Anamu. Its real name is Petiveria alliacea, and it grows throughout Central and South America, in the Caribbean, and in Africa. It was a small victory to find a little-known herb that I later found out had even more healing power than the native Amazonians ever imagined. I’ll tell you more about it in a minute. I also had this terrible feeling that I was running out of time… I’m very lucky and blessed to be able to do what I do. I get to travel to almost every corner of the world and take the hidden and forgotten healing secrets like anamu and bring them back to help you become as healthy as possible. But my ultimate goal has always been to find what is native to us. In all my searching, I hate to admit this, but I never found it. I wanted to go study natives so that I could report back to modern Westernized people, “This is what is natural and native to us.” I looked for it and I saw glimpses, like with the curandero. But by the time I started looking in the late 90s, the native cultures were mostly gone. I found little pieces of them. But when I wanted to get more specific and go back and visit them and see what they were eating and doing, I couldn’t. I wrote to you last week that between my first and second visits to the Ashaninkas in Brazil, the culture had disappeared. I experienced the same thing when I went to Uganda. Between my first and second visits to the ancient Batwa – the pygmy people who lived in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest – they had been kicked out. They live in trailers outside the gate to the forest. Today it’s very difficult to find a real curandero amongst the tribes of the Amazon Jungle. But as a Paleo MD, I’m not going to stop searching for links and clues to our paleo past and how we can use them to be healthier today. That’s why I got to work as soon as I returned from my trip, I went through all the research I could find and it supports the traditional use. Anamu contains many active compounds that protect your body. In fact, one study evaluated more than 1,400 plant extracts as therapies to protect against and prevent cancer. Anamu was one of only 34 plants identified. A new study shows anamu kills breast cancer cells and stops tumor cells from growing by cutting off their preferred energy source, sugar.1 Anamu contains two properties that kill cancer cells but do not damage healthy cells.2 It’s so powerful against many types of cancer cells that one biotech company altered one of the chemicals from anamu so they could patent it. Now they’re testing it as a new chemotherapy drug called fluorapacin. Anamu also stimulates your immune system. In one study, anamu increased natural killer cells by 100%.3 These are the cells that kill disease throughout your body. But it also increases chemicals such as interleukin and interferon. These help protect you against future infection and disease.4 Another recent study found anamu also does something remarkable. It flushes inflammatory markers called cytokines out of your body.5 The more I looked, the more scientific research I found to support what traditional healers have told me. Anamu protects against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and yeast.6 It guards against urinary problems … and treats diabetes, too. In one animal study, blood sugar levels dropped more than 60 percent in one hour.7 The curandero I met used anamu as a pain reliever. I later learned it contains COX-1 inhibitors.8 Traditional healers make an infusion using 30 grams (slightly more than one ounce) dried anamu in a liter of water. You drink 1/4 to 1/2 cup, one to three times daily. Or you put it on your skin, depending on the condition. You can also take the dried, powdered herb as a capsule. I suggest taking 500 to 1000 mg per day in divided doses. Anamu can cause uterine contractions, so don’t use it if you’re pregnant. And it contains a low concentration of a blood thinner called Coumadin. So if you’re already on blood-thinning medication, check with your doctor before using it. To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD 1. Hernández J, Urueña C, Cifuentes M, Sandoval T, Pombo L, Castañeda D, Asea A, Fiorentino S. “A Petiveria alliacea standardized fraction induces breast adenocarcinoma cell death by modulating glycolytic metabolism.” J Ethnopharmacol. 2014;153(3):641-9. 2. Williams L, Rosner H, Levy H, Barton E. “A critical review of the therapeutic potential of dibenzyl trisulphide isolated from Petiveria alliacea L. (guinea hen weed, anamu).” West Indian Med 2007; 56(1):17-21. 3. Jovicevic L. “In vitro antiproliferative activity of Petiveria alliacea L., on several tumor cell lines.” Pharmacol Res 1993;27(1):105-106. 4. Queiroz , M, Quadros M, et al. “Cytokine Profile and Natural Killer Cell Activity in Listeria Monocytogenes Infected Mice Treated Orally with Petiveria Alliacea Extract.” Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology 2000, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp 501-518. 5. Santander S, Hernández J, Barreto C, Masayuki A, Moins-Teisserenc H, Fiorentino S. “Immunomodulatory effects of aqueous and organic fractions from Petiveria alliacea on human dendritic cells.” Am J Chin Med. 2012;40(4):833-44. 6. Kim S, et al. “Antibiacterial and antifungal activity of sulfur-containing compounds from Petiveria alliacea L.” J. Ethnopharmacol. 2006;104(1-2):188-92. 7. Lans C. “Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus.” J. Ethnobiol. Ethnomedicine. 2006 ;2:45. 8. Dunstan C, et. al. “Evaluation of some Samoan and Peruvian medicinal plants by prostaglandin biosynthesis and rat ear oedema assays.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1997; 57(1):35-56. |
