Special feature on herbal medicines recommended in Islam to stay healthy and strong.
This year we have been looking at herbs and spices that are mentioned in Islamic scriptures that can be used for food as well as medicine. We have already discussed the top four condiments: salt, vinegar, honey and olive as well as Black Cumin, better known as Kalonjie. As we know, the medical effects of Kalonjie are so profound that it is said by The Prophet (peace be upon him) we can use it to cure all ailments except (our inevitable) death.
Q: Why it is essential to take kalonjie (black cumin seed) oil during this global pandemic? What has it got to do with flu, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases? https://naturefresh.co.za/32905-2/
According to Dr Gary Null “We can use this time-honoured remedy for any of our ailments, either as a stand-alone remedy or to support the effects of other medications. Black cumin oil is probably the most important oil you can put in your system.” The main active constituent found in Kalonjie (Nigella Sativa) is thymoquinone – a volatile oil that comes from these tiny black seeds. In a 2016 study Kalonjie oil was found to have anti-influenza viral activity. It was tested extensively for avian flu and found to be very effective as well as for HIV or human immunodeficiency virus and the hepatitis C virus. For the Covid-19 protocols, 1 teaspoon twice a day was used to good effect.
In a Novel Coronasvirus (Covid-19) main protease: Molecular Docking Study (Europe PMC April 2020) Nigelledine (Nigella extract) had a similar molecular bonding energy score to chloroquine and was superior to hydroxychloroquine (over 10%). The results were: Nigelledine (from Nigella) -6.3 and α- Hederin (from Nigella) -6.5 as opposed to chloroquine -6.3 and hydroxychloroquine -5.6. However, in similar studies undertaken with other phytochemicals, oleuropein, (from olive leaf) had a better affinity at -7.3 as compared to that of the drug favipiravir at -4.2. Onions, curcumin and ginger also showed similar results, between -4 and -6.The antioxidants Kaemferol and Quercetin scored above -8, but with food sources that contain traces of them there are no guidelines as to what an effective intake would be. Good sources are: apples, grapes, tomatoes, green tea, potatoes, onions, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, squash, cucumbers, lettuce, green beans, peaches, blackberries, raspberries and spinach. Quercetin supplements have been studied as effective antiviral agents. Intake ranged from 500–1,000 mg per day
Q: Why chew olive leaves? It is said that “we should use olives as meat and the leaves as medicine”. Chewing an olive leaf has been suggested as a treatment for inflammation of the stomach, skin ulcerations, and eruptions of herpes and hives. Can we rather chew the tablets?
Many scientific studies have been performed throughout Europe and the United States to show that olive leaf extracts have strong antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic activity. Olive leaf does not harm beneficial bacteria as is the case with regular antibiotics and they also help to eliminate biofilms that shield off colonies of bacteria, causing drug resistance. You can even make your own olive leaf remedies for the family.
Over 40% of our patent drugs have been inspired by plants but when only certain extracts (chemicals) are used, the healing effects are often limited. When the complete and original herbs are used very few if any harmful side effects have ever been noted. Furthermore, using the entire plant component to make the remedy provides additional health benefits as we have seen when taking olive leaf tablets, for instance.
Q: So when people cough and sneeze, which disease are they spreading? Are there any other serious respiratory diseases with the same symptoms as covid-19?
Pneumonia in particular, shares symptoms that are common to other respiratory tract diseases – fever, cough, mucous, shortness of breath and fatigue. In viral pneumonia, a dry cough without sputum is more common and if not correctly diagnosed, giving antibiotics will not cure it. Drug resistant pneumonia is also a constant challenge to the health profession and all manner of antibiotics are used to little or no avail. When these bacteria are resistant to penicillin, they are often resistant to many other antibiotic classes.
There are both viral and bacterial forms of pneumonia but the norm is to first give antibiotics. The full course of drugs tends to destroy the gut bacteria that form over 70% of the immune system and make the patient more prone to candidiasis and mycotoxins. Health care associated pneumonia infects patients who are already ill and in hospital. Here too, they are exposed to microbes including staphylococcus bacteria and tuberculosis that become resistant to a growing number of antibiotics.
Q: What is the most dangerous and widespread infectious respiratory disease – is it still tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis, like Covid-19 is also spread by coughing and sneezing, is the most dangerous for people with weakened immune systems in settings where many people are crowded together, like nursing homes, homeless shelters, shanties, and prisons (and the long queues outside banks and shops.) Antibiotic resistant tuberculosis shares many of the Covid-19 symptoms – cough and shortness of breath, fever and weakness. But although tuberculosis is only evident a few weeks later, its slow onset is more deadly and it can infect 1-4 people as opposed to the 2-3.3 (speculated) infection rate of Covid-19. Tuberculosis is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide and it is estimated that 1.8 billion people (1/3 of the world’s population) are infected with it, causing 1.5 – 2 million deaths per year. There are currently 8.4 million new cases each year – a hard act for Covid-19 to follow. Yet we had no global lockdowns from this deadly disease.
Resources:
Previous talks on the Nature Fresh website home page with Sue and Zulaikha: www.naturefresh.co.za
The beneficial effects of Kalonjie, especialy for viruses https://naturefresh.co.za/32905-2/
How to handle viruses – including COVID types https://naturefresh.co.za/why-so-stupid-about-covid/
Early talk in February about the coronavirus https://naturefresh.co.za/much-ado-about-the-coronavirus/
More about olive leaf tablets https://naturefresh.co.za/products/nf-025-olive-leaf-tablets-90-tablets/
A HEALTHY HAPPY HEART, get the book by Sue Visser and Dr James Liddell. Learn more about the heart, lungs, inflammation, glutathione, olive leaves and boosting immunity. See the free trial pages and order it at:
https://naturefresh.co.za/products/book-healthy-happy-heart/
References:
https://europepmc.org/article/ppr/ppr147255 Identification of Compounds from Nigella Sativa as New Potential Inhibitors of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19): Molecular Docking Study
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/antibiotics/art-20045720
https://www.everydayhealth.com/pictures/scary-drug-resistant-infections/
https://www.theunion.org/news-centre/covid-19/covid-tb-faqs#one
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88901/