Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!think!ames!sdcsvax!hp-sdd!andrea From: andrea@hp-sdd.HP.COM (Andrea K. Frankel) Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.misc Subject: Re: Pau D'arco or Taheebo query Message-ID: <1051@hp-sdd.HP.COM> Date: Sat, 28-Nov-87 22:58:52 EST Article-I.D.: hp-sdd.1051 Posted: Sat Nov 28 22:58:52 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 1-Dec-87 03:33:26 EST References: <1987Nov25.163709.2911@mntgfx.mentor.com> Reply-To: andrea@hp-sdd.UUCP (Andrea K. Frankel) Organization: Hewlett-Packard, San Diego Division Lines: 54 Keywords: Pau D'arco taheebo herbs healing candida Xref: mnetor sci.med:3750 sci.misc:645 The basis for folks believing that this herb will help heal Candida overgrowths is that it is the bark of a tree that grows in the Amazonian rain forests without ever succumbing to any of the funguses that usually attack both living and dead wood in such a wet environment. There are many useful medicines which have been "discovered" by noticing their effects in this way; however, to my knowledge, nobody has ever done any controlled studies proving Pau D'arco's effectiveness. On the plus side, I've never heard of any serious or irreversible problems arising from drinking the stuff, so it's worth a try to see if it helps you (or whoever has the problem that you're posting for). When I was first diagnosed with Candida problems, I tried the nutritional treatment route - rigorous low-carbo non-yeast diet, lots of garlic supplements, and quarts of Pau d'arco tea every day. It caused headaches and a "toxic feeling" which the chiropractor claimed was due to the rapid kill-off of the candida and subsequent release of the toxins in the lysed candida cells into the bloodstream. I really had no idea whether that was correct, or if the headaches were directly caused by the tea. By decreasing the dosage and then working back up to the full amount gradually, I was able to handle it. I got enough relief that I was ok for a couple of years. The second time the Candida got out of hand, I wasn't able to force myself to stay on the rigorous diet; the Pau d'arco tea by itself was *NOT* sufficient to do any good. I ended up going to an MD who prescribed Nystatin (pure powder, taken orally in water 4x/day) along with a less rigorous version of the diet. The Nystatin produced some of the same side effects (headaches and "toxic feeling") that the Pau d'arco had, which would support the idea that the effects were a result of the kill-off of the yeast. My conclusion after several bouts: Nystatin has it all over Pau d'arco when it comes to knocking the yeast levels back to a normal level, and you don't have to be as ascetic about the diet. Of course, the more disciplined you can be about avoiding sugar during either treatment, the faster the Candida problem disappears. For self-help when I start noticing the first symptoms of overgrowth, I've found that a new garlic preparation called Garlicin (Nature's Way) is effective. Hope this helps... Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 592-4664 "...like a song that's born to soar the sky" ______________________________________________________________________________ UUCP : ...hplabs!hp-sdd!andrea from {ihnp4|cbosgd|allegra|decvax|gatech|sun|tektronix} or ...hp-sdd!andrea from {hp-pcd|hpfcla|hpda|noscvax|gould9|sdcsvax} Internet : andrea%hp-sdd@ {nosc.mil | sdcsvax.ucsd.edu | hplabs.HP.com} CSNET : andrea%hp-sdd@hplabs.csnet USnail : 16399 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego CA 9nd ibout bout