American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [79]
Kava
Kava, a plant found throughout the islands of the South Pacific, where it is considered a relaxing intoxicant, is used in the United States to relieve muscle tension and reduce anxiety. Long-term use of the herb in high doses has been associated with a skin condition called kava dermopathy (characterized by scaly sores on the skin). In some European countries, kava has been linked to liver damage, and kava-containing products have been removed from the market. For this reason, you should not use products containing kava if you have liver disease or liver problems or if you are taking drugs that can affect the liver (including some drugs used for chemotherapy). The FDA is investigating the relationship between the use of kava and liver damage.
Saw Palmetto
Saw palmetto is used primarily for treating conditions that involve the male reproductive system, usually benign prostatic hyperplasia (see page 832) or prostatitis (see page 831). The herb seems to work by blocking the conversion of the male hormone testosterone into a form of the hormone that is thought to enlarge the prostate. The herb also is being marketed to treat male pattern baldness. Use of the herb can be traced back centuries to Native Americans of Florida, who used the berries of the plant as a food staple.
Saw palmetto can cause stomach problems or headaches, and the tannic acid contained in it can inhibit the body’s absorption of iron.
Shark Cartilage
Cartilage tissue taken from sharks is a controversial alternative cancer treatment that gained popularity in the 1980s after a study showed that a substance in shark cartilage could block the growth of blood vessels that nourish cancerous tumors. However, shark cartilage has not been proven scientifically to be of benefit to people with cancer. Treatment with shark cartilage is undergoing clinical trials (testing on people) to determine definitively if claims about its benefits have any merit. Because shark cartilage has few side effects, cancer patients do not harm themselves by trying this approach, as long as it doesn’t replace a conventional cancer treatment.
St John’s Wort
St John’s wort is used for treating mild to moderate depression, inflammation, and anxiety. However, studies conducted in the United States by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found it to be ineffective for relieving depression. Applied to the skin, St John’s wort is used to treat mild burns and other superficial wounds.
In high doses, the herb can cause extreme sensitivity to sunlight. The tannic acid in St John’s wort can inhibit the body’s absorption of iron. Do not use St John’s wort with antidepressants, birth-control pills, digoxin (a heart disease drug), anti-retroviral medications (such as AIDS drugs), or cyclosporine (an immune-suppressing drug) because it can interfere with the effects of these medications.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the practice of using essential oils from plants to promote health and well-being. While the practice dates back thousands of years, the modern form of aromatherapy was developed in France in the 1920s by a physician and a chemist. Today many French doctors incorporate essential oils in their treatment plans for patients. Essential oils are extracted and distilled from the leaves, flowers, twigs, and roots of plants such as eucalyptus, geranium, rose, and lavender. The oils are then used in massages, baths, compresses, or salves. They may also be applied to the skin in creams, inhaled in steam, or dispersed into the air using an air pump, candle, or water spray.
Odors can affect the limbic system of the brain (which governs emotions), and it is thought that aromatherapy exerts its effects in this way. Therapeutic claims for aromatherapy