Kick your chronic pain to the curb with these four herbs

Saturday, August 31, 2013 by: PF Louis
Tags: kratom, pain relief, turmeric

(NaturalNews) FDA sanctioned prescription drugs for pain such as, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Lortab, and others are just as addictive as street drugs. Withdrawal can be difficult, and they have the expected physiological side-effects that accompany almost all of Big Pharma's products.

Non-prescribed over the counter (OTC) pharmaceutical pain killers also have side-effects. Some, such as Tylenol, contain acetaminophen, which is a toxic liver killer. Ibuprofen OTC products are NSAIDs (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs). Their side-effects may not be as dramatic as acetaminophen's, but they do produce gastrointestinal problems if used often.

Unless the pain is acutely severe, it's best to look into herbs that have been used traditionally for relieving pain and/or inflammation. In addition to the pain relief, herbs offer healing effects not offered by pharmaceuticals, which usually host several adverse side-effects.

Four herbs to help relieve chronic pain

(1) Kratom is a new herb for most of us. Very little has been written about it by alternative health practitioners or journalists. It appears that Jonathon Benson broke the ice with his recently-posted article on NaturalNews. (https://www.naturalnews.com/035480_kratom_pain_relief_herb.html)

Kratom is already embroiled in controversy here in the United States; the state of Indiana has banned it. Its efficacy for eliminating pain is not disputed, but it can make one feel good enough to use it as a legal high, and that's a no-no with state governments and the DEA. But so is cannabis for healing.

Kratom is an ancient leaf herb from Southeast Asia, where it has been used for centuries for pain and/or depression. A little kratom does give a strong coffee buzz. But that's not a bad price to pay for fast pain relief. You can find out much more about it here: http://www.kratomassociation.org/

(2) Turmeric is without controversy. Its efficacy for pain relief, inflammation reduction, and safety are well established from international alternative and mainstream medical research and clinical application. It is less expensive than kratom, even if you prefer purchasing turmeric's active ingredient, curcumin, in capsules.

With both turmeric and curcumin, optimum absorption is achieved by mixing either one with a healthy fat. Dr. Russell Blaylock suggests removing the curcumin from a capsule and placing it into a spoonful of good olive oil. A more traditional approach (Ayurvedic) is using it to make "Golden milk."

Take a quarter cup of turmeric powder mixed in a half cup of pure water and simmer for a few minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly to form a slightly moist, thick paste. Let it cool and put it into a glass jar. It can keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Use a spoonful of the paste mixed with an uncontaminated hot animal or plant-based milk of your choice. Add a teaspoon of gee, coconut oil, sesame, or almond oil. You can sweeten with honey or maple syrup if you wish.

Adding black pepper for its piperine content enhances bio-availability. Some capsule supplement producers also mix piperine with their curcumin.

(3) Devil's Claw is a South African herb that has been popular in Europe for a couple hundred years. It is a powerful and safe anti-inflammatory for arthritis, tendonitis, and muscle pain.

The German Commission E, Germany's version of our FDA, has approved it as a non-prescription medicine. It's not medically recognized by the FDA, but its legality is currently not an issue.

(4) Arnica is a homeopathic topical cream or salve that's useful for bruises, minor injury pains, and chronic pains from arthritis. Some pain sufferers have caught on to the trick of using pharmaceutical grade DMSO topically with arnica to greatly enhance efficacy.

Sources for this article include:

https://www.naturalnews.com/035480_kratom_pain_relief_herb.html

http://www.kratomassociation.org/

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-devils-claw.html