Cat\’s Claw Extract Supplement: Improve Your Health
Cat\’s Claw is a tropical vine that grows in rainforest and jungle areas in South America and Asia. Some cultures refer to the plant as the \”Sacred Herb of the Rain Forest\”. This vine gets its name from the small thorns at the base of the leaves, which looks like a cat\’s claw. These claws enable the vine to attach itself around trees climbing to a heights up to 100 feet.
However, only those Uncaria tomentosa roots that contain \”good spirits,\” seen by Ashaninka healers of the Ashaninka tribe contain healing properties. If these good spirits are mixed with any root that does not contain good spirits, the healing power is lost. With the use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), scientists can now see the \”good spirits\” too. These good spirits are actually medicinal compounds called pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids (POAs).
Serious research into the benefits of cat\’s claw has been underway in Europe since the 1970s, and although, as noted above, conventional medicine remains reluctant to confirm the herb\’s therapeutic value, the fact that cat\’s claw is only available on prescription in certain countries is a clear indication of its biochemical potency. Cat\’s claw\’s power as an immune system booster appears to be related to unique properties in the alkaloids derived from it, certain of which appear directly to enhance the ability of the body\’s white blood cells to destroy potentially harmful foreign matter. These alkaloids also seem to stimulate the production of the vital T4 lymphocyte and leucocyte immune system cells which are crucial in fighting viral infections.
POAs also help increase the number of white blood cells that make antibodies that kill germs, or B cells. Most importantly, POAs increase the number of T cells, including: Helper T cells, Suppressor T cells, and Killer T cells, which destroy cancer cells. This increased number of T cells is also very important in a disease such as AIDS.
The many potential benefits of cat\’s claw make it a hugely exciting prospect for advocates of herbal remedies. But there is an important caveat in that most of the research so far has been conducted in the laboratory rather than on live human subjects. Against that, however, must be set the many centuries of use of the herb amongst older civilisations.
Orthodox medicine, moreover, is always keen to stress, quite correctly, that the mere fact that a remedy is described as \”natural\” or \”herbal\” does not mean it is necessarily free of potential side effects. Herbal remedies, after all, often provide the raw materials for the manufacture of conventional drugs, and are highly active biochemical compounds in their own right. They could not be of any benefit if they were not.
But in the case of cat\’s claw the only contraindications for its use appear to for pregnant women and those suffering from disorders of the immune system. For all others, the herb appears to be completely safe, although very rare cases of minor gastric upsets and headaches have been reported.
The inner bark of the plant is the source of cat\’s claw\’s active alkaloid compounds, but the bark itself is indigestible and poorly absorbed, if at all, by the human digestive system. Fortunately, however, cat\’s claw is now readily available in the form of easily absorbed teas, tinctures and capsules, but it\’s probably best to start with low doses to ensure freedom from any possible side effects. And as recommended therapeutic doses vary between 750 and 3,000 mg per day, it\’s always worth talking things over with your physician or a reputable herbal practitioner before beginning any program of supplementation. But the potential benefits of cat\’s claw appear so promising that this is not a herb you should ignore.
Everything they never told you about herb remedies revealed! For more insider tips and information be sure and check out cat\’s claw extract





