Pau d’arco is a tree that grows in the Brazilian rainforest. In Brazil the tree is called Tahuari and has been used by the indigenous people in the rainforest as a cure-all. Pau d’arco has two constituents that have interest to medical science Beta-lapachone and lapachol which are topoisomerases that have been proven in medical science to be anti-cancer agents. However, there is a dark side They can have side-effects of severe nausea and anemia.

These two constituents in pau d’arco have been shown to help dramatically improve cancer patients with lung, breast, colon, prostate, malignant melanoma, HIV level 1 and leukemia. However the nausea and anemia side effects have caused doubt in doctors’ minds as to its effectiveness. Doctors have isolated two of pau d’arco’s components and say they are great anti-cancer compounds but they are toxic at high levels. Herbalists believe in aiding and preserving nature, not changing it; therefore, they believe pau d’arco should be taken as an extract of a whole plant where it has no known toxicity levels, no nausea and no anemia – not as isolated compounds. It is naturally not as strong as taking 10 tons of plant material and extracting two of the hundreds of constituents and making it a concentrated pharmaceutical. However, taken as a tea or extract it has many wonderful benefits and someone with a serious illness, under a doctor’s supervision, can take pau d’arco and see positive changes.

Pau d’arco has been shown to help with pain and cancer. Cancer patients found themselves in remission after a 3-8 of months of using pau d’arco with supervised medical care. Dr. Theodore Meyer learned of pau d’arco’s benefits and used it on his patients, and reported that 5 of his terminal leukemia patients were completely cured. Beta-lapachone keeps the chromosomes wound tight, and so the cell cannot make proteins. As a result, the cell stops growing. Because cancer cells grow and reproduce at a much faster rate then normal cells, they are more vulnerable to topoisomerase inhibition than are normal cells. Beta-lapachone also interferes with the replication of HIV-1, a virus that causes AIDS, thereby slowing the advancement of the disease.

Maybe modern science will find a way to take out the components that cause side effects when you take highly concentrated forms of compounds isolated from pau d’arco. Scientists have discovered 3-allyl-beta-lapachone, a chemical relative to beta-lapachone, that has been found to have lower toxicity levels in cell culture tests, and might be proven to be more effective. However, more tests will need to be done so that doctors and scientists might be able to come up with an effective cocktail, like they do for HIV and AIDS patients. This would create a combination to balance the side effects with other herbs that could reduce the nausea and anemia, and which has no contra-indications when taken with pau d’arco. For instance, there are two traditionally used herbal extracts that are effective when taken internally for severe nausea Chamomile flower and nutmeg. Further, dandelion root has extremely high iron content and might help combat the anemia.

This research article was written to create awareness and provide consumers with a general overview of available scientific information. For further interested reading, there is a 152-page book called Pau D’Arco by Kenneth Jones that is recommended by the American Botanical Council. It is available from Amazon.com for 7.50.

When – through the great LDN support group – I finally found an MDND who would write me a prescription for Low Dose Naltrexone LDN, I informed him I was drinking at least a couple of quarts of Colloidal Silver water each day. The well meaning doctor admitted he was not familiar with this approach to MS but said that he was concerned with the “Heavy metal” aspect. Perhaps, I misunderstood? On what I thought was his informed advice, I quit drinking
my “Silver Water.”

I believe that everything happens for a reason even if we aren’t sure what it is. My confirmation of this is found at Romans 828 of the Bible “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

A good friend, in another state who is battling RA R heumatoid Arthritis, e-mailed to say she had ordered me a book to go along with the detoxification program I had started. She also mentioned that she wanted to begin using Colloidal Silver.

When the prescription LDN had some negative side effects on me migraines and heart rate drop I stopped taking it. I hadn’t resumed drinking my silver water. The Multiple Sclerosis continued to take its toll and I was now in a wheelchair. My RA friend’s e-mail reminded me that both MS and Rheumatoid Arthritis are “Autoimmune diseases,” as are many more. I contacted the owner
of the company from which I had such great service when using Colloidal Silver.

I explained why he had not heard from me for quite a while, told him what the doctor had said, and told him my friend would likely be in contact with him to buy a Colloidal Silver generator. The following is taken from his e-mail reply to me

“Russ, I’m sure your doctor isn’t aware of it but silver is not a heavy metal. It’s a transitional metal and does no harm to mammalian tissue. It kills virus and bacteria and some single cell fungi only. It is completely safe at any amount of ingestion. Drink it with impunity.”

Was that good news or what? I have since placed easy to find links to the good company on my

Persons doing battle with MS as I am, and those contending with health conditions including Arthritis, AIDS, HIV, Candida, Ear Infections, Herpes, Lymes Disease and many more, would be wise to look into CS.

Part of what you will find, is that silver has been known to cure disease and improve health for thousands of years. Since the conventional modern medical establishment knows very little about CS, it can only be sold as a supplement. The reason? Because silver cannot be patented, drug companies cannot profit from CS.

Despite over 100,000 web pages on the Internet devoted to Colloidal Silver most of which supporting CS use, many physicians maintain that CS is risky and is not of any real value.

Could such doctors’ advice have something to do with the fact that they cannot make any money off CS or healthy patients either? Especially when you consider that, before the drug companies took over the modern medical man’s education, most physicians considered CS high-tech medicine. Silver was used it to treat gonorrhea, typhoid, streph throat, pneumonia, syphilis, influenza, to kill cancer, germs and known harmful bacteria before the drug houses had a law drawn up that states Only a drug can cure disease.

After his experiments with silver in what is now called colloidal form, Henry Crookes stated, ” I know of no microbe that is not killed in laboratory experiments in six minutes.” Crookes 1914 When penicillin and sulfa drugs became the state of the art, drug companies were well on their way to assuming their power and gaining their glory.

On page 11 of his book, Colloidal Silver Today, Warren Jefferson states “By 1970 the major pharmaceutical companies no longer produced CS and it was no longer listed in any medical treatment reference book.”

The FDA has said that, “The indiscriminate use of colloidal silver solutions has resulted in cases of argyria, a permanent blue-gray discoloration of the skin and deep tissues.”

In conclusion, I feel we should be discriminate as to how we use CS, where we obtain it, and not take our responsibility lightly if we make Colloidal Silver ourselves. I for one am just happy to be back – sipping my “Silver Water” – and smelling the roses

Entering her second year as a widow, my dear friend Rachael was past the several stages of grief and closing that chapter of her life; not an easy task but necessary for anyone who has survival instincts. She began dating again and I couldnt have been happier for her. Sam was like a brother in a sense; a long time friend from our college days. At first it was dinner and theater tickets but soon developed into weekends at his Lake house.

Post menopausal, it didnt occur to Rachael to consider condoms. And in retrospect, she would not have asked Sam about his sexual activities there were things our generation didnt talk about. Therefore when her physician put her through a battery of tests because of her complaints regarding sudden weight loss and fatigue, she was shocked when she tested positive for HIV.

How does this happen at age 64, she wanted to know. But its a fact anyone can get HIVAIDS regardless of age from having unprotected sex, or sharing needles with an infected person. Latex condoms can help prevent, but not insure an infected person from transferring the virus to another. Because she did not know her partners drug andor sexual history, she was at risk!

Best friends since high school Rachael confided in me. We decided to do an in-depth study of patients 55 years and older with HIVAIDS. But we were immediately at a disadvantage because many, or should we say most, older people often mistake signs of this virus for the normal aging complaints — exactly as Rachael had and they are less likely to get tested. Besides, what patient in their senior years wants to discuss their sexual activity with a physician thats probably half their age? Not!

We soon realized the myths and misconceptions regarding all elderly citizens help put the barriers in the way of diagnosis and treatment of HIVAIDS. It is still assumed that old people live a life of celibacy and sobriety. Unfortunately, senior adults do not always conform to public images any more than teens do. Adding to this the doctors Dont ask, dont tell posture and were at an impasse.

Statistics do confirm that older women are becoming infected at a higher rate than older men. Without the fear of pregnancy, the post-menopausal woman who is uninformed of the dangers may become more sexually active with more partners. Even her biology increases her risk as the vaginal walls thin and lubrication decreases; thus, the membranes are more likely to tear during intercourse, providing access for the virus.

But whatever the reasons failure to communicate leads to failure of diagnosis in its early, most treatable stages. In many ways, HIV and old age converge and aggravate each other rather than conflict. For instance, memory loss may indicate AIDS-related dementia or Alzheimers disease. This distinction is important because dementia can be reversed; Alzheimers cannot.

As if the social isolation among senior citizens who have lost a spouse is not enough, it is multiplied many times over if their families realize they have HIVAIDS. Shamefully, this virus entered a society already having little respect for its seniors. Most adult children lack the patience, and precious few want the burden of caring for their parents in their final years.

While it is common knowledge that the face of AIDS is changing with the greater proportion being people of color, women, children and heterosexuals — what we never hear is that the face is also aging.

2006 Esther Smith