Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Gotu Kola
Soothes Skins Problems
Family: Umbelliferae; (includes Carrot, Parsley)
Genus and Species: Centella Asiatica or Hydrocotyle Asiatica
Also known as: Sheep Rot, Indian Pennywort, Marsh Pennywort Water Pennywort Hydrocotle
Parts used: Leaves
Long ago, the native Sinhalese of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) noticed that elephants. renowned for their longevity, loved the rounded leaves of diminutive gotu kola, The herb gained a reputation as a longevity promoter, and a Sinhalese proverb advised, “Two leaves a day keep old age away,”
Gotu kola won’t add years to your life, but it may stimulate the immune system, accelerate wound Healing, help treat psoriasis, and improve circulation in the legs, which may help prevent varicose veins,
Cure for Leprosy
India’s Ayurvedic herbalists first used gotu kola like ginseng to promote longevity and treat problems of aging, But over time, the herb became popular both internally and externally to treat skin diseases, including leprosy.
Philippine healers used gotu kola to treat wounds and gonorrhea, Chinese physicians used it for fever, colds, and flu.
Gotu kola got a bum rap in Europe. Several species grow there, but Europeans believed it caused foot rot in sheep (hence its once popular name, “sheep rot”), though there is no evidence this is the case.
Close relatives of gotu kola also grow in the United States, and America’s 19th-century Eclectics were well aware of the herb’s use as a treatment for leprosy in Asia. According to one report, “In 1852, Dr. Boileau of India, having been for many years afflicted with leprosy - experimented with [it] and recovered.”
The Eclectics considered gotu kola safe and effective when used externally to treat skin problems. They called it a “poison” when used internally, however, asserting large doses produce “headache, dizziness, stupor, itching, and bloody passages from bowels.”
Longevity Legend Revived
Gotu kola wasn’t used much during the early 20th century, but after World War II it was included in an herb tea blend called Fo-Ti-Tieng, which claimed to boost longevity, reviving the ancient Sinhalese claim. The story was that one Li Ching Yun, an ancient Chinese herbalist, had used the blend regularly and lived 256 years, surviving 23 wives. The tea caught on, and gotu kola reemerged from obscurity as an herbal tonic.
Contemporary herbalists recommend gotu kola externally as a poultice for wounds. For internal use, they prescribe small doses as a tonic stimulant, and large doses as a sedative.