Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Red Clover
Possible Cancer Herb
Family: Leguminosae (includes Beans, Peas)
Genus and Species: Trifolium Pratense
Also known as: Trifolium, Purple Clover, Sweet clover, Cow Clover
Parts used: Flower tops
Red clover is one of the world’s oldest agricultural crops, cultivated as forage since prehistoric times. The ball-shaped flowers of the three-leafed herb have been used almost as long in herbal Healing. For the last 100 years, red clover has been touted as a cancer treatment. Meanwhile, many contemporary scientists say red clover is useless against cancer. Some studies do show some anti-tumor action, however.
The Suit of Clubs
Because of its importance in early agriculture, red clover has a long history as a religious symbol. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and the Celts of pre-Christian Ireland all revered it. Early Christians linked the plant to the Trinity, and some say red clover is the model for Ireland’s symbol, the shamrock.
Red clover was also the model for the suit of clubs in playing cards.
During the Middle Ages, red clover was considered a charm against witchcraft. In the Far East, herbalists had more down-to-earth uses for red clover.
Traditional Chinese physicians have long used red clover blossoms as an expectorant. Russian folk healers recommend it for asthma. Other cultures have used it externally in salves for skin sores and eye problems and internally as a diuretic to treat water retention and as a sedative, anti-inflammatory, cough medicine, and cancer treatment.
Anti-Cancer Reputation
America’s 19th-century Eclectic physicians were great promoters of red clover. Their text, King’s American Dispensatory, called it “one of the few remedies which favorably influences pertussis [whooping cough] … possess[ing] a peculiar soothing property.” The Eclectics recommended red clover for cough, bronchitis, and tuberculosis but waxed truly enthusiastic about the herb as a cancer treatment: “It unquestionably retards the growth of carcinomata.”
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, red clover was the major ingredient in many patent medicines known as Trifolium Compounds. The most popular, produced by the William S. Merrell Chemical Co. of Cincinnati, was a combination of red clover and several other herbs. Manufacturers claimed Trifolium Compounds were tonics and treatments for skin diseases, syphilis, and scrofula (tuberculosis of the lymph nodes). In 1912, the American Medical Association’s Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry attacked Trifolium Compounds, saying “We have no information to indicate they possess medicinal properties.” Nonetheless, red clover continued to be listed for skin diseases in the National Formulary until 1946. Red clover was also one of the herbs in ex-coal miner Harry Hoxsey’s controversial alternative cancer treatment.
Contemporary herbalists recommend red clover externally as a treatment for eczema and psoriasis and internally as a digestive aid, and expectorant for coughs, bronchitis, and whooping cough, Some continue to recommend it for cancer.