Originally published June 30 2005
Botanist goes gardening for his medicine
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Botany expert Jim Duke believes in the healing power of plants, reports the Baltimore Sun, and the 76-year-old authority in the field of herbal medicine has an herbal garden organized by the ailments each plant treats.
The elegant, tiered garden, created by the retired government botanist, contains hundreds of plant species grouped for treatment of some 80 diseases and ailments.
For the 76-year-old Duke, an authority in the field of herbal medicine and a prolific author on the subject, the garden at his Fulton home in Howard County, where he holds dozens of tours a year, is his main venue for educating the public about ancient herbal traditions and new botanical discoveries.
It's also the stage for Duke to spread his message that the health care establishment in the United States needs to get serious about researching the medical capabilities of plants and herbs.
Specifically, Duke is calling for more clinical comparisons between botanical remedies and pharmaceuticals.
With complementary and alternative medicine departments now in operation at many major research centers and medical schools, the views of herbal medicine advocates like Duke are slowly gaining more acceptance in the mainstream medical community.
"Jim Duke has been incredibly influential in educating people in all walks of life about the importance of this type of medicine and getting the word out that it's important to pay attention," Montes adds.
Dr. Robert A. Schulman, an assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, supports Duke's opinions on botanical medicine studies.
Duke believes that botanicals are safer and as effective as commercially produced drugs.
In the past, he has taken antibiotics for infections, and as a preventive measure to ward off Lyme disease after finding ticks on his body.
Duke said he has taken celery seed every day for nine years - a practice he believes has kept the gout in his big toe in check.
When he came to a fava bean plant during the tour, he talked about his hopes for a clinical trial to compare it with Eldopa, a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease.
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