Published on Feb 13, 2015 Nancy Kirk current board member of USD 501 and past state representative addressed our Optimist luncheon on Thursday and discussed the state's financing of schools under the current laws and administration, I did a quick recap interview with her covering the salient points. (recorded and edited on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 w/ Kinemaster Android edito

Some of my Favorite things... Nootropics

One of the things that has always intrigued, me as well as motivated me to further inquiry is the idea of expanding my cognitive abilities through the use of medicinal herbs. To this end there are a number of plants/herbs that are held in the highest of esteem by traditional Chinese practitioners of herbal medicine. I will mention a few here briefly and provide some links for your further study.

Over the years I have become fond on an herb commonly known as Gotu Kola in the west. It's proper name is Centella asiatica, or "Ping Da Wan," It is one of the medicinal herbs I became familiar with early on when looking for a way to help stave off the degenerative effects on cognition that sometimes occurs with advanced age. On another cultural front, the herb: Bacopa monnieri, is used in the Indian Ayurveda tradition of treatment for similar purpose. Both these plants have a long and reputable history in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The links below are from WebMD and have short descriptions regarding both plants. I reference WebMD, as it is one of the sites that often shows up in search results most people will make. 

 

Both are believed to enhances cognitive abilities, enhance memory and learning skills as well as serve as neuroprotectants.

 



  Centella asiatica: Gotu Kola                                                             Bacopa monnieri: Brahmi

Gotu Kola has a long history dating back roughly two thousand years. It is mentioned in "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine." Generally attributed to Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor of the Third Millennium BCE. Brahmi or Bacopa monnieri is part of the Indian Ayurvedic tradition of medicine dating to the times of the Vedas (1500-1000 BCE) The Vedas are ancient texts covering wisdom, religion, music, medicine and more. Essentially the collected knowledge of the progenitors of the Indian peoples.

Links to these sites for your further searches, U.S. National Library of Medicine; National Institutes of health; NCBI (Pubmed) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ 

and WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/

Web MD is very accessible to most readers who require reputable information regarding herbs, their uses and side effects. Information from NCBI, on the other hand is better suited for those with some background in the sciences. Much information found there will be concerned with research published from around the globe as such is oriented more towards health professionals.

There are other supplements that can your brain's efficiency. An example: Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate, and others. More about them later. Here is where I change course a bit though.

I recently read an article published in "Wired," based I believe on work by a Brit. One Paul Expert, Research Assoc, King's College London. His field: Complex Networks, Complex Systems, Neuroimaging. I hesitate to jest regarding his name and his areas of research. I'll let you all do that. The gist of the article is that certain organic chemical compounds have the ability to rewire the brain in a permanent manner. In doing so they connect parts of the brain that normally do not communicate with each other. What a concept! Did I mention an increase in plasticity. Some of you no doubt will intuit more, but on with it.

Other researchers believe that phytochemical compounds (naturally occurring plant compounds) have the ability to do this as well, albeit at a somewhat slower rate. There is an area of study regarding this and the plant compounds and supplements go under the name of Nootropics. Brain enhancers you would call them. In the cells, Nootropics, (like Gotu Kola, Brahmi, and more) seem to have the ability to scavenge lipofuscins, (compounds that break down cellular compounds) and may can damage neural systems. 

For more indepth info go here: http://www.innovitaresearch.org/news/06042501.html

Of course there are other ways the  brain can be damaged, but this area of research of Nootropics holds a lot of promise for helping us become smarter, more conscious and awake to our reality and so on. When I say this I have to mention that Gotu Kola and Brahmi have been used for over thousand years with the express desire of raising consciousness as well.Taoist monks used it to become more aware and more spiritually conscious. 

My own use of these nootropics, gotu kola in particular, has led me to believe there is a component of this phytochemical that does seem to develop ones sense of connection to the universe. In addition I believe it does enhance memory and many cognitive functions. My own opinion is that it seems to function as a very slow form of "mind expansion."

What I have found in years of research on these green alternatives to drugs is that they have the ability to serve, at the least as adjuncts to conventional therapies. Furthermore I am convinced that they may also work so well, according to much of what I have seen as of late in research journals, that they indeed may be designed very specifically to exactly the things they do. 

Which leads me to this closing statement: With each passing day and more reading, it seems that our natural environment contains everything needed to maintain, give health and grow our 

consciousness in ways we are just beginning to understand. If not subverted, natural medicine will soon take it's place alongside conventional medicine as a full partner in maintenance of full and vital living. It's up to us to push for this basic right to health and well being by learning more about the alternatives to conventional medicine. 

I hope this truly helps to spark your further interest in alternative medicine. More next week.

Vern R. C. McFalls

NOTE: this information is provided with no express promises and is furnished for informational purposes only. Consult a physician before use. 

Herbal Medicine in a Holistic World: Living in an integrated world

Herbal Medicine in a Holistic World: Living in an integrated world: Reviewing the profile picture you find a photo of my great, great, great Grandfather. A Cherokee (Mason Maize) who was a member of the Conf...

Living in an integrated world

Reviewing the profile picture you find a photo of my great, great, great Grandfather. A Cherokee (Mason Maize) who was a member of the Confederate forces in Kentucky during the Civil war. Perhaps a bit unusual to some for a Native American, but not unusual for the times. Indian peoples were diverse and amazing people, who managed to survive an onslaught designed to eliminate them from the Americas from the time of settlement by the European invaders. Native Americans managed to survive and even prosper despite best efforts by the invaders.

Much of what survived with them was the knowledge of Herbal medicine. My experiences as a child with a Winnebago mother included forays into the fields and wood around our home during which my mother would point out plants and explain to me how they were used by our people to treat various illnesses. In addition to my mother, one of my uncles who lived close by practiced herbal medicine as well. In fact, many others to whom I was exposed as a youngster knew no other way of treatment.

This experience and the further discussions with my uncle furthered my education and belief that nature and the creator provide a very tightly woven safety net that allows us to live a healthy and robust life if we pay attention to what nature provides us. I was lucky enough as he aged to be assisted by his MD., who was very open to the use of herbal medicines. I furnished his doctor with research and together we would review the research for it's uses and efficacy. I began later to do this for any others who asked. With this excellent team of individuals we enabled him to live a long productive life and remain disease free as well as sidestepping all the difficulties and maladies that bedevil most of us as we age. I am eternally grateful for his physician, who with his open mind aided us in his long journey.

This being said, I been prompted to share some of my experiences and research regarding the continued discoveries in the world of herbal medicines and the success and help they may bring to those who have an interest in their use. This has been prompted by the growing belief, (supported by research) that we family of humans have been gifted with an amazing natural pharmacy. This gift by the Creator upon investigation indicates a protective umbrella integrated into our biology, designed to keep us healthy and well despite the growing daily assaults on our person by foods, chemicals, stress and more that alter our ability to enjoy the gift of life given by the Creator. With this in mind I have embarked upon, (with some encouragement) to share some of that which I have learned with the help of others and a determination to understand the mystery of what it means to be healthy in this age of rampant disease and disability.

Most of what I will post will be from my readings on traditional, native and Chinese/Ayurvedic medicines. Most will be backed with current links to verifiable research by medical research teams from around the globe. I hope it will be useful and open new doors for helping people help themselves with the aid of like minded medical professionals. Incidentally, you may find upon asking that many physicians these days are open to these alternative therapies if you just ask.

Vern R. Clay-McFalls
1/4/2015