There are so many curative treatments that we, in the western world, have yet to discover – or to embrace once they are discovered.  Why?  Why is a complicated issue – certainly the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry does not wish to offer healing and treatment that can be found growing wild, unregulated.  In the case of Cat’s Claw (Uncaria Tomentosa), it is indigenous to the Amazon rainforest, and has been used for two thousand years by the indigenous peoples of South and Central America for everything from acne and diarrhea to diabetes, inflammation and cancer.

As we become an ever-increasing “global community” and grow more and more curious about the longevity and health of other human beings, scattered around the planet, more and more often we discover that the commonly used “household remedies” are not to be cast aside in favor of processed, expensive and often damaging “conventional” therapies. Cinnamon and oatmeal, for instance, are natural remedies to high cholesterol.  And drug companies have jumped on the bandwagon, investigating and producing cinnamon in a pill form.

Likewise, Uncaria Tomentosa has been heavily researched for medicinal use and immune modulation. Immune modulators are basically nutrients and drugs that stimulate the immune system by increasing (or causing) its activity in the human body. Cat’s Claw is said to do both (although clinical trials up to this point have not proven or disproven its efficacy).

For cancer patients specifically, researchers have reported that cat’s claw can aid in DNA cellular repair and prevent cells from mutating, and that it can also help prevent the loss of white blood cells and immune cell damage caused by many chemotherapy drugs.

Cat’s claw has been studied for over 20 years is available easily in capsules and tablets, both of which have become widely available in most health food stores at reasonable prices. It is taken today to boost immune function, as well as an all-over tonic and curatively for arthritis and inflammation, bowel and colon problems, and as we shared earlier, as a complementary therapy for cancer.

While the unique chemical breakdown of Uncaria Tomentosa (Cat’s Claw) is probably beyond most of us, other than a small group of botanists and medical researchers, what we do know is that this plant has several unique factors that produce alkaloids responsible for strengthening the immune system. With the supporting evidence toward its use in treating cancer, inflammation, viral infection and vascular conditions, this is definitely an herbal treatment worth learning about in today’s “western world” where we are exposed to an endless barrage of cancer-causing chemicals in our food and environment and grow sicker with each generation, despite all of our wealth and endless opportunity.

Samantha Mayfield
Intake Coordinator
Camelot Cancer Care