Yes, my friend, White Willow Bark is really the only drug that I can wholeheartedly recommend! It has really no side effects, is very effective, and can be used without reservation. It works for headache, muscle or joint pain- almost anything really, that most folks have been resorting to aspirin, ibuprofen, and tylenol for. (Along with more potent drugs with more damaging side effects!)
The good news is this: white willow bark is very, very effective, has virtually no side effects, and is inexpensive. Let us compare white willow bark to Tylenol, the supposedly safe aspirin substitute: “acetaminophen [Tylenol] poisoning now accounts for at least 42% of U.S. acute liver failure cases seen at tertiary-care centers [large hospitals] and one third of the deaths.”
Isn’t that awful? How about the old standby, aspirin? “No conventionally used prophylactic Aspirin™ regimen seems free of the risk of peptic ulcer complications,” said the British Medical Journal.
Aspirin always made me sick to my stomach! Rightfully so, since it degrades the stomach lining! So, let’s just go to ALL of the NSAID’s- the Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs, and consider them all:
Over-the-counter pain relievers. Nonprescription pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve, others) can damage your liver, especially if taken frequently or combined with alcohol. Prescription medications.Jun 1, 2013
And, as I stressed earlier, not just the liver! So, since Hippocrates himself recommended white willow bark, why oh why does not current Western medicine, (of which he is the founder) not do so as well??
So far as as I can tell, it’s just because there is no money to be made- no patent- nothing!! It’s free to all, a natural substance, from the white willow itself! In fact, you can even purchase the willow bark to chew, which is fine, but tablets are also readily available.
“So, Jay- why is white willow bark so great?”
Great question, grasshopper, and it is simple to answer. As a natural substance, white willow bark is not isolated, or refined into a prescription drug type of deal. It is totally a natural substance, which means it contains all the substances of the original plant, not just a tiny subset that has been concentrated unnaturally. There is more than just salicin, which is the only active ingredient in aspirin.
As the University of Maryland medical center puts it:
The bark of white willow contains salicin, which is a chemical similar to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). In combination with the herb's powerful anti-inflammatory plant compounds (called flavonoids), salicin is thought to be responsible for the pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects of the herb. In fact, in the 1800s, salicin was used to develop aspirin. White willow appears to bring pain relief more slowly than aspirin, but its effects may last longer.
Medicinal Uses and Indications
Willow bark is used to ease pain and reduce inflammation. Researchers believe that the chemical salicin, found in willow bark, is responsible for these effects. However, studies show several other components of willow bark, including plant chemicals called polyphenols and flavonoids, have antioxidant, fever-reducing, antiseptic, and immune-boosting properties. Some studies show willow is as effective as aspirin for reducing pain and inflammation (but not fever), and at a much lower dose. Scientists think that may be due to other compounds in the herb
And that is the bottom line- there are other plant chemicals, that make everything more effective, and much safer.
So get yourself some white willow bark! Get it now, since you don’t want to be like me, who gave all of mine away (I rarely need it), and then tried to buy it locally. Trust me: when you go to Walmart of Walgreens (the two Wally’s), and ask for “white willow bark”, it is as if you asked for “eye of newt”… They won’t have it, although their websites do.
Just get a good variety, like NOW foods or Nature’s Way. Keep it on hand, or give it away, knowing you will only help. As Hippocrates said it: “First, do no harm!”
NSAIDs do harm. Modern medicine has lost their way…
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