Nutritional science is a field of continual flowing rivers of research and information that often raise the quality of life and abate suffering – information that may give new hope to people suffering debilitating physical problems.

Each week I spend many hours pouring over my health and nutritional journals and exploring Web sites promising new herbal and natural approaches to health problems.

A fair amount of my findings are redundant to earlier research but explained in perhaps a different light. Some “new” herbal remedies are in fact just new to western culture or new to the US.

One product that I am excited about is oil of wild oregano. Mediterranean peoples have used this oil (there are more than 40 varieties world wide) for hundreds of years for everything from allergies and asthma, colds, flu and eczema to gastritis, psoriasis, gum disease and much more. (I must say here that this particular oregano is not your kitchen cupboard variety, which is probably Mexican sage.)

It appears to hold wide spectrum antibiotic properties and phenols like carvacrol and thymol that are natural antiseptics. According to Dr. Cass Ingram (“The Cure is in The Cupboard”) the caustic nature of plant phenols creates a response that is destructive to microbes as well as cancer cells.

Oil of wild oregano also contains terpenes that are potent antiseptic, antiviral and anti-inflammatory agents.

Another exciting and rather “new” supplement is zeolite. Zeolites are minerals that have been commonly used for industrial waste cleanup because of their ability to scavenge sludge and other toxic wastes. And yet native peoples living close to volcanic areas have used these minerals to heal themselves of a variety of disorders.

Zeolites are formed from volcanic lava and are potentized when in contact with sea water. The zeolite molecules are negatively charged and are attracted to the positive charge of waste material and heavy metals within the human body. This makes them wonderful chelators.

Chelators are substances that remove toxins and heavy metals from the body. There are many known chelators but zeoilites seem to be among the most potent.

I am aware of one study that unfortunately was not double blind and placebo-controlled (the gold standard among study protocols). Yet is interesting to note that in that study of 58 stage 4 cancer patients using a zeolite supplement (and taking no other supplement or chemotherapy) 87 percent of the patients went into full remission.

Of course this is unheard of and yet other anecdotal evidence from people around the US seems to corroborate this finding. Good studies need to be forthcoming.

Steven West, ND is a Kelseyville- based naturopath and nutritionist. He graduated form the Institute for Natural Health Studies and has been in practice in California for 18 years.

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