Hi Susan!

Your website is really attractive and I enjoyed it very much. I will share it with others.

I am currently on a "witch-hunt" for TRAILING ARBUTUS.

I have a 49 year old cousin who has been diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis. It is aggressively crippling her. Her hands and feet are terribly affected with it. Of course, she has been to a specialist that prescribed medications for it. The medications have terrible side-effects and make her sick. She is miserable and in a great deal of pain most of the time.

My mother recently told me about "Trailing Arbutus". My grandfather would pick the leaves of the plant, that grew wild in the woods, (Pennsylvania) and brew a tea that my great aunt would drink for her rheumatoid arthritis. It brought relief to her bed-ridden swollen-painful body.

I am desperately searching to find more information about this natural remedy and hopefully purchase the plant/leaves to help my cousin.

Do you have any information regarding this topic or perhaps can suggest other helpful natural remedies ????

Please help.
Thank you !!!!! Lauren

Susun's Response:Trailing Arbutus should not be used, ever, please

Please be aware that trailing arbutus is an endangered plant. I would not use it. I would not even show you where it lives unless you promised me and the plant that you would never ever pick it.

Instead, try chondrotin and glucosamine. These substances are usually used together and they are remarkably effective not only in relieving pain but in actually rebuilding the joint. This is one alternative that the MDs are wild about cuz it really works, fast too.

Green Blessings, Susun Weed
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                                      Joint Pain-toxic mold
Hello,

I was exposed to toxic mold about a year and a half ago, and since have had
persistent problems with my immune system that have manifested in multiple
chemical sensitivities (molds give off chemicals) and shortness of breath.
I have improved with herbs and super nutrition, but in the last two weeks
have suddenly developed rather severe arthritic pain in fingers, feet,
knees and hips. The pain and swelling moves from place to place, but
remains the worst in my hands.

It is my belief that this latest inflammation is related to the havoc from the toxic mold exposure. I'll be 55 in February. Olive leaf tincture and grapefruit seed extract seem to
help, but not cure this latest vexation.

Any other suggestions?
Stella

                              Susun's Response: help for joint pain

Dear Stella,

What an awful thing to have to cope with. Yuck! You seem to have a good attitude though, good for you.

Yogurt is a wonderful ally for strengthening the immune system and countering the effects of mold poisoning. As little as half a cup of plain yogurt daily should create lovely results in a few days.

Is there any possibility that the herbs or super nutrition you are using is causing the joint pain? If you are taking blue-green algae, that is a common side-effect. Blue green algae is basically poisonous. Try stinging nettle infusion instead.

In the short term glucosamine and chondrotin have given many people immediate relief from joint pain. The glucosamine has a strong scientific backing and also repairs any damage done to the joints. It is sort a miracle. I am not into pills in general, but this is one I recommend to anyone suffering as you are. Grapefruit seed extract is exceptionally hard on the kidneys and liver and is not indicated for long term use. Additionally, it kills healthy gut flora, leaving you more vulnerable to the effects of the bad molds. If you could, you might want to stop using it for a while.

I don't know much about olive leaf extract, but what I have read does not impress me. So far as I am concerned, you need nourishment for you gut flora, not things that kill. A healthy gut is the best defense!! This idea is gaining wide acceptance by farmers who are looking for ways to use less antibiotics. They have found that spraying a little bit of harmful stuff and a lot a good gut stuff on the baby animals gives them immunity to serious problems.

Green Blessings, Susun Weed
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