September/October 2003 Alternative Health
Look to the Plants for Your Survival

by Amba Zeller

Every day our health is challenged by a multitude of viruses, bacteria, fungi, molds, yeast, and parasites. In addition, there are numerous environmental contaminants in our air, water, and food supply. With such challenges, our bodies need healthy immune systems in order to operate at optimum levels.

Our innate intelligence orchestrates all body systems to work together. We don’t consciously command our organs to do their jobs. We don’t have to tell our heart to keep beating, or our liver to filter toxins or regulate cholesterol, or our pancreas to balance blood sugar. Our organs do their jobs automatically, even when we sleep. In return, our bodies ask only for proper fuel and nutrition to continue to function optimally. That’s all!

Herein lays the problem. The nutritional content of our food supply is at its lowest level in history. If our organs aren’t getting the nutrients they need, they simply go into a slow process of degeneration. So, while the challenges to our health from environmental predators are at the highest level ever, our nutritional intake to protect ourselves from these challenges is at its lowest.

When commercial food is grown and harvested from the same soil year after year, the soil is depleted of its nutritional content. Thus, the nutritional value of the food grown in that soil is also reduced. Then, consider the processing of foods from heating and freezing as well as the addition of preservatives and chemical additives. In addition, the extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides adds poisons to our foods. Our diet today is a far cry from that of our ancestors who consume fresh, wild plants grown in virgin soil.

If we consume the proper nutrients in adequate quantities, and if our digestion and metabolism are utilizing these nutrients, our bodies will maintain a healthy immune system. Unfortunately, that’s not always happening today.

For thousands of years, the natives of the Amazon Rainforest have relied upon flowers, leaves, stems, barks, and roots of various plant species for essential nutrients and health-building herbs. Today, these plants continue to supply important nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and other beneficial plant substances.

Tropical jungles are the fastest growing and most diversified areas of plant growth on earth. As new life springs from a layer of decomposing matter, we witness a beautiful example of nature recycling itself. The plants grown there are exposed to bacteria, molds, fungi, parasites, insects, and animals. The survival of these plants depends upon their ability to defend themselves against these predators. Therein lies the greatest benefit of the Rainforest plants. They generate thousands of phyto-chemicals to protect themselves from their environment. Many of these phyto-chemicals have beneficial effects on humans. For example, they build immunity, help regulate metabolism, and increase energy, fertility, and circulation. Thus, the Rainforest is a treasure chest of biological and pharmacological compounds with beneficial health applications.

Throughout the centuries, the indigenous populations of the Rainforest have learned how to use these plants to their benefit. Their experiences, combined with modern botanical and scientific studies, form the science of the Amazon. There is no better way than to personally experience this power and discover these treasures of the Rainforest.

Amba Zeller has a degree in nursing. She is a wellness coach providing herbal and nutritional guidance. Her studies include Western Herbology, Aryuveda, and Amazon Rainforest herbs. She will be speaking in Portland at the Body, Mind Spirit Expo on Sunday, Nov. 9th at 2pm. She can be reached at (877)437-1624.