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Licorice
was brought to my attention by Candy, who works at Pacific
Coast Greens, a great health food store in Malibu. I've
done some research on it, using myself as a guinea pig.
I found licorice to be a wonderful herb, for it does
away with all sorts of uncomfortable nuisances, including
high temperature, ulcers, and arthritis.
Dan
Mowrey states:
| Licorice
root is one of the most biologically active herbs
in the world. Licorice root is an effective treatment
for stomach ailments, because it exerts a soothing
action on the muscosal surfaces of the GI tract,
and it is frequently used to help these tissues
heal. The licorice root derivatives, glycryuhetinic
acid (GLA), deglycrihyinated licorice (DGL), and
carbenoxolene sodium (CS) have all been proven
to be among the best anti-ulcer medications available.
Whole licorice and its derivatives appear to have
the ability to inhibit gastric acid secretion
with the advantage of being devoid of other adverse
anti-cholinergic properties.
Licorice
root helps prevent and heal skin problems. The
conditions that increase the occurrence of acne-like
symptoms during certain stages of the menstrual
cycle may be affected by the consumption of licorice
root.
The
anti-inflammatory properties of the root have
been considered responsible for its effectiveness
in the treatment of numerous skin disorders, including
eczema, dermatitis, impetigo, and traumatized
skin.
It
should be mentioned that the antipyrelic (fever
reducing) effects of GLA have been shown to be
equal to those of the widely used sodium salicylate.
(48) |
Fever reduction is important to hepatitis C patients.
My experience for several years was that I was always
at about 99.8 degrees. My fever would rise after eating.
It was extremely uncomfortable to live day after day,
year after year, just a little bit hot.
Every
time a doctor would record my slightly elevated temperature,
I would ask why it was high. The usual answer was, "you
probably just have a bug." Taking licorice really helped
this problem.
Licorice
root is used to remove buildup of toxic metabolic substances
in the body, because it increases the liver's ability
to filter out these wastes.
In
the treatment of liver diseases (e.g. hepatitis and
cirrhosis), GLA has proven extremely promising. In Chinese
medicine, licorice is often used as a remedy for jaundice
and is considered a great liver detoxifier. According
to Dan Mowry:
| Experimental
work has validated the usefulness of licorice in
the treatment of hepatitis, cirrhosis, and related
liver disorders. Licorice is a good tonic for the
adrenal glands and Addison's disease. |
This
is very important for the hepatitis C patient because
you need to support your adrenal gland in many ways
in order to conquer the virus.
Mowrey
continues:
| Licorice
appears to both mimic and potentiate the action
of the adrenal-caiticosteroids, though it also
differs in action from these chemicals in several
important ways.
Licorice
components have been found to exert a positive
effect on the course of several adrenal insufficiencies,
even in Addison's Disease, which is characterized
by near total adrenal exhaustion. |
In later stages, the hepatitis C patient may develop
severe joint pain, which I did. This pain was compounded
one hundred fold by interferon. Mowrey writes:
| The
anti-arthritic properties of GLA and the aqueous
extracts of licorice have also been shown. Comparisons
of licorice root to hydrocortisone are frequently
made in the medical literature in England, China,
and countries other than the USA
In relation to the immune system, (which hepatitis
C patients must become obsessed with boosting),
licorice root and its derivatives have recently
shown extremely promising results as interferon
inducers, which is especially good news for the
treatment of hepatitis C. (When was the last time
your hepatitis C doctor told you that)?
At
concentrations well tolerated by uninfected cells,
glycyrhezic acid inhibits both growth and cytopathic
effect of vaccinia, as well as herpes simplex,
Newcastle disease, and vesicular stomatits viruses
while being ineffective on polio virus. |
It is suggested that glycyrhezic acid interacts with
virus structures (conservable proteins) producing different
effects according to the viral stage affected: inactivation
of free virus particles extracellularly; prevention
of intercellular uncoating of infecting particles; impairment
of the assembling ability of virus structural components.
Dr. Mowry further states:
| As
a general cautionary measure, persons with a history
of hypertension, renal failure, or who are currently
using cardian glycosides may wish to avoid the use
of licorice root altogether. |
During
my treatment I took:
One 500 mg. licorice capsule two times per day, five
days a week.
I also drank two cups of licorice tea five days a week.
|
