Source: Health Store News, June/July 1997

Lapacho (also known as Pau d' arco and Taheebo) has been used for thousands of years as a curative by the tribal medicine men of South America, and more recently by modern health practitioners. Found in the rain forests and mountains of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil this plant holds great promise for the future treatment of numerous diseases. Constituents of lapacho are well known for their ability to inhibit or destroy gram positive and acid-fast bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and several kinds of parasites. One of the strongest actions of lapacho is against viruses, and it has been shown to kill or actively inhibit the growth of several dangerous viruses.

Lapacho's greatest strength may also be its weakness. Research scientists are slow to accept that one plant can offer effective treatment for many different diseases and conditions. It is much more profitable to remain in the "one-drug one-disease" syndrome. Slowly but surely, however, Lapacho is changing many minds. It is important to understand that while most of the clinical studies have been performed on the various chemical constituents of lapacho, what is available to consumers is the whole lapacho herb, which is sold and consumed as a whole herb food or dietary supplement. Many scientists believe that lapacho is the most beneficial and health restoring in its whole food tea form rather than by specific chemical constituents.

In his book Herbal Tonic Therapies, Dr. Daniel Mowrey reported that Lapacho "holds great promise for the effective treatment of cancers, such as leukemia, and of candida and other troublesome infections, as well as debilitating conditions (including arthritis), and a host of other complaints. It has laxative, anticancer, antioxidant, analgesic, antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties." He suggests that lapacho is, "One of the most important antitumor agents in the entire world."

Peter S. Gott, M.D., who writes a medical column carried by numerous newspapers nationwide, has reported several times about the anti-fungal properties of Lapacho. In one article, after quoting a man who wrote to thank the doctor for his advice on Lapacho, Dr. Gott wrote: "I am delighted the lapacho, also called pau d'arco, worked for your toenail fungus. In the original article, I passed on advice from a reader who had cured her toenail infection by repeatedly soaking her feet in a brew of lapacho tea, an herbal product available in most health food stores. Since the column was published, I have received scores of letters from grateful readers who have benefited from this method. Thank you for adding to the list of affirmative correspondence."

Dr. Daniel Mowery Recommends Only Pure LAPACHO Selected by hand in the Paraguayan rain forest by our own employees

An interesting sidenote to Dr. Gott's experience is that one can take either fresh lapacho tea or the tea leftover after soaking fingers or toes and spray it on house and garden plants infected with fungus and mold. It works.

The greater part of the basic research on lapacho has dealt with the cancer question. Dr. Mowrey reported that "Constituents of lapacho have been found to suppress tumor formation and reduce tumor viabiility, in animals and humans." He also wrote that, "The absence of side effects makes lapacho a treatment of choice, even in conjunction with standard forms of therapy. In fact, this herb actually eliminates many of the common side effects of orthodox cancer medications. Pain, hair loss, and immune dysfunction are among the symptoms most commonly eliminated."

One theory is that some of its effectiveness may come from lapacho's ability to stimulate the production of red blood cells in bone marrow. Mowrey wrote, "Increased red blood cell production would improve the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Thus, in turn, would have important implications for the health of tissues throughout the body. Also needed for oxygen transport by red cells is iron. This might explain the augmentation of lapacho's therapeutic properties when it is combined with iron-rich yerba mate, another South American plant; in fact, it is native practice to almost always combine these two plant species."

Another theory suggests that lapacho's effectiveness against such a variety of diseases, from cancer to arthritis to its anti-aging effects, stem from the fact that constituents in lapacho are among nature's most potent anti-oxidants (free-radical scavengers). It is well established that anti-oxidants play a vital role in preventing and healing disease. Scientists believe they have discovered a connection between longevity and the levels of antioxidants in the body: The higher the levels of antioxidants in the body, the longer a person can be expected to live. Some studies have suggested that antioxidants can slow, halt, and in some cases, even reverse the effects of aging caused by free radical damage. If true, this makes lapacho an important addition to ones daily diet.