Lapacho

Less know than Echinacea, but is quickly gaining popularity, is the South American herb Pau D’arco, which is often referred to by its other Spanish names: Ipe Roxa, Lapacho and Taheebo. Lapacho is an evergreen tree (deciduous in cold climates) reaching 30 m (100 ft), with beautiful pink flowers.

Lapacho grows well in mountainous terrains and in Peru and Argentina it is found growing high up in the Andes. It is thought that it originated in Paraguay and Brazil where it is still found today. Lapacho is valued for its durable wood and for Its inner bark which has the important therapeutic properties.

The body’s immune system is complex, but simple herbs can help strengthen it.
Lapacho is a popular herb for boosting the immune system. And leading expert on herbs from the Amazon, Maggie Erotokritou says “It is good to start taking Lapacho at the onset of winter as a preventative. It can be taken throughout the winter months or whenever you feel under the weather or need to give you immune system a boost or after taking antibiotics. Lapacho is different from Echinacea, another immune stimulant, which loses its potency effect after ten days, but Lapacho can be taken for months if necessary.”

I personally had to use it when I had an abscess in my mouth a few months ago as I had no choice but to take antibiotics. Antibiotics kills all the germs good and bad, so in order to boost my immune system I took Lapacho. I even gave it to my baby because I was breastfeeding and the antibiotics go into her system as well.

Lapachos’ key actions
Lapacho is a natural antibiotic, it can be used as an anti-fungal, it is an immune stimulant, it is an anti-inflammatory, it can be used for cleansing, it can be used as a tonic and it is used to fight tumours.

Research
Researchers isolated a substance in Lapacho tea that apparently contains a chemical chain, anti-tumour agent. Dr. Martin, a medical researcher for the Brazilian government stated, “We isolated a compound we called quechua from Lapacho and found it to be a very powerful antibiotic, with virus-killing properties. Dr. Norman Farnsworth of the University of Illinois, both herbal medicine experts agree with Dr. Martin and are quoted as saying: “Lapacho undoubtedly contains a substance found to be highly effective against cancer.” Some feel that once of the most significant contributions of Lapacho tea is the elimination of pain. Apparently this takes three days of drinking a quart of Red or Purple Lapacho tea each day, properly prepared, and two – three cups per day thereafter.

South American medical doctors who discovered Lapacho in the pharmacopoeia of the natives were the first to experiment with it as a treatment for cancer. Dr. Accorsi reported that it “eliminated the pains caused by the disease and multiplies the body’s production of red corpuscles”. Various South American Doctors tried Lapacho on their patients and the claims of cures of cancer and other diseases became abundant. Over the past twenty years reports from numerous doctors and patients have indicated that the bark from the tree when ingested (usually in tea form) has cured terminal leukaemia, arthritis, yeast and fungus infections, arrested pain, stopped athlete’s foot and cured the common cold. In America it is used to treat yeast infections and in South America it is a cure for cancer and other disease. It can, say experts, also protect against AIDS.

History
The Incas, the Callawaya in Brazil and other Native South American people all prized Lapacho for its cure all properties. They used it to treat a variety of conditions and ailments including wounds, fever, dysentery, intestinal inflammation, certain types of cancer and snake bite.

The old Roman phrase, caveat emptor, meaning let the buyer beware, is applicable when buying Lapacho.
One question that has baffled researchers is why Lapacho is so very beneficial to some people and not to others is perhaps because unscrupulous suppliers have found it very profitable to grind up both the inner and the worthless, bitter outer bark, and sometimes the entire tree. Fortunately for us we have a good supplier in Cyprus.