Herbal products have become ever increasingly popular as remedies for everything from skin conditions and hair loss to breast enlargement and increasing sexual vigour and penis size. A large percentage of the consumer dollar in many countries is switching from pharmaceutical based solutions to natural herbal solutions.

There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, the basic philosophy of herbal based solutions is to correct a deficiency in the body. The human body is designed to correct itself and heal itself and, given the correct nutrients (quite often deficient in our modern diet), will work to correct itself.

Secondly, herbal solutions do not present the myriad of side effects of many of the chemical based solutions. Chemical based solutions work by replacing some natural function or hormone in the body and therefore work by bypassing the body's own natural systems. This is ideal for the manufacturer as the consumer becomes reliant on the solution (drug) and this generates an ongoing income stream. Additionally, the side effects create a need for new drugs and there is a snowball effect which all results in more income to the manufacturer.

Herbal based cancer solutions are one area that are especially despised by the vested interests. There are two main solutions that are probably widely known.

The first is Vitamin B17 or Laetrile discovered by Dr Ernst T Krebs Jr. This substance is widely available in a variety of foods, but is especially concentrated in the apricot kernel. Laterile is a concentrated liquid or pill form of B17 that is used in some medical facilities (as in Mexico) but is heavily suppressed in more "civilised" countries. The action of B17 is as follows. The B17 molecule contains two units of glucose, one of benzaldehyde and one of cyanide, all tightly locked together. In this form the cyanide is harmless to the body. There is one enzyme called beta-glucosidase that can "unlock" the cyanide. When the B17 comes into contact with this enzyme both the cyanide and the benzaldehyde are unlocked, and acting together these two substances are very toxic. Fortunately, the only cells that contain the unlocking enzymes are cancer cells. So it acts like a localised natural chemotherapy and targets only the cancer cells.

The second most popular natural solution for cancer is oxygen therapy. The theory behind this goes back to the Nobel prize winning biochemist, Dr Otto Warburg, who discovered that cancer cells could not survive in cells that contains sufficient oxygen content. This was in fact the research rewarded by one of his Nobel prizes for biochemistry. This discovery has led to some disparate solutions. The first is the recommendation of having the correct amount of essential fatty acids - Omega-3, 6 and 9 in the correct proportion (2:1:1) in order to allow oxygen to pass through the cell membrane. This theory is utilise in the popular Budwig diet, where Flaxseed oil and natural cottage cheese are mixed together to deliver this solution. Another remedy utilising the oxygen principle is the application of ozone directly through the skin and through a liquid or sub-lingual spray, thereby greatly increasing the oxygen content of the cells. Both of these solution used in combination would be even more effective.

Another popular area for herbal remedies is herbal breast enlargement. While there are many critics of these products, they continue to sell extremely well. The basic theory here is that in either pill or cream form these products can revive the cell production of breast tissue, experienced during puberty by providing herbal phytoestrogens such as pueraria mirifica (a substance derived from the root of this plant) which is originally from Thailand. They also claim to have other beneficial effects such as being a cancer preventative and also improving skin and hair quality.

While there are many cynics of the herbal remedies, the majority of leading manufacturers offer lengthy guarantees, some as long as 12 months. I don't know of any pharmaceuticals that offer money back guarantees!