Pharmacist wants to use herbs to help elevate level of healing By: Erica Kinnaird, STAFF WRITER (High Point Enterprise)

For some people, going the extra mile for their job is a task, but for Amy Greeson, it was the beginning of an adventure.

Greeson, a pharmacist at the Medicine Shoppe in Thomasville, went more than an extra mile - she went all the way to the rainforests of Belize, in Central America, to learn more about herbal medicine.

The High Point resident didn't hesitate when given the opportunity to make this trip.

She has been a pharmacist for 12 years, and she wants to get more involved with herbs to achieve a new level of healing. She wants to do more than simply reduce symptoms.

"I'd like to integrate medicine with botanical remedies," she says. "It's a very delicate combination."

She traveled to Belize in December and met with shamans, or medicine men, who led her and five others deep into the luscious vegetation of the forests. They called attention to plants that many would not recognize as remedies.

They pointed out remedies for burns and itching as well as plants and trees that produce anti-cancerous agents.

Greeson says one tree, a Dragon's Blood Tree, has a reddish sap that can be used as a cream for severe itching.

Simple cures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to herbal remedies. The United States is lagging behind, Greeson says.

"Out of 250,000 higher plants," she says, "we are using only one-half of 1 percent."

The shamans, a dying breed who believe they are led by spirit guides, know many, if not most, of these medicinal plants. For them, using herbal cures is a practice that has been passed down generation to generation.

Take the Poisonwood Tree, for example. If humans brush against the tree, they could receive a severe burn, Greeson says. But shamans discovered that a natural remedy, the Gumbo Limbo Tree, always grows within five or six feet of the poisonous tree.

Another tree that has parts resembling a scorpion tail holds the remedy for a scorpion bite, Greeson explains.

Although there are many plants that are believed to heal a number of ailments, it may be a long time before any of these simple cures are integrated into modern medicine, Greeson says, because many professionals are still skeptical.

Only "about 25 percent of medicines are derived from plant sources," Greeson says. But she has learned that many doctors are showing an interest in herbal medicines.

Even though plants from Central and South America may be of assistance in modern medicine, only select research groups can take specimens home - leaving a void for many herbal supporters.

One reason for that, Greeson says, is natives are afraid foreigners will come in and rape the land, leaving them with nothing.

"But they knew we were there to learn," Greeson says. What she and the others learned during this trip was quite intense and helpful.

"We had lectures on clinical aspects (of the herbs)," she says. Then, the group used the knowledge on their trips into the forest.

Greeson says many in the medical profession still believe U.S. medicine is far superior to herbal remedies and have no interest in looking into alternatives.

Because herbal remedies are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, vitamins and other herbs sold over the counter may not contain all the ingredients listed on the labels.

For this reason, major herbal remedies lack funding by large pharmaceutical companies.

Greeson says she often recommends herbal remedies that have been backed by clinical studies.

"There are different forms of the medicines," she says, "and you have to make sure you know what you're getting. They are great when used appropriately.

"I know these things are good. They work for me."

Greeson is hoping that someday modern and ancient medicines will merge. Right now, "we're opening our eyes," she says.

"The cure is there. These herbs and ancient remedies have to become more incorporated in modern medicine. When we learn to pool from all our sources, it could be pretty amazing."

©High Point Enterprise 2003