A boost to the system

Tony vendryes, health columnist for the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper in Kingston, is interested in an ancient form of medicine—guinea weed, which has been touted for centuries by folk healers in the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.

In an article last year, Vendryes notes that of 1,400 plants evaluated in a study at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the U.S., this herb—known as anamú, or Petiveria alliacea—is one of just 34 found to have properties useful in preventing or treating cancer. He says it contains 20 biological compounds, including some never before seen and others similar to those found in garlic, long known for its immune-boosting qualities.

After doing his own research, Vendryes writes, “I now use it regularly in my practise and find it to be a useful, safe, inexpensive addition to cancer-treatment programs as well as in the treatment of the other conditions,” including arthritis and infections.

His findings are supported by a growing number of researchers who believe anamú may boost the immune system, inhibit cancer, fight infections, relieve pain and lower blood sugar. Among the believers is Costa Bartley, senior vice-president of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean, a high-tech medical facility in Jamaica (profiled in the Jan./Feb. 2008 issue of Ode): “I brew up a tea of it every morning, and I feel years younger.”

Vendryes recommends ingesting organically grown anamú—also known as garlic weed, which grows wild all over Jamaica—as a tea twice a day. Outside the tropics, it’s available in capsules from nutritional supplement suppliers. Anamú should never be taken by pregnant women, since it can induce abortions, or by people taking blood-thinning medication, since it’s a natural anti-coagulant.