Red Raspberry

This plant is related to roses.

Most herbalist use the leaves in tea form due to their nutritive properties. This tea is a great agent for cleansing the mucus membranes in the G.I. tract, leaving the tissues toned. It is great for cleaning up canker conditions.

Dr. Christopher recommends juice, distilled water and Red Raspberry leaf tea for three days to clean the system when one has a cold sore. He also recommends this tea to wash foreign particles out of the eye. In the process it will act as an astringent and heal the irritated surface.

The tea is so gentle that it can be used for Children's complaints of stomachaches. Taken regularly will quiet premature pains in pregnancy and will produce a safe, speedy and easy delivery.

When nursing a baby for a long time and the baby doesn't seem to be satisfied, Christopher recommends that Mom drinking Red Raspberry leaf tea along with Marshmallow Root to enrich the contents of the milk.

As teenagers grow up, they are blamed for not being cooperative. Their bodies are craving vitamins and minerals that are not found in a teen's diet. They are eating fast foods, sweet and excessive meats. Their bodies react with acne, boils and irritability. Girls have more difficult periods. Boys have to deal with an unhealthy sex drive. A cup of Red Raspberry leaf tea will assist in supplying natural hormones and estrogen material to their bodies, thus allowing them to attain a balance.

When harvesting Red Raspberry leaves, the best time is before noon but after the morning dew is gone. The best seasons are Spring and Summer when the berries are not on the plant. Never strip a plant of all its leaves. Take a few from each plant.

To dry these leaves, one might lay them out in a shady but airy place and cover with cheese cloth to keep the bugs out. Another way is to place them into a large paper bag and close the top. Label the bag then shake this up daily while turning the bag onto a different side daily. The bottom will become moist and wick the moisture out of the leaves.

When your leaves are completely dry, put them into a glass jar and label your jar. Now when you are making tea, you can use a tablespoon in a cup of hot water. This tea has been use for such things as thrush, scurvy, morning sickness, gout, flu, acid indigestion, skin ulcers, fevers, vomiting, and wounds.

Let's talk about the berries of this plant. The fruit contains acids along with minerals and fruit sugars. The coloring matter contains flavonoids which are found in many fruits with dark coloring in them. (This is similar to the purple found in grape skins.) This property is what makes these fruits so good for the heart. The coloring matter has also been used for dying purposed.

According to what I have read, "Raspberry contains three times as much cellulose and less ash than strawberries " (Christopher) This ash consists of Calcium, Magnesium, Protassium, Phosphorus, Sulfur and Iron.

A homemade wine can be easily made from the raspberries. It is said to be anti-scrofulous, which means that it will help the lymphatic system.

I have saved the best for last. Under the direction of Dr. Daniel Nixon; Dr. Dave Gangemi of Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South Carolina put out some information on a study that he and a colleague completed. He said that his study showed that the Elliagic Acid in Red Raspberry seeds will cause (G-arrest) stop breast cancer in 48 hours (Inhibiting and stopping mitosis-cancer cell division)and reverse it in 72 hours. This is presently being checked out for pancreas, esophageal, skin, colon and prostate cancer cells. I sent for his information on this study and he returned the paperwork to me. That should have been the end of that but a research doctor in the State of Washington didn't believe this so he did his own independent study and got the same results. A female research doctor from Loyola in Illinois decided to see if this could be so. She got the same results as the other two did.

Dr. Susan Thorpe-Vargas states," Multiple studies have discovered that Phytonutrients found in raspberries can protect us from cancer and can even shrink some types of cancer tumors." She goes on to say, "Recent work(2001), published by Dr. Gary Stoner at Ohio State University, showed that components in the seeds and berry, but particularly ellegitannins, inhibited the initation and promotion/progression stages of esophageal cancer." "In addition, edible berries, including raspberries also inhibit angiogenesis. This is a term used to describe the development of blood vessels needed for tumor growth." This from SCIENTIFIC MEDICAL DEVICES, Inc. Cumming, GA.

My questions are: if these research doctors got this kind of results independently, why are we still funding breast cancer research? Why are we still removing breasts? Why aren't doctors allowed to use any of this information? When is the American Medical Association, American Cancer Association and all the rest going to wake up and allow us to use information found with the research monies that all those "Pink" ribbons are for? Are only the Cancer Centers of America allowed to use what works?

This acid is found in Raspberries, Strawberries and Walnuts. Be sure to chew/bite the seeds.