Weekend December 9/10, 2000

Herbal Cures

If you suffer from allergies, asthma, arthritis, or just about any common ailment... we found a man who says he has a simple remedy for you that's completely natural. Phil Shuman personally put him to the test in today's RXtra.

We spend billions on pills, prescriptions and procedures... but honestly, has modern medicine left you, well, sick?

The cure for what ails you could actually be an ancient Chinese secret. Majid Ali says, "The people that have tried everything else and it hasn't worked, they're pretty much a candidate for herbs."

Plants, roots, and flowers... Herbalogists like Majid Ali use them all to treat everything from allergies and arthritis to migraines and menopause. So how does he know which botanicals work best? By checking out your tongue and feeling your pulse.

Since she was a child, singer Susan Kohler suffered from asthma and chronic respiratory infections. It got so bad it almost ended her career. She tells us, "I didn't have a medicine cabinet full of medication. I had a kitchen cabinet full."

Majid switched her pills for herbs and after two years Susan is no longer gasping for breath. She says, "That feeling of wellness it's just always there and that just makes me healthier and happier."

This sounds too good to be true. Our own Phil Shuman wanted to see for himself if Chinese medicine really works. For years he's been fighting extreme exhaustion late in the day.

The cause has been puzzling to his own doctor, Martin Smietanka. He ran a series of tests, al normal. No luck finding what was sapping my strength. The doctor says, "He does all the things that people should do to stay healthy and prevent illness."

So still battling fatigue, Phil decided to put Majid and his herbs to the test.

Phil: You're saying you can feel my pulse and tell me what's wrong with me?

Majid: Yep... is it small, is it big? It gives you an indication of what symptoms that person might be experiencing.

According to Chinese medicine, both the strength of the pulse and the appearance of your tongue show which organs aren't working right. The herbs help repair that organ.

Majid noticed, "There's a little red tip and then the scalloped edges."

In Phil?s case that meant his lungs and kidneys weren't working well enough... zapping his energy. So Majid mixed up 15 herbs for him to take four times a day.

Three weeks later... a big difference. Phil had no more fatigue for the first time in years! Majid and his mixture made a believer out of him and why not? This is not new age medical mumbo-jumbo. Chinese herbololgy has been around for 5,500 years and still going strong!

And here's the EXTRA info on a couple of other herbal treatments. For insomnia try valerian root and chamomile. A common herbal P.M.S. treatment uses chasteberry (chas'-tuh-bear-ee) and black cohosh (coh-hahsh).

You can contact Mayid Ali at (310) 260-2757.