Description
Why We Love It
Two Birds One Stone
After graduation in 2010 I moved back to Minnesota and began my career helping chronically ill people. It did not take long for chronic Lyme Disease to pop into my world and at the top of my research into Lyme Disease was my old friend Cat’s Claw! I consider Cat’s Claw to be a fundamental part of 95% of my protocols for supporting patients with chronic Lyme Disease. I was long familiar with its immune enhancing properties, and explained it to patients as such for years before the ground breaking study in 2020 found it can actually kill Borrelia in a test tube directly. What a bonus! This herb both inhibits Lyme and also helps your immune system.
These are literally the first two fundamental goals for helping a patient with any chronic infection… inhibit the infecting organism and support healthy immune system function. Cat’s Claw does both these things extremely efficiently and is thus a great first step for almost anyone supporting their body through a chronic tick-borne illness.
Ingredients
Cats Claw†
- Cat’s claw is a woody vine that grows wild in the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of Central and South America. Its thorns resemble a cat’s claws.
- The two most common species are U. tomentosa and U. guianensis. Most commercial preparations of cat’s claw contain U. tomentosa.
- Use of cat’s claw dates back 2,000 years. Indigenous people of South and Central America used it to ward off disease.
- Today, cat’s claw is promoted as a dietary supplement for a variety of health conditions, including viral infections (such as herpes, human papilloma virus, and HIV), Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, arthritis, diverticulitis, peptic ulcers, colitis, gastritis, hemorrhoids, parasites, and leaky bowel syndrome.
References
[1] Sandoval M, Okuhama NN, Zhang XJ, et al. Antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities of cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa and Uncaria guianensis) are independent of their alkaloid content. Phytomedicine 2002;9:325-337.
[2] Feng J, Leone J, Schweig S, Zhang Y. Evaluation of Natural and Botanical Medicines for Activity Against Growing and Non-growing Forms of B. burgdorferi. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Feb 21;7:6. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.00006. PMID: 32154254; PMCID: PMC7050641.
[3] Farias I, do Carmo Araújo M, Zimmermann ES, Dalmora SL, Benedetti AL, Alvarez-Silva M, Asbahr AC, Bertol G, Farias J, Schetinger MR. Uncaria tomentosa stimulates the proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Sep 1;137(1):856-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.07.011. Epub 2011 Jul 8. PMID: 21771655.
[4] Spelman K, Burns J, Nichols D, Winters N, Ottersberg S, Tenborg M. Modulation of cytokine expression by traditional medicines: a review of herbal immunomodulators. Altern Med Rev. 2006 Jun;11(2):128-50. PMID: 16813462.
[5] Allen-Hall L, Arnason JT, Cano P, Lafrenie RM. Uncaria tomentosa acts as a potent TNF-alpha inhibitor through NF-kappaB. J Ethnopharmacol. 2010;127(3):685-693.
[6] Williams JE. Review of antiviral and immunomodulating properties of plants of the Peruvian rainforest with a particular emphasis on Una de Gato and Sangre de Grado. Altern Med Rev. 2001 Dec;6(6):567-79. PMID: 11804547.
Warnings
Always be sure to speak with your healthcare provider before starting any new nutritional supplement when pregnant or nursing. For children, we recommend speaking with your child's pediatrician regarding proper dosing. Store away from children.
Reviews