Burdock (Arctium lappa) is a type of blood-cleansing herb known as an ‘alterative’. A very useful herb for detoxification, burdock works through the bowel, liver and the kidneys, stimulating these channels of elimination so that they function more efficiently.

The herbalist Maude Grieve says that burdock is one of the best blood purifiers available, and is especially useful for treating skin diseases where there is a desire to address the cause of the condition instead of just managing it in the modern fashion by using topical applications. The root is suited to cases involving acne, herpes, ringworm, ulcers, styes, and boils when taken internally as a decoction or tincture, while the leaves can be applied externally as a poultice that is ‘highly resolvent of tumours and gouty deposits.’¹

King’s American Dispensatory says that the skin conditions suited to burdock often involve poor cutaneous circulation. The authors add that because burdock is also a good diuretic, it has been traditionally used for treating rheumatic pains.² The homeopath William Boericke describes these pains as starting in the hands, knees and ankles, and extending downwards to the fingers and toes.³

Furthermore, the herbalist Mathew Wood remarks that burdock is a good lymphatic herb. He says that it is ‘very wide acting’, and is especially indicated for slow, chronic diseases where the detoxification systems of the body are overburdened. A suitable patient may suffer from profuse sweating, or perhaps the opposite case of very dry skin, and they often look anxious. As a urinary system herb, he adds that it is good for treating women who experience a sensation of ‘dragging down’ in the lower abdomen, and for men it is better than the herb saw palmetto for the treatment of an inflamed or enlarged prostate gland, a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).⁴

Burdock root can be combined with nettle for treating BPH, and we usually add other herbs such as yellow dock or clivers to assist the channels of elimination in clearing the long-sequestered wastes that are stirred up by burdock. Burdock is also a key herb in the famous Essiac formula which has a reputation for treating degenerative disease. In this formula burdock is mixed with slippery elm, Turkish rhubarb, and sheep sorrel to make a powerful cleansing mix that covers detoxification through the liver as well as stimulating all the channels of elimination, so it is not surprising that it is capable of deep healing.⁵

A herbal regime of this type requires the concurrent support of a clinical diet capable of regenerating the body. It goes without saying that the patient has to remove the initiating and sustaining causes of degenerative diseases like cancer, which on the most elementary level include states of nutrient deficiency.

This usually arises from a diet largely comprised of refined sugar, margarine, white bread, tea, and pastries, as Sir Robert McCarrison explained in his pioneering book on deficiency diseases published in 1921.⁶ He complained that ‘sugar is consumed in quantities unheard of a century ago’, and the situation has certainly become worse to the point where cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dental disease, childhood fatty liver, dementia and cancer are all being blamed on its excessive consumption.

Chemical residues, cigarette smoke, electromagnetic radiation and food additives also initiate and sustain degenerative disease processes. A careful history of any environmental exposure by a patient, called the exposome, is therefore also part of a naturopath’s work and covers the workplace, farm and home. After any significant exposure has been identified and curtailed, the residues must be removed from the tissues of the body in order to prevent their continual interference with homeostasis, vitality and wellbeing.

Burdock, yellow dock, echinacea, nettle and clivers are especially good at this role of detoxification, and the degree of unpleasantness often experienced during this process is testimony to their effectiveness. This unpleasantness occurs because the toxins briefly re-enter the circulation on their way to excretion and make the patient feel unwell, a classic healing crisis.

This article appears in the eBook Wholefoods And Common Medicinal Herbs.

References:

1.         Grieve M. A Modern Herbal. London: Tiger Books International; 1994.

2.         Felter, Lloyd. King’s American Dispensatory. Cincinnatti: Ohio Valley Co.; 1898.

3.         Boericke W. Pocket Manual Of Homoeopathic Materia Medica, c. 1927. Delhi: Indian Books & Periodical Publishers; 2007.

4.         Wood M. The Book Of Herbal Wisdom, Using Plants As Medicines. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books; 1997.

5.         Bartram T. Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. New York: Marlowe & Company; 1998. 6.         McCarrison R. Studies in deficiency disease. London: Frowde, Hodder & Stoughton; 1921.