Castor Oil
From David William's Alternatives Newsletter.
CASTOR OIL - Natural Protection from Deadly Viruses
Dr. David G. Williams -- ALTERNATIVES -- v6 n1, July 1995
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Moving on to more exotic techniques to increase immune system
efficiency, we come to castor oil. I can remember my dad telling me
time after time about his mother's devotion to castor oil when he was
growing up. At the first sign of any illness in one child, she would
immediately give all the children a quick oral dose of castor oil.
There's no doubt it provided a quick solution for constipation, and
from what I can tell, it must have a positive effect on memory too. My
dad can vividly remember the taste and effects of castor oil to this
very day.
In many ways, castor oil is a very unique substance. While most of us
are familiar with its use as a remedy for constipation, folk healers
in this country and around the world have used castor oil to treat a
wide variety of conditions. Its effectiveness is probably due in part
to its peculiar chemical composition.
Castor oil is a triglyceride of fatty acids. Almost 90 percent of its
fatty acid content consists of ricinoleic acid. To my knowledge,
ricinoleic acid is not found in any other substance except castor oil.
Such a high concentration of this unusual, unsaturated fatty acid is
thought to be responsible for castor oil's remarkable healing abilities.
Ricinoleic acid has been shown to be effective in preventing the
growth of numerous species of viruses, bacteria, yeasts and molds. (J
Am Oil Chem Soc 61;37.323-325.) This would explain the high degree of
success in the topical use of the oil for treating such ailments as
ringworm, keratoses (non-cancerous, wart-like skin growths), skin
inflammation, abrasions, fungal-infected finger- and toenails, acne
and chronic pruritus (itching). Generally, for these conditions the
area involved is simply wrapped in cloth soaked with castor oil each
night, or if the area is small enough, a castor oil soaked Band-Aid
can be used. (For persistent infections and those finger- and toenails
that have discolored and hardened, a good 10 to 20 minute soak in
Epsom salts, prior to applying the castor oil, usually speeds up the
healing process.)
Castor oil's antimicrobial activity, while very impressive, comprises
only a small part of the story concerning this mysterious oil. While
castor oil has been thoroughly investigated for its industrial uses,
only a minimal amount of research effort has been directed toward its
medicinal benefits.
In Russia the oil is known as Kastorka. The stem of the plant is
used in the textile industry. The extracted oil has a very consistent
viscosity and won't freeze even in Russia's severe climate. This makes
it an ideal lubricating oil in industrial equipment. Medicinally, the
oil is added to products to restore hair (one part oil to 10 parts of
grain alcohol), treat constipation, skin ulcers, some infectious
gynecological conditions and eye irritations.
The castor bean plant is actually native to India, where it is called
Erand. There we found it being used extensively for all types of
gastrointestinal problems like constipation, dysentery and
inflammatory bowel disease. It was also used to treat bladder and
vaginal infections and asthma. We were told the seed kernels or hulls
(without the actual seed) could be boiled in milk and water and taken
internally to relieve arthritis and lower back pain accompanied by
sciatica.
We also found early reports of nursing mothers in the Canary Islands
using poultices made from the leaves of the castor bean. They applied
the poultice to their breasts to increase milk secretion and relieve
inflammation and milk stagnation in the mammary glands. Applying the
poultice to the abdominal area promoted normal menstruation.
While I find all of these uses of castor oil very interesting, the
most exciting use deals with ways to increase topical absorption
through the use of castor oil packs or poultices.
Much of the current use of castor oil packs, in the U.S. anyway, can
be attributed to the late healing psychic, Edgar Cayce. Time after
time he recommended their use. Based on his reports, I began to use
them in my practice over 12 years ago. But even though I, and numerous
other doctors, have continued to experience remarkable results, the
technique is still practically unknown and shunned by most health care
professionals today. This is probably due to two reasons. First, it's
just too simple. It's hard for most people to imagine that something
as simple as castor oil packs could have a profound effect on any
health problem. Secondly, in our present health care system, positive
results alone do not constitute the critical factor in determining
whether a treatment will be accepted by the medical establishment.
[Everybody (except probably the poor patient) now seems to be more
concerned about how something is supposed to work, than
