Monday, November 9, 2009

Wisdom of Healing Herbal and Wellness Education



The Secret to Safe and Effective Birth Control

February 24th, 2007 by Cindy Hebbard

If I told you that there has been a 100% safe, inexpensive and effective birth control available to us for thousands of years, would you believe me? In a way, it is very much true. And this method of birth control may be used by either men or women without the potentially harmful side effects associated with other forms of birth control.

In India and the surrounding region, there is a tree called Neem whose leaves, bark, leaf oil and seed oil have been studied for decades and used for dozens of minor and serious health concerns. Neem has been revered as the ‘village pharmacy’ and can be traced back to nearly 4,500 years of use.

One of neem’s many uses has come under the spotlight in more recent years, however. That particular use may well become what neem will be most widely known for throughout the world. You see, neem has been found in extensive scientific research to be a safe and very effective birth control that may be used by either men or women. And it may protect women from a wide variety of STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases), too! How exciting is that!

Since I find it very exciting that there is a completely natural birth control that a man can safely and successfully use, let’s begin there. Research has shown that male subjects, members of the Indian Army, who consumed neem leaf oil or neem seed oil via capsule for six weeks achieved 100% effectiveness, and that effectiveness continued for as long as the subjects took the neem capsules daily. Within six weeks of discontinued use, the effect wore off and was completely reversed. None of the study’s participants experienced any side effects during the study period or afterwards.

The action is due to neem’s ability to slow the motility of the sperm, preventing their ability to reach their destination and impregnate the egg. And none of those men in the study had any issues with sperm production, obstructions or loss of libido at any time.

Research also shows that neem is effective for long term birth control when a minute amount of neem seed oil is injected into the vas deferens. Researchers found that men experienced eight months of effectiveness, again without side effects.

For women, neem has been used as birth control as well. Several studies have shown its safety and effectiveness. Unlike neem’s use for birth control with men, women do not need to take the neem capsules orally. Neem oil, (preferably organic) or specially prepared creams containing a therapeutic amount of neem oil have been found to be nearly 100% effective when administered intravaginally, also with no harmful side effects. Researchers do not believe that neem’s action with women is hormonal, so it appears that it may be a very safe option for birth control for women. There have been growing concerns about the numerous side effects associated with use today’s birth control options, including the pill.

The effectiveness of neem appears to be through its spermicidal action. In fact, researchers found neem oil to kill sperm in the vaginal region within just thirty seconds, and to continue to be effective for as many as five full hours; four hours longer than many creams or gels.

Neem is well known to be a powerful antimicrobial herb. Neem oil, when applied vaginally, has been shown to be very effective against several sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). There has been strong evidence found in a number of studies that leads us to believe that neem can be successfully used against gonorrhea, syphilis, Chlamydia, herpes simplex-2 and possibly even HIV-1. Research is underway, and more research is needed to see how neem can be of value in fighting these and other STD’s.

Neem has been used for preventing and ridding the body of excess candida without harming the beneficial bacteria naturally found in the gut or vagina. Neem leaf or neem oil taken orally, or a therapeutic cream or the pure neem leaf oil applied topically has been found to fight candida, and several other fungal infections, as well. Neem has also been used when antibiotic resistant E. coli in the urinary tract and Staphylococcus aureus have become seriously out of control.

Several isolated constituents of neem have been studied for their birth control effect, and although they were also found to work well, the neem oil in its full spectrum form has been found to be more safe and effective.

And just as researchers tested the injected oil with men, they have found that injecting a small amount of neem oil into the uterine horn generated a twelve month prevention of fertility which was found to be completely reversible. Menstrual cycles and reproductive function were returned to normal once the injections were discontinued.

Neem oil was also looked at by researchers for oral use just after conception. They found that it may even be effective as a morning after type preparation. In animal studies, it was found that when a significant amount of neem oil was given to rats ten days after implantation, all embryos were reabsorbed by the body by day fifteen. The rats had no side effects and regained fertility for their next cycle.

To read more about the health benefits of neem, please read Neem: The Ultimate Herb, Neem: India’s Miraculous Healing Plant and Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems.

Excellent organic neem oil, capsules and creams by Thera Neem are available from Organix South. Find them at your local health food store throughout much of Europe and the US.