Myrrh, A Holiday Minisode

[00:00:00] Leah: So Tina,

[00:00:01] Tina: Mm hmm.

[00:00:02] Leah: Remember how we were talking about prepping for doing this minisode, and I was like, I don't think I know any uses for myrrh. I just realized I use a myrrh product every day.

[00:00:14] Tina: You do?

[00:00:15] Leah: Yeah, my toothpaste.

[00:00:16] Tina: Oh,

sure.

[00:00:18] Leah: Yeah, I use a toothpaste that has myrrh.

[00:00:22] Tina: You have an herbal toothpaste?

[00:00:23] Leah: Yeah, it's like Tom's or something.

[00:00:25] Tina: Tom's of Maine?

[00:00:26] Leah: Yeah. Mer. Mer. Mer.

[00:00:33] Tina: When we decided to do myrrh, I also thought about that, like, oh, what do I have right now that has myrrh in it? And there's a periodontal mouthwash that I use that has myrrh in it.

[00:00:46] Leah: Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah, after like reading more about it, I'm like, well, it totally makes sense why it's in toothpaste and mouthwash.

[00:00:54] Tina: Yes, it's really, really good for the gums.

[00:00:57] Leah: So in case people haven't figured it out, today, this is one of two holiday mini sodes as we call them, and we're talking about myrrh.

[00:01:11] Tina: Today, it's about myrrh. The next one's about frankincense. And if we were to round that out, we should do gold. But there's not a lot to say about gold in medicine in general. It is used. It's out

[00:01:21] Leah: Yeah, maybe like back in the day,

[00:01:24] Tina: Well, you know, it's used for some arthritis right now even, but there's really not a whole lot to talk about.

So we're only going to do myrrh and frankincense as the plants.

[00:01:31] Leah: Plus, that takes us to the end of the year.

[00:01:33] Tina: Plus, exactly, we only have room for two episodes before the end of the year, not three, so.

[00:01:38] Leah: Yeah, so um, That's what we're talking about 

[00:01:44] Tina (2): I'm Dr. Tina Kayser, and as Leia likes to say, I'm the science y one. 

[00:01:48] Leah: And I'm Dr. Leia Sherman, and I'm the cancer insider. 

[00:01:51] Tina (2): And we're two naturopathic doctors who practice integrative cancer care. 

[00:01:55] Leah: But we're not your doctors. 

[00:01:58] Tina (2): This is for education, entertainment, and informational purposes only. 

[00:02:02] Leah: Do not apply any of this information without first speaking to your doctor.

[00:02:06] Tina (2): The views and opinions expressed on this podcast by the hosts and their guests are solely their own. 

[00:02:12] Leah: Welcome to the Cancer Pod. So yeah, so, so Myrrh. What is Myrrh? Where does it come from? Besides the Three Kings.

[00:02:40] Tina: yeah, so I think that's, most people are familiar with it, as in the Gifts of the Magi, the Three Kings, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That's probably most people's familiarity with it, right? in western nations.

[00:02:54] Leah: Yeah, I think so. I can't think of any other sort of cultural, yeah, any other, like, western cultural reference to it.

[00:03:01] Tina: Right. But it's been around much, much longer than that. Um, thousands of years B. C. It was being used already as a commodity of sorts. It had value.

[00:03:13] Leah: Yeah, I mean, like, medicinal and, um, you know, fragrance, all sorts of things.

[00:03:19] Tina: Yeah, yeah. So, myrrh itself is a resin from Comiphora maumau. Well, it could be a Comiphora species. There's a couple others that it can be gotten from, but maumau is the M O L M O L, is the species most likely used for medicinal myrrh.

[00:03:40] Leah: Yeah, it's, um, it's a tree that is found in, um, or it's a shrub, I should say. it's found in like tropical subtropical Africa and Arabia, and it comes from the, yeah, the resin in the bark.

[00:03:54] Tina: Yeah, I remember when I was young and we have, uh, we had A chokecherry tree in the backyard, and you know whenever you hurt any tree or you pierce its bark and you get down there and you have the resin come out. It was told to me when I was very young that those are the tears because you wounded it, you wounded the tree.

I think it was my, my dad's way of telling me not to hurt the tree. I

[00:04:17] Leah: is I was looking at images of the plant, the shrub, and it has these really sharp thorns on it. It's like super thorny. And I was like, Oh, well maybe because it grows in the desert because down in Arizona, 

every single plant has thorns. I think it's from arid climates, isn't it?

[00:04:36] Leah: I suppose.

[00:04:37] Tina: Yeah. Somalia

[00:04:38] Leah (2): Kenya, Ethiopia.

Saudi Arabia.

[00:04:41] Leah: well, there you go.

[00:04:41] Tina: Yeah. Yes. And I wanted to say, don't confuse it with the common name myrrh, which can mean some other plants. So this is the comiphora species.

Like he said, the mol mol one is the most common.

[00:04:56] Tina: So apparently in the UK, they use the term myrrh. To mean a plant called Cecily, sweet Cecily, So it is not that plant that we're talking about, just for the record, make sure people understand that. This is why when you do herbal medicine and botanical medicine, you go with the Latin names because common names can be used for several different plants around the world and same common name, but totally different plant.

[00:05:18] Leah: But I thought was kind of cool too, is I don't really think of this as like something that comes out of the bark of a tree, but it's it has minerals. it's got calcium and magnesium.

So that's, that's kind of a neat thing to think about that the resin of a tree would have these minerals in it.

[00:05:35] Tina: yeah, I did come across and there was no reason to memorize it or to make note of it, but. There have been studies that break down exactly what's in the The myrrh resin, as far as how much protein, how much fatty acid, how much of those elements are in there. And, uh, yeah, It's to help heal the wounded plant 

So, so when you cut the tree. It's, it's resin once it's taken off, it hardens rather quickly.

[00:06:00] Leah: when you look up images of it, it's like little chunks.

[00:06:03] Tina: And then if it's, you know, left for millennia, it can become amber.

[00:06:08] Leah: Oh, that's cool.

[00:06:09] Tina: Yeah. So that's what, I mean, resins, amber is made of, of resin. That's been basically compressed over many, many years.

[00:06:17] Leah: And what's really interesting is healing wounds is one of the usages of myrrh, one of the traditional usages.

[00:06:24] Tina: Yes. I know myrrh has traditionally been used to heal wounds in the mouth. So in the gums, and it definitely is astringent there as well. And it has been used somewhat for ulcers and indigestion. And it's known as an antiseptic. It really is. A good antiseptic.

[00:06:42] Leah: speaking of the gums, there was a, is a usage, Commission E, which is the, um, the German 

[00:06:49] Leah (2): Advisory board.

[00:06:50] Leah: on herbal medicine, I guess, is that, is that how you would explain it? they have the usage for myrrh as, local treatment of mild inflammation of the mouth and throat, inflammation of the gums and dental pressure sores.

So there is a usage for it that is, more than, beyond traditional

[00:07:08] Tina: Yeah.

[00:07:09] Leah: Which is why it's in our, it's, it's, it's in our, our formulas that we mentioned.

[00:07:13] Tina: Yeah, yeah. And Commission E, you know, they stick to the evidence pretty tightly. so they kind of, what Commission E ended up doing is taking traditional uses of plants and saying, okay, is there actual evidence to show that this plant can do what it's been claimed to do over the centuries? I looked at Maude Grieve's book, A Modern Herbal. You know, classic text written in 1931. She's out of the UK. And you know, so she's got a lot of traditional uses of plants in the day. And it was in her writing of it that she explained that. The mucilaginous part, that kind of, the part that we're talking about that heals wounds, the best part to, to use for that.

If you take the myrrh, the resin, this hard little chunks of sap, basically is what it looks like. Um, and you try to make a tincture out of it. So you put it in alcohol, classic alcohol that uses, you know, vodka. You'll get this milky white substance as well. That milky white substance, she explains in her book, is what is used as a tincture.

It's a mucilaginous substance, which is what we think of. Mucilaginous substances are kind of mucusy almost, and they help heal wounds. And so that layer, that white kind of not, it's not, uh, soluble in alcohol. That layer is what particularly has the healing benefits for, for ulcers and wounds. And by the way, Maude Grieve's book.

is completely available online. It's been online for free since 1995. You'll have a heck of a time finding it through Google for whatever reason, because I tried her name, I tried the book's name, I tried everything. You can't find it.

[00:08:49] Leah: Used to be easier to find.

[00:08:50] Tina: yeah, well, thankfully, its name is so easy that you can remember it.

It's botanical. com.

[00:08:57] Leah: Oh,

[00:08:57] Tina: Her whole book is searchable at botanical. com. and I have the hard copies of the books. You can still find lots of hard copies in reprint. In any case, it's a great resource for the traditional use from a western perspective. Uh, because again, she's from the UK, so.

[00:09:13] Leah: well, I just pulled out my, um, therapeutic herb manual that I've had forever, it's by Ed Smith, who is the Herb Pharm guy. 

[00:09:23] Tina: Mm 

[00:09:23] Leah: Um, P H A R. HerbPharm, and I just opened up to myrrh and it says that it's comifora absinica and or molmol. So those are probably the two most common ones that at least they are using.

 and yeah, it just talks about mucous membranes, uh, with ulcerations, chronic inflammation, congestion. Mucous discharge of urinary tract, bronchi, uterus, and vagina. And gleat. What is gleat?

[00:09:53] Tina: I don't know.

[00:09:54] Leah: That sounds like some old school, uh, I'm gonna look that up.

[00:09:58] Tina: Yeah, I don't know what that is.

[00:10:00] Leah: Gleat is Interesting. A watery discharge from the urethra gonorrheal infection. Fascinating. Fascinating.

[00:10:09] Tina: This is why we don't know it.

[00:10:10] Leah: This is why we don't know it. I may have known it at one point in school. Um, yeah, so, the properties of mer in, um, IR beta, at least, is that it is Light, dry, bitter, astringent, and hot. When you read the description of what it smells like, you can kind of see that maybe that's how it fits the, for aromatherapy, it's described as musky, spicy. My favorite term is balsamic. Smells balsamic and earthy.

[00:10:44] Tina: They don't mean balsamic like the vinegar, they mean the plant.

[00:10:47] Leah: I suppose, like piney, I guess. balsamic, that kind of arid,

but I just love that description. I never think of that. So, so yeah, so, so dry, like you said, arid, musky,

[00:11:01] Tina: resinous.

[00:11:02] Leah: resinous. Yeah, and it was also commonly used in, um, like ceremonies, like religious ceremonies, anointing rituals, that sort of thing.

[00:11:10] Tina: Yeah, I actually looked to see what the, you know, what the scholars tell us, why the three kings brought the gifts of the magi, why myrrh was included, and it was, there was a few different theories, so I'm not going to go there, because honestly, that's really not what we do, but

[00:11:25] Leah: All right, so we are the Cancer Pod. So let's talk about the use of oh, right. This is like, like, people must think we're like drinking cocktails or something. We're not. This is early in the morning. We are

[00:11:36] Tina: No, yeah.

[00:11:38] Leah: This is just how we are. So, so myrrh and cancer.

[00:11:42] Tina: I did come up with some studies, as you can for most plants and certainly most essential oils that we pull out of plants too, showing that there was some anti cancer effects. against particularly gynecological and gastrointestinal cancers. Um, it inhibited growth and induced apoptosis, which is basically cell death.

[00:12:10] Leah: Forcing a cell to like, off itself. Yeah.

[00:12:13] Tina: yeah. Turning on its own self destruction mechanism is what apoptosis is. And apoptosis is a very neat process, just for the record. It's like, it's like folding a pup tent down, you know. It's just like the cell goes, Uh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna involutin Go away now. Um, all right. So it also showed, now these are all cell studies.

This is why I'm saying it with such hesitation. Myrrh also. Lower the migration of cells and so the cells weren't able to move around as readily which is required for Spread of cancer from its primary site to distant sites So it did all these things, but it did it mostly in a dish And so I don't really think too much of that.

[00:12:58] Leah: Because a lot of things kill cancer in a dish.

[00:13:01] Tina: Yeah.

[00:13:02] Leah: You know, and especially things that have like, you know, essential oils. Like, essential oils Kill cancer in a dish.

[00:13:09] Tina: Yeah, they also kill bacteria readily in a dish I mean, I mean, it's it's pretty pretty gnarly stuff when you an essential oil is not something most most living organisms can, tolerate. Um, I'm thinking if there's any others, there was some with, in combination with other plants, but most of it, was in vitro, which means in a dish.

And there was one study saying that possibly you might be able to add some myrrh because it has antioxidant and anti inflammatory benefit as a food stuff for people who are trying to prevent colorectal cancer. but it was pretty much speculation. It wasn't really a strong study. It just said, Oh, you know, has all these qualities and not all of it is absorbed into the bloodstream.

So you may as well consider it a possible anticholorectal cancer substance, but that's, that's speculation.

[00:13:59] Leah: There were some mouse studies too, but it was just like, there, you know,

[00:14:03] Tina: Yeah. So, so can you say it has significant anti cancer properties in studies? Yes, you can say that. Is there any human data to show that if you ingest it, you're going to have results? Like, outcome studies saying people who ate this or people who, took XYZ supplement with it in it had less fill in the blank cancer.

We do not have that. That does not exist.

[00:14:22] Leah: no, but what we do know is that there are some warnings on potential interactions for people who do take formulas with it. And, can you possibly guess, well, you have the notes right in front of you, but can you possibly guess what medication?

[00:14:37] Tina: I had to guess, you know I'd say warfarin.

[00:14:38] Leah: Exactly. So there is a warning if somebody is on a blood thinner, which Coumadin, Warfarin, um, to, it would be a potential interaction, with myrrh.

High doses may possibly cause an increase in a heart rate and then also, contact dermatitis. So if you're using an essential oil or some sort of topical product, I don't think those interactions would apply if you are using a myrrh toothpaste or a mouthwash where you're just rinsing the mucous membranes of your mouth and spitting something out.

So if you do also use a tasty myrrh, you know, when you start saying myrrh a lot, it's, it's like, if you say yogurt a lot, like it starts to sound weird.

[00:15:22] Tina: Yes, I agree.

[00:15:23] Leah: Okay. So if you do use a toothpaste with myrrh, um, yeah, you're totally fine. Okay.

[00:15:30] Tina: It feels like you're saying half a word.

[00:15:32] Leah: I know it does. I feel like I'm saying half a word. Okay, so is there anything that we missed?

Um, myrrh is from a Tree bark that is found in, Africa and Arabia. Um, it has, is used in aromatherapy. It's used as an anti inflammatory as it could be used. Oh, we didn't talk about respiratory.

It's been, traditionally used for respiratory formulas. Mucous membranes. So the mouth GI tract. Avoid it if you are on warfarin. And be careful putting it on your skin, you might get a rash.

[00:16:06] Tina: Yeah. I think that's everything.

[00:16:08] Leah: that's, that's, that is everything that you could possibly get a rash. Yes. If you put anything on your skin, but yeah, I think, I think that's what we covered.

This is just a mini so, so we didn't go too in depth on anything.

[00:16:22] Tina: No, otherwise I hope everyone's having a pleasant holiday season.

[00:16:25] Leah: Oh, wait! I totally forgot something to mention! in 1992, myrrh was approved as a food additive by the FDA, and it's generally recognized as safe.

[00:16:34] Tina: Oh, okay. I don't think I've ever seen it on a food label, but then again, maybe I don't buy a lot of foods that have labels.

[00:16:39] Leah: I don't know if that's so it could be used in toothpaste,

[00:16:43] Tina: Oh, sure. Okay.

[00:16:45] Leah: and other mouth products. I bet you that's why.

[00:16:48] Tina: I'll buy that.

[00:16:49] Leah: so on that note, I'm Dr. Leah Sherman,

[00:16:51] Tina: And I'm Dr. Tina Kazer.

[00:16:53] Leah: and this is the Cancer Pod.

[00:16:54] Tina: Until next time.

[00:16:55] Leah: Thanks for listening to the cancer pod. Remember to subscribe, review and rate us wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates, and as always, this is not medical advice. These are our opinions. Talk to your doctor, but for changing anything related to your treatment plan. The cancer pod is hosted by me, Dr.

Leah Sherman. And by Dr. Tina Kaczor music is by Kevin . See you next time.