Answers Hidden in Plain Sight

    In 1763 an English clergyman named Edward Stone discovered that the bark of the white willow tree had unique characteristics that helped treat fever and pain.  His famous letters at Oxford detailed personal experiences and small-scale trials that had very promising results.  In 1862 Edwin Smith, an American trader discovered ancient papyrus scrolls in Egypt that detailed the use of Salix (willow) for the use of pain.  This remedy had been used for over 3500 years, including references throughout Ancient Greece with recommendations by Hippocrates himself.  This natural remedy, hidden in plain sight, was known by the indigenous and locals for centuries.  The bark of a common tree was the precursor of the most widely used medication in modern history, treating everything from pain and inflammation to strokes and coronary events.  Felix Hoffman and Heinrich Dreser were able to build on this knowledge, extracting and creating what we all know today as aspirin. 

    It’s estimated that the Amazon Rain Forrest represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species. In Western medicine is it postulated that 25% of all drugs are derived from rainforest plants. Estimations state that less than 5% of Amazon plant species have been studied.  

     Now let’s stop and think for a moment and do the math……… That’s a lot of ground yet to be explored….. potentials treatments and cures yet to be discovered.  The global impact can’t be overstated.  We often forget that modern medicine is still in its infancy. The discovery of an unusual mold in 1928, led to the creation of penicillin and we all know how that revolutionized healthcare and life expectancy.  Our job is to be vigilant explorers, looking for answers in unique places, while never underestimating the possibilities of what could be hiding in plain sight.