Guggul for Pain Relief and Healing of Traumatic Injuries
As a West Virginia attorney specializing in personal injury law, I meet many clients who are looking for ways to reduce pain and inflammation. Narcotic pain medicine and over the counter medications like NSAIDs help some but have serious side effects. Doctors are now more hesitant to describe narcotic pain medicine because of the recent rise in prescription drug abuse. This is unfortunate for those with real injuries. Fortunately, there are some natural pain relief alternatives including guggul, which is discussed below.
Overview of Guggul for Relieving Pain and Healing Injuries
Guggul is an excellent pain relieving analgesic that relieves pain, skin and other inflammations. What really distinguishes guggul from NSAID’s and narcotic pain medicine is its ability to promote healing of the underlying cause. 1,2 Guggul is also used for arthritis, lowering high cholesterol, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), acne and other skin diseases, and weight loss.
Guggul has been used for over 3000 years and is made from the sap (gum resin) of the Commiphora mukul tree, which is native to India. This tree has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, and Ayurvedic texts dating back to 600 BC recommend it for treating atherosclerosis.
Who Should Take Guggul?
Guggul may help anyone suffering from personal injuries, pain, including arthritic and rheumatic pains, back pain, headaches, body stiffness, and fracture recovery. Guggul is also used for obesity, cardiovascular disease, digestive weakness, low libido, sterility, impotence, skin diseases, coldness, low immune system, cancer, and low thyroid. It is also often used to help the elderly offset the negative effects of slowing metabolic functions.
It absolutely should not be taken during pregnancy.
Side Effects and Contraindications
Dr. Michael Tierra, O.M.D. states:
“The early studies of guggul used the crude oleoresin and despite its far higher benefits, there were also some minor side effects. These included diarrhea, anorexia, abdominal pain, and skin rash. Some users experienced mild gastrointestinal discomfort which did not necessitate discontinuation. High doses have been used without the incidence of ill effects. Modern purified extracts, however, have exhibited far fewer side effects even with reported with long-term use.
For some, guggul may be too warming and stimulating; one of the side effects that has been reported is a mild rash which disappears as soon as the dose is either discontinued or lowered…
People with liver disease or inflammatory bowel disease and diarrhea should use Guggul with caution.
Finally, as mentioned guggul is strictly contraindicated for use during pregnancy.
Guggul may compete with some cholesterol reducing medications, so those on such medications you should consult a doctor before taking guggul. Likewise, those taking thyroid supplementation should tell their doctor and be sure to monitor free T4 and T3 hormone levels.”
Dr. Tierra concludes, “I have used widely used guggul clinically over 15 years with no reported incidence of any of the above mentioned adverse reactions. I recommend daily use with weekly or periodic breaks from taking it of approximately one day a week. If results are not clear, one can safely try to increase the dose, by doubling if necessary. Taken prudently on a regular or occasional basis, guggul should be considered very safe.”
Disclaimer and Personal Experiences with Guggul
Although guggul is not for everybody, I hope that some readers and clients find it helpful. I have personally tried guggul and found that (for me) it improves digestion, relieves pain, releases muscle cramps, and increases energy. However, I am of course a personal injury lawyer, not a doctor. Therefore, I do not know whether guggul is right for you. Please discuss guggul with your doctor if you are unsure about it. There is also a lot of information on the internet about guggul’s benefits and side effects. Following is a link to Amazon that lists a number of products containing guggul and includes some helpful customer reviews. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=guggul&x=0&y=0.
Contact a West Virginia Personal Injury Attorney
If your pain and injuries are the result of a West Virginia accident or someone else’s negligence, you may want to consider contacting a personal injury lawyer. If so, I invite you to contact West Law Offices for a free evaluation of your West Virginia injury claim.
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1 Kimura I, Yoshikawa M, Kobayashi S, Sugihara Y, Suzuki M, Oominami H, Murakami T, Matsuda H, Doiphode VV. New triterpenes, myrrhanol A and myrrhanone A, from guggul-gum resins, and their potent anti-inflammatory effect on adjuvant-induced air-pouch granuloma of mice. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2001 Apr 23;11(8):985-9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11327606&dopt=Abstract
2 Kimmatkar N, Thawani V, Hingorani L, Khiyani R. Efficacy and tolerability of Boswellia serrata extract in treatment of osteoarthritis of knee–a randomized double blind placebo controlled trial. Phytomedicine 2003 Jan;10(1):3-7 [abstract]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12622457&dopt=Abstract
Brooks West is a West Virginia personal injury lawyer who helps people who have been injured by negligence or wrongful conduct. He is the President and founder of West Law Firm and has been an attorney since 2005. Brooks is a Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum member and has been awarded the AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Lance Bork 
