Neem

NEEM: ANCIENT TREE
– MODERN MIRACLE

Let’s open our minds to the wonders of nature and receive the blessings that it freely gives us – such is the joy of the Neem Tree – used for centuries (at least 4,000 years) for the benefit of mankind. It is a gift from nature to all of us on this planet and is now being embraced by almost every continent in the world.

            Neem has incredible healing qualities in terms of human health. It has been proven to have anti-ageing, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, anti-ulcer qualities and also contains analgesic compounds.
            It is being studied by scientists and pharmaceutical companies all over the world to commercialise these qualities and Neem products are now being sold in every country.
            John Conrick, in his book Neem, The Ultimate Herb, says that, “More than half of modern drugs – ranging from aspirin to the newest, most beneficial drugs for treating breast cancer – are based on ingredients from plants. Medical practitioners on the Indian subcontinent have produced a wealth of plant-based medical knowledge that is unequalled in the world. While modern medicine has largely ignored the Ayurvedic medical tradition, recent reviews of the proven efficacy of ancient natural treatments are finally gaining respect both internationally and in the US.”
            The main principle of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian natural medicine, is “First Do No Harm.” Conrick goes onto report that, “Among the thousands of plants used in Ayurveda, one plant in particular is generating intense scrutiny as traditional uses for the remarkable Neem tree are verified and expanded. Neem is proving to be more than just the ‘village pharmacy’ of ancient India: it is becoming the ‘ultimate herb’ of today and tomorrow.”
            In another article on skin care, John Conrick tells us that, “Neem has an almost magical effect on chronic skin conditions that often fail to respond with classical treatments. Neem has been a major ingredient in skin care products of India for over 4,000 years. Its skin healing properties are outlined in some of the earliest Sanskrit writings and its uses in Hindu medicine date back to remote times...”
            It is good for human and animal health and its effects on insects is unparalleled. If this isn’t enough, it provides large volumes of fertiliser containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron and silica. Being a tree, the fertiliser, insecticides and pesticides are generally recognised as organic.
            In the book Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems, the National Research Council of the United States explains that, “Like most plants, Neem deploys internal chemical defenses to protect itself against leaf-chewing insects. Its chemical weapons are extraordinary, however. In tests over the last decade, entomologists have found that Neem materials can affect more than 200 insect species as well as some mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and even a few viruses.”
            Due to the people’s desire not to use chemically based products in health & beauty, pet care and in agricultural practices, the natural industry is growing at a phenomenal rate worldwide.
            However, the natural industry is not trying to ban chemically produced products, some of which have proven over the years, including DDT and Agent Orange, to kill and maim thousands. Who knows how many beneficial species have been wiped out? So why are the chemical companies trying to destroy all natural products and traditional remedies that have been proven over millennia? Is it control, is it greed or is it the almighty dollar?
            If ever a country on earth should embrace the Neem tree, it is Australia. It is almost inconceivable, with all the proven benefits of Neem, that the governmental approach in Australia is not only to ignore all of these wonderful attributes, but to suppress them at every turn. It is difficult to understand why this is so. There is room in this world for natural and chemically derived products to work together for the benefit of mankind and there is no point whatsoever in wishing to regulate natural products out of the market altogether.
            People power must win the forthcoming battle over CODEX, the organisation of commercial interests which is spreading its tentacles to every continent and every country to restrict the people’s freedom of choice.
            People generally do not want GM modified foods, plants, animals and surely the people’s voice should be heard. In the current climate of world economics, the people’s voice is not heard and to make matters worse, it is not even sought out by the regulators who wish to control everything we grow, everything we eat, everything we use and virtually our whole lives.
            “Democracy” is supposed to be the elected leaders acting in the capacity of trustees for the well being of the people and the country, and not to deliberately restrict freedom of choice. Just as an example, if the trustees or the elected representatives of the people were concerned with the health and well being of the people, then why do they allow products to be sold which are clearly causing massive problems for the people, unless, of course they are persuaded by the incredible weight of the dollar.
            When you look at a massive industry such as the tobacco industry, it is not too difficult to see just how the blinkers are on. The revenue split on cigarettes is virtually 50/50 to the government and the manufacturer – surely this arrangement must be seen as a joint venture in terms of the money – if not from a legal perspective.
            Why would you raise taxes on the product when the costs to the community in terms of lives, health and well being, sickness and misery is a cost which far outweighs any reason to have this industry at all. We ask the question, in a supposedly informed society, why is this so?
            How can this be allowed to happen in the first place – how can it be allowed to continue when the evidence is overwhelming that cigarettes are probably the worst blight inflicted on humans by humans at any time in the evolution of humanity – all for what? Money for the chemical companies and revenue for the government.
            Why is it that people are becoming disenfranchised with governments that no longer listen nor have the interests of their people in the forefront of their minds?
            We now have a generation of professional politicians who know absolutely nothing of the workings of commerce or life experience itself, but who wish to have a safe and secure well paid job for life and contribute virtually nothing in terms of common sense and people based decisions. They seem to operate in a vacuum created by themselves and their leaders and make the very big mistake of not realising that people do actually think and do want to have a say in all of the things that affect their lives without being ridiculed and treated like idiots.
            You may say how does this have anything to do with a tree? What we are saying here is that whilst this is a tree, the same examples apply to many other natural products which governments and regulatory authorities try to suppress. How can it be for any other reason than to benefit certain vested interests?
            Recently, the author was invited to another country which is growing something like 4.5 million Neem trees in relatively desertified land to green their environment. The effect of growing the trees already has brought water back to the desert and it is only early days yet.
            This country had no real idea as to what incredible opportunities these 4.5 million trees could provide the people of their country. On the author’s recommendation to the government, a whole new industry will be established in this country producing not only raw products for the agricultural industry but also a whole range of products for the health and beauty industry and will also improve the quality of their fishing and livestock industries.
            This new industry will provide employment for thousands of people who are under-employed at the moment and need work to enable them to have a better quality of life. This country is more than happy to embrace natural products and phase out synthetic chemicals which have been found to cause detrimental affects on their people, their fishing and agricultural industries and also to their environment.
            How different it is in Australia. Despite the best efforts of the author and his company, www.neem-health.com, to provide the same industry for our aboriginal people who also have a competitive advantage in terms of land in the right climatic zone and an under-employed work force, our government will not engage in a meaningful discussion at all.
            If history means anything, and we suggest that it should, then the testing period or the traditional uses of products should be taken into account. Just by way of example, Neem has a history dating back to ancient times of something like 4,000 years and its traditional uses as documented by a publication titled Miracles of the Neem Tree provides recipes for the treatment of conditions such as diseases of the head, eye, ear, teeth, nose, throat and lungs, spleen, rectum, skin diseases, leprosy, fevers, specific diseases of men, specific diseases of women and specific diseases of children dating back to ancient India.
            These recipes are still in use today and the author has kept these recipes in mind when developing a range of high quality health, beauty & skin care, and agricultural products using modern manufacturing practices.
            Now, turning to agriculture, Neem has been used for centuries in the storage of grain and as a natural fertiliser which also works against nematodes (the tiny worms which attack the new roots of most plants).
            Following scientific studies in Africa some 40 years ago, it was discovered that Locusts (a huge problem for agriculture) would eat everything in sight that was green, but would not eat one leaf of the Neem trees growing there. This was the awakening for the Western world regarding Neem.
            Now, from the crushing of the seeds, an oil is produced which contains, amongst many other actives, Azadirachtin, which is the most powerful molecule yet discovered on this planet for its effect against insects.
            It is crucial that we understand the real difference between Neem in agriculture and other commercially produced products, i.e. that Neem is insect specific. It works on the hormone structure of the insect which is different to the human hormone structure and, as such, it is toxic to insects and non toxic to humans.
            It is very easy to see the ramifications of this as if you are spraying crops with an artificial insecticide/pesticide then you can be sure that it is causing detriment to the users and anyone with whom it comes into contact. There are countless reports of people being poisoned in their efforts to try to control insect pests.
            To make matters even worse, the insects who do not wish to be eliminated begin to develop tolerance to the artificial poisons and become even more difficult to kill requiring more and more powerful toxic cocktails.
            Even worse than this, the crops that are sprayed are invariably consumed by humans, and it is not too difficult to imagine that virtually all of the foods being consumed today are contaminated by the toxic residues of virtually all of the chemical substances used by farmers over many years. All of these substances are used for one effect, i.e. to kill the insects but without a vision or any thought for the future or the well being of the people, the soil and the planet itself.
            We started with a natural planet – the risk is that it is now becoming a chemical cocktail.
            There is also no need to interfere with Neem to alter its strength or action by artificial means. Nature has taken over 4,000 years to perfect its recipe and provides the perfect remedy as is – man merely tries to interfere with Nature to try to make money from the process by patenting various elements so as to control and profit from the exercise. Usually, in the process, making it much more expensive and taking it out of the reach of the average person.
            So, we say, “Keep it Natural, Keep it Simple and Keep it Affordable” so that everyone can have access to its benefits.
            So, why Neem? It is very simple, you can control the insect population and infestations in agriculture by the use of Neem without all of the risks mentioned above. In fact, it is almost too simple for our elected representatives to understand or want to understand.
            You want to be healthy, we want to help you be healthy and we believe that you should be given the freedom to choose what you eat, what you use on your skin or on your favourite pet or indeed on your own garden. Why would anybody want to take this right away from you?
            In reality, Neem is the tree for solving global problems!

BRIAN WILLIAMS of Neeming Australia Pty Ltd is currently lobbying the Australian Government to support the establishment of a Neem industry for this country, one which would be hugely beneficial to all Australians. Feel free to contact Brian for any further information on email, sales@neemaus.com.au, and visit his website www.neem-health.com.

The above article appears in
New Dawn No. 104 (Sept-Oct 2007)

New Dawn – a 88 page bimonthly magazine – is available in newsagencies throughout Australia and New Zealand. Receive New Dawn in your mail box by Subscribing Today!

Subscribe to our announcements list: