Pau d Arco is a natural herb that can be found in the inner bark of the taheebo tree which is grown in South America as well as Central America. It can in some cases be harvested and cultivated in southern Florida as well. It has been around for centuries and used by the Indio tribes of South America and can be found dating as far back as the ancient Aztecs and Incas. The current uses range from cancer treatment to the use as an antiviral treatment.

Pau d’Arco has several active properties that include lapachol, quercetin and other flavonoids that benefit your body in several ways. It can be made into a supplement by drying the inner bark and then shredding it which gives it a slightly bitter taste. It can be placed into tea to use to ward off colds and flu’s and can be a treatment for a mucus type cough known as smoker’s cough. Used in the same was as an expectorant it can help you free your lungs of mucus and contaminates that works both for chronic lung infections as well as smoking and symptoms of the common cold and flu.

Other benefits include the help against viruses such as herpes I and II, polio as well as the vesicular stomatitis virus. Pau d’Arco has even been known to treat yeast infections because of the way it works against bad bacteria, yeast, and fungi. It can aid in the treatment of the staphylococcus virus as well as pneumonia, dysentery, stomach ulcers caused by bacteria and aspergillums.

Its most prominent aspect is that it can help alleviate the pain and symptoms of chemotherapy and has even been found to help with the complete remission of some tumors. Since it is natural it has no side effects and can make the treatment of cancer much more bearable.