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Chanca Piedra and Heart Vine (New Remedies Page Created)

Bill (San Fernando, Luzon, Philippines) on 03/06/2011
5 out of 5 stars

I've been living in the Philippines for over five years now. As an uprooted Englishman, my own adjustment to the tropical climate was necessarily swift. For some years I've had a fascination for and have used herbs, but I was astounded at the proliferation and variety of fresh tropical herbs that I am now able to grow in my garden so easily. These range from simple well known herbs like Thyme and Oregano to more oblique herbs like Chanca Piedra, Heart Vine, Aloe Vera, Tumeric root and Neem. So, over a period of time, I experimented and used many of these herbs very successfully for my own systemic candida and other problems, which are now all gone. I have also used both Heart Vine and Chanca Piedra over the years to successfully help people with diabetes, gout, high blood pressure, arthritis and candida problems.

There was one old Filipino who was quite badly constipated -- in a serious condition -- he hadn't been able to go to the toilet for over a month!! His family had tried all the usual laxatives with no success at all. I figured it must have been a blockage caused by a lack of liver bile, so I gave him the Chanca Piedra and Heart Vine remedy. He had a rather large evacuation after about 3 days of taking this decoction and he is now fine.
But I have had more recent success with my old and favourite Chanca Piedra and Heart Vine decoction remedy. I live behind a large but poor Filipino shanty where I have a friendly relationship with the community. They are lovely, happy people. Recently, an uncle of a Filipino friend said he went to the doctor complaining of abdominal shooting pains and bloating. The doctors diagnosed gallstones and insisted that they would have to operate to remove the gallbladder (gallbladder removal rarely, if ever, cures gallstones in the long run).

But the uncle was far too poor and couldn't afford the operation anyway. So a family member mentioned this problem to me and I taught him how to recognize and find the herbs, which all grow in the area, and I showed him how to make the standard decoction -- which consists of just two herbs -- Heart Vine (Tinospora cordifolia) and Chanca Piedra (Phyllanthus niruri) with daily dosages. In the Philippines, both these plants are regarded as useless weeds believe it or not. But in Indian Ayurvedic medicine these two herbs are revered for their rejuvenating and tonic properties.
Anyway, two months went by and word was eventually passed to me that the uncle with the gallbladder problem had successfully passed out all his gallstones naturally while taking the decoction and he was healthy once again. I really love it when I get feedback like this. To me it is simply the best sort of confirmation whether a remedy works or not.

EC: Bill's above feedback on Chanca Piedra and Heart Vine was originally published in our recent 02/28/2011 newsletter. Read the newsletter in entirety here.

Replied by Isabelle from Cotonou, Benin on 03/04/2011

Bill, would you have the name of these plants in french? I even searched with the botanical names you gave, but couldn't find them. Are they plants only growing in Phillipines? Do we have the equivalance in France or better, in West Africa? as many people around me suffer from chronic constipation.

Thanks again, and God bless your work.

Replied by Bill from San Fernando, Luzon, Philippines on 03/04/2011

Hi Isabelle, Chanca Piedra (Phylanthus niruri) and Heart Vine (Tinospora cordifolia) are easily found using Google Search or Google Images. Here are some pictures and herbal descriptions for each plant which should help you.

Chanca Piedra
This plant is unique because it bears all its small seeds underneath and along the very center of its leaf stem. This plant stands about 30 - 50 cms high

http://www.rain-tree.com/chanca.htm

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2043/2266898721_83569e4a25.jpg?v=0

Heart Vine
This vine herb has a unique pimply stem. Here is a description with some photos of the plant.

http://www.alternative-healthguide.com/ayurveda/tinospora_cordifolia.htm

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1067/5144286229_ffb599c7a0_z.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1377/5144287159_546c408929_z.jpg

I'm afraid I was unable to locate any French equivalent names -- but even using French sites on the web you should be to find them using their Latin equivalent names. Both these plants are lowland tropical plants which should exist in similar areas of West Africa.

Also, both using virgin coconut oil and Neem leaf tea (Azadirachta indica) would also be highly protective for the intestines against infection, constipation, parasites etc. These plants are also widely found in the tropics.

Best regards,

Bill :)

Replied by John from South Carolina Usa on 03/18/2014

Bill, thank you for the information on your home grown herbs. Do you have a source for the seeds of the tropical herbs you grow? Thank you.

Replied by Bill from San Fernando, Philippines on 03/18/2014

Hi John...Unfortunately, almost every herb that I grow is grown from local cuttings or twigs and there is no need to buy the seeds. The Chanca Piedra grows as a profuse weed in my garden which I am very thankful for. My partner does buy seeds from the local market in San Fernando to grow okra, sunflowers etc so she really has no need of an internet source. We also buy one or two herbs -- such as Aloe barbadensis and Holy Basil from the local garden centers. I try and avoid internet purchases if I can because the costs can be pretty high for shipment to the Philippines.

Replied by Debra from Australia on 10/19/2014

Hi Bill,

I was wondering if you would consider selling me some seeds from your Chanca Piedra plants. I'm in Australia and have searched tirelessly for weeks to find them online with no luck. I really want to grow this plant myself to make my own tinctures. Any help would be much appreciated.

Debra

Replied by Bill from San Fernando, Philippines on 10/19/2014

Hi Debra...I'm afraid exporting/importing whole live plants/seeds from one country to another is extremely complicated, laden with rules, expensive and just not viable I'm afraid. It's also unlikely that Chanca piedra will ever be sold as a garden plant -- because it is a very plain plant that is essentially a weed with small flowers.

My opinion is that Chanca piedra might also grow in the jungle regions of northern Australia because chanca piedra also definitely grows in the western Pacific Rim islands and countries opposite northern Australia -- all jungle areas. So perhaps you could take a holiday sometime in these hotter Aussie jungle regions and find the plant and pick the seeds and grow them for free.

Chanca piedra grows about a meter in height. It's one single distinguishing and unique feature is that its small seeds can be found directly underneath and along the main stem petiole of the leaves of the plant. Here is an image of it to show you what I mean:

Chanca Piedra

If you use Google images search, then you can find plenty of images of Chanca piedra. And if you can adequately recognize the plant from this one unique feature that I've described, then you may well be able to recognize and find it in the jungle regions of northern Australia.

Replied by Debra from Australia on 10/21/2014

Thanks Bill,

I know a guy who was making a tea from it which he was getting from an old guy in the next suburb but the guy died. I'm even thinking of seeing if I can get the address and got and ask the new owners if I could buy the plant of them but not sure if I can even get the address. You might be right though, they may not let it in via customs. Thank you anyway. Debra

Hello Bill Can you please help me to tell how much tinospora cordifolia and chanca piedra should I take and for how long to pass one single 1.5 cm / 22 mm gall stone? My doctor ask me to remove gall bladder and I am very scared of surgery please help.

Thanks.

Replied by Bill from San Fernando, Philippines on 04/27/2016

Hi Lea...Just use Chanca piedra (CP) on its own for gallstones -- that should easily be enough to dissolve and get rid of them. After all, CP's other nick-name is "Stone Breaker" with a long and highly successful history and reputation for dissolving both kidney stones and gallstones.

Take the Chanca piedra as a tea four times a day if you can (CP is not poisonous). If this is not possible then take 500 mgs capsules three times a day.

Avoid buying any herbs that have added chemicals or are denoted as "chemically standardized". Adding chemicals to the herb ruins the synergicity of all the herb's active natural chemical components and so this form does not work so well. Instead, you should always buy herbs that are either organic or wild-crafted in order to preserve the natural synergicity of the chemicals in the herb. This form always works the best.

It's difficult to say how long it will take to dissolve your stone. In fact, it's probably more correct to say that you probably have many gallstones and not just one stone. I estimate that you will see results within the week and you should feel much better after 3 or 4 weeks on this protocol. I would also cut down on dairy foods for a while -- avoid foods like milk, cheese, yoghurt. Calcium is a formative constituent of gallstones, so you should also avoid calcium rich foods.

Also, taking magnesium citrate -- 250 mgs twice a day with meals -- will also help to both alkalize the cells and it will also help to more properly balance the Calcium in the body.

Also be aware that supplementing CP lowers blood presssure, lowers blood sugar and helps to remove excess calcium from the blood. So if you are currently taking any drugs that do the same thing -- then taking CP might be contraindicated.

Replied by Nanette from Gainesville Florida on 08/01/2017

For the decocción for constipation

What amount of leaf of vine heart? and what amount from chanca piedra?in how many cups of water? How many cups to take a day?

Replied by Micol K. from Toronto on 06/21/2021

I have been taking Chanca Piedra tea for a few weeks, 3x/day bags, not loose, and have not seen any gallstones (which I apparently have) being flushed out. For how long does one need to drink the tea to see any results? Also, I have just bought the CP tincture, any success stories with that to dissolve/ flush out gallstones?

Thanks