The History Of Amber Health Benefits
Many centuries ago the people of Europe understood the health benefits of amber To them, amber had magical curative powers. Where today modern doctors might prescribe an antibiotic after a person gets sick, the ancients used amber to prevent the onset of sickness.
They understood the health benefits of amber bracelets, necklaces, powder, chips, stones, oils and smoke. And those who had access to the precious petrified resin that they called succinum, used it regularly.
Succinum contains Succinic Acid. It has been used in Europe as a natural antibiotic and general curative for centuries.
Natural Baltic Amber contains as much as 8 percent Succinic Acid by weight. It has the highest acid content of all the ambers found in the world. Even today, Chinese doctors, in spite of China having huge amber deposits, import their needs from the Baltic Region of Eastern Europe.
The early people collected amber stones and chips that washed up on the shores of the Baltic Sea. They made them into necklaces and bracelets. They did not know what we know about succinic acid chemically, but they knew that the necklaces worked magic on their ills.
The ancients were right on the mark. Modern researchers have now confirmed what succinic acid can do for a persons health. What they confirmed is what Europeans and Chinese doctors have known for many hundreds of years.
Historically, people have used amber tinctures made from wine, water and beer.
They used them, and found them effective, when treating a wide range of ills from rheumatism to stomach aches.
A Dominican Monk, Albert The Great, born in 1193, called Natural Baltic Amber Succinum and stated that it was the most effective of the leading medicines of the time. In order of effectiveness he listed them as Succinum, ocastoreum, mors, camphor, tartarus, and aurum.
When the plagues devastated Europe during the middle ages, amber was used for fumigation.
The Prussian Priest Matthaus Praetorius recorded that in 1680, "During the plague not a single amberman from Gdansk, Klaipeda, Konigsberg or Liepaja died of the disease"
Recognizing its properties as an antibiotic, they have used, and continue to use it, for amber baby teethers, baby teething necklaces, spoons and pipe mouthpieces. Aristocrats of the 17 th Century brewed tea in special amber containers.
European scientists and military doctors lead the way in following up on the ancient knowledge. They found that it would help improve the bodies immune system after exposure to radiation from industrial accidents.
It has also been found to help the immune system combat infections, help cure hangovers and work against other toxins.
Research at the University of Hamburg, Germany confirms the safe and positive effects of succinic and fumaric acids in cellular metabolism.
Succinic acid is now produced commercially. And it is approved for use by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Veniamin Khazanov of the RAS' Institute of Pharmacology at the Tomsk Scientific Center says "For aged people, succinic acid has proved to be indispensable. It is capable of restoring the energy balance at the cellular level, which is often upset as the years go by, and helps the patient regain his youthful energy." He says also that it has proven the equal or better of many commercial drugs and is significantly less expensive.
Current research has also confirmed that amber helps cure a hangover by helping the body rid itself of the toxins that cause the hangover. Europeans have known that for centuries.
