Rumex acetosella, more commonly known as sheep sorrel has been growing in popularity through out the World due to its healing abilities as an alternative to medicine.

While traditionally it was used to treat fevers, inflammation and scurvy by the tribes of Canada and America it has been found to stimulate cell regeneration, detoxification and cleansing. Today it is thought to help with cancer.

Discovered in the 1920s by Canadian cancer Nurse, Rene Caisse after a patient claimed to have had cancer 30 years prior to seeing her. The woman had seen an American Indian doctor who gave her alternative medicines instead of recommending surgery. Nurse Caisse investigated Sheep Sorrel and the other ingredients the patient had used. Sheep sorrel was found to be the most active ingredient. Nurse Caisse opened her own clinic which was never approved by the health authorities and prolonged the life of many cancer patients. She never claimed the herb would heal people but claimed that it would control and alleviate pain. Sheep sorrel contains Vitamins A, B, C, D, E K, P and U with minerals including calcium, chlorine, iron, magnesium, silicon, sodium, sulphur and traces of copper, iodine, magnesium and zinc.

Sheep sorrel leaves have been used to remove excess fluid from the body, to strengthen the heart and for the kidney. The herb has also been used for blood disorders, skin conditions, diarrhoea, excessive menstruation, anaemia, tuberculosis, and throat and mouth ulcers. The herb has been used as a cure for a diverse range of illnesses being effective in saving peoples lives as well as curing the more common ailments.

While Nurse Caisse used sheep sorrel in tea, today it is bought in tablet form with many pharmaceutical companies claiming to use Nurse Caisse’s original formula. There is no scientific proof that sheep sorrel works against cancer but there has been substantial documentation of the alternative treatment through Nurse Caisse’s work and those who continued her research.