Jane Seymour - Friends of Jane Web Site

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Jane hosted a 14-part series entitled "Healthy Living," a series which features a variety of health modalities and explores subjects such as heart health, cancer options, nutrition, exercise, diet, yoga and much, much more. Click here for a full description of the episodes to this series and the guests who appeared on each episode.

Actress Jane Seymour Testifies on Alternative Medicine
May 10, 1999

The Congressional Government Reform and Oversight Committee held a hearing February 24 to discuss whether there is bias against alternative medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This agency decides what medical treatments will be evaluated with government funds, and which will not.

Jane Seymour Shares Her Experience with Alternative Medicine

A key witness, actress Jane Seymour, who plays Dr. Quinn in the popular television series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," shared her experiences with herbs, vitamins, and homeopathy. She told the Committee "During my 16 hours a day, 5 days a week job on Dr. Quinn, I rarely got sick.

"Indeed, even pregnant with twins at 45, I was able to support my immune system with this regime and not miss a single day of work," she said. "I propose [that] the NIH stop withholding its billions of dollars in research funds from the implementation of natural medicine and protocols," stated Ms. Seymour.

Representative Dan Burton (Rep.-IN) stressed that "A 1997 survey in The Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that over 42% of Americans used at least one in 16 [various] alternative therapies during the previous year." Whether you support alternative medicine or not, it seems that if taxpayers are forced to foot the NIH's $15.6 billion-per-year research enterprise, then that agency should examine the treatments that millions of Americans are using.

Jane Seymour Supports Health Freedom!

IHF's Sue Blevins caught up with Ms. Seymour after her testimony. When asked her opinion of health freedom, Ms. Seymour said:

"I think our health is very much our health and everyone should have the right to choose their own [health care], whether it be spiritually founded, medically founded, allopathic, or alternative."

This article was originally published in the March/April issue of Health Freedom Watch, the bimonthly watchdog report published by the Institute for Health Freedom.

Jane and her husband, James Keach, serve on the advisory board of The National Foundation for Alternative Medicine. Here's a brief interview that shares some of Jane's thoughts on Alternative Medicine. At the bottom find a message from Jane and James posted on the web site for NFAM.

Are you a fan of alternative remedies?

Jane: Definitely. Natural remedies can be brilliant for the body because they often promote healing without side effects. When flu season came around this year, for instance, my twins were getting cold after cold. Their doctor asked me to try homeopathy instead of antibiotics. We also used the herbs enchinacea and goldenseal both of which are thought to stimulate the immune system. And all of a sudden the kids weren't getting sick as often as they had been. Of course, I still believe in antibiotics and I still take the kids to the doctor to get their ears checked when it's necessary. But the herbs really worked for us. My current favorite is arnica, a homeopathic remedy for treating bruises and swelling. It's always in the diaper bag.

How did your father, who practiced Western medicine, feel about herbal remedies?

Jane: He died of cancer about five years ago, and toward the end of his illness he turned to alternative therapies. He started taking megadoses of vitamin C and eating a macrobiotic diet. To his great surprise, his stamina improved. In fact, it revived him so much he said if he had taken that approach earlier, he would have been much better off. He was quite amazed at the results. So if he were alive today, I'm sure he'd be open to alternative therapies.

Was it your father's experience that opened your own eyes?

Jane: His illness yes and my sister Anne. She has three kids, two of whom had eczema, for which there's no cure. So she looked into nontraditional remedies, and they've worked wonders for her children. She has since gone to study alternative medicine.

What works wonders for you?

Jane: Oscillococcinum, a homeopathic remedy for flu symptoms, as well as enchinacea and goldenseal, which I use together. Lately, I've also been turning to glucosamine and chrondroitin, which work to nourish joints and keep them healthy, because I have some arthritis in my fingers. In the morning, my index finger is very sore and puffy, so I take a pill, and that combined with some warm water, loosens it right up. But I'm reluctant to recommend these particular remedies to anyone else because were all different. And what I use won't necessarily help someone else.

What would you be comfortable recommending?

Jane: Attention to preventive medicine. Western medicine addresses symptoms, while alternative therapies help support the immune system and encourage the body to heal, which is what we should all be focusing on, anyway. Everyone in our culture likes a quick fix, but we need to incorporate prevention-which requires more diligence on our parts-into our lives. We can learn to rely on drugs and surgery. All we have to do is value the preventive approach-and cultivate a positive mental attitude. It's absolutely vital to get to know and understand your body's signals.

So you believe in the healing powers of the mind?

Jane: Absolutely. Without a healthy mind, you can't have a healthy body. You balance so much in your life-work, family, new kids-how do you maintain your own mental health?

Healing Herbs, Dec. 2, 1997

Dear NFAM Supporters:

We are pleased to have been asked by NFAM Founder Berkley Bedell to Chair The National Foundation for Alternative Medicine's International Committee on Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

While in our professional lives Jane may be known as Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and James as a producer/director/actor, in our personal lives we embrace various causes important to us, including advocating the use of alternative remedies. As a matter of fact, on our web site (friendsofjane.com) there is a special section dedicated to alternative medicine with information on some of the treatments we use at home.

Initially our interest in alternative medicine was piqued when someone very close to us, Jane's father, developed advanced lung and bone cancer at age 73. Toward the end of his illness he tried some alternative therapies, including high doses of vitamin C and a macrobiotic diet that improved his stamina a great deal. He did so well that he felt if he had tried these treatments earlier on, his illness would have been much easier to bear. Although death came all too quickly, his remaining time with us was much more fulfilling than when he was suffering from the side effects of his earlier treatments. He was given the gift to die as he had lived, as an immensely happy man, in love with life. In addition, we credit alternative treatments with having arrested Jane's mother's failing sight and with helping her sister recover from brain surgery.

Because of the incredible success alternative treatments have had in our family, we have set out on an active campaign to promote research into alternative treatments, specifically herbal remedies and homeopathy. As we have traveled along this path we have met many other people throughout the United States and in other countries who believe in the wonderful help alternative therapies offer. It was then that we were introduced to the work of The National Foundation for Alternative Medicine and agreed to jointly Chair the International Committee on Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

In our role as Chair we intend to help NFAM become the leading force in the field of alternative medicine investigations. NFAM operates on the premise that there are likely techniques, practices, and treatments to disease in the world that have not received the recognition they deserve. Together with our passion to help others and NFAM's work to find effective treatments, we want to help educate people about successful, non-conventional treatments that have assisted in saving lives.

Sincerely,
Jane Seymour and James Keach