By Irinna Schwenke
'Sandy', a middle-aged woman, was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer so advanced that her doctor sent her home with no other alternative but to wait and die.
Looking for a miracle, Sandy visited Dr. John Christopher, an herb specialist in Salt Lake City.
Christopher started her on the red clover combination, made up of herbs that aid in removing cholesterol, killing infection and building elasticity in veins, according to herbsfirst.com.
After following Christopher''s directions, Sandy had a checkup with her doctor and the cancer was gone. She was cured.
Sandy''s story is one of many testimonials gathered during Christopher''s reign as Utah''s 'medicine man.'
In the late 1960s, Christopher ran a natural healing school near Salt Lake and was an early influence on the state''s natural products industry, said Lynne O''Lanrey, owner of Garden Essence Oils, an Internet company selling herbal products.
'Dr. Christopher was an inspired man and his formulas have been working for over 30 years,' O''Lanrey said.
Although critics argue over the effectiveness of herbal remedies, the industry continues to shower companies with sunny economic times.
The industry has specifically shined in Utah, where companies like Nature''s Sunshine, Nature''s Way, Garden Essence Oils and the Herb Connection, have found permanent roots.
With figures sprouting to $1 billion a year, Utah has become the heart of the nation''s dietary supplement industry, grossing more money than the skiing trade, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.
Christopher''s influence is one reason the industry thrives in Utah. Today his products are sold in nutrition stores around the country.
But some industry professionals said the abundance of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah also adds to the industry''s prominence.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ believe in the Word of Wisdom, a code of living, emphasizing self-reliance, spirituality in medicine and healthy living. However, there is no specific statement from The Church of Jesus Christ on the use of dietary supplements.
'In Utah, you tend to find people who turn more toward alternative medicine because of the Word of Wisdom,' said Noelle Magelssen, 20, a junior majoring in broadcast journalism from Honolulu. 'I see a correlation, but I don''t think just because someone is Mormon means they use dietary supplements. It''s all up to the individual.'
Susan Westmoreland, a health counselor at the Herbal Connection in Provo, said everything in the herbal business goes back to the Word of Wisdom.
Using mild food and herbs for illness are best for preventing health problems, she said.
'There is no better way,' Westmoreland said.
But some people beg to differ.
After taking Echinacea, a supplement said to increase immunity, Jordan Rogers, 23, a junior majoring in Portuguese from Alpine, Utah County, took a turn for the worse.
Following advice from his mother, Rogers said he took Echinacea to help cure the common cold.
'It gave me a queer, nauseous feeling and I just felt worse,' he said. 'In some cases herbs are probably good, but for the most part, I think it''s a load of bunk.'
The idea of herbal remedies being a 'load of bunk,' could be due to the lack of scientific proof needed to support product claims.
In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act. Under the law, companies are prohibited from claiming their product 'diagnoses, prevents, treats or cures' diseases or illnesses.
But advertisers still find ways to get consumers to believe their products can do just that.
For example, advertisers can say Echinacea 'promotes general well-being during cold and flu season,' as long as they do not specifically say the product 'helps cure colds,' said Michael Keller, an employee at Pharmanex in Provo.
Although the law requires that company claims be backed by some scientific evidence, it does not specify how strong that evidence must be, said O''Lanrey, owner of Garden Essential Oils.
However, she discounts the need for scientific proof.
'Herbs are foods. There are no side effects from using them,' she said. 'Using herbs might be more painful and take more time to take effect than pharmaceuticals, but in the long run, they are much better.'
With money still rolling in from dietary supplement sales, controlling growth is the only setback O''Lanrey said she sees for the future.
Products like Echinacea, St. Johns Wort and Kava Kava are common names in the growing industry, she said.
Although criticized as fad products, O''Lanrey said these herbs have been working for years.
'It''s the media and public that make a big deal of hyping herbal healing power,' she said.
'Fads come and go, but the people who really understand how herbs work know that they are healthy, dependable and best for long term care.'