LIFE IN ISRAEL

quality, scientifically controll-
ed extract for the phar-
maceutical and health in-
dustry in the West."
Botanicare, as it is called, is
exporting an extract of
American and Asian ginseng
and Fulder still acts as
consultant.
"At the same time," he
continues, "we have started
an experimental plantation
up in the Golan Heights,
simply to see under what
conditions ginseng will grow
in Israel and whether it

Fulder was
instrumental in
setting up in
England a
computerized
national
information center
on alternative
medicine.

Fulder and some of his medicinal ginseng roots.

WZPS/Danny Brenner

Aliyah and Ginsen

Alternative-medicine scientist Fulder continues his quest
for maintaining health by moving to the Galilee.

AVA CARMEL

A

Special to The Jewish News

Chinese doctor
used to be paid by
his patients only
when they were in
good health. When
they became ill, the doctor
was not paid because he had
failed to keep his patient
healthy."
So wrote Dr. Stephen
Fulder in 1976 in his book,
About Ginseng. The idea of
maintaining health, as oppos-
ed to avoiding disease, was to
change his entire life.
Fulder lives in a quaint
stone house he built in Clil,
a village of 20 families in the
Galilean hills. In faded blue
jeans, barefoot, with a trimm-
ed beard, he doesn't resemble
the usual image of a medical
research scientist.
With an MA in biochem-
istry from Oxford University
and a doctorate in genetics
and gerontology, Fulder
began his research career in
a very conventional manner.
"I was working for the Na-
tional Institute - of Medical

Research in London," he says,
"and it struck me how much
more is known in Chinese
medicine and culture about
how to keep one's health in
old age. There are herbs we
know nothing about that can
be used to help us overcome
the peripheral health pro-
blems we all suffer from —
that state in between health
and disease."
The herb ginseng plays a
major role in Chinese
medicine. The root of this
perennial forest plant has
been used for thousands of
years as a tonic or restorative
remedy and to help combat
the degenerative process of
aging, especially loss of
vitality.
Caught up in explosive
growth and acceptance of
alternative medical practices
in England, Fulder continued
his research, helping to set up
the Research Council for
Complementary Medicine.
Rather than an either/or ap-
proach, he believes that alter-
native practices can be used
to complement conventional
medicine. "It is possible," he
says, "to reduce medical side

effects dramatically by using
the ancient wisdom and
modern experience of her-
balism, homeopathy, acu-
puncture, massage and
meditative techniques."
Fulder was instrumental in
setting up in England a com-
puterized national informa-
tion center on alternative
medicine. But the pressure of
work was not contributing to
his own health, so Fulder and
his Israeli wife Rachel decid-
ed to make their escape.
"I came to Israel about six
years ago in order to continue
my writing," he says. "We
moved to Clil with our three
daughters and set up a farm.
To some extent this is a per-
sonal experiment, rather
than a scientific one. I am still
just as much involved with
health, but on a more per-
sonal level."
Like others in Clil, Fulder
grows herbs. The hilly, rocky
land has proven suitable for
thyme, oregano, basil, mar-
joram, rosemary, to name a
few. They are dried naturally,
in sheds, and exported under
the name "Clil Organics."
But it has proven very dif-

ficult to break into the com-
petitive export market.
"In Israel," he says, "there
is an intense search for
agricultural crops that don't
need a huge area of land. If
you can apply science to the
growing and processing of
crops, you have an advantage
over other countries in the
world that still grow these
plants in primitive
conditions.
"Another area of interest
was medicinal plants. With
this idea in mind, I ap-
proached Fertilizers & Chem-
icals Ltd. of Haifa, which is a
major global producer of
licorice extract. We looked at
the idea of starting an extrac-
tion industry here that would
relate specifically to health
products.
"One of the first plants we
are testing is ginseng, which
is still rather crude in terms
of its products. It is still sold
largely in the form of ground
root, much of which is of very
poor quality. Here we had a
clear opportunity to use my
knowledge of ginseng and the
company's expertise in ex-
traction, to make a good

is economically feasible.
It is grown semi-hydropon-
ically, in shade-houses under
very carefully controlled
conditions.
"We monitor it, weigh it
and examine it. It seems to be
good quality, but we haven't
finished our tests as ginseng
needs four years to grow. By
next year we'll know and if
it's successful we will be look-
ing for growers.
Fulder has also continued
his writing. The Tao of
Medicine and The Handbook
of ,Complementary Medicine
were followed by How to Sur-
vive Medical Treatment — a
holistic approach to the risks
and side-effects of orthodox
medicine, published in 1987.
In the introduction it is
described as "an answer to
the patient's despairing cry
for participation in the pro-
cess of healing."
Fulder's work week is divid-
ed — one day in the herb
fields, two days in consultan-
cy, and the rest of the week
either building new additions
to the house, or writing. He
was just commissioned to
write a book about the car-
diovascular effects of garlic, so
Rachel is mixing the cement.
The study in which Fulder
writes is a crowded, book-
lined room where sachets of
dried herbs impart a soothing
fragrance. Standing in the
doorway, looking over the
flourishing vegetable garden,
one can see the coastal plain
and the aqua Mediterranean
sea. An ancient carob tree
leans towards the door.
"Life in Clil is a challenge;
he says. "It is still raw and
pioneering. I came here to ex-
periment . . . to start
somewhere fresh." ❑

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