herbs

April 17, 2010

Superfruit Battle Royale the Goji Berry Versus the Acai Berry

Superfruits a Comparison of Acai Berry and Goji Berry Health Benefits

Let us take a look at some of some of the different so-called super fruits. The first one we want to examine because of its recent huge increase in notoriety is the Acai berry. It originates in the Amazon and largely through the efforts of one company Monavie, has become a well-known health drink.
As far as health benefits are concerned the acai berry has been shown to have one of the highest antioxidant scores of any of the Worlds fruits. In in a side to side comparison of the antioxidant level of acai to other fruits like blueberries and grapes it contains twice the amount contained in blueberries and up to 10 times the antioxidant level of grapes. Anthocyanins are a very valuable nutrient and acai contains up to 30 times the amount of this nutrient that you find in red wine. Check out Pure3x Designer Energy Drink with Acai

Acai can have a fairly high ORAC score, fresh acai berries (100 grams) can have an excellent ORAC antioxidant score of up to 5500. However, freeze dried acai (100 grams) can have an off the chart ORAC antioxidant score of over 70,000. These are totals, this means you would have to eat 100 grams or about 3 and a half ounces of fresh acai berries to get 5500. Consuming 1 gram of freeze dried acai would give you an ORAC score of 700 per gram.

The outstanding benefits of Acai are amazing and include, increased energy, anti-aging, improved sleep and strong heart health, and these are just a few mentioned.

The Acai Berry has been featured in emails and on the internet as a great  weight loss product.

These ads are very misleading.  Even though the Acai berry has abundant value as an antioxidant and in other nutrient areas, producers have failed to back up their claims, that drinking acai berry juice or consuming acai products produces any kind of noticable weight loss. More Information on the Freelife TAIslim Weight Loss Diet Product

Let us now examine the goji berry and its many health benefits.
In traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), goji is renowned as the premier adaptogen, meaning it can help the body to adapt to changes and stress.
Some of the traditionally reported benefits of adaptogens include: better sleep, increased vitality, and enhanced mental clarity and focus. Goji also is a top antioxidant and immune system booster. In Asia, no adaptogen is more coveted than goji.

The goji berry is also considered to be a tonic in that it helps to keep the vital organs and energies in tone. TCM has identified some herbs as liver tonics, and others as kidney tonics. But goji is held in such high regard that it has been deemed a supertonic, meaning it can help to balance the structures and functions of the entire body.

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February 8, 2010

Natural Herbs

If you suffer from diabetes medication is the best cure for you, yet, there are some natural helpers to improve your well-being. Nowadays to lessen the discomfort from diabetes some herbs are used. They can’t fully replace the diabetes drugs, but are effective for dealing with the problem. Please, read some tips we have for you.

Here is a list of herbs that might be used by patients having diabetes: balsam pear, Indian kino, garlic, blueberry leaves, ginkgo biloba, and cinnamon. Most of these herbs come from Oriental countries. Their healing properties are usually attributed due to the warm and human climate. Their miraculous nature is usually attributed to those natural conditions. For instance, bitter melon is an effective diabetes herb, which if drunk as a juice or eaten fresh reduces blood sugar.

The herbs won the popularity in treating different diseases like diabetes because of their minimal side effects. However, one thing should be remembered: herbs do not cure or help quickly. It usually takes up to half a year to see the results. Natural herbs are said to stimulate the immune system which helps those who are sick with diabetes.

Also if you made up your mind on taking herbs you need to take them regularly and as prescribed. You also need to go through the whole prescribed course, otherwise the effect will not be gained.

It is also important to take the exact amount of herbs as prescribed and to take them in the intervals indicated by either your GP or herbalist. Professional opinion is needed before taking herbs as you might be allergic to this or that herb or personal intolerance of the herb. Also your doctor will come out with the list of herbs that will work best for you personally as herbs usually work in several directions. For instance, garlic is said to reduce the high blood pressure, yet if you have a low blood pressure, garlic will not be a desirable herb to take.
In addition, you will read a lot of stuff on the Internet about the recipes of how to prepare herbal teas and how to drink them, etc. Yet, what is good for one may be the cause of death for another. Be reasonable, and do not self-treat.

To cut the long story short, we shall recommend you to consult a specialist in alternative medicine or your general practitioner for the qualified advice on herbal treatment for diabetes. The doctor will provide you with the necessary information on the herbs and ways of taking them, inform you about the recipes for taking herbs. For some remedies you will even get a prescription. Remember, herbs are safe and effective treatment for everyone.

We are evolving, and this is seen even in the way we tackle the health problems. Today more and more people use herbs for health, rather than pills. Of course that does not mean that herbs for health can be the ultimate fix. Plus, as this market is growing, cheaters can try to penetrate into herbs for health as well. But if you make a smart and nicely balanced decision - they can really help.

Nowadays we live in the world where knowledge quickly enhances the quality of our life.

Due to this if you are properly armed with the knowledge in your sphere of interest you can rest assured that you will always find the way out from any bad situation. So, please make sure to track this blog on a regular basis or - best of all - sign up to its RSS. Thus you will have a direct shortcut to the freshest info updates here. Blogs can be helpful, you just need to understand how to use them.

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February 4, 2010

Don’t Let This Pass You By! Retrace Back To Your Menopause Core Issue?

The viewpoint that the explanation for all the menopause symptoms is due to an instability of hormones is a superficial understanding and requires a deeper insight.

Traditional Chinese Medicine viewpoint: Menopause is considered a weakened condition of the liver and qi (life force). Once the blood and energy quality is weak and obstructed then all of the organs are not able to execute their duty. This condition causes the liver to overheat which rises through the body, wreaking havoc in its path. The heart, lungs, digestion, glands, throat, mouth & teeth, nose, eyes, ears, brain, skin and hair become heated and dried resulting in the body heat ailments. In addition, the liver does not filter the blood where it becomes sluggish and clotted.

Because the body is deficient of life-giving body energy, quality filtered blood and diet, therefore the glands do not perform normally. Their secretions may well be sporadic or non-releasing altogether. When the blood is filtered, normally, enriched subsequently all the body’s organs get stronger. Progressively, the energy comes back and they are able to function normally. The glandular functions, emit once again, assisting the body in its healthy function.

The physical body isn’t missing chemical hormones. The blood is clogged like sludge. Glands are not receiving/transmitting life-giving messages, timely and/or minimally!

So therefore why do we add or provide more hormones. Doesn’t that risk an overload of hormones? Remembering back when you were younger and your kidneys were in high gear. You won’t want to chance of experiencing that again. You have adequate hormones. If you nourish your blood, keep fit, sleep, deal with stress, etc. Our hormones revive back and reenforces increased balance.

So if Chinese medicine knows the problem, then what is their solution to this weakened conditioneath

What Restores Usual Hormone Function? Traditional Chinese medicine has understood the core problem and remedies for over a thousand years! Traditional Chinese Medicine has 20+ formulas for menopause. But which one is the best? To determine this requires a seasoned Master herbalist. While nearly all women fall into 6 main constitution types: 1) cold 2) damp 3) deficient 4) hot 5) dry and 6) excess 

On the whole menopausal women benefit 95% of the time from Chinese herbs contained in Menopause Comfort. The exception occurs during the summertime. Particular women, who are more hot than the usual population, require a colder menopause herbs, Paramalin, to offset the surplus inner heat produced in the liver.

You can look at the top 10 menopause Chinese herbs, the most effective  menopause formula, listed in more depth, at Longevity Mountain.

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December 18, 2009

Before Its All Gone, You Can Get The Least Contaminated Seed! Our Food and Herbs Are Becoming More Nutrient Deficient While Replaced With GMO Product!

Though this sounds redundant, the phrase is an attempt to capture the essence of what herb medicine is all about – pure organic plants without contamination and re-structuring. With all the genetic manipulation by corporate food giants, no current pure botanic material exists, anymore. But, as much as possible, it is to everyone’s benefit that we protect our interests before we reap the unknown consequences of changing the genetic structure of what we put in our bodies. Before it’s too late, we must commit to this quest. Unadulterated herbs and herbal formula extracts do still exist in protected environments. Agricultural scientists are ascertaining the world over that hybrid contamination is on the increase. Scientist have determined that all, so called, 100% organic farms in the U.S. have at least 2%+ contamination from mutant products thus affecting the original impact of herb medicine. It is extremely important to source traditional herbs and traditional Chinese herbs from protected pollinated farms, free from genetically modified organism (GMO) seed.

Currently, experiments in India and Japan are being conducted with the emphasis on increasing the medicinal properties of the herbs. The key to herb medicine potency is in wide dispute. The GMO camp believes you can improve specific alkaloids in the overall herb composite. The anti-GMO herb camp holds that when you change the property ratio then you, in effect, change the medicinal value which stems from the original structure. The argument that a specific alkaloid is responsible for the medicinal impact versus the whole or synergistic effect of the herb is an ongoing disagreement that needs to be watched carefully.       

Besides the changes to the original plant structure, GM herbs are philosophically opposed to the premises of natural, alternative medicine. These ethical concerns deserve respect and careful consideration before admitting these foods into the gene pool. Input from the herb medicine & research community needs to be acquired before making these changes. Decisions by big corporate business are absent, by nature, conscience in this regard. Though many execs may intend well, it would be to their benefit to attract unbiased feedback as to whether to choose GM procedures in their development. What are the consequences versus the profit?

Most Master Herbalists, specializing in Chinese Medicine, focus on food as a therapy. Here are some points to consider about the food nutrient (incl. herbal herbs) industry:

  • In the U.S. alone, between 1997 and 1999, gene-modified (GM) ingredients suddenly appeared in 2/3rds of all processed foods.”
  • Be sure to choose organic soy milk. Most soybeans in America are genetically modified. Unrefined (organic) soybeans are not genetically modified.
  • If the supporters of GMO are so clever then why do we still have nutrient deficiency in our food products?
  • That carrot has about 57% less magnesium and 16% less calcium in it than the ones our parents ate, a banana 87% less folic acid, and spinach 59% less vitamin C!
  • Whereas there is an increase in vitamin and mineral supplement sales to cover the our food nutrient deficiency, more city/county public works departments are transporting by the multiple truck loads, the remaining tablets to sanitation dumps. The only real working source of nutrition comes from food that our body absorbs or supplements based on whole food sources.

Genetically modified foods can have decidedly unhealthy effects. One solid conclusion found that:

  1. More than half of the offspring of rats fed on transgenically modified soya died in the first three weeks of life, six times as many as those born to mothers with normal diets. Six times as many were also severely underweight.
  2. Mothers who include GM foods in their diet during pregnancy may unwittingly endanger their unborn babies. A statement by the corporate GM giant, Monsanto, exposed that rats fed a diet containing GM corn had reduced sized kidneys and increased blood cell counts compared to those that ingested a natural strain, signifying likely damage to their immunity systems.

 

The nutrient value of food has fallen drastically while the price is skyrocketing:

Minerals & Vitamins in mg/100g

1985

1996

Reduced value expressed in %

Broccoli

Calcium
Folic acid
Magnesium

103
47
26

33
23
22

- 68 %
- 51 %
- 15 %

Beans

Calcium
Folic acid
Magnesium
Vitamin B6

56
39
26
140

34
34
22
55

- 39 %
- 13 %
- 15 %
- 61 %

Potatoes

Calcium
Magnesium

14
27

4
18

- 71 %
- 33 %

Carrots

Calcium
Magnesium

37
21

31
9

- 16 %
- 57 %

Spinach

Calcium
Vitamin C

62
51

19
21

- 69 %
- 59 %

Apples

Vitamin C

5

1

- 80 %

Bananas

Calcium
Folic acid
Magnesium
VitaminB6
Potassium

8
23
31
330
420

7
3
27
27
327

- 13 %
- 87 %
- 13 %
- 92 %
- 22%

Strawberries

Calcium
Vitamin C

21
60

18
13

- 14 %
- 78 %

        Source: 1996 Geigy Pharmaceuticals, Foodstuffs laboratory, Karlsruhe / Obertal Sanatorium.

Boosting our immune systems, metabolic and vascular efficiency with suitable mineral and vitamin supplements compensates for some of these effects, acts preventatively, and assists us in countering deficiencies. However have you ever seen how wasted our elderly become when sustained on ENSURE in a nursing facility? The ignorance can only be rationalized and accepted for how long?   Reliance on healthy, nutrient rich foods and herbs are the essential foundation for sustaining life.

The bottom-line is this. Greed has, unconsciously and consciously, crept into the way we develop our food supply. At any time the food supply is administered in an remote manner there is increased probability for abuse. Though this development is not everywhere, it is extensive enough now that balance in the industry is fargone. This condition, may be, beyond the ability of mankind to retrieve it unless radical changes are implemented.  

Mark Hammer, C.M.H., Master Herbalist, Longevity Mountain

  1. India working on GM herbs, says Greenpeace, Joe C Mathew / Business Standard New Delhi (November 05, 2008)
  2. “50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods” By Nathan Batalion

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November 21, 2009

American Medicine Keeps Chinese Medicine Locked Up! Did You Know That Chinese Medicine Practitioners Have To Get Permisiion To See From Allopathic And Chiropratic Doctors To See Patients?

Herbal Formulas have been the chief agents of Chinese Medicine for over 4000 years. In its primary theory, the human and the natural world are considered an inseparable whole. Knowing how to work with Yin Yang, Meridians or channels, differentiation, etc., are considered essential to sustain the balance of the whole body. A Chinese herb master aids the body to unclear the channel of energy hence enhancing natural healing. The stasis, excess or deficiency of energy will finally make the body vulnerable to “evils” or external invasions. For example: Evil heat is very similar to infection. The English word of Medicine transferred to China in the late 16th Century, without the knowledge of modern chemistry. The Chinese used the word “Chinese Medicine” and “Chinese Drug” as a way to translate or help the English speaking understand their healing methodology before there was a FDA regulation outlawing the use of Chinese/American medical terminology.

Chinese medicine is still used in most of European countries and recognized as a viable contribution to the health arts and practice. Again, the term was coined to help English and Chinese speaking medical practitioners understand, bridge and assist in the exchange of information. The goal was to never replace one another’s art but to share between methodologies. Accurately, Chinese medicine is not a chemistry form of medicine. Herbs are not drugs but food. In fact, if you were to look for nutritional content in herbs and in pharmaceuticals, observation would indicate the obvious, there are nutrients in herbs while American medicine is absent of nutrition which qualifies it as chemical.  

Two thousand years ago, Dr. Hauto, the most respected doctor of Chinese medical history declared that, ” Herb is food, food is medicine”. At that time, the English term of medicine did not exist yet. Language, on occasion, can become the source of problems. This is especially true when you are still learning a foreign language. The current situation is a challenging paradox for American Chinese herbologists who have to live under the standards of traditional American medical doctors while in the U.S.A. While, in China, both conventional medicine from America and traditional medicine from China are esteemed, equally. In the U.S., its OK or legal for Chinese acupuncturists and herbologists to say, “Chinese Medicine heals the body, but herbs are not medicine”. This is difficult to understand when the Chinese practice of medicine has existed 4000+ years as compared to the 200 year practice of American traditional medicine.

Eventually, the sharing of both remedial regimens would give way to additional trust and communication. By and large, progress in the curative ability will increase from this combined effort and eventually the ailing will reap the reward providing genuineness and the patient’s welfare are appreciated.    

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October 23, 2009

In Two Years You’ll Wish You Had Seen This! No More Menopause!

Most of the menopause products are created based on 3 strategiess:

  • a single supplement/herb wonder
  • a combination of past researched supplements/herbs with an addition of the latest fad herb
  • in most cases a newbie manufacturer/distributer copies another company’s product that is selling well

The result is that it is difficult for the consumer to determine what works. So how do you know what works?

Anybody can produce testimonials but long term repeatable, sustainable results are very challenging to produce. The research on the research demonstrates that women are not getting the truthful facts but rather a marketing spin to get you buy their product or one where they share in the proceeds. In most cases, the manufacturer may truely believe they have a formula that will work based on misinformation on a herb’s benefits.

The right herbs for menopause will primarily 1) raise the body’s energy, 2) nourish the blood, 3) cool the body and 4) normalize the body’s thermostat. And indirectly, because the underlying imbalance is corrected, the menopause symptoms will begin to dissapate within 2 hours.  

Most discoveries about herbs have come from Chinese herbal medicine but revealed to the American public in an incomplete manner. The American manufacturers share the info about an herb as a solution for everyone who has a particular symptom. Nevermind, all the body of Chinese medicine and theory that understands that there are different body types or constitutions that may accompany those symptoms. Menopause is a hot body type condition requiring specific emphasis on cooling the liver. 

Chinese herbs which have proven to be effective for hundreds of years on millions of patients. Chinese master herbalists comprehend, on a beginning level, how extensive Chinese medicine is and that through thousands of years of practice, further research is not necessary. Its essential to apply the right formula to the right constitution and symptoms, not just the symptoms. In addition, in order to discern this  relationship between body constitution and herb formulation, it is essential to choose the most knowledgeable practitioner.

A Practicing Master Herbalist Knows More About Herbs Than Any Other Profession?

A seasoned master herbalist (10 years+) who works with herbs every day is the best source for herb medicine. The time element is critical to allow the practitioner to get the kinks out and test his/her knowledge. What is taught in our traditional Chinese herbs and herb medicine schools is only a beginning knowledge and needs to be tested. Optimally, post-graduates should continue to extensive apprenticeship prior to being ready to remedy ailments with patients. Medical doctors rely on their Physician’s Desk Reference for information on herbs which is truely a beginning base source. A one herb or multiple herb formula is not going to work for all. They may work for a quarter of the population or people who have a similar constitution but not everyone. For instance, the Chinese herb, Black Cohosh, has been exposed as unsuitable for menopause. Its used for fevers.Notwithstanding, American supplement makers have discovered a method to take advantage of the half truths provided to everyone and so the tale carries on. Never mind that its short term benefits decay in 2-3 weeks.A proven improvement with other homeostatic herbs would be to ingest bupleurum.

In summary, the best choice of herbs for menopause will take into consideration the woman’s constitution or body type when constructing a formula. Additionally, herbs that have a long established record for hundreds to thousands of years must be perceived with greater preference over herbs with a minimal account. I encourage everyone to seek a seasoned source in herbal medicine. 

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