Tag: Herbal Medicine

Harvard Says Menopause Hormone Therapy Carries Proven Heart Risks

Posted by Cathy on with 4 Comments
A very important study was just released from Harvard School of Public Health by the National Institute of Health.  This study on women’s health confirmed that combination hormone therapy used commonly for symptoms due to menopause increases a woman’s risk for heart disease.
 
 
“New analysis from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) confirm that combination hormone therapy increases the risk of heart disease in healthy postmenopausal women. Researchers report a trend toward an increased risk of heart disease during the first two years of hormone therapy among women who began therapy within 10 years of menopause, and a more marked elevation of risk among women who began hormone therapy more than 10 years after menopause. Analysis indicate that overall a woman’s risk of heart disease more than doubles within the first two years of taking combination HT.”
 
 
My hope is that this study will be read by the throngs of women who visit their medical doctors looking for a quick fix for hot flashes and night sweats.  Understanding these proven risks will surely save lives. There is a better way to treat menopausal symptoms using Chinese medicine and Chinese herbs. This less understood Complementary and Alternative Medicine has been practiced in Asia for centuries with truly remarkable results. Today nearly every community across America has an Acupuncturist and the profession is growing.
 
 
Jacques E. Rossouw, M.D., chief of the NHLBI Women's Health Initiative Branch and a coauthor of the paper, added, "Although the number of recently menopausal women who would be expected to suffer a heart attack during the first years of combination hormone therapy is small, the risk is likely to be real.”
 
 
The risk  of taking hormone therapy is real!   It can’t be much clearer than that. Yet, to me it sounds like Dr. Rossouw’s statement doesn’t want to cause panic so he says the risk is small. But if even one women dies unnecessarily from a heart attack due to hormone replacement therapy, in my book, that’s one heart attack and one life to many.     
 
 
I treat many women with menopausal symptoms and I understand how uncomfortable hot flashes and night sweats can be. Routinely I hear the common complaints about quality of sleep, how difficult it is to dress comfortably and all the other dryness issues from hair to nails to skin, etc.   I treat women with Acupuncture and with Chinese herbs. I don’t do anything miraculous as an Acupuncturist, but my patients get great results.  It’s the acupuncture and herbs that balance the body naturally and help ease the symptoms of menopause.
 
 
It’s also not a quick fix, many patients come for three to six months on a  weekly basis and are very compliant about taking the herbal formulas. Again it’s not me, it’s Chinese medicine that understands the relationship of Yin and Yang energy in the body and has been perfected throughout the last 2000 years.
 
 
My hope is that all women will ease into the change of life and experience little to no uncomfortable symptoms. But when they do, spread the word that help is available using Chinese Medicine and Chinese herbs that does not carry proven risk factors such as heart attacks. Acupuncture is safe and effective when performed by a licensed Acupuncturist. If you need a referral we are here to help. Use the yellow contact button on the left and just let us know your looking for an acupuncturist in your hometown.  
 
 
I always give links to studies in my articles, here’s the link for this one. http://www.nih.gov/news/health/feb2010/nhlbi-15.htm

Acetaminophen Can Be Fatal Study Says

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Acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, causes severe liver toxicity and too much can be fatal.

A study released on Nov. 22, 2011 in the UK showed repeated doses of “slightly too much acetaminophen” can be fatal.

This study was published online November 22 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. “On admission, these staggered overdose patients were more likely to have liver and brain problems, require kidney dialysis or help with breathing and were at a greater risk of dying than people who had taken single overdoses,” senior author Kenneth J. Simpson, MBChB (Hons), MD, FRCP (Edin), from the University of Edinburgh and Scottish Liver Transplant Unit in the United Kingdom, said in a news release. “They haven’t taken the sort of single-moment, one-off massive overdoses taken by people who try to commit suicide, but over time the damage builds up, and the effect can be fatal,” he adds.

In the U.K. and the U.S. acetaminophen hepatotoxicity is the leading cause of acute liver failure (ALF).

When asked why people repeatedly ingest Tylenol or acetaminophen the most common answer is pain.  Young women often use it several days a month for menstrual cramps and period pain. However, using Acetaminophen (Tylenol) month after month for menstrual cramps has overdose risks.  Unfortunately, many women don’t realize there are other natural answers to menstrual cramps.

Looking for a natural pain reliever for menstrual cramps?  PMS Relief Herb Pack has been used for centuries in the East and is now available in the West.

________________________

This study received no external funding. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Br J Clin Pharmacol. Published online November 22, 2011.

Herbal Medicine May Help Reduce Menstrual Pain Says Cochrane Collaboration

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

PMS Relief

A study involving nearly 3,500 women in several countries suggests natural herbs may be more effective in relieving menstrual cramps than drugs, acupuncture or heat compression.

Australia-based researchers said herbs not only relieved pain, but reduced the recurrence of the condition over three months, according to the Cochrane Library journal. Who writes The Cochrane Library Journal? An international not-for-profit and independent organization, dedicated to up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of health-care readily available worldwide.

Who is Cochrane Collaboration? Watch video

The Cochrane Collaboration produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health-care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. The Cochrane Collaboration was founded in 1993. They publish the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews quarterly as part of the Cochrane Library.

Women looking for a natural treatment for menstrual cramps can be confident that Chinese herbs have been reviewed in clinical trials and have been used safely for hundreds of years. The evidence came from 39 trials, involved 3475 women – 36 in China, and one each in Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands. Participants were given herb formulas to regulate their ‘qi’ (energy) and blood, warm their bodies and boost their kidney and liver functions.

“Chinese herbal medicine gave significant improvements in pain relief when compared to pharmaceutical drugs. It also reduced overall symptoms. The research revealed that Chinese herbal medicine was also better at alleviating pain than acupuncture or heat compression.”

“All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, NSAIDs, OCP, (oral contraception pills) acupuncture and heat compression, and, at the same time, there were no indications that Chinese herbs caused any adverse events,” says lead author Xiaoshu Zhu who works at the Center for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Some of the Chinese herbs include Chinese angelica root (danggui), Szechuan lovage root (chuanxiong), red peony root (chishao), white peony root (baishao), Chinese motherwort (yimucao), fennel fruit (huixiang), nut-grass rhizome (xiangfu), liquorice root (gancao) and cinnamon bark (rougui). In one trial involving 36 women, 53 percent of those who took Chinese herbs reported less pain than usual compared with 26 percent in the placebo group. (No coincidence these herbs are all included in our PMS Relief Herb Pack)

See Full Study here: http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD005288/frame.html

Natural Weight Loss Herbs- Skinny Boost

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This is an informative video about Skinny Boost, the new herbal formula from Pacific Herbs!  It is the number one weight loss herbal formula used in Japan today, and has its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This herbal remedy was first written down in 1070 AD and has been used ever since then. Skinny Boost Herb Pack is a time-tested weight loss remedy that helps improve metabolism, helps with elimination and gives your digestive system a boost so you can process and use what you eat more effectively. Give Skinny Boost a try today. We know you're going to love it. More about Skinny Boost here.

 

Supplement During Menopause Treatments

Posted by Cathy on

Hot flashes and night sweats for 3 years, Oh MY! I friend of a friend just confided in me she’s been suffering with menopause symptoms in silence for years. When I inquire as to why, she said, “I just didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want the artificial hormones”.

 

Not all women need a menopause treatment plan. Menopause is a time of change and all women over 50 will experience an ending to their menstruation sooner or later.

 

But, not all women will need a treatment plan during their menopause years. According to Dr. Elaine Jolly, director of Ottawa’s Shirley E. Greenberg Women’s Health Centre, “Menopause is seen as not very sexy,” says Jolly. “And the menopause curriculum in medical schools is horrible. And that’s a pity, because mature women benefit from preventive care.” she says.

 

Jolly suspects she knows why the (menopause treatment) field is not a popular choice for medical students contemplating a specialty. It takes a full hour to have a proper consultation with a menopausal patient — and the pay is lower than other medical specialties. “You don’t get kudos for health prevention,” says Jolly. “In France, if you spend time counseling and talking about these things, you get paid.” Many frustrated women are turning to complementary and alternative medicine, she says. “They are not getting satisfaction through conventional medicine.”

 

I agree with you Dr. Elaine Jolly, women are turning to alternative medicine especially Chinese herbs for menopause treatment. The herbs used in Menopause Relief Herb Pack are the same ones used for centuries to help women balance their hormones and give them relief from hot flashes and night sweats.

Is China Ripping Off American Ginseng?

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GinPacific Herbs Highest quality Siberian ginseng seng is one of the most popular Chinese herbs in the world and if you live in China, it is one of the most popular ways to promote health and virility.  

 

But why does most of the American ginseng get exported to China and Korea? 

 

Asian cultures have been using ginseng for thousands of years and place a high value on the American grown variety. Amazing, but true, China has been importing American ginseng for nearly 100 years since it was first discovered in the Northern mid-western region. In fact, Wisconsin's most valuable export has nothing to do with the dairy industry, or corn or wheat.  It's all about the ginseng production every year.

 

Wisconsin  is producing 95 percent of America's ginseng. U.S. demand for ginseng is still very low and the best price can be fetched in Asia. 

 

Good to know we have at least one export that China wants from us. Wisconsin governor Walker is in China this week and a deal with Tong Ren Tong, the oldest continually operated Chinese herb store in China has just been signed to export Wisconsin grown ginseng.  Maybe one day soon Americans will learn the value of this incredibly powerful herb.

 

We carry American Ginseng in our store here!

 

Herbal Medicine Honors For Dr. Guo

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My favorite nonprofit organization has just announced the recipient for a very special award and I wanted to share the news because it has everything to do with Chinese herbs, one of my favorite topics to write about.

 

ABC also know as American Botanical Council in Austin Texas just announced its “Excellence in Botanical Research Award” recipient for 2013 will be,  Professor De-an Guo, PhD, of Shanghai, China.
Dr. Guo’s research has centered on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) quality control, biochemistry, and metabolism; his phytochemical investigations of traditional Chinese herbal medicines have resulted in the identification of 100 new chemical entities. In addition to his professorship, Dr. Guo serves as director of the State Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology and as director of the Shanghai Research Center for TCM Modernization at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He earned his doctorate in pharmacognosy from Beijing Medical University’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1990, and conducted his postdoctoral studies in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
Among his many accomplishments, including more than 430 published scientific papers to date, Dr. Guo acted as the vice-editor-in-chief of the 2005 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China and editor-in-chief of the 2010 edition. At present, he sits on the editorial boards of several highly respected international scientific journals, including Planta Medica and Phytomedicine. Dr. Guo is an expert committee member of the United States Pharmacopeia and a member of the ABC Advisory Board.
“Professor Guo is not only an established scientist, he has provided leadership in the modernization of TCM,” said past recipient of ABC’s Farnsworth Award, Professor Ikhlas Khan, PhD, a research professor of pharmacognosy and associate director of the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi. “He is a deserving recipient and I am proud to call him my friend.”

 

All I can say is WOW!   Dr. Guo is more than deserving and a life time of research in the field of Chinese herbs and Traditional Chinese Medicine is nothing short of inspiring.  Congradulations Dr. Guo.
ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal said; “He is clearly one of the leading figures in scientific medicinal plant research in China, a country with a vast spectrum of traditionally used medicinal plants that are undergoing modern scientific research and validation.”

Yale Says Chinese Herbs Help Chemotherapy Effectiveness

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Chinese herbs in the Wall Street Journal?  Undoubtably not the place you would expect such a story.  

 

Since the research was done at Yale University, why not?  Turns out a combination of four herbs used for about 1800 years in Chinese Medicine has been studied through Yale University and is reported to “enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with colon cancer”.

 

The formula/combination of herbs is called Huang Qin Tang (Scutellaria Decoction). In early trials this four herbs  have been found effective at reducing the side-effects of chemotherapy, including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.   (I think everyone knows a cancer patient that would love to get rid of those side-effects.)   The herbs are also being reported to “bolster colon-cancer treatment”.1

 

Will this study, help hurdle Traditional Chinese herbal medicine into mainstream American cancer therapy?  Time will tell.  Chinese herbs have been used for centuries safely and effectively and are the first medicine given before drugs throughout Asia.

 

 

 

The scientific team led by Yung-Chi Cheng, an oncology researcher at Yale University was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, is planning to begin Phase II clinical trials. Many conventional medications are derived from individual chemical agents originally found in plants. In the case of Huang Qin Tang, however, scientists so far have identified 62 active chemicals in the four-herb combination that apparently need to “work together” to be effective.

 

Josephine Briggs, head of the National Center for Complementary

and Alternative Medicin (CAM) said about this herbal combination,

“It’s polypharmacy,” or the equivalent of several drugs being administered at once.

Dr. Cheng began his research on Huang Qin Tang about a dozen years ago when he sought a better way of dealing with the chemotherapy’s side effects.  Dr. Cheng, who grew up in Taiwan, and turned to Traditional Chinese Medicine, (TCM) which often uses herbal combinations for gastrointestinal problems. He decided to test whether it could help cancer patients without compromising the effectiveness of the chemotherapy.

 

The Chinese herb formula Huang Qin Tang contains:  Huang Qin 36%, Da Zao 16%, Bai Shao 24%, and Zhi Gan Cao 24%. Scientists have found over 62 chemicals when these four herbs are cooked in an aquaous solution, boiled in water.

The potential in Chinese herbal medicine is vast indeed.  

What will they find next?

 

Note:

Chinese herbs in places like Japan, Taiwan and China have been used for centuries and their reputation in the healthcare system is undeniably successful. Chinese herbal medicines health insurance coverage is part of the national health insurance in these Asian countries

Soy Is Not An Effective Menopause Treatment

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A two and half years study finds no improvement from eating soy as a menopause treatment for cognitive function including what many menopausal women label as “brain fog”.

Brain fog often times refers to the common menopausal symptoms including difficulty in remembering daily events and activities.  If you are experiencing memory loss or brain fog as part of your menopausal symptoms be aware that the addition of soy to your diet will not help.  Although their were no harmful effects, (stick to organic soy) this study showed no improvements for visual memory and thinking ability.

Dr. Victor Henderson of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and his co-authors randomly assigned 313 post-menopausal women aged 45 to 92 to take either 25 grams of soy protein daily or a placebo with milk protein that looked and tasted the same.

The participants were given tests that measured their memory and other thinking abilities at the start of the study and again after 2.5 years.

“For healthy post-menopausal women, long-term dietary soy isoflavone supplementation in a dose comparable to that of traditional Asian diets has no effect on global cognition but may improve visual memory,” Henderson and his co-authors concluded in Tuesday’s issue of the journal Neurology.

If you are looking for a memory boost, try ginseng!

This study was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the Office of Dietary Supplements and the Office of Research on Women’s Health.

 

How To Stay Asleep… All Night!

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-skinny Brochure iSleep-1Do you practice good sleep hygiene? 

You might be asking what is sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is a combination of practices to create a restful, rejuvenating night of sleep. If you don’t get restful sleep every night there is an  herbal solution to help.  This  product has over 800 hundreds of years of use and clinical studies backing it’s effectiveness.

Why use an herbal remedy for sleep that has been used for 800 years?  Because, it works!

The history of herbal remedies is as old as man.  Written first on bones, turtle shells and then bamboo and pryus reeds this sleep remedy has been past down from generation to generation.

There is no guessing.

The herbs used gently calm the mind, stop the over-thinking and allow the body to fall asleep and stay asleep naturally.

We did improve on these herbs by re-packaging them in convenient easy to use individual packets.  

Our packets combine the best in pharmaceutical packaging without using fillers or additives.

Our packets are convenient, have no additives, no sugar, no pills and best of all, water is optional. 

Try iSleep Herb Pack today not just because it tastes great, but because you deserve a restful night of sleep…

every night.

Don’t be fooled by sleep aids today that combine herbs which have no history of ever being used together.  That is junk science.  It’s similar to the idea of throwing everything in your refrigerator into a pot of soup and hoping it will taste good. We know it doesn’t work that way.

Wouldn’t you rather use an herbal sleep aid that has hundreds of years of use!

Try iSleep Herb Pack today.

Fascinating Lecture On Chinese Herb Discoveries

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A lecture I attended today was revisiting history, the history of Chinese herbs.  What I found most interesting is the fact that hospitals in the U.S. are doing clinical trials using Chinese herbs.

This is truly re-inventing Western medicine.

The drugs of the future are herbs that are proving (once again) their effectiveness. These herbal drugs are made from Traditional Chinese herb formulas written down over one thousand years ago, so we can say this medicine is truly based on historical information.

Chinese herbal medicine is being studied at places like Yale University where Yung Chi (Tommy) Cheng, PhD. is the chairman of the Consortium for Globalization of Chinese Medicine. He is an innovative pioneer in herbal drug research and internationally renowned for his significant role in the advancement of pharmacology.

Using a Traditional Chinese Herb four herb formula, Dr. Cheng is working on FDA approval for a patented drug to alleviate side effects of chemotherapy induced nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  The unfortunate side effects of chemotherapy make it difficult for patients to tolerate and chemotherapy damages the immune system. This Chinese herb formula is proving it can eliminate the side effects by healing the gut and improving the immune system without reducing the effects of the chemo.
This is exciting work and we hope the FDA will give swift approval as so many patients are in need of this holistic, herbal medicine.

Why Melatonin Is Not A Good Sleep Aid

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Melatonin is a powerful hormone produced naturally in our bodies.  We know it helps with circadium rhythms or our natural body clock.   

For years people have been taking melatonin to help them sleep. 

Yesterday Dr. Oz's guest, Dr. Breus said melatonin is dangerous and should not be used as a sleep aid and should not be used in the high doses sold over-the-counter. 

Since our bodies only make about 0.3 to 0.8 milligrams of melatonin per day, taking a supplement sold in 3, 5, 10 or more mg is 10x more than our body would normally make. 

Even though melatonin has become known as a safe natural sleep aid too much of anything can be dangerous. Melatonin can actually destroy your sleep cycle said the good doctor. Melatonin supplements can also cause headaches, nausea, dizziness or irritability.

The natural sleep aid that has been safely used around the world for centuries are Chinese herbs.  One formual in particular has been the most popular for getting to sleep naturally. The Chinese name is Suan Zao Ren Tang, we sell it under our brand, iSleep Herb Pack.  It's easier to understand and easier to pronounce.  

Learn more about this natural and completly safe and non-addicting sleep aid here!  Billions of people use everynight without side-effects.  Please also see our 3 minute factory tour video and learn why our herbal processing is the GOLD standard around the world.

 

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