Jujube Fruit Is A Chinese Herb Now Growing in California

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A slightly unusual yet inspiring story appeared on the front page of the LA Times today.   It is about a farmer in California's Central Valley near Fresno who has been growing some unusual produce.  He is growing one very common Chinese herb called Jujube fruit.   This fruit is fetching higher than average produce market prices partly because the Asian community nearby understand the value of this Chinese date.  It's the kind of success story I love reading about,  so unusual for the front page of the LA Times.

Used in many traditional Chinese herbal formulas, Da Zao as it's referred to in Mandarin, has several uses and  is commonly added to improve the digestability of other herbs in formulas.  Jujube is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to improve digestion, improve energy and to nourish the blood.  This is one reason you can find it in our Energy Booster Herb Pack.   

It can be eaten right off the tree or dried and used in a tea, congee, (hot cereal) or used to sweeten rice or other foods.   Jujube like many Chinese herbs doubles as both a food staple and a medicinal herb.  In a higher dose this dried fruit is used for stress, nervousness and helps calm the spirit which is one of the reasons we included it in iSleep Herb Pack.

Most American's have never seen Jujube fruit but I have seen it popping up in Farmers Markets this time of year. This particular California farmer started growing it when he learned it was a popular item which could sell for a premium.  Asian cultures have understood for centuries the value of this little date. In fact, the LA Times reported "his biggest-selling, most established crop is the super sweet jujubes."  It seems Americans are starting to catch the wave, learning both the health benefits and tasty goodness available in botanicals we often use as herbal medicine.

It is truly great to see we are beginning to grow Chinese herbs here in California.  Traditional Chinese herbs, whether they are being used for food or medicine have brought millions "Wellness for Centuries" and can continue to do so.   Hopefully, one day soon more American's will understand these benefits.

 

Connect here to see our products containing jujube fruit: iSleep Herb Pack and our Energy Booster Herb Pack

 

See story here:    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hmong-farmer-20111114,0,5801613.story?page=2

Goji Berries – Health Benefits of Chinese Herbs

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The health benefits of Lycium fruit, otherwise known as Goji berries are nearly unmatched by any other berry.  While Western countries are just recently discovering these incredible antioxidants, Chinese medicine has been using them for centuries.   Many foods and herbs overlap in Traditional Chinese Medicine, (TCM) and goji berries is one of these, a  food used in herbal remedies.   Today we are finding goji in energy drinks, energy bars and as a stand alone dried fruit in many health food stores.

A recent study at the University of Basel in Switzerland showed lycium to have " antioxidative properties and some interesting pharmacological activities in the context of age related diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes."1

Lycium berries have a long history of use in Chinese medicine.  They are commonly seen in cooking recipes from soups to congee (hot cereal) to stews.   Goji berries are known as a tonic herb for the blood, considered a liver protector and especially beneficial for the eyes.

In  Sydney Australia a study of mice drinking goji berry juice was conducted.  What the researchers found was the goji juice protected the mice against UV radiation induced skin damage because of its antioxidant activity. 2

Goji berries probably have more therapeutic value than we yet grasp.  If you would like to read more studies you can always check out pubmed.com.   Yet, before the age of the computer Chinese medicine understood the value in these little red berries and herbal formulas go back over a thousand years that have included lycium in herbal prescriptions for health.  We've included it in our Energy Booster Herb Pack which is bases on an ancient Chinese herbal formula that has been used for "Wellness for Centuries". 

_________________

References:

1.  Nutr Res. 2009 Jan;29(1):19-25.   Lycium barbarum (goji) juice improves in vivo antioxidant biomarkers in serum of healthy adults.      Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2010 Apr;9(4):601-7.

 

2,  Mice drinking goji berry juice (Lycium barbarum) are protected from UV radiation-induced skin damage via antioxidant pathways.  Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.     PMID:    2035465

 

 

5 Reason To Learn About Chinese Herbs

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1. Chinese Herbal Medicine is Used by One Third of Earth’s Population

Chinese herbs help you sleep, are a menopause treatment and make a great energy drink

Are you part of the 33%?  If you use Chinese herbs to help you sleep, give you energy or just provide you with relief from menopause hot flashes and night sweats, you should know you  are part of the growing world wide explosion of use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).   As populations increase more and more people worldwide are looking to the medicine they know their grandparents trusted and depended upon.

2. Herbs Are Synergistic; They Work With Our Immune System.

Some herbs, like ginseng are adaptogens others are immune-stimulant, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic and anti-oxidant.  Herbs used in combinations or formulas can improve our total immune system.  There is not a single prescription drug can do that.  

3. Herbal Formulas Have Been Studied and Tested

Imagine how much more enjoyable life would be if you simply had more energy, a clearer head and a relaxed body. Look at the thousands of studies on pubmed.com  that have been done on plant based medicine to prove time tested results are more than coincidence for insomnia, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, menstrual irregularities, migraines, the list is endless.

4. Traditional Chinese Herbal Formulas Have Been Used Continuously For Over 1000 Years.

Herbal Medicine is currently the main medicine for over 33% of the world’s population and has a long established record of effectiveness.  Chinese herbal medicine has written documentation going back to 200 AD. Asian cultures have used this plant-based medicine or medicinal herbs for thousands of years and have an inherent understanding of their healing qualities. In fact, many Chinese dishes are made with herbs for medicinal value because food is also medicine.

5. Herbs Match Our Biochemistry

Our biochemistry has evolved over millions of years with plants as our main source of food, so we are naturally compatible with medicinal herbs. Herbal medicines  inherently have the same chemical structures that built your body in the first place.  Allkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and more are all found in natural plants. These are the chemical structures your body needs to repair itself.

Bonus Reason:  Compared to Prescriptions, Herbs are a bargain

Herbal supplements are the best investment you can make in yourself. They are far less expensive than prescription medication and their greatest savings comes from the prevention of long term illness. The western standard for disease- if you’re not sick, you’re healthy – should not be the measurement of one’s health.

 

Affordable Medicine, Ginger Root Is A Must Know Chinese Herb

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Did you hear the news? A new study on ginger root found this Chinese herbs helps reduce colon inflammation and may reduce colon cancer risk.

The interest in Chinese herbs is growing all the time.  New studies on the cancer prevention properties on herbal remedies which have been used for centuries are multiplying.  Westerners are learning some of the age old practices well known in Asia for centuries.  Ginger is used both as a food and as a medicine in Asia cultures.

“Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective way,” said lead author Suzanna Zick in a news release. Zick is a naturopathic doctor and a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School.

This latest study on ginger root supplements found that evidence of ginger’s benefits (2 grams daily) after just 28 days of use.  The participants were at normal risk for cancer of the colon, they had no family history of the disease and no evidence of the disease.  The participants underwent sigmoidoscopies at the beginning and end of the study.  Researchers examined colon inflammation levels and found that those taking the supplements had a drop in colon inflammation markers as well as a tendency toward substantial decreases in other markers.

Ginger is often used for indigestion, nausea, upset stomach and digestive difficulties  in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  It is very common to find a small amount of  ginger root  (2-3 grams ) in many Traditional Chinese herbal formulas to help balance and harmonize a formula of many herbs.  I always keep some frozen ginger root tucked away in the freezer, just in case.  

 

More articles on Ginger here:

Use Ginger Root after exercise for less pain

Chemo Nausea Treated with Ginger

Chinese Herb Breakthrough Wins Prestigious Award

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The award known as American Nobel Prize was presented last Saturday to an 81 year old researcher for her work on a Chinese herb called Artemisia.  Tu Youyou is the first Chinese citizen to receive the prestigious Lasker Medical Research Award.  Her work, along with her research team, has studied the Chinese herb Artemisia (qing hao) which is used to cure malaria.  Today the artemisia based drug created by Tu and her colleagues  is now a standard treatment for malaria and statistics show it's success rate is 97 percent.  

"I think the honor not only belongs to me, but also to all Chinese scientists," Tu said at the award ceremony held in New York. "The discovery of artemisinin is a gift to mankind from traditional Chinese medicine," Tu was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"Not often in the history of clinical medicine can we celebrate a discovery that has eased the pain and distress of hundreds of millions of people and saved the lives of countless numbers of people, particularly children, in over 100 countries," Lucy Shapiro, a member of the award jury and professor of Stanford University, said while describing Tu's discovery.

This is very exciting news for Traditional Chinese Medicine. If we learn as a society to embrace the longstanding traditions and wisdom which botanical or herbal medicine hold, we will have the answers to many of the diseases of the 21st century.  We can improve the quality of our life and our lifespan using the knowledge of herbal medicine pasted down for centuries.   More research like that being done by Tu and her team could mean less lines for the unsustainable ER services and huge savings.  As a society we need to learn about Chinese herbs and how we can use them to create American traditions of "Wellness for Centuries".

For more information on Malaria and Artemisia read this post.   http://www.pacherbs.com/2009/04/

End The Flu Faster With Chinese Herbs

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Fox News, Reuters Health and other large news organizations recently ran a story about a clinical trail on traditional Chinese herbs relieving fever and flu symptoms better than the flu shot and NSAID, over-the-counter pain relievers.  The story was breaking news at the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine about a week ago.

This is great news, but the product, Ma xing shi gan tang combined with Yin qiao san is not readily available in U.S. stores.  Hopefully this will change soon.  In the meantime, practitioners of Chinese medicine such as licensed Acupuncturists in the U.S.  do have access to this herbal formula.  This formula works because of the combination of the herbs, if you take just one herb alone it does not work.

The researchers reported these Chinese herbs helped reduce fever faster than Tamiflu the flu shot.

The researchers studied 410 Chinese adults with H1N1 flu (also known as the swine flu). The patients who drank the Chinese herb tea typically saw their fevers resolve after 16 hours, versus 26 hours in patients in a "control group" whose only flu treatment was acetaminophen   (Tylenol) if their fever passed 102 degrees F.

Patients in a third group received the prescription antiviral drug Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir. With Tamiflu, fevers typically resolved after 20 hours, or six hours sooner than in the control group.

The studies findings  have been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Chinese herbs have a long history of use in other parts of the world.  Japan, Korea, and Germany all have these herbal remedies widely available and at a very low cost.  China and Taiwan use Traditional Chinese medicine in their national health care system and herbal remedies are covered by insurance.

Hopefully some day soon, American's will understand and appreciate this botanical form of medicine has many proven benefits.

Read more:    http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/16/chinese-herb-mix-may-shorten-flu-fever/#ixzz1VJmKA8HQ

http://www.annals.org/content/155/4/217.abstract?sid=36fbeeca-172e-4698-94e8-b07210ac0003

Cheap Chinese Herbs Are Not Worth It

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Best Chinese herbs for sleep If you are looking for cheap Chinese herbs you won’t find them here.  Sorry, but I refuse to buy cheap quality raw materials for my products.  Why?  Well like just about anything, you get what you pay for.  So if you don’t mind having heavy metals and bacteria in your Chinese herb products then go ahead… buy those cheap ones.

If you want to know your herbs are tested for contaminants they keep reading.  You are in the right place.

But how do you know what’s good and what’s not.   First, find out who is the manufacturer or processor of the herbs.  When you buy drugs you are told who makes it.  When you purchase fruits and vegetables labels tell you the processor and country of origin.  When you buy herbs, a product you plan on ingesting, the rule should be the same.  If  a seller is not telling you where the herbs are processed and by whom, don’t buy them from these companies. Don’t be fooled, if the information is missing from the website, it’s missing for a reason.

I offer a free report titled “What you need to know before purchasing Chinese herbs”. It’s available on our home page and it’s FREE!  Get educated, Chinese herbal remedies are offered all over the internet cheap for a reason.  Because cheap Chinese herbs are cheap quality and not worth the money you are paying for shipping.

We are completely transparent about our manufacturer our testing and our finished products.  Watch our 3 minute factory tour and see how our herbs for sleep, PMS Relief, and Menopause  are processed in our pharmaceutical factory.

Look for lot numbers and expiration dates on every product.   Lot numbers can be traced to batches of herbs and with our products correspond to “COA’s or Certificates of Analysis which detail all the testing and list quality assurance numerical standards of each test performed.   Many herbal companies do not have the high tech equipment or resources to perform COA’s. Check with the manufacturer and ask at the retail store where you purchase herbs if they are requiring COA’s from their suppliers.

We guarantee everything we sell and we guarantee our herbs are pure, unadulterated botanicals with no fillers and nothing artificial.  Ask the other guys who sell herbs cheap if they will make that guarantee.

 

 

Menopause Treatment Food Options

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natural menopause supplementsMenopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, brain fog and other symptoms seem to be considered the norm for women over the age of 50, yet this is not true for women around the globe. Researchers from the Department of Integrated Health at Westminster University polled 1,000 British women ages 45 to 55 and compared their answers to those of women from the U.S., Canada, Japan and China. The conclusion was that Japanese and Chinese women suffer the least amount of menopause symptoms. British women suffer the most and Americans are somewhere in between.
If you want to know how to turn down your body’s internal “thermostat” you are in the right place. Alternative medicine, including food therapy, is a viable option for managing menopause symptoms.

What causes this disparity between menopausal women in the East and West? In Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China women do not generally seek medical attention for menopause symptoms.9 The reasons for these cultural differences are complex. Certainly diet and lifestyle choices play a key role. The question is why don’t women in these cultures need Hormone Replacement Therapies (HRT) or medical treatments the way that the majority of Western women do?

 

The last year has been a confusing time with medical flip-flops on the benefits and dangers of artificial hormones. I see more and more women who are giving up on trusting research produced by the health care establishment and looking to alternative medicine for answers.

 

Not only is it difficult to stay keep up with the latest menopause drug treatment information, but much too often this advice is influenced by drug companies or doctors who fail to disclose their ties to study outcomes. One truth every doctor knows is that medicines have risks. Medicines should be prescribed only when the benefits outweighs the risks, including the risks of side effects which may not show up until years later. Healthy diet and lifestyle therapies have no risks. Cooking with Chinese herbs and incorporating food therapy have been done for centuries and have absolutely no known risks.

 

This article is part two on the subject of alternative medicine for menopause. Part one (see it here) explained how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views menopause. TCM recognizes menopause as part of the natural aging process and is often termed Kidney Yin Deficiency. The manifestations of aging include gray hair, dryness and the end of menstruation — in other words, signs the kidney energy is waning.

TCM views the kidney energy as sustaining the metabolic process and decreases naturally as we age. When the balance of kidney yin and yang energy is “upset,” symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats may appear. Throughout Asia it is Chinese herbs and food that are most commonly used to gently tonify the kidney energy and restore the balance between yin and yang. Acupuncture is also used to restore this balance and studies have proven its effectiveness.10 The role of herbal medicine was discussed in part one and I now want to address the roll diet plays in menopause.

 

It seems Asian cultures understand Hippocrates, the father of medicine’s credo, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Asian cultures blend four important principals into every meal.

1.    Meals consist of varying food temperatures, i.e. peppers are a hot food, seaweed is cold and black beans are warm.

2.   A large variety of foods with five flavors are eaten in every meal. The five flavors are sour, sweet, pungent, bitter and salty.

3.   Organic (Non-GMO) freshly prepared soy products are eaten nearly every day.

4.   An old Chinese Proverb says, “He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician.”
Food Temperatures
Since our goal here is to turn down the thermostat, let’s start the discussion with “cold” foods — or foods that cool us off. This is the same principle applied to eating watermelon on a hot summer day. Asian cultures use food temperatures to balance the body’s needs.

Cold herbs and foods simply cool you off. But the principal is best practiced in combination. Mixing cold foods and warm foods is best. Too much cold food inhibits digestion and may lead to diarrhea. A few of the best cold foods are: cucumber, diakon radish, mung bean, dandelion greens, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, celery, carrots and romaine lettuce. Eat a least two servings of these a day for your internal air conditioner to kick into action. Cold fruits include lemon, cantaloupe, grapefruit, mulberry, apples, pears, watermelon, apricots and persimmons.

 

Five Flavors
Incorporating the five flavors into your meals may be a new concept but is not all that difficult. There are several good books on this subject. One of my favorites is The Tao of Nutrition by Ni and McNease. Bitter foods will help the most for those suffering with menopause symptoms. They operate as an internal air conditioner, because bitter foods disperse heat. Examples of bitter foods include kale, green tea, watercress, turnips, asparagus and tangerine peel. Tangerine peel is used in Chinese herbal medicine and in TCM food therapy. Adding tangerine peel to meat or vegetables helps by promoting the circulation of stomach Qi, (energy) thereby improving digestion. Its bitter and acrid flavor not only helps digestion but relieves indigestion. Tangerine peel strengthens the stomach and works like a carminative to clear excess mucus. (More herbs for menopause here.)

 

Soy Foods
One interesting cultural advantage for menopausal women in Asia may be the amount of soy or tofu eaten daily. Soy is full of protein, rich in vitamins and enzymes. It’s an isoflavone, a class of phytoestrogen (plant derived compounds) with estrogenic activity.11 Soy has been part of the Asian diet for thousands of years. Unprocessed tofu is made fresh and sold in nearly every market. Soy tofu is eaten in small amounts daily from the time children are very young to the end of their lives.

But, the key here is the soy and tofu they eat is made from “unprocessed and non-gmo” soy beans. Sadly, this is increasingly difficult to find in American stores and nearly all American soy beans are derived from genetically modified organisms (GMO). Not a healthy choice to start with and unfortunately most of our tofu is manufactured through a highly refined process. For this reason, I would not consider soy tofu a healthy food in the U.S. right now.

Refined food products almost always lose their nutritional value after being heated to extreme temperatures. This process kills all of the nutrients and all of the important enzymes which the body needs to digest them. As a result, eating processed American soy tofu can give you terrible gas, bloating and indigestion and even worse, it’s becoming a common allergen. A small serving of soy a couple of times a week won’t harm you, but I recommend eating only fermented and non-GMO soy. Products such as miso, sprouted tofu, soy yogurt and tempeh are my first choice. A little organic soy sauce is also ok . If you can be certain your tofu is organic and unprocessed I would consider it a healthy choice.

 

Changing the way you look at food according to temperature and taste takes some time. Maybe this is a new concept for you and maybe you’ve never seen some of the foods listed above. Although you may not choose to eat everything on this list, you can certainly eat some.

 

Tapping into your body’s internal thermostat doesn’t work exactly likethe thermostat on your wall. So, be patient. Be consistent with dietary changes and enjoy the food you eat. Find some recipes you like and bring variety to your diet every day. Incorporate the five flavors of salty, bitter, sour, pungent and sweet into your lifestyle. Chinese medicine uses food therapy full of phytochemicals, vitamins and nutrients to restore vibrant health and balance to the entire person. This therapy has been adopted for thousands of years without any side effects.

What part of your diet will you change to help your menopause symptoms?

 

References:

1. Women of UK study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2233879/

2. Lock M. Menopause in Japanese women. Womens Health Iss. 1995;274(16):12-65.

3. Kagawa-Singer M., Kim S., Wu K., Adler S.R., Kawanishi Y., Wongvipat N. Comparison of the menopause and midlife transition between Japanese American and European American women. Med Anthropol Q. 2002;16(1):64-91.

4. Haines C.J., Rong L., Chung T.K.H., Leung D.H.Y. The perception of the menopause and the climacteric among women in Hong-Kong and Southern China. Prev Med. 1995;24(3):245-248. [PubMed]

5. Lam P.M., Leung T.N., Haines C., Chung T.K.H. Climacteric symptoms and knowledge about hormone replacement therapy among Hong Kong Chinese women aged 40-60 years. Maturitas. 2003;45(2):99-107. [PubMed]

6. Chen Y.L.D., Voda A.M., Mansfield P.K. Chinese midlife women’s perceptions and attitudes about menopause. Menopause. 1998;5(1):28-34. [PubMed]

7. Tsao L.I., Chang W.Y., Hung L.L., Chang S.H., Chou P.C. Perimenopausal knowledge of mid-life women in northern Taiwan. J Clin Nurs. 2004;13(5):627-635. [PubMed]
8. Ismael N.N. A study on the menopause in Malaysia. Maturitas. 1994;19(3):205-209. [PubMed]

9. Chim H., Tan B.H.I., Ang C.C., Chew E.M.D., Chong Y.S., Saw S.M. The prevalence of menopausal symptoms in a community in Singapore. Maturitas. 2002;41(4):275-282. [PubMed]

10. Acupuncture for Menopause hot flashes and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20060667

11. Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/soyiso/

Pfizer Owes $58 Million to Women With Breast Cancer

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Breast Cancer awareness is an important part of breast cancer prevention“Wyeth refused to accept responsibility for what it did to these brave women,”  Zoe Littlepage,  a lawyer for Rowatt, Scofield and Forrester, said in an e-mailed statement. “Wyeth can’t hide any more. These women will finally see justice.”

The worlds largest drugmaker, Pfizer, has been denied an appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court for it’s drugs Premarin and Provera, both still on the market.   The Nevada Supreme Court  concluded jurors properly held Pfizer’s Wyeth responsible for hiding the breast-cancer risks of Premarin and Prempro in 2007.

Pfizer has been punished for creating an atmosphere of false promises and hiding the evidence that showed significant risks factors for breast cancer for women taking Premarin and Provera.

Annual sales of Wyeth’s Hormone Replacement Therapy for menopause symptoms exceeded $2 billion before a 2002 study, sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, suggested that women using the medicines had a 24 percent higher risk of breast cancer.

Until 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Pfizer’s Pharmacia & Upjohn unit. Wyeth then combined the two hormones in Prempro. The drugs are still on the market.

If you are taking these drugs consider a natural herbal alternative to HRT, Hormone Replacement Therapy that has withstood the test of time.

Lower Your Blood Pressure With Acupuncture

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By: John McKenzie

By his own account, Dr. Randal Zusman, Director of blood-pressure medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, is a pill pusher. "I am very aggressive in the treatment of high blood pressure using drugs, using pills," he says.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Middle-aged Americans face a staggering 90 percent chance of developing the condition, according to a new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

But the drugs used to treat it must be taken daily, usually for a lifetime. And they may have side effects, such as fatigue, depression and dizziness.

So Zusman is looking for alternatives for relieving hypertension. He thinks he may have found one in the ancient Chinese technique of acupuncture.

"There is an extensive literature from Asian and Russian communities that acupuncture does indeed lower blood pressure," he says.

American researchers have already shown that special acupuncture needles, when gently inserted into specific points on the skin, can stimulate nerves that reach up into the brain and to cells in the brain that control blood pressure.

"There's evidence from our laboratory and many other laboratories to suggest that the cells quiet down after acupuncture," says Dr. John Longhurst professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine.

When those cells "quiet down," or become less active, blood vessels relax.

Clinical Trials Continue

Now, in the most rigorous study of its kind, patients with high blood pressure — 140 (systolic) over 90 (diastolic) or higher — are being given a series of 12 acupuncture treatments.

The study is not yet complete, but Zusman is already enthusiastic.

"A substantial number of our patients have responded with significant reductions in blood pressure," he says.

Patients like Rip Reeves are also impressed: "In my late 30s, I was probably 145/95; with medication, I got it down to 130/80. And since I've been on acupuncture and not taking medication, I've been averaging 125/75."

Perhaps most amazing, acupuncture's benefit can be long lasting. Some patients who received the acupuncture treatment nine months ago still have normal blood pressure.

"The implication," says Zusman, "is that 12 acupuncture treatments over a six-week period will produce a cure."

In this case, the doctors defined "cure" as maintaining normal blood pressure for one year without medication. And that, for some patients, may now be within their reach.

Is Your Menopause a Hormonal Nightmare?

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Ever heard of bed time aerobics? It’s a night class nobody would purposely sign up for, but you just may have experienced it.

It goes something like this.  “I fall asleep comfortably wrapped in my comforter in my flannel PJ’s when it’s cold.  After a few hours I shed the top comforter layer.  Then I’m down to the sheet which eventually gets soaked in sweat.  At this point the chills set in and I’m back to pulling up the comforter, shedding the PJ’s for a dry cotton t-shirt and then the process starts again.”

If you are in the peri-menopausal or menopause years you know it as “night sweats”.

There is also the day time version which most women know as “hot flashes”.  Western medicine says this is all caused by the hypothalamus that gets confused by fluctuating estrogen levels and sends the message for blood vessels to dilate to heat you up, and then release sweat to cool you down.

Night sweats can go on for years and interrupted sleep can lead to a host of other health problems.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), night sweats and hot flashes are due to an imbalance in the yin and yang energies in the body. As we age, everyone, males and females become deficient in both yin and yang.  Night time is yin time, and when a person is yin deficient, the symptoms tend to manifest at the height of yin (night) time.  Night sweats are considered very debilitating in Chinese medicine because sweat is considered a fluid of the heart. Therefore, sweating at night while sleeping (not exercising) can also be accompanied by heart palpitations, insomnia, fatigue and paleness,

The appropriate treatment is to boost the yin and the yang with foods and Chinese herbs. 

Asian women experience much fewer hot flashes and night sweats and very few of them are ever put on hormone replacement therapy.  Interestingly, only about 10% of Asian women experience noticeable menopausal symptoms, compared with 75% of the women in the United States.

The use of food as medicine is a basic idea in Asian culture, and a fundamental principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Herbs are commonly used in Asian cooking to help supplement the yin energy as people age.  Chinese herbs are made into teas and commonly served as a daily drink to supplement health concerns  often before symptoms get seriously out of control.  This early “preventative” approach helps many women avoid the dreaded night time aerobics we commonly see in the U.S. population.  Our Menopause Relief Herb Pac will boost both your yin and yang energy to reset your body’s natural thermostat and eliminate the night sweats and hot flashes in just a few short weeks, guaranteed.

Diabetes Research Uses Chinese Herbs Effectively

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Chinese herbs for diabetesIn a recent study published in the Feb. 2011 World Journal of Gastroenterology, a combination of Chinese herbs known Yi Qi Zeng Ming Tang, (YQZMT) has been found effective for insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic rats. The Chinese herbs in the formula were found to ameliorate insulin resistance and did not cause an increase in body weight. This may make a suitable adjunct therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in humans.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a long history in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In comparison to Western medicine, the use of traditional Chinese medicine and botanicals has less side-effects and proven efficacy. According to the Cochrane Library, an international organization that evaluates medical research, when they examined 16 clinical trials of 15 different Chinese herbal medicines, they found that the herbs generally helped lower blood sugar levels in people with “pre-diabetes” that can progress to type 2 diabetes.

Yi Qi Zeng Min Tang (YQZMT) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula whose chief herb is  Radix Astragali or Astragalus (Huang qi) and has been shown to alleviate glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.[1]

When Astragalus has been used in conjunction with other herbs, it proves more valuable for glucose homeostasis for diabetics and pre-diabeties.

The 10 Chinese herbs in the formula are: Radix Astragali, (Huang Qi)  mung bean seed,  Perillae (zi su ye) , Phellodendri (Huang Bai), Pollen Typhae (Pu Huang), Serissa foetida, Cinnamomi (gui zhi), Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata (fu pian, fu zi), Coptis (huang lian) , and Rhizoma Alismatis (ze xie).

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is dramatically increasing throughout the world. The pathogenesis of the disease involves abnormalities in glucose and lipid metabolism, including inadequate insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells and insulin resistance. The results from this study  showed the diabetic rats had reduced serum glucose levels, lower body weight and lipid levels than the control group of  rats who were not given the YQZMT formula. The results suggests this TCM herbal formula can produce marked improvement and  is a viable treatment for diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Related posts:

1.        Astragalus – The Ultimate Immune Booster

2.     Herbal Sugar Options You Should Know

3.   New Diabetes Drug From A Chinese Herb

See World Journal of Gastroenterology study here:   http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v17/i8/987.htm

1. Hoo RL, Wong JY, Qiao C, Xu A, Xu H, Lam KS. The effective fraction isolated from Radix Astragali alleviates glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia in db/db diabetic mice through its anti-inflammatory activity. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2010;7:67.[PubMed]