Rheumatoid Arthritis Responds Well To This Herb

Posted by Cathy on March 7, 2011 with 1 Comment

If your suffering with Rheumatoid Arthritis or know someone who is, this should interest you.

A study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in August 2009 on a Chinese herb used for rheumatoid arthritis, (RA). This study found that after six months of taking this herbal remedy more patients in the Chinese herb group had improved, than the group taking a sulfasalazine.

The Chinese herb used in this study was a single herb known as Lei Gong Teng or Thunder God Vine. Herbal remedies such lei gong teng or in latin Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) have been used and documented for treating inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. It’s understandable that people with RA are looking to treat their disease with herbal remedies such as Chinese Medicine and Chinese herbs because Western medicine has no cure for RA, only symptomatic relief with many side effects to the medications.

The only limitation to this study was it’s duration. The studies time frame was too short to show whether lei gong teng helped to prevent joint destruction.

Reference

http://www.annals.org/content/151/4/I-36.full

Chinese Medicine and Insomnia Symptoms

Posted by Cathy on February 27, 2011

Insomnia, whether for a prolonged time or a short duration is a dreaded cycle that can drive us to the brink of insanity. There nothing worse than being so tired all day long that we just can’t think straight. When you finally hit the pillow you sleep only a few hours and can’t get back to sleep. People cope with insomnia in different ways, some start their day at 4 AM because “there is just no sense in staying in bed” others rely on prescription drugs. Regardless of how you decide to cope with the lack of sleep here’s a quick look at insomnia from the Chinese medicine perceptive. This little insight or different perspective, may help you change whatever is going on in your life that’s affecting your sleep patterns

Chinese Medicine, practiced continuously now for over 2000 years, categorizes insomnia into 4 main groups.

1. Insomnia due to over-thinking or disharmony between work and rest. When it’s time to sleep your mind should not be thinking of all the days plans, all that worries you or what needs to be done tomorrow. Your mind should simply not be talking to you. Your mind should be active during daytime hours and quiet at night. There are many techniques in Chinese medicine to help you quiet your mind such as Tai Qi, meditation, exercise and other stress reducers. A proper discussion of these techniques will be addressed in another article. Herbal medicines can help stop these over thinking habits and help quiet your mind without being addictive.

2. Insomnia due to sickness or advancing age. When we are extremely weak and/or recovering from an illness it is not uncommon to have sleeping difficulties. During this time both qi and blood are deficient which nourish our heart, kidney and spleen channels of Chinese medicine. Rebuild and replenish yourself with a proper diet and supplements and this pattern will subside.

3. Insomnia due to panic, anger and excessive worry will gradually lead to chronic insomnia. This pattern is especially worrisome because of it’s chronic, (ongoing) nature. Emotions that are buried and not addressed during the daytime hours may in a sense, haunt us at night. These emotions cause a deficiency of heart qi and transform and flare up disturbing the mind at night. Dealing with emotional problems during waking hours will prevent this type of insomnia.

4. Insomnia due to spicy, fatty, raw and even cold food late at night. This type of insomnia is the easiest to change. Simply stop eating 3-4 hours before going to bed. Over eating from a Chinese Medicine perspective leads to phlegm and heat and both interfere with restful sleep. The body cannot optimize digestion late at night. Your body needs time to process the foods eaten during the day and clean itself out.

These four patterns cover the gamut of sleeping problems in Chinese medicine. Some people suffer from just one pattern, (typically # 1) others suffer from a combination of them. Once you identify your pattern you can take steps in your life to make the necessary changes to give your body and your mind the rest it needs.

Herbal Sugar Options – Choices You Should Know About

Posted by Cathy on February 9, 2011 with 1 Comment

Have you seen the TV ad on sugar? It says the body can’t tell the difference between cane sugar and corn sugar. Well if you were ever going to trust a TV commercial, I would not choose this one.

Want to know what’s safe and what’s dangerous in the sweetener world? Looking for a natural alternative to satisfy your sweet tooth?

High Fructose corn syrup (HRCS) is made by processing some of its glucose into fructose to produce a desired level of sweetness. But because of its processing, some brands can contain mercury a known neurotoxin. What’s worse, is studies show it suppresses the “full sensation” causing people to over eat. Studies in rats proved this theory.

Fructose comes from the sugar in fruits. .. but it also contains glucose and fiber and other nutrients.

Today, some 70% of packaged foods contain sugar, most of it the HFCS type. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, sugar and simple carbohydrates like refined grains and HFCS may increase your risk for heart disease and stroke through fat accumulation, metabolic syndrome, obesity, premature aging, and type 2 diabetes. This is nothing new. We’ve all heard that sugar is bad for us.

Here are some better natural choices when it comes to satisfying that sweet taste you love.

Stevia is a South American herb that is estimated to be some 150 to 400 times sweeter than sugar. Coca-Cola is even using it for a few of their low calorie drinks now. We added a little to our Menopause Relief after 100% of our taste testing women loved it with stevia. Sometimes Chinese herbs can be just a little off, but with stevia everybody can drink and enjoy Menopause Relief Herb Pack.

Xylitol and Erythritol: They look like sugar and taste like cane sugar, though some people find that xylitol has a laxative effect. Xylitol was originally isolated from birch sap. Erythritol occurs naturally in fruits and fermented foods.

Inulin: Isolated from Jerusalem artichoke, it is available as a powder or as artichoke syrup. Inulin is a long-chain polysaccharide that is mostly too long a sugar to absorb into the blood stream.

Lo Han Guo: Made from a Chinese herb. It’s a fantastic non-glycemic sweetener It is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat cough and laryngitis and is a common tea in parts of Asia. Because it can be difficult to find and it’s great for my diabetic patients.

Honey (raw, organic) is always the natural sweetener of choice. Look for wild honey because it is lower in free fructose and higher in trace mineral content, especially the richer dark varieties.

Maple syrup: Love it, always have. As a kid I worked harvesting and cooking the sap. It’s the only sustainably-harvested, large-scale, forest sweetener in the world. Maple is one of the richest source of minerals found in any sweetener. Look for organic maple syrup and maple crystals as an ingredient. YUM

Unsulfured, organic sugarcane molasses: It’s rich in vitamins and minerals and has been purported (like fresh sugar cane) to have “anti-stiffness factors” that break down detrimental calcification.

Coconut palm sugar: Now available as a sweetener. It is usually heat-processed, so try to find raw coconut palm sugar.

Sexy New Natural Products like Sleep Aids through Science

Posted by Cathy on January 25, 2011

We can create better nutrition through science, right? We can isolate green tea extract and mix it into our processed cereal to create a heart healthy product, right? We can remove the curcuminoids from curcumin (which originates in herbs like turmeric) and add it to a chocolate bar to help reduce cholesterol, right? Through chemistry we can isolate every health polysaccarides, saponin, polyphenol and trace mineral and put them into a drink, a food bar or any other new product formulation and call it a "natural product", right?

Technically speaking the answers to the above questions are yes. But are we missing the forest from the trees. We have no long term historical use that eating chemically extracted and combined super foods is actually good for the human body.

Scientists/product developers are continually trying to improve upon nature for new natural product formulations for sleep, energy, hot flashes, well being, or … you fill in the blank. But maybe, just maybe, our bodies don't know how to handle this new nutrition. Does anybody stop and consider this is the first time in the history of man's diet that people are eating this way?

Do our genetics change overnight to process these nutritional supplements which we've never ingested before?

What's lost in the process is the human bodies response to this myriad of natural chemical components that maybe, just maybe were never meant to be together in the first place. Maybe a blueberry was never meant to cross paths with a chemically created biotin because the chemical components would never be found together in nature.

What I love about Chinese herbal medicine natural supplements is the lack of artificially created chemicals. Chinese herbs combined together with other Chinese herbs, have already passed the test of mans digestive system. The record books on Traditional Chinese herbal medicine far exceeds anything Guiness Books can duplicate, Chinese herbs are proven effective sleep aids, energy boosters, immune enhancers, the list goes on. They don't need science to extract their individual active components and marry them off to a vitamin supplement or other extracted ingredient. They have already been proven effective, no need for science to tell us which individual active ingredient works best with another. Natural ingredients work best synergistically together as whole foods for the whole body.

Before the microscope and before chemistry could explain which flavonol worked best with which gingerol, Chinese herbal medicine perfected the marriage of combining whole roots, barks, fruits, seeds etc. through thousands of years of use. They learned which plants worked best with each other. Not as a single ingredient extract, because nature never intended for us to use just one small chemical in the apple. Nature provides us the whole apple to eat and enjoy as a whole. When we piece meal the phyto-nutrients from the juice or the skin, we no longer have what nature intended. How can our bodies possibly know what to do with a single chemical when it's spent millions of years eating it whole.

The message here is easy, when your looking for a natural sleep aid, energy drink or hot flash natural treatment, look for ALL natural ingredients that contain plant names.. not chemical names.

What’s Eating You? Rantings on Diets and Chinese Herbs

Posted by Cathy on January 23, 2011 with 2 Comments

Three weeks into the new year and you've got it figured out right? I'm talking about your weight loss diet plan of course!!

Judging by the calls and emails, lots of folks are looking for that proverbial Chinese herb or herbal remedy that will help them lose weight. No matter how many millions of weight lose web sites and diet plans you read, this simple fact remains.

What's eating you, is much more important, than what you're eating.

Since your body is a mirror of all your thoughts, your diet starts in your head. When you feed your body the wisdom of self love and self respect, you will never eat anything that doesn't match that intention. Simple as that. What I find ironic is that most diet /meal plan companies from Weight Watchers, to Jenny Craig to Nutrisystem, spend so much time focusing on what you eat, they often miss out on focusing on what's eating you? How much food do you consume mindlessly? All the contestants on the Biggest Loser when asked why they gained so much weight, admit to unconsciously eating their way to their large size.

For the Record: Healthy weight starts in your head. We can help you with Chinese herbs which can help clear out the poop chute. ( I know a very cute 8 year old who laughs hysterically at this phrase.) They won't help suppress your appetite, although drinking herbal tea may help fill you up. Chinese herbs are commonly used for both constipation and diarrhea. If either is a problem, call or email us for a phone consultation.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctors commonly use the ancient formula called "Run Chang Wan" (Moisten Intestines Pill.) Our version includes Huo Ma Ren (marijuana seeds), rehmannia, (shu di huang) and unprocessed Chinese rhubarb root (da huang) and a few other herbs. This herbal remedy for constipation maximizes laxative properties while still being safe and mild. Call us for more information.

Bamboo’s Anti-Oxidants – Herbal Medicine in Asia

Posted by Cathy on January 17, 2011

I just finished reading the most interesting article called “Bamboo as Medicine” By Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon. Asia has over 300 species of bamboo (Also known as Zhu Ru) and many different parts of the plants are used in Chinese Medicine.

The leaves are used for fevers, the inside whitish-greenish middle is used for convulsions and vomiting. Dried sap from the joints of bamboo are used for fevers and coughs with phlegm and even epilepsy. The stem of small bamboo are used in Japan for urinary retention and blood in the urine. Bamboo leaves can also be made into a beer. (I’m not sure that’s medicinal or not.) Most importantly bamboo contains known antioxidants.

This article has excellent comparisons and characteristics on functions of different bamboo species, something I never learned in school.

There are several species which are specifically for phlegm misting the brain, a term we generally use when referring to someone who would be diagnosed in Allopathic terms as delusional or schizophrenic. In Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine bamboo has many uses including as an aphrodisiac. Since there’s no shortage of bamboo in the world and chemical constituents in bamboo are known antioxidants, seems like a win-win situation to use bamboo as medicine. One more bamboo fun fact. In ancient China, bamboo was used for writing tablets. A wonderful Chinese teacher I had in my Masters program for Oriental Medicine, when faced with a difficult student question on conflicting material, he would always answer with “Bamboo Problem” which always got a laugh. The meaning was, some very old bamboo reeds survived with ancient text about Chinese Medicine but some disintegrated and written words were lost forever. So bamboo as medicine is great but there’s a reason we don’t still use bamboo for writing tablets.

For more information you can check out: http://www.itmonline.org/arts/bamboo.htm

Do Raw Foodies Take Chinese Herbs?

Posted by Cathy on January 13, 2011

If you are eating a raw food diet, should you be drinking cooked Chinese herbs? This question seems to come up more often as more people are becoming raw foodies?

My answer is always the same, yes, you should use cooked herbs rather than raw. (All our products have been cooked, or extracted.)

Here's why.

Many of the herbs used in Traditional Chinese medicine are roots which tend to be very fibrous. Humans don't necessarily have the enzymes to break down all this fiber. When the herbs are cooked, the medicinal value can be extracted from them and easily absorbed without eating all the fibrous materials.

Even though plants do have a enzymes, they are preserved when cooked at a low temperature. One fairly common enzyme in plants called protease, it often begins a chain of reactions for breaking down proteins.
The best known plant protease is papain, from the latex of the papaya tree, Carica papaya, is used commercially in the manufacture of meat tenderizers. I thought this was a fun fact… maybe not.

Back to our topic. More importantly, the traditional method of using Chinese herbs for thousands of years is through water based extraction. This encompasses boiling the herbs in a purified water for about an hour and then straining and drinking. Recent studies show water based extraction preserves the herbal chemical constituents but it is also provides the body with the fastest method of bio-availability for the active constituents.

New technologies in herbal processing allow for capture of essential oils which tend to evaporate fairly quickly when cooking on the stove top. Which is why your kitchen smells like mint in the first 5 minutes of boiling mint leaves. Using sophisticated equipment preserves all the active ingredients by re-introducing the captured essential oils after cooking is completed. Our short video explains it all. Take a look here, it's only 3 minutes.

Great to be a raw foodie, but when it comes to herbs you're better off with a cooked product.

Breast Cancer Awareness is All Year Long – NY Times Says Prevention Begins With Diet

Posted by Cathy on January 5, 2011

As one of the most popular posts of 2011, we feel the need to emphasize this topic and are therefore re-visiting this subject.

Breast Cancer awareness should not be limited to the month of October. Pink ribbons are the constant reminder that breast cancer affects one in every eight woman at sometime during their life. This is a horribly high statistic and it’s clear from research done by BreastCancerFund.org that the challenges woman face to stay healthy are many.

Our food, water and lifestyles are fraught with chemicals and this bombardment wreaks havoc on our immune and endocrine systems. The overload of estrogen mimicking chemicals in our modern world causes estrogen dominance which perpetuates into hormone imbalances and eventually malignant cells.

This article, written by a guest blogger, originated in the NY Times Science section, and shows that living a healthy life style can actually decrease your cancer risk. Chinese Herbs have been used for decades to help with diet, digestion and weight loss. If you struggle with maintaining a normal body weight, I highly recommend digestive enzymes and Chinese herbs to your daily routine for proper digestion and restful sleep. Sleep rejuvenates your body and provides the vital energy that you may otherwise try to compensate for with extra food. (See this article on how restorative sleep can improve weight loss)

by Kath Bartlett MS. L.Ac. – Ashville, NC
Obesity dramatically increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by 50-100%, the risk increasing “the older the woman gets and the longer she remains obese.” (1) The reason being is that the abdominal fat cells convert steroid (fat soluble) hormones to estrogen. In the breasts, the additional estrogen created binds to the breast cells, promoting “cell division and potentially tumor growth.” (2) Cancer cells are abnormal cell growth: the additional cell division cause the tumor growth. Adipose tissue (fat) contains an enzyme, aromatase, that converts steroid hormones into estrogen. After menopause, the ovaries and pituitary gland are no longer signaling for estrogen production through the monthly menstrual cycle. To compensate, the amount of aromatase in the adipose tissue increases to step up estrogen production. Obese women have higher levels of estrogen production taking place in the body fat of the hips and stomach, which increases during menopause, which raises the risk of tumors developing in the breast.

“Glucose [blood sugar] is the preferred substrate for cancer cells. . . [In a study] mice injected with aggressive mammary [breast] tumors were placed on 3 diets. After 70 days 95% of the mice on the low-sugar diet were alive. Of the mice on the moderate-sugar diet 67% were alive. And only 33% on a high-sugar diet were alive. Also ‘moderate’ alcohol consumption is associated with elevation in the risk for breast cancer from 50-100%.” (3)

Phytoestrogens have a chemical structure similar to estrogen. They bind to the receptor sites on the breasts, preventing the body’s estrogen from binding and causing tumor cell growth. The phytoestrogens that bind to the breast cell estrogen receptor sites have a weaker influence on breast cell production, so that it is less likely that tumors will form. Common food sources of phytoestrogens include: soy (tofu, tempeh, miso), flax and raw pumpkin seeds, clover and mung bean sprouts. Avoid powdered soy concentrate, these have caused some to develop Hashimoto’s thyroid disease. (4)

Studies have shown that phytoestrogens increase the effectiveness of breast cancer treatments. Borage oil has shown to decrease the growth of breast cancer cells. (5)

Eating an organic diet, and limiting exposure to chemicals, including household cleaners, detergents, pesticides, food packaging (plastics leach into foods, especially when warm foods are put into plastic containers) is also important to reduce cancer risk. Chemicals and pesticides can change the DNA of cells, causing them to mutate into cancer cells. Studies have shown higher levels of pesticides and pollutants in fat and blood of women with breast cancer than in healthy women.

1-6. Lahans, T. Integrating Conventional and Chinese Medicine in Cancer Care. Elsevier 2007; 92-102.

This Year I Will Finally (dot, dot, dot)

Posted by Cathy on January 4, 2011

Hopefully you've made some New Years resolutions and hopefully you can keep them.

One resolution I hear often from patients is "I would like to stop taking so many OTC (over the counter) pain killers." When I inquire further, I often learn the Tylenol, Advil, or generic ibuprofen or acetaminophen are used for muscle aches, PMS and menstrual cramps and some use the PM versions of these OTC pain relievers as a sleep aid. I'm always surprised people use these for sleep aids because their is no evidence that the PM versions of these pills have any active ingredients that will help you sleep.

If you are taking these pain killers for menstrual cramps you should check out our PMS Relief Herb Pac, and if you are taking over-the counter pain relievers for muscle aches I recommend switching to a systemic enzyme supplement.

If you are taking acetaminophen, whether it be a generic or Tylenol, make sure you heed the BLACK BOX Warning on the box label. The FDA requires the manufacturers to include this warning because of the number of life threatening incidences resulting in liver failure and death. 650 mg is the maximum recommended dosage per day, this is two pills at 325 mg. More than that and you risk serious liver damage. Please don't buy the 1000 quantity bottles at Costco or Wallmart, simply because 1000 of any pain reliever is just too many.

If you drink on the same day you're taking acetaminophen, you increase your risk for acute (sudden onset) liver failure. Don't be one of the thousands that are rushed to the emergency room each year as a result of acetaminophen overdosing. Herbs are a fantastic alternative to OTC pain relievers. Our herbal sleep aid is a much safer and more effective solution.

Chinese Herbs and Self Breast Massage for Breast Health

Posted by Cathy on December 30, 2010

Breast tissue is made up of fat cells which include mammary glands, ducts, lobes and adjacent lymph ducts and nodes. Keeping this tissue just as healthy as any other body part and be done easily with self massage and herbs to move the flow of qi, or energy in this tissue.

Many well known herbs such a ginseng and astragulus are beneficial at moving qi, but did you know there are also some very good herbs which can specifically help with benign breast pain? Many breast lumps are small and movable and may be more pronounced during menstruation as a result of fluctuations in hormones. Traditional Chinese medicine treats these as stagnant qi, or stagnant energy that has been blocked. There is a terrific protocol for self breast massage at EssentiallyPink.com. Do this massage at least once a week or as needed when you have minor pain in the surrounding lymph nodes in the armpit and breast area. This is a free and easy way to promote self breast health. Just as brushing and flossing becomes routine so should self breast massage.

In addition to massaging the breast tissue, combination of Chinese herbs has been used successfully throughout Asia for hundreds of years for breast problems. Herbal formulas can help relieve the stagnation and stress that may accumulate in the chest. Herbs such as tangerine peel, bupleurum, white peony and vaccaria seeds create a synergy of actions that help move the stagnate Qi in the chest. Vaccaria seeds are especially good at helping invigorate the blood and reduce pain and swellings in the breasts. These seeds alone are also very good at promoting lactation, but only for women who are already lactating. Creating breast health should be a priority in every women’s life. It’s time for a shift from a fear based breast cancer model to one of self love and breast health. Being proactive is up to you.

Boost Your Immune System with This Herb, Dr. Weil Says

Posted by Cathy on December 15, 2010 with 1 Comment

Astragalus root, also known as Huang Qi or astragulus membranaceous has been used for over 2000 years to keep people healthy.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine today we may call it “supplementing your Qi”, either way it’s boosting your immune system to fight off stress and everyday germs. Add it to boiling water for some tea and you will have more energy and increase your natural immunities. Dr. Andrew Weil calls it one of the five supplements he recommends for a healthy immune system. This herb is also known as an adaptogen.

Astragalus is usually used in combination with other herbs in Chinese herbal medicine. iI is commonly used to supplement spleen/pancreas and stomach energy. It is both safe and inexpensive and is commonly found in Asian cooking. You may even want to add it to homemade chicken soup for a kick ass immune busting soup.

If you prefer the more convenient pre-cooked astragalus you can find them here. Adding a little bit of granules to warm water and drink as a tea or add it to your favorite shake or juicing recipe. Granules are the preferred method throughout Asia simply because they won’t attract bugs like most raw hers do after sitting in your cabinet for a long time and the convenience can’t be beat. Our Astragalus granules are the highest grade available and although we cannot verify certified organic, they are always thoroughly tested for contaminants and as close to organic as is possible.

Quit the Hormones, The Best Herbal Remedy For Night Sweats

Posted by Cathy on December 1, 2010 with 1 Comment

Did you decided to quit the hormones but still need to find some sanity? The best herbal remedy for night sweats and hot flashes is here. When it comes to night sweats as a result of menopause or perimenopause then the best remedy is one that helps reduce the internal excess heat being produced. During this changing environment of female hormones levels, night sweats although common, are not at all pretty. I’ve known many women who actually soak through several pj’s and spend the night throwing the covers on and off.

One of the best herbal remedies for menopausal night sweats is a combination of Chinese herbs called Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan, also known as Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia formula. These herbs working together can relieve many of the annoying and uncomfortable symptoms that accompany hormonal changes including anxiety, depression, headaches and vaginal dryness. This formula has been used for generations of women who are looking for a natural and safe alternative. Pac Herbs has made this same formula with a few extra herbs to increase it’s action and it’s now available as a tea. See it here.

Always be diligent when buying a menopause herbal supplement because much of what is sold often doesn’t even meet the labeled ingredient quantity.

Tag: Herbal Medicine

Sign up here for your Free Shipping Code