Are Herb Supplements Still Bio-Active If They Have Fillers?

Posted by Cathy on

Most plants and herbs are naturally “Bio-Active” meaning they are digestible by humans and our gut (our large and small intestines). Recognizing the chemicals nutrients from plants is not as easy for your body today because often we eat and swallow herbal supplements with tons of “non-bio-active” fillers.

Just like your eyes understand these words because you have been trained in English language, your intestines can decode the language of plant chemicals that come through our guts. But when man-made chemicals arrive, i.e. fillers in herbal supplements such as magnesium stearate, a man-made chemical, then bio-activity slows to a crawl. Your body is not good a deciphering these new man-made chemicals that is has never seen before. It’s like trying to read English without ever learning the alphabet. You simply have no idea what they letters mean.

On the contrary, when herbs and plants are ingested,the curative are more powerful because all the plant chemical constituents become more BIO-AVAILABLE to our human genome. Our bodies, for thousands of years have ingested these chemicals and our bodies can decipher plant chemical make-up.

How do we know this? The research is overwhelming. Chemical pictures via computer programs using high performance liquid chromotography reveal marker chemicals in various herbs. These chemicals, for example, astraglaside #4 in Astragalus (huang qi) is higher in concentration in after boiling astragalus (huang qi) in a pot of hot water for 30 minutes than when testing the raw root material.

If we take it a step further and we cook the herbs in hot water boiling process and start to break down the fibrous plant material the plants will release even more chemical constituents with curative powers. The ancient Chinese knew this and therefore always boiled their herbs and drank the water as a tea, rather than eating the roots or leaves raw.

This tradition survives today. Boil your herbs and enjoy freshly released bio-active compounds and bio-availability of a matrix of healing herbal compounds. If you don’t have time to boil your own, Pacific Herbs line of herbs in granules have already been cooked and concentrated and have all the bio-active compounds you need to stay healthy. Check out the easiest way to get Bio-Active herbs here.

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

Posted by Cathy on 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.