New Chinese Herb Garden at Bristol University

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It's been 10 years in the making! This  Saturday, July 3,  2010 is the official opening of the Chinese herb garden in at Bristol University in the UK and I wish I could be there.  Apparently, it's  designed to be a teaching garden with over 200 species of  herbs growing.   According to the  gardens curator Nick Wray, "the aim of the garden is to be as healing in design, as it is in content".

The garden will also be used to further research on plants used in Chinese medicine and research plants which are currently under threat in the wild in China. 

Chinese medicine practitioner Tony Harrison donated his well established collection of Chinese herbs to the university in 2000, after it became too large for his own plot in Cotham, Bristol. Part of the gardens purpose is a dedication to teaching traditional Chinese herbal medicine.   "The collection is vital for research, which requires the living plant," said Tony Harrison.  "We will also be introducing students of herbal medicine to plants they have previously only seen as dried specimens." 

Wow,  it's fantastic to hear how Chinese medicine is spreading and everyday more Westerners are being introduced to the benefits of this incredibly ancient medicine.  According to Nick the curator, 80% of the worlds population still depend on plants for their health care.  Amazing, you would never know that by the amount of pills Americans take… but we are the minority. 

If you want to see a short video shot in the garden click here. One more thing to add to my bucket list. 

Natural Alternatives to Birth Control Pills for PMS

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Natural remedies to PMS and period crampsMany young women are looking for a natural alternative to birth control pills for the PMS and cramps they get each month.  Chinese herbs are very effective at controlling and eliminating PMS (premenstrual syndrome).  The birth control pill is an option many women choose because they are not familiar with Chinese herbal medicine.

The approach I take is very different than the way progesterone and estrogen therapy found in the “Pill”.  Chinese Medicine can treat PMS and cramps successfully without artificial hormones.

Chinese Medicine recognizes that the liver is an organ that not just cleans blood but also moves blood.  When the liver is overly taxed by stress, lack of sleep, drugs or accumulation of chemicals (including hormones found in our food supply) the liver energy can become stagnate.   This stagnation effects the breasts, the uterus and eventually all the channels of the body because the liver cannot effectively perform it’s functions.

PMS results because the liver energy and the liver blood are not moving.  Breast tenderness occurs because the liver channel energy runs through the breast area and up to the head which may also result in headaches.  If the liver is given an opportunity to “detoxify” this can help move the liver Qi or energy.

Chinese herbs treat this stagnation with herbs that help move the blood, help normalize hormones and herbs that help reduce the liver Qi stagnation.   By moving the liver energy, the emotional component of PMS such as moodiness and irritability are resolved. This may seem foreign to Americans, but is a common practice of the Chinese.

Chinese herbal formulas for PMS symptoms date back to over 1000 years ago.  This is a remarkable testament to their popularity and to their success. We have many modern day clinical studies that  have been done on Chinese herbs for PMS, click here to read about the largest one conducted on over 3000 women.

Herbal remedies are safe and can provide complete cures for menstrual symptoms.  Symptoms will reduce immediatly and often resolve completely within a few months. A formula used by many women in China is call Jia Wei Xiao Yao San. Today it is found in every drug store in pill form or individual herbal packets throughout Asia.   Many people in China prefer the packets because it’s potency is much stronger than pills.  We don’t yet have these herbs in every drug store in America, but we are sure the American drug stores will catch on soon.  For our favorite PMS Relief product go here.

Dietary Supplements and Chinese Herbs are Still Safe, Access Untouched

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Did you hear the Dis-Honorable Henry Waxman (D, CA) Congressman,   tried in earnest to attach wording to the current finance bill in congress that would have given the  Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expanded powers to restrict access to dietary supplements including herbal supplements and Chinese herbs.   

As Fox News reported it was "The Congressional Equivalent of Isner v. Mahut".

The deliberations were nearly as long as the just completed  Isner v. Mahut Wimbledon tennis match. The match now holds the world record for the longest tennis match in the history.

Waxman also had the powerful support of Congressman Barney Frank (D,MA.) Barney Frank closed the conference committee at 5:39 am Friday morning, June 25th after all day and all night deliberations.  Millions of Americans depend on supplements and this was a great win for Alternative Medicine and Chinese herbs. The bill will now be submitted to the House and Senate without language that would have limited access to supplements.  For now anyway, dietary supplements are still available and herbs will still be on the store shelves. 

Europe however, is battling for it's herbs and supplements to remain free, we shall see what the outcome will be across the pond in the very near future.

Don’t Worry, We have a Pill For That! Menstrual Cramps, Menopause, You Name It!

Posted by Cathy on with 3 Comments

Have we become a nation of pill pushers?

It's a fact, in 2009, doctors wrote more prescription than the total number of people in the U.S.  When did we become so dependent on prescription drugs?  If your anxious, we have a pill for that.  If you need a sleep aid, we have a pill for that.  If your depressed, fatigued, can't concentrate, have hot flashes, think your having a panic attack or just having menstrual cramps, we have a pill for that too.

Why do people believe all the answers arrive in a pill?  Is it because the pharmaceutical industry spent 4.5 BILLION dollars on advertising and marketing  in 2009 alone? That's more than the entire economies of many countries.  With that much money, I guess they can convince people there is a pill for just about everything. High school kids are now more likely now to pop some prescription drugs than to smoke pot.  In fact, it's nothing new for high school students to buy and sell just about any prescription medicine.  Med's to improve your attention span seem to be the most commonly sold.  It's no wonder, the stress of making grades and getting into the right college weighs heavy on them and the drug companies have told them "we even have a pill for that".  Every year a new malady and every year a new pill for "that".

Before there was a pill for "that", there were herbs for "that".  Every action found in a pill was found in plants and herbs first. Revisit history to see that herbs have been used medicinally since the beginning of time.  The difference between the pill form and the natural herb is the safety record.  Pharmaceuticals pretend each pill they create is safe to take, without any "real" side-effects.  When in fact, these drugs can contain very serious side effects.  

If you need something for "that" visit your local Acupuncturist or natural food store.  You can easily find the answer in a natural drug form. Chinese herbs have the answer for "that",  just let us know what "that"  is and we'll help you with the answer. Leave your comments and thanks for reading.

Help, Caffine Is Not The Answer For Menstrual Cramps?

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mestrual cramp relief I want to scream.. and it’s not because I have PMS.    I just saw an ad at this pharmacy promoting its Menstrual Relief / Menstrual Complete product.   Come on, it’s acetaminophen and caffeine packaged in a box of pills with the name “Menstrual Relief”.  The box says it temporary relieves cramps, bloating, fatigue, backache and headache.

Oh,  and it’s “pharmacists recommended”,  in case you were wondering about that! 

Are you serious, this is the best you can do?

Wake up and smell the caffeine.. this not an answer for menstrual cramps. 

Caffeine has diuretic effects, so it may help a little with water weight gain, but I think they add it to give you a little boost of energy so you have the perception of feeling better.

Acetaminophen is as temporary pain reliever most of us are familiar with.  It’s also the number one cause of liver damage.  UCLA, Univ. of Cal. Los Angeles researchers report on acetaminophen is here.  Take a look.

Here’s the CVS brand list of ingredients on the box:

Active Ingredients (in each Caplet): Acetaminophen (500 mg), Caffeine (60 mg), Pyrilamine Maleate (15 mg). Inactive Ingredients: Cellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Hypromellose, Magnesium Stearate, Polydextrose, Polyethylene Glycol, Silica Gel, Stearic Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Triacetin.

Included in the product is Titanium Dioxide, which in case you haven’t keep up to date on carcinogenic chemicals, that one is on the list.  But it’s definitely not a chemical you want to ingest. Since it’s an “Inactive Ingredient” according to the label why even add it?  (hint, they need it to help the capsule machines from getting to sticky.)

Polyethylene Glycol, “like all medicines, has side effects”,  according the to FDA. The most common side effects of this chemical are bloating, nausea, rectal irritation, stomach fullness or cramps and vomiting.  This chemical is actually a laxative.  Why not just drink some prune juice if you are looking for a laxative? You’ll certain avoid the side effects.  Additionally, they didn’t disclose the dosage of polyethylene glycol?  “High doses have proven to produce diarrhea and excessive stool frequency”. Here’s the link for more adverse reactions.    http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=14585

Somebody please tell them that Chinese Medicine has been treating women’s cramps for centuries. Natural Chinese herbs work incredibly well for menstrual cramps and PMS. Generations of people have been using herbs and the studies  show proven benefits.  Don’t poison your body with chemicals when all you’re looking for is a little relief.

FDA Tells Prescription Sleep Aid Manufacturer to Remove TV AD

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Natural Sleep AidsI don’t usually blog about prescription drugs,  I’d much rather talk about herbs, especially Chinese herbs.  But in this case, I consider this more of a “Public Service Announcement”.  Most of my readers have strong feelings against taking any pharmaceutical drugs and have an inherent mistrust of drug companies.  Here’s another reason why a growing segment of the public feels they can’t trust the drug companies or their TV commercials.

June 17, 2010:  According to Carrie Newcomer, a Regulatory Review Officer at the FDA, Division of Drug Marketing, Lunesta, a prescription sleep medication made by Sepracor, has made an “unsubstantiated superiority claims” in a TV commercial.  According to the FDA’s  letter to Sepracor.  “Promotional materials are misleading if they represent or suggest that a drug is safer or more effective than another drug, when this has not been demonstrated by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience.”


The FDA’s has reviewed a 60 second commercial and has sent a warning letter to Sepracor to immediately cease the dissemination of violative promotional materials for Lunesta.   This drug has “warnings which include abnormal thinking and behavior (e.g., aggressiveness, bizarre behavior, agitation, hallucinations, depersonalization), complex behaviors (e.g., “sleep-driving,” preparing and eating food, making phone calls, and/or having sex, with amnesia for the event), worsening of depression in primarily depressed patients including suicidal thoughts and actions.”

 “Patients should be cautioned against engaging in hazardous occupations requiring complete mental alertness or motor coordination. Lunesta should not be taken with alcohol and can lead to abuse and dependence. The most common adverse reactions associated with this sleep aid includes unpleasant taste in mouth, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness.”

 

All Natual Option for Sleep on Dr. Oz

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

 

Americans are loving the TV personality, Doctor Oz. Why?  He's become a source of easily understandable medical information.  I appreciate that Dr. Oz brings  up the subject of Alternative Medicine and alternative practitioners.  I mean come on,  Acupuncturists have been legal medical practitioners in California for some 30 years now. Nearly all states now have Licensed Acupuncturists (state license) or Certified Acupuncturists by a National Certification Commission. 

Recently the Dr. Oz show did a segment on alternative health for sleep problems.  Doctor Oz brought on his show, Dr. David Katz to represent traditional medicine, Dr. Hyla Cass- an Integrative Medicine Specialist, and Dr. Maoshing Ni (or Dr. Mao) – a doctor of Chinese Medicine.  Dr. Mao is author of Secrets of Self-Healing: Harness Nature’s Power to Heal Common Ailments, Boost Your Vitality,and Achieve Optimum Wellness and Second Spring: Dr. Mao’s Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age. Dr. Hyla Cass is author of Eight Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Take Charge Plan for Women to Correct Imbalances, Reclaim Energy and Restore Well-Being.  

In Dr. Mao's words a good night sleep can be had for those who learn how to bridge the  mind and body gap.  Dr. Mao has a breathing device that helps you reach a meditative state so that you can fall asleep.  

Dr. David Katz talked about stress management and how that helps with sleep problems.  Insomnia can be caused by anxiety disorders.  Most MD's today will often send patients who cannot sleep to a formal sleep study so that things like sleep apnea and other disturbances in their sleep patterns can be detected.

Dr. Hyla Cass said that L-Tryptophan enhances serotonin, which helps you to sleep.  Also, GABA which is a  brain neurotransmitter that allows us to relax.

What Dr. Oz  hasn't yet brought to his show is an expert to discuss Chinese herbal medicine.  He skirted the issue a bit with Chris Kilham, The Medicine Hunter who made an herbal energy shake on the show. But I do believe that was as close as he came to discussing Chinese herbs or other herbs for health benefits. Dr. Mao is certainly more than qualified to discuss Chinese herbs, yet he didn't mention them for sleep aids even though he sells Chinese herb sleep aids in his clinic.  These three experts Dr. Mao, Dr. Katz and Dr. Hayla all promoted falling asleep naturally without drugs.  Quiet your mind, allow your body to relax and your release the stressed out state of anxiety.   I'm surprised Dr Oz doesn't mention Chinese herbs can help you do all three of these suggestions.  In fact, it's exactly what the herbs in iSleep Herb Pac help you accomplish.

I challenge Dr. Oz to go the next step and include some presentation on Alternative Medicine's on his show, not just Alternative Medicine Practitioners such as Acupuncturist.  Surely he realizes that Traditional Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture also relies on the healing powers of Chinese herbal medicine? 

How Herbs Work or Explaining The Human Genome

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Often people ask me how do you know herbs work?   I often wish I had a one sentence answer.  Sometimes I feel this answer is equal to explaining the human genome.  Not every answer can be that simplified.  Whether I'm being asked about the herbs in the Pac Herbs packets or about Chinese herbs or Western herb or South American herbs, the first clarification is what type of herbs are we discussing?

Because my background in Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbs of Asia, I will refer to only "Chinese herbs" here.  Plants or Chinese herbs have naturally grown in the wilderness of Asia since earliest recorded history.  Because many are not the same species of plants as those found in North America many of these herbs are new to Americans.   Mother Nature gives us an abundance of plants both for food and medicine on every continent.  History tells us man has always used local plants for medicine and we still do.  Even pharmaceutical drugs are based on chemicals found in nature.

Regardless, where a plants origin is, it's the historical use of herbs for healing that make the difference between knowing which herbs work and which do not.  When we view hundreds of years of a specific plant or herb usage for a certain condition then we have a collective experience that is replicated over time.  How do we know an herb works? Generations of mankind using the same plants or the same combinations of plants for the same illness with successful results proves this.

This is the short answer, the long answer gets more technical about the various chemical markers, constituents in each plant specie and processing and packaging that all impact the final product. This is why I mention, which is easier to answer, questions on the human genome or questions describing how and why herbs work. If your not satisfied with this short answer here.  Check out a few other posts here and here which go into a bit more depth.  Whatever answers you are looking for, it's clear that even modern medical analysis will never have all the answers on herbal medicine that history holds.

Sleep More For Natural Weight Loss

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Natural Sleep aids help with Weight LossScientists have known for years that sleeping more can actually help you lose weight.  There are many studies to support this conclusion.  One such study published in  2005 which included 8000 adults over several years found that less sleep corresponded to greater risks of weight gain.  Is the answer to the American obesity problem in the bedroom?  It's true that eating and sleeping cannot really occur at the same time.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition studied a small group of men and women and measured their food intake over 48 hours periods.  One period of time included 8 hours of sleep and another in which the participants slept only 4 hours.   After the night of less sleep the men consumed more than 500 extra calories or approximately 22% more.   

The University of Chicago did a similar study last year and and similar findings in both men and women.  The less sleep the more calories eaten, particularly carbohydrates.   Makes sense to me, when I haven't gotten a good nights sleep I tend to make up for my lack of energy with food.   Some studies blame the gain on hormones.  They argue decreased sleep creates a spike in ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite and an increase in leptin, which signals satiety.  But there seems to be no consensus yet.  Regardless, sleep aids such as Chinese herbs can help you stay asleep and give you the rest you need,  without side-effects or additional calories.  Prescription sleep aids in comparison with placebo pills only provided 11.4 minutes of additional rest but then, that is a subject for another bog. 

What do you think?  Does a night of better sleep equal less food intake the next day?

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18719052  Eur J Endocrinol. 2008 Dec;159 Suppl 1:S59-66. Epub 2008 Aug 21. Sleep and the epidemic of obesity in children and adults.

Farmers Market Surprise, Herbal Medicine For Grey Hair

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Herbs for agingDuring my weekend farmers market stop I found a surprise hiding between the asparagus and the zucchini.  A farmers table was filled with berries.  Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries but then in a small inconspicuous container were . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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mulberries.  Not quite as appealing and certainly not as popular.  Most folks kept asking "what are those"?  They looked like a little basket of worms.  Ah, but to a self proclaimed herbal medicine witch, a mulberry is much more than just a berry.  It's a kidney tonic, prized for it's health benefits.  To find these berries in Southern California is highly unusual.  Mulberries need a bit colder climate and even then, mulberries are not easy  to pick or transport as they don't have a very long shelf life. 

I knew I had to have them that instant.  At $6.00 a basket, they weren't exactly cheap, but then again the health benefits alone should make them much more expensive. But please don't tell the farmer that.  In Chinese medicine,  Sang Shen, or mulberries are blood tonifying herbs.  They nourish our blood and our kidneys, especially our kidney yin which we deplete with age. This is what gives they a reputation as an effective premature grey hair herbal medicine.  Mulberries also have a gently, yet effective laxative quality, as do many berries in any significant quantity.  I'm not sure how many other berries grow on a tree like the mulberry, rather than a bush, but I believe it's fairly unusual.

The look on my families faces when I presented my prized possession  was a little more like shock, rather than excitement.   Their first response, was "What are those?" with an undertone of disgust.  When I said "a Chinese herb, I mean berries", they all questioned my sanity and/or my truthfulness.  They know whenever I say it's a Chinese herb and it taste good something must be amiss.  But they all tasted and were all pleasantly surprised.  Fresh mulberries are delicious, I had to stop the gorging just to get a quick picture,  the small basket was gone in a flash. They were sweet, juicy and flavorful. I can truly say they might just be my new favorite berry masking as herbal medicine.  This coming from someone who believes raspberries are heaven sent.  I picked and ate literally thousands of raspberries growing up.   Although, I once found wild blackberries on a golf course in Oregon and they were honestly amazing. I had to go back the next day to pick more. Fresh off the vine or tree in this case, definitely makes the difference with berries.