Holy Hormones – Evidence Shows How Menstrual Cramps Effect Women’s Brains
Often, menstrual pain and cramps are not taken seriously. But here at Pack Herbs we take them very seriously, as do a group of researchers at the University of Taipei. These researchers from Taiwan have made international news. Using highly specialized brain scanners the researchers found the anatomy of the female brain changed as a result of painful menstrual cramps. If fact, even if women did not have cramps at the time of the brain scans, yet had experienced moderate to severe cramps on a regular basis for years, scans still showed their brains gray matter had abnormalities. Yes, abnormalities! This is the first documented evidence of it’s type. This research proves the monthly misery of menstrual cramps have serious lasting side effects, similar to the effects of people who deal with chronic pain issues. This research is published in the Sept. 2010 issue of PAIN.
“A long-term bombardment by peripheral pain can elicit plastic changes in the central brain as a reactive adaptation,” Hsieh explained. “It can also be a crucial mechanism that perpetuates the ‘chronification’ of pain” — that is, a mechanism that can turn pain into a lingering affliction, says Dr. Jen-Chuen Hsieh, a professor of neuroscience at the Institute of Brain Science at National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan, and lead researcher. Previously, the researches found PET brain scans also showed differences in brain activity.
Menstrual cramps, or pain in the lower abdomen occur when the uterus contracts during menstruation. Cramps are one of the most common gynecological disorder in women of childbearing age. As a woman who has been through some pretty painful menstrual cramps in my life, I found Chinese herbs can eliminate monthly suffering and I wanted to share it with others. This is the reason I gave birth to PMS Relief Herb Pack. (Not a traditional birth, but a birthing of sorts.)
Whether you experience the moodiness, cramps, backaches, bloating, breast tenderness or all of the above, PMS Relief will work for you. It’s packed with 14 herbs (a dried powder extraction) which has been used through-out Asia for centuries. Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, our herbal blend of Chinese herbs (not Western herbs) is nothing like what’s been on the American market before. One packet mixed in water is all you need to start feeling the immediate relief. Most women use a packet the day before their cycle starts and then a packet or two on their worst cramping days. Did I mention it’s all natural herbs, nothing artificial added and it taste good too.
Do your brain and your body a favor and give PMS Relief a try. There is really no reason to suffer any longer. Chinese herbs have the longest continual use history of any medicine on earth. What are you waiting for, an abnormal brain to develop?
Read the abstract here: http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/S0304-3959(10)00329-5/abstract
Chemo Side Effects Reduced With Chinese Herbs, Says Yale
This remarkable research conducted at Yale University is incredible news for Americans. Asian societies, on the other hand, have used these Chinese herbs for generations and understand that boiling peony root, with licorice root, red dates and skullcap root can help the gastro-intestinal tract especially when one is suffering from diarrhea.
The recently announced research proved a drug made from four traditional Chinese herbs, dubbed PHY906, countered the side effects of chemo in rats. The researchers decided to give the mice, who were on a chemotherapy drug which has side effects of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, this blend of natural herbs. Not only did the four Chinese herbs improve the mices symptoms of diarrhea but it simultaneously cut the cancerous tumors growth.
“This combination of chemotherapy and herbs represents a marriage of Western and Eastern approaches,” said lead researcher Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng.
A study such as this and so many others, are slowly beginning to open up American minds to the incredible health benefits of Chinese herbs. I found it interesting to listen to the interview with Dr. Cheng. He states that the four herbs must be used in combination and cooked together. Used individually, they did not perform the same function. He says, “deletion of any of those herbs, you have a different impact on three biological endpoints.” This is exactly what Chinese medicine textbooks have told us for years. It is the combination of herbs cooked together that create the synergy and provide the valuable healing medicinal action.
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become a core component in treating cancer patients. Diarrhea is one of the major side effects of the cancer drug irinotecan. According to Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng this herbal remedy is based on the formula which was first established 1,800 years ago and is also known as Huang Qin Tang. It was historically used and still is used today for treatment of diarrhea and GI disorder[s]. The popularity of natural herbal medicine has been expanding each year in America as more studies like this are published.
Discover All Things Chinese in San Francisco
What is a mega Buddha monument doing in the middle of San Francisco? Apparently San Francisco city officials wanted to underscore the bond between Shanghai, China and San Francisco, two cities of art and culture. I love discovering all things Chinese in America. The Buddha is pretty much impossible to miss if you are near the Civic Center. (My husband and I are the tourists in front.) I would say if you have ever been to San Francisco you know that Chinese culture has been part of the "City by the Bay" since it's inception. What I enjoy most about San Francisco is walking through China town and feeling like I'm in China without the 17 hour plane ride. From the great deals on pearls to the cooked ducks hanging in restaurant windows you can see a little of everything Chinese just a few blocks away from the mega Buddha.
If you are ever curious what an herb shop or traditional Chinese herb pharmacy looks like in China, check out Stockton street in San Fran. The picture below is pretty good representation from store to store. You'll find every strange root, dried fish and plenty of red shiny bottles labeled only in Chinese. This is the traditional medicine of China and that which millions of people rely on daily for their coughs, colds and aches and pains. The same herbs that have been used continuously for generations. If you have never purchased Chinese herbs before this may not be the place to start unless you speak the language. It can be a bit intimidating since pretty much everything is labeled in Chinese.
One last note on the mega Buddha,“Three Heads Six Arms reflects the changing realities of Chinese people today and also reflects the attitude that humankind has conquered nature and even reflects deeds of volition and hope,” said Zhang, the artist who created the colossal bronze sculpture. It's definitely worth a drop by if your in the area, as are the Chinese herbal pharmacies.