The Wall Street Journal has been reporting on a few Chinese herbs lately.   The more recent article is about the Chinese herb Cordyceps because it fetches prices higher than its weight in gold.  Traditional Chinese Medicine has seen a rise in popularity around the world and prices for some Chinese herbs have been rising sharply as a result.

Cordyceps is only one of the many herbs in higher demand. Ginseng prices continue to climb steadily as does  Lonicera flower (Jin Yin Hua) due to its reliable antibiotic  properties and its success in treating Swine flu.  

Reference: New insights into mushroom-derived drug promising for cancer treatment (BBSRC)

For those people who are accustom to a night of sleeping in short 1-2 hour spurts,  a 6-7 hours, "Out like a light" is truly heaven sent.  

Personally I can not function without at least seven hours of horizontal non-activity.   If you are someone who struggles with insomnia, let me explain how Chinese medicine views insomnia and how Chinese herbs have been used to help those who suffer.

There are 4 main patterns for insomnia in Chinese medicine.

1.  The first and most common reason for insomnia is due to "over-thinking".

Termed Shen (spirit) disturbance. This is an overactive mind.  Day time is the time to make plans, work and be active with your eyes open and your mind busy.   Night time, (or whenever you are trying to sleep) is the time we close our eyes and shut off our brains.   Too much thinking at night is unhealthy.  The mind needs to time to rest just as the body needs it's rest.  This is where iSleep can be extremely beneficial because the herbs like zizyphus naturally calm the mind and stop the over-thinking process.     

2. Insomnia due to panic, anger and excessive worry.

This pattern is especially worrisome because of it can easily become habitual.  Emotions that are not addressed during the daytime hours may haunt us at night. We should try to deal with emotional problems during our waking hours but if you need a little help with this pattern of insomnia, iSleep Herb Pack is a very calming formula and in Asia this group of herbs is commonly used for excess stress and worry during the day.  I know of some care givers who use iSleep to keep their aging and care dependent family members in a calm state during the day time hours.  It is perfectly safe to use  1 packet of iSleep everyday if needed.

3. Insomnia due to yin deficiency. 

This is very common in menopause age women.  This kinds of insomnia is caused mainly by excess heat.   What commonly happens in as women (and men) with age is comparable to what happens in a car with a broken radiator.  The car begins to overheat because there is a lack of coolant circulating.  Our coolant dries up as we age and if we don't replace it with yin nourishing foods and herbs often the result is yin deficiency insomnia.   (BTW, night time is also known as yin time.)  Nourish your yin our Menopause Relief Herb Pack and you will begin to sleep better almost immediately. Some women (and yes men too) will use our Menopause Relief during the day and iSleep at night.   There are no contraindication to using our herbal products this way.

4.  Insomnia can have a nutritional component.

For the extremely weak or elderly often times a poor diet prevents the blood from properly nourishing the heart.  This type of insomnia is call Qi & Blood deficiency.   In this case, it is necessary to  repair the body with proper nutrition and supplementation.  This pattern of insomnia will often subside once the heart, kidneys and spleen are properly nourished. Eat well during the day because your body will be fasting for at least 8-10 hours when you are getting proper rest.

Although this is not a complete gamut of sleeping pattern difficulties in Chinese medicine these patterns are the most common.  Often times it is a combination of these 4 that can persist.  Chinese herbs have been used effectively for these patterns for centuries.  If you would like to see more information on the studies behind the herbs in our iSleep insomnia aid please click here.

The appetite suppressant Hoodia has gotten some attention lately because GeoPharma and Breakthrough Engineered Nutrition, falsely advertised Hoodia in their products when actually the products contained no Hoodia.  Weight loss products have notoriously attracted some of the less scrupulous companies.

However, it is reassuring that companies falsifying claims are eventually caught and put out of business. But many continue in business for years before legal authorities catch them.   Do your research, know your supplements and the supplement manufacturers.  Ask trusted health professionals to help you find the best natural supplements for you.  Your health is the most important commodity you have.

But, the most important consideration when buying herbal supplements  such as curcumin is to make sure you are getting a high quality, bio-available herbal supplement.  This means a product your body recognizes and can break down easily and absorb.  Sometimes fillers in the products can interfere with the body's ability to absorb the herbal supplement, other times it can be a result of herbal processing.

What I find interesting is that in Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbs are always cooked in an aqueous solution,  meaning boiled in water.  After experimenting for hundreds of years, our ancestors realized that eating a curcumin root raw was not as useful as drinking the water the root was boiled in. It's amazing what we have learned after centuries of trial and error. The curcumin we sell at Pacific Herbs is always extracted in water through a controlled cooking process.  Our granules are a highly concentrated extract of curcumin root with a minimum extract ratio of 5:1. To read more about our pharmaceutical grade curcumin click here.

Want to read more articles on curcumin?

Tumeric for Osteoorthritis 

Tumeric and Breast Cancer

1. Arthritis and Immunology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Goji berries have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 2500 years.  Sometimes they are also labeled as Lycium or Wolfberry.   Goji berries make a great snack that provide quick energy.  They have been used as a blood tonic herb in Chinese herbal medicine for this reason.  This is exactly why we included them in our Energy Booster Herb Pack.

They look a little like a dried raisin, but smaller and red in color.  Often selling for about $15.00 for half pound, they are NOT cheap!  But the health benefits of this Chinese herb are more than worth their weight. 

The value in these little berries has been demonstrated in hundreds of studies.   One of the most  recent studies done in the U.S. on goji berries found they can increase your metabolic rate and reduce body weight. So, if you're looking for a healthy snack food or a boost of energy, goji's are a great choice.

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References:

http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbclip/440/121151-440.html

J Am Coll Nutr. 2011;30(5):304-309.

According to a new study in the Journal of Natural Products, licorice root may help keep teeth healthy.  But you won't find the beneficial ingredients in licorice candy.  Licorice candy is mostly sugar and in the U.S. often flavored with anise oil.

The herb licorice root is in nearly every herbal formulations in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  The main reason for its popularity is its sweet flavor and its remarkable ability to guide other herbs to all 12 channels in the body.   This might sound a little odd, but if you've ever dug up a small licorice plant you can see the roots tend to go in all directions.  It is an interesting quality about this herb, because many herb roots don't travel outwardly, they simple grow down. But the licorice plant has roots that are born to run.   

I was once digging up a small 5 foot tall licorice that has meandered into the wrong garden space.   As we followed the roots to clean up the space, they went 10-15 feet in several different directions. This Chinese herb seems to act the same way in the body and this is often why a very small amount, usually 3%- 6%  of Traditional Chinese herb formulas often contain licorice. (Also known as Gan Cao.)  Gan Cao helps other herbs in a formula travel to all 12 channels in the body.  This is a very rare quality, there are only a few herbs with the ability to travel to all areas of the body.

I consider it an added bonus that licorice prevents tooth decay.  A very small amount of licorice  (3%) is found in our iSleep Herb Pack.  It has traditionally been part of the 800 year old formula that iSleep is based upon.  No reason to change something that 800 years of use has already proved successful.   (See the study here.)

The Active Ingredients

The two predominant compounds in licorice, licoricidin and licorisoflavan A, were found to be the most effective in inhibiting the growth of cavity-causing bacteria. These and other compounds found in licorice root were also shown to prevent the growth of bacteria associated with periodontitis, an inflammatory disease that can destroy the bones, gums, and tissue that maintain teeth.

Warnings about the effects of licorice for those with high blood pressure need some explanation.  Studies on licorice root extract have shown a  dose of  60 grams or more per 100g formula had side effects.  However, this dose is at least 10X higher than the safe and recommended dosage used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Licorice has been used safely and effectively for thousand of years.  There is no documented historical use of licorice ever being used in Traditional Chinese Medicine at a dose of 60 grams in a 100g formula.  Like anything, if you abuse an herb, just like caffeine, or any drug, there can be serious side effects. It is always important to know the safe and correct dose of any medication.

P.S.   Licorice root raw slices have a lovely little flavor if you need something healthy to chew on during the day. All Chinese markets sell them because they are often thrown into soups or used for a cup of tea. A lovely Asian tradition that we now know also protects our teeth.

I'm betting you've heard soda is not the healthiest drink you can have.  The average can of soda has 10 tsps of sugar. As more people become conscious of their health and what constitutes a healthy drink many folks are turning to fruit drinks and fruit juice.  But is this really a healthier choice?

Of course it depends on the frequency of consumption and whether you dilute your juice with water.   (I always do.)  I say this because, many of the fruit juices on the market consist of vast amounts of fructose, also known as sugar. Often times we fail to add this sugar consumption into our daily calorie totals.

Many health experts agree that 25 grams of fructose per day should be the maximum. (One eight-ounce glass of orange juice has 25 grams of fructose, more than enough for the whole day.)  If you are eating fresh fruit a max of 15 grams of fructose a day is recommended,  but… it you're overweight, have diabetes, heart disease or cancer, cut that down to 10 grams max of fructose per day.  

Eating fresh fruit rather than drinking fruit juice is considerably better if you are trying to loose weight.  Whole fruit is about 100 times more filling and the fiber helps elimination. But we've got to cut our daily sugar intake to be healthy. 

Cutting back on fructose is not easy. For some people it can be  impossible. This is understandable, studies prove sugar is just as addicting as cocaine.

 

Some fruit drink packages are covered with images of real fruit, even though these drinks may contain no more than 5 percent real fruit juice. The actual ingredients are water and high-fructose corn syrup, or in some cases "real sugar," such as cane sugar. Examples include: Kool-Aid Jammers, Hawaiian Punch, Capri Sun Orange, and Capri Sun Sunrise (which Capri Sun markets as a breakfast drink). Many of these are marketed towards children.

Conclusion:  Fruit Juice Is Not A Healthy Choice

 

Parents have got to get on board with healthy options for their children.  Many parents don't realize that ounce-for-ounce, fruit drinks have the same number of calories and added sugar as soda.

Many people mistakenly believe that as long as you are drinking fruit juice, it's healthy, but this is a dangerous misconception that is fueling the rising rates of weight gain, obesity, fatty liver disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. In fact, oftentimes fruit drinks are actually worse for your health than soda.

This is not to say that 100% freshly squeezed fruit juices aren't healthy.  The real issue here, whether we're talking about fruit juice, fruit drinks, soda or any other sugary beverage, IS the sugar or the fructose!

What's the answer?  Drink Water or Tea!!

(Tea IS bonus water!!  Water with herbs!!)

Our favorite Tea is Energy Booster

Either way, it's better than sodas and fruit juice.

These drinks will fill you up and boost your metabolism, naturally.  Rather than starving yourself, which will automatically turn your body metabolism to low drive, sip on these healthy beverages throughout the day to give your metabolism a natural boost.  Every time you crave junk food or carbohydrates reach for one of these drinks, instead.

1.  Coffee – One cup of coffee a day can be a healthy habit if you avoid adding sugar. Spice it up with cinnamon, cocoa, almond or soy milk. (organic please)  A little caffeine will boost your mood and helps the bowels clean out the excess.  But don't over do a good thing, coffee is acidic and our bodies perform best when our ph is balanced.  Too much coffee can easily throw off that balance.  More often than not, we need alkaline drinks, not acidic.

2.  Water  Boring? Maybe. Water hydrates your cells and fills you up quickly, especially sparkling water. Keep it interesting by adding lemon, orange peel or cucumber. Or get creative, add flower pedals, licorice root, pomogranite seeds and goji berries. These are some of my favorites.  Beware of  artificially flavored water in bottles. Many are sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as sucrolose. Studies show the artificial sweeteners can trick your cells into craving sweets.  Some bottled waters advertise they are alkaline, this is a great alternative if you can verify the claims.

3.  Energy Booster Herb Pack    When you are trying to eat less and loose weight it is often a challenge to have enough energy to get through the day.  Energy Booster Herb Pack is the perfect addition.  Drink it hot or cold or use the powdered herbal extract without water.   Either way it gives that extra boost of energy to help you through your day.  The ginseng, goji berries and 10 other herbs all help to boost your energy naturally without burning out your adrenals which caffeinated drinks will do.  Use it everyday, for a safe natural energy boost.

4.  Fresh Pressed Vegetable Juice   One of the easiest and healthiest ways to clean out some stored up fat is a vegetable juice cleanse. Whether you're on a strict cleansing diet or just starting to add fresh juice it is a great addition to any diet.   If you don't have a juicer stop by your local health food store that juices while you wait.   Forget the pre-packaged bottles of vegie juice.  Very few of the nutrient are left in those drinks by the time you buy it. Don't waste your money, freshly made is the only way to get your juice. Plus, it fills you up fast.

5.  Green Tea    Green tea is high in anti-oxidants and natural polyphenols. Whether you drink it hot or cold tea it is a wonderful alternative to sodas or artificially sweetened drinks.   Oolong green tea has been researched extensively for its ability to control obesity and is an excellent choice.   Try to skip the sugar in your tea.  If you must sweeten your tea try stevia or a natural fruit sweetener like Lou Han Guo.  (More about it here.)

6.  Apple Cider Vinegar   Even though this is probably not your first choice in drinks, it is probably the best drink you can add to your diet for a variety of weight lose reasons.  A couple tablespoons  is usually enough per day, depending on your weight.   You can dilute it with water, a little goes a long way.   Apple cider vinegar is an alkalizing drink and is widely used to burn fat, reduce heart burn and help digestion.