Category: Herbal Supplements


Natural Sleep Aid Tip for Children, Try Lavender

By Cathy Margolin on July 25, 2010
Natural Sleep Aid Tip for Children, Try Lavender

From time to time I get calls asking if children can take iSleep Herb Pac.  While the herbs in the Pac Herbs product iSleep, are completely safe for children (adjusted to child's weight) on principal alone  I  do not recommend sleep aids for children.  The reason for this, and I am referring to approximate age of 13 and under, is generally speaking children our very healthy and should not have problems sleeping. 

Although it is not uncommon for teens to have sleep disorders usually due to stress, children younger than 10 normally will only have an occasional bad dream that wakes them and falling asleep is completely related to the amount of exercise they have done on any given day.   If your adolescent is

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Drink in the Benefits of Chinese Medicine Wines

By Cathy Margolin on February 10, 2010
Drink in the Benefits of Chinese Medicine Wines

Two things I love to do are digging in the dirt and drinking good wine. So this article is a natural for me. 

Digging and drinking don’t seem very compatible, but if you’re an archeologist digging in the dirt has an entirely different meaning.  In 1972 a group of very fortunate Chinese archeologists were digging and uncovered one of the greatest finds in Chinese history, the Mawangdui Han Tombs dating back to the Han Dynasty dated 220 BCE to 220 AC.  These tombs are one of China's most important archaeological discoveries.

One of thousands of artifacts recovered from these tombs was a book titled “52 Prescriptions".  In this book more than 30 wine recipes were recorded.  But not just any wine, medicated wines, formulated for both internal and external use to treat illnesses…

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Herb & Vitamin Fillers – is there a recommended dose?

By Cathy Margolin on February 4, 2010
Herb & Vitamin Fillers – is there a recommended dose?

Labels on most herbal products in the US provide little to no information regarding  the amount of fillers ie. starch, otherwise known as excipients.  Excipients are  inactive substance used as a carrier or any ingredient that is added to adjust the intended dosage. Often excipients are used to  achieve a uniform  5 to 1 herb ratio.  (Basically a diluents).  Excipients are also used to improve administration such as making capsules or  pressed pills.

Currently, there is no technology to make capsules or pressed supplements without using these fillers. Current FDA labeling requirements for dietary supplements do not require the manufacturer  to list the amount of excipients. This leaves room  for lots of speculation and ambiguity regarding the strength of the products.  How much product in the bottle is filler and how much is vitamins and/or herbal…

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Chinese herbs for asthma, have you heard of this?

By Cathy Margolin on December 13, 2009
Chinese herbs for asthma, have you heard of this?
Yes, Chinese herbs for asthma sufferers. This comes straight from the horses mouth,  the American Academy of  Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.  Stated in September 2005,  “This is the first well-controlled study in which an anti-asthma Chinese herbal medicine has been found to be as effective as a corticosteroid drug. Additional clinical studies of ASHMI in the USA are planned.” 
 
That was four years ago and I couldn’t find any published results since then of  additional studies in the U.S. Not sure why. This study was published by the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York. A fine institution like Mt Sinai telling us Chinese herbs are AS effective as a corticosteroid drug would certainly interest a large segment of the population who suffer with asthma.
 
It’s a real shame that we don’t have more research studies

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I Was Only Making Dinner

By Cathy Margolin on December 9, 2009
I Was Only Making Dinner
I was making dinner tonight, nothing special, chicken, rice pilaf and salad. I’ve love the Near East brand of Rice Pilaf and have used it for years. So what’s so special to make me write about this.   Well, Near East is a well known, multi-million dollar company who has done their share of research on packaging their products. A small cardboard box holds the rice and a FOIL PACKET holds the herbs and spices, the secret ingredients that give the rice that great flavor.    

I poured my rice into my boiling water and then tried to rip open the foil packet even knowing in advance I’m going to have to get the knife or scissor to open it. It’s not a paper packet it’s a foil packet that holds the herbs and spices.   So I asked myself, why did

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What’s Stannous Chloride and Titanium Dixiode doing in my vitamins? What’s in your supplements?

By Cathy Margolin on September 11, 2009
What’s Stannous Chloride and Titanium Dixiode doing in my vitamins? What’s in your supplements?

“Vitamins are good for us’” is the overwhelming consensus if you ask just about anybody.  They supports our body functions and gives us the extra nutrients  we need. So what’s titanium dixiode, (now categorized as a carcinogenic in Canada)  doing in bottles from some of the largest vitamins manufacturers.  If your like me, this news comes as a big surprise    How can that be you ask?  The question you should be asking is, do you read your vitamin bottles, herbal supplements  and cosmetics  carefully enough to know what your buying? Below is the label of one of the largest vitamin manufactures in the U.S.  Check out the nomenclature,  careful,  if your not a chemist it may look like a foreign language.  This is the real label, nothing added or subtracted. INGREDIENTS: Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dibasic Calcium…

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6 COMPELLING REASONS TO TAKE HERBS RATHER THAN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

By Cathy Margolin on August 4, 2009
6  COMPELLING REASONS TO TAKE HERBS RATHER THAN PRESCRIPTION DRUGS 1.  Herbal Formulas are designed to treat the whole body, not just the symptoms.

Most Western medications works because they give you quick relief from symptoms but  often do nothing for the underlying root problem.     You can treat the root of the problem with herbal medicine rather than just treating symptoms. You’ll start feeling better from the inside out when you treat the whole body.  The definition of  disease (DIS-ease) is: an abnormal condition of the body causing discomfort or dysfunction.  Disease usually happens slowly over an extended period of time and a complete recovery can take just as long if not longer, quick fixes often don’t work because that is not how our bodies works.

2. Herbal Formulas are effective.

Imagine how much more enjoyable life would be if you simply had more energy, a…

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Dietary Supplements have new GMP rules

By Cathy Margolin on June 24, 2009
Dietary Supplements have new GMP rules

FDA Rules for  Current  GMP Effective June 25th

This week is another important milestone for the Dietary Supplement industry.  June 25, 2009 is the deadline the FDA (Food & Drug Assoc) has given for medium sized companies, (those with more than 20 employees) to comply with cGMP or Current Good Manufacturing Practices.  What this means to the consumer is another step closer to more consistency in  over the counter herbal supplements and all dietary supplement.  The cGMP regulations  protect the consumer by providing  standards for ensuring purity, identity and strength of composition for each product produced.

All told it’s taken 14 years to get to this point. The FDA made allowances for smaller businesses to comply giving them an additional 3 years if they had less than 500 employees. Companies with greater than 500 employees  were required to comply…

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