Chinese Herbal Medicine for Flu and Covid

Flu and Covid and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine (TCM) – WHO Report

Posted by Cathy on

Because we don’t hear much about TCM in the West, this blog post is about TCM herbal medicine and randomized clinical studies treating Covid-19. These are often difficult to find so I have attached the WHO documentation and studies below.

Enjoy and Be Well.  Stay healthy with Immune Boost Herb Pack here.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) decided to convene a meeting of experts to evaluate the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the treatment of COVID-19. The subsequent Expert Meeting on Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of COVID-19 was held virtually from 28 February to 02 March 2022.

The objectives of the meeting were:

  • to understand the methodology applied in producing the reports;
  • to review and analyze the reports and randomized controlled trials of TCM in various phases of the progression of COVID-19 disease;
  • to evaluate the contribution of a TCM integrated approach in the treatment of COVID-19; and
  • to discuss how effectively to enhance the contribution of traditional medicine in global pandemics.

The 21 international experts from the six WHO regions included members of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel, representatives of WHO collaborating centers, members of the WHO International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines (IRCH), and members of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Technical staff from WHO headquarters, regional and country offices also attended the meeting.

This meeting report describes the discussion among the experts and the consensus reached reviewing three reports on traditional Chinese medicine and COVID-19 provided by national expert groups in China and 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which had been registered and published as well.”   https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-expert-meeting-on-evaluation-of-traditional-chinese-medicine-in-the-treatment-of-covid-19

WHO-TCM expert-meeting-on-evaluation-of-tcm-in-the-treatment-of-covid-

 

Hu K, Guan W-J, Bi Y, Zhang W, Li L, Zhang B et al. Efficacy and safety of Lianhuaqingwen capsules, a
repurposed Chinese herb, in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a multicenter, prospective, randomized
controlled trial. Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153242. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153242.

Zhang L Zheng X, Bai X, Wang Q, Chen B, Wang H et al. Association between use of Qingfei Paidu Tang and
mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a national retrospective registry study. Phytomedicine.
2021;85:153531. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2021.153531.

Chen Y, Liu C, Wang T, Qi J, Jia X, Zeng X et al. Efficacy and safety of Bufei Huoxue capsules in the
management of convalescent patients with COVID-19 infection: a multicentre, double-blind, and randomised
controlled trial. J Ethnopharmacol, 2022;284:114830. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114830.

 

Shi N, Liu B, Liang N, Ma Y, Ge Y, Yi H et al. Association between early treatment with Qingfei Paidu decoction
and favorable clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective multicenter cohort study.
Pharmacol Res. 2020;161:105290. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.105290.

Zhao C, Li L, Yang W, Lv W, Wang J, Guo J et al. Chinese medicine formula Huashibaidu granule early
treatment for mild COVID-19 patients: an unblinded, cluster-randomized clinical trial. Front Med. 2021;16
Sept. doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.696976.

Hu K, Guan WJ, Bi Y, Zhang W, Li L, Zhang B et al. Efficacy and safety of Lianhuaqingwen capsules, a
repurposed Chinese herb, in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a multicenter, prospective, randomized
controlled trial. Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153242. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153242.

Luo Z, Chen W, Xiang M, Wang H, Xiao W, Xu C et al. The preventive effect of Xuebijing injection against
cytokine storm for severe patients with COVID-19: a prospective randomized controlled trial. Eur J Integr Med.
2021;42:101305. doi: 10.1016/j.eujim.2021.101305.

Chinese Herbal Medicine for COVID-19: A Systematic Review – PMID 35227280

Posted by Cathy on

Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine (TCM) has made an important contribution to preventing and controlling Covid19 since the outbreaks began in 2020.

The NIH published a new study in PubMed Feb 28, 2022.  The study explains how researchers systematically screened literature of various randomized controlled trials (RCT) of Traditionally Chinese herbs used for Cov id and what they found you will never hear about in legacy media. 

After a Meta-analysis of 29 RCT’s involving 12,460 patients herbal treatments were found highly successful for both severe and critical patients. The study, (link below) found Chinese herb blends reduced the mortality rate of patients with severe Cov19 by 55%.

Chinese herbal medicine was also found to relieve clinical symptoms and curtail hospital stays, improve laboratory indicators and more.

In addition, within the randomized studies consulted, a large number of the Chinese herbs used for COVID19 had biological constituents which can bind to antiviral targets and down regulate inflammation and regulate the immune system. 

Authors of the study will continue research into the components of these herbs and the mechanism of actions for Coronavirus diseases. 

Find the study abstract here:: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35227280/

Zhao Z, Li Y, Zhou L, et al. Prevention and treatment of COVID-19 using traditional Chinese medicine: a review. Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153308. – PubMed
An X, Zhang Y, Duan L, et al. The direct evidence and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine treatment of COVID-19. Biomed Pharmacother. 2021;137:111267. – PubMed – PMC
An X, Duan L, Zhang YH, et al. The three syndromes and six Chinese patent medicine study during the recovery phase of COVID-19. Chin Med. 2021;16:44. – PubMed – PMC
Liu M, Gao Y, Yuan Y, et al. Efficacy and safety of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pharmacol Res. 2020;158:104896. – PubMed – PMC
Xiong X, Wang P, Su K, et al. Chinese herbal medicine for coronavirus disease 2019: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pharmacol Res. 2020;160:105056. – PubMed – PMC

Natural Sleep aids

Top 4 Reasons For Insomnia and How To Fix Them

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

I’ve been getting a lot of compliments about how well some folks are sleeping when using iSleep Herb Pack. There seems to be nothing quite like a rejuvenating night of sleep and once you get it, you really fall in love with the feeling and want to share it.

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.

supplements for insomnia

Get Your ZZZ’s with Ziziphus – An Herb for Sleeping

Posted by Cathy on

No matter how much you crave quality shut-eye, there are many reasons sleep may elude you.

As you get older, it may take longer to nod off and you may have trouble staying asleep. But because the amount of sleep you need—seven to nine hours per night—stays the same throughout your life, fitful nights can leave you cranky, depressed and flat out exhausted. No wonder so many of us rely on sleeping pills—both over-the-counter and prescription.

People, even teenagers are relying on prescription sleep aids more than ever before. Yet, information of the risks of these drugs is often understated. A study by Scripps Clinic researchers links the medications to 4.6 times higher risk of death and a significant increase in cancer cases among regular pill users.

“What our study shows is that sleeping pills are hazardous to your health and might cause death by contributing to the occurrence of cancer, heart disease, and other ailments,” said author Daniel F. Kripke, M.D., of the Viterbi Family Sleep Center in San Diego.There is another option, a plant-based sleep aid that has been used for thousands of years and has no harmful side-effects.

Plants to help us sleep have been clinically tested in Asia for the past 50 years. Asian cultures have a much longer recorded history than our Western cultures and the use of plants has historical lineage to biblical times. Many herbal books were written on bamboo paper in ancient times. One such ancient book was titled “Prescriptions from the Golden Cabinet”. It may surprise you, but even our ancestors had trouble sleeping and this was a thousand years before electricity, the internet, and modern-day stress. The most common prescription for sleeplessness which our Asian ancestors used was an herbal recipe called Suan zao ren tang. This combination of herbs can be found in iSleep Herb Pack.

The herbs in iSleep Herb Pack work together, this is known as the entourage effect, its where the magic happens. Throughout generations of use, our ancestors discovered which plants have similar effects and which have enhancing effects when used together. It’s a little bit like discovering sugar, flour, eggs and butter and baking powder can make a nice cake. Alone, they don’t taste like cake. But together, there is a little magic.

One of the main herbs in iSleep Herb Pack is zizyphus an herb with sedative properties. This herb is potentiated by other herbs in iSleep, notably Anemarrhena, poria and ligusticum which are believed to increase the nor-epinephrine and dopamine levels in the brain and increase secretion of two cytokines which have been shown to improve non-rapid eye movement sleep. The studies are vast, the results impressive. Throughout Asia, hundreds of thousands of herbal prescriptions are sold annually and the most common insomnia prescription is Suan zao ren tang / iSleep Herb Pack.

There are NO unnecessary filler or magnesium stearate in iSleep Herb Pack. Only 100% herbs from nature.

Here’s what’s you will find in Ziziphus.

Clinical studies and research have shown Ziziphus, (when processed correctly) can help quiet brain transmissions. What this means for the non-sleeper who plays videos in their head all night or just can’t stop the overthinking, NOW YOU CAN. When your mind is quiet your body naturally falls asleep the way nature intended. Ziziphus has slight sedative effects, yet a very safe herb with no lingering side effects. It is commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for irritability, sleeplessness, and anxiety.

Ophiopogon
A nourishing but very mild herb. It is often combined with others for it’s most potent effects. Used in this formula to nourish the yin, clear the heart and eliminate irritability. Insomnia often occurs when the spirit of the heart is restless and rising upward to the brain. This restlessness cause over-thinking when we should be sleeping. Ophiopogon settles the spirit and quiets the irritability. It’s commonly combined with Anemerrhena for insomnia and night sweats.

Poria
Poria is most commonly to strengthen the spleen and calm the mind in TCM. Beyond poria’s principal action, this herb is also used to calm the heart spirit.

Anemerrhena
It is the root of this herb that has properties of clearing excess fire and at the same time nourishing the yin. These are two very important treatment principals and therefore makes this herb a prized possession. Its major chemical constituents include saponines, flavonoids, polysaccharides and alkaloids.

Arbortitae Seed
This seed is rich in oil and is excellent for insomnia due to blood deficiency along with excessive worry and forgetfulness. When used with zyziphus it’s actions for calming the spirit are increased. Since it is the oil in this seed which contains the active chemicals responsible for these actions it is essential the oils are not lost during the cooking process. It also nourishes the heart channel and is extremely beneficial for those suffering from sleeplessness and irritability because of its calming effect.

Polygoni Multiflori
Asian medicine says lack of nourishment to the heart causes sleep disorders such as difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep excessive dreams and disrupted sleep. This sweet herb addresses all of these symptoms. This herb calming effect is said to open the orifices of the heart channel and allow your spirit to be calm and relaxed.

Chuan Xiong
This very popular and common herb in many Chinese herbal medicine formulas is used to regulate blood circulation. In iSleep Herb Pack a small amount is used help circulate and improve the actions of all the herbs in the formula. The entourage effect is important. Like making a cake, it’s not just the sugar, flour, and butter. It’s the spices, the egg, the milk and all the other yummy things that make a cake so wonderful. Same is true of herbal formulas used for centuries. Certain herbs work better when paired together.

The bottom line, iSleep has some of the most important plants used for insomnia over hundreds of years. The major constituents and pharmacological activities of these plants have sedative effects which have been proven safe and effective for millions who commonly experience sleepless nights.

Our goal is to help you get a great night of sleep every night.
Sleep is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle for a healthy body. Adequate sleep is essential for quality of life, work productivity, safe drivers, and workplaces etc.
We need to make sleep a priority every night.

Rou Cong Rong,Cistanche

TCM Herbs for Fertility

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

What’s better than horny goat weed?

The herb is Cistanche, a native desert plant that’s always been prized in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). This Chinese herb Cistanche  (aka – Rou Cong Rong) is used in Chinese medicine to replenish the blood and kidney jing also translated as essence or heredity. Cistanche was first mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants written circa 100 AD.  It is commonly used today for impotence and erectile dysfunction and you can find it in Pacific Herbs, Libido Booster for Him.

It’s not Viagra, but the actions from the volatile oils and non-volatile phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs), oligosaccharides and polysaccharides have proven fertility treatment benefits for premature ejaculation, frequent urination, weakness of tendons, constipation in old age, impotence and even high blood pressure.  Libido Booster for Him has a combination of Chinese herbs used as a fertility treatment to increase sex drive and desire which includes cistanche.

What I find fascinating about this plant is that cistanche cannot grow alone. It is a parasitic type of shrub which only grows on the roots of others.  Saxaul is one such partner and is special in its own right for impeding erosion. You may have heard about the dust storms near Beijing before and during the Olympic games. This is a continual problem for the residents  and certainly for any athletes competing outdoors. China has spent millions on planting trees on the outskirts of Beijing to prevent the desert form encroaching into the metropolitan areas and to reduce the effects of the dust storms. (Approximately 18% of China’s land is desert).  A plant like saxaul has huge value in simply holding the sand in place.

Now that thousands of acres of saxaul and cistanche are growing, it’s not only holding back the encroaching desert it also had the ability to earn families a substantial living. The international market for kidney tonics has been growing and cistanche is known as the “ginseng of the desert”.  Along with the above mentioned actions this Chinese herb is a popular immunity booster, memory enhancer  and known for delaying aging and treating infertility. Overall it’s a kidney tonic, similar to ginseng in that regard.

You probably never thought to look for the fountain of youth in a desert, but this plant is truly just that. Growing in one of the harshest environments on earth, cistanche overcomes the odds with enduring persistence and provides us with compounds which Chinese medicine has used for centuries to restore and replenish kidney essence. This incredible plant provides us energy,  it helps the ecology and the local economy.

Who would of thought you would find something so “green“ in the middle of a desert.

  • Check out Fertility Tea Herb Pack
  • Analysis of chemical constituents in Cistanche species
  • School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing  China.

Is The Almighty Coffee Bean Part of Chinese Medicine?

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

Coffee as Chinese MedicineI’m a coffee drinker alas only in moderation. Now, I’m re-thinking that moderation as I learn more about the benefits of the coffee bean.

A cup of coffee is 2% caffeine and 98% other bioactive ingredients. To say the least, it is a complex beverage. People seem to forget that the coffee bean is an herb. Indeed, the coffee plant belongs to the Rubiaceae family, which is a source of several different Chinese herbs, including the gardenia fruit. Coffee beans medicinal effects have been well known for millenia but some of the first popular evidence was in 1908, when the Indian Materia Medica was first published.

At the proper dosages, the coffee bean has the ability to improve health in several ways. Drinking coffee can increase cardiovascular health and lower the risk of colon cancer, gallstones, cirrhosis, and Parkinson’s disease. A typical dosage for this type of herbal medicine is in the range of 6-18 grams per day, which translates to about 1-3 cups of coffee, depending on how many grams of ground beans are used. Roasting the coffee beans do not detract from the beneficial effects of this herb.

The primary active substances in the coffee bean are chlorogenic and caffeic acids. These substances have been shown to have anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects. No wonder the local coffee shop has become our favorite pit stops. Coffee also contains antioxidant phenols that can reduce the risk of cancer.  (Like so many Chinese herbs, many many benefits. Probably a lot we don’t even understand fully, yet.

This blog idea was inspired by a study on long-term coffee drinker with type 2 diabetes mellitus.  To quote the study, “long-term coffee consumption is associated with a statistically significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes,”  (link below) Coffee, just like any other potent herbal medicine, is not necessarily for everyone, as some people may be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine. But the coffee bean definitely contains many beneficial vitamins including potassium, niacin and magnesium.

Drinking a freshly brewed cup of this herbal bean can have some wonderful health benefits. Enjoy, but drink responsibly. Dont use coffee and the caffiene to keep your energy high all day long. This is actually a great way to burn our your adrenal glands. Coffee like almost all things is best used in moderation.

Study Link
Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Mar;73(3):532-8.Consumption of high doses of chlorogenic acid, present in coffee, or of black tea increases plasma total homocysteine concentrations in humans.  Olthof MR, Hollman PC, Zock PL, Katan MB.                   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11237928
Progesterone supplements

Hormonal Balance Estrogen & Progesterone

Posted by Cathy on

Today we’re seeing a tremendous number of women and men who are struggling with hormonal imbalances. Breast cancer to prostate enlargement, PCOS, and menopause symptoms are easily recognizable hormonal symptoms but what about symptoms such as cold hands, irritability, mood swings, pre-menopausal bone fractures, sluggish metabolism (fatigue), thyroid dysfunction, fibrocystic breasts, anxiety, fibroids, irregular menstrual cycles, insomnia and to name just a few?

All of these symptoms can be related to hormonal imbalance and a state known as “Estrogen Dominance” which refers to as a cumulative load of estrogen effects that outpace progesterone.

So how does someone become “estrogen dominant” and how does estrogen affect our overall health? Understanding the causes requires first a look at the most common places we find estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen (E1) is produced mainly in the ovaries. Progesterone is produced mainly from the outside lining of a mature egg released from the ovaries. Women who take or took birth control pills have a unique situation in that they do not ovulate, therefore they miss out on 90% of their body’s ability to produce progesterone. (HRT and even bio/identical hormones also have effects for brevity this article will not cover.) Without progesterone, estrogen can easily dominate. The progestin in birth control pills does not act like natural progesterone our bodies produce. Natural bio-mimicking progesterone can be created from certain yams and soy plants. However, natural progesterone cannot be patented, which is where progestin comes in.

Estrogen can also become a dominant hormone through the exposure to xeno-estrogens (chemicals that act on estrogen hormone receptors). Our environment is loaded with xeno-estrogens in unprecedented amounts. Xeno-estrogens are known endocrine-disrupting chemicals and can be found in:

Body-care products, including ones like sunscreens we coat on our bodies.
Pesticides in our food supply
Hormones used to plump up animals in our meat supply chain
Hormones in our milk supply
Unfiltered tap water can contain synthetic estrogen from birth control pills
Microwaving food in plastic containers releases xeno-estrogens
Some non-stick coated cookware release xeno-estrogens
Plastic water bottles contain xeno-estrogen chemicals
Processed food can contain propyl-paraben a well known endocrine disruptor (Propylparaben is in 49 widely-available processed foods 1)

We can solve this, right? We can drink filtered water, eat only organic meat and vegetables, change some lifestyle habits and our hormones will go back into balance, problem solved. Theoretically, this approach should work, IF the body can detox/eliminate the accumulated toxic estrogen load. Often this load is stored in fat and obesity becomes another factor.

If you see patients with estrogen dominant symptoms, lifestyle changes alone are often not enough to bring the body back into balance. This is where patients need our help. (Additionally, there are other causes of xeno-estrogens this article does not have space to include: i.e. exposure to household chemicals, building chemicals, years of hormone therapy use including bio-Identical/bio-mimicking hormones and even a person’s gut bacteria aka. microbiome.1

Some considerations

Modalities we can incorporate into our health regimes include ways to release the toxic load of estrogen and create a safer by-product during the break-down or detoxing process. Imbalances of hormones directly affect the liver which tends to be on overdrive when symptoms of estrogen dominance are present. Food, herbs and a few well-known supplements are excellent choices to help this process. Improving liver function is fuel for the detoxification process. Consider what “Functional Medicine” has been teaching; when the liver breaks down estrogen (and xeno-estrogens) by-products termed metabolites are formed. Creating a safer estrogen by-product or metabolite should be part of the overall detoxification plan. Excretion of metabolites can be impaired by poor methylation and abnormal gut flora.

A few ways we can help our patients optimize liver function and the detoxification of estrogen:

Chinese herbs formula Jia Wei Xiao Yao San AKA Relax Herb Pack – This popular Chinese herb formula sold worldwide for stress and anxiety outsells all other Chinese formulas, year after year. Stress dramatically affects liver function through continual overproduction of cortisol, rather than progesterone. Since both hormones are derived from the precursor hormone pregnenolone, a situation known as pregnenolone steal develops. When the body determines cortisol is more important to make than progesterone, estrogen dominance can flourish. Treat the liver stress and the downstream effects will improve.
Methionine – This supplement provides sulfur (not the same as sulfa drugs) and acts as a cellular cleanser. It literally donates methyl groups for the biochemical reaction that rids you of poisons and harmful estrogen by-products. Foods can also donate methyl groups a few good ones are beets, legumes, eggs, broccoli, leafy greens, nuts and sunflower seeds.
Methylcobalamin – A form of B12, this supplement also provides a “methyl” group which helps the estrogen detoxification process. Keep in minds, antacids, some diabetes medications, certain cholesterol-binding medicines and alcohol can wipe out your supply of methylcobalamin.
Calcium D-Glucarate – This is not the same as plain calcium. Toxins must combine with water-soluble substances to leave your body. This supplement combines with estrogen to help move it out.
Reishi Mushroom and other Chinese Medicinal Herbs – Reishi is high in poly-saccharides which feed the body’s microbiome, this in turn benefits liver metabolite breakdown.
Fermented foods such as miso soup, tempeh, kombucha, fermented vegetables i.e. pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi. (For more suggestions see my blogs at http://www.PacHerbs.com/blog/)

Keep in mind, reaching hormone balance can be accomplished faster with the elimination and avoidance of xeno-estrogens. However, most functional medicine doctors will agree, diet, supplements, exercise and lifestyle-based strategies are equally important. Establish realistic patient lifestyle goals and together you will be successful in treating the root causes and symptoms of estrogen dominance and create lifelong habits for balanced hormones.

 

References:

1. Microbiome Researcher, Rob Knight Ph.D. The American Gut Project http://americangut.org/
2. Environmental Working Group. http://www.ewg.org/research/ewg-s-dirty-dozen-guide-food-additives/generally-recognized-as-safe-but-is-it
3. More great info on the human microbiome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DTrENdWvvM

Organic Chinese herbs

Diet Theories for Health: Chinese vs Western

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

fruits_and_vegetables2A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (thinking of Star Wars) a physician traveled with a bags of herbs, a few gold needles and a thousand ounces of gold.  Ok,  this physician  didn’t have a thousand ounces of gold, but he did have gold acupuncture needles and lived on earth.  What he also had was a belief that every single human life was more precious than a thousand ounces of gold.  His name, Sun Shu Mao (581-682 AD) and because of his beliefs he wrote a book called One Thousand Ounces of Gold Classic.  In this book he described diet using specific foods  and Chinese herbs to cure illnesses such as goiter, night blindness and beriberi.  Today we understand the science behind curing these diseases, iodine for goiter, Vitamin A for night blindness and B-1 for beriberi. But do we understand the system of foods and Chinese herbs to treat illnesses some1400 years later?

The Chinese have used food and Chinese herbs, basically the human diet, to treat seemingly incurable diseases as far back as written records on bones and turtle shells.  We now have studies that prove that foods and Chinese herbs are effective in treating nearly every affliction known to man. It is a Western concept  that  the word “diet”  refers almost exclusively  to a  weight  loss system. A Chinese diet  may or may not  focus on weight loss, but it’s primary intention is to treat an ailment.   A Westerners “diet” focuses on protein, calories, carbohydrates, vitamins and other nutrients, whereas a Chinese diet  focuses on the:  Five Flavors, Five Energies, Movements and Organic Actions of Foods.  The basic concept is, if I feel cold, I should eat something warm.  If I feel hot, I should eat  something cold. (don’t  we all do this?) This might sound basic, but it can get a little technical, so stay with me.

 

The Chinese categorize foods into five flavors. Flavors are important for both food and Chinese herbs because each flavor effects  a certain internal organs.  The five flavors are, sweet, sour, bitter, salty and acrid or pungent.  If you tend to indulge on the sweet and salty foods and miss out on the health benefits of the bitter, sour and pungent foods, you should expand your spectrum of  tastes.  Sweet foods act  on the stomach and spleen, obvious examples are honey, sugar and watermelon.  Americans  are more likely to consider candy and  ice cream sweet. This article will not cover processed foods, so think about barley, mung beans and sunflower seeds, these sweet foods help neutralize the toxic effects of other  foods. If you haven’t yet tasted mung beans give them a try, if your diabetic  it’s excellent food for your constitution. Since space prohibits my listing all foods in each category you can check out: Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchfordif you’d like more information on this topic.

 

Sour  foods such as vinegar, olives, lemons and adzuki beans can obstruct  movement and are helpful in treating diarrhea.  Bitter foods can help reduce body heat.  Examples of bitter foods are radish, sea grass and coffee. Most Westerners probably don’t consider coffee a bitter tasting food, try munching on an UN-roasted bean, you may be pleasantly surprised.  Salty foods help soften hardness which explains why kelp and seaweed are commonly used for goiters.  Acrid or pungent foods such as the Chinese herb peppermint or ginger promote energy circulation.  A strong, fresh peppermint  tea often produces a slight sweat on the forehead.

 

When referring to the five energies of foods, Chinese theory simply means foods ability to make you feel hot or cold.  But energies are categorized even  further into cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot.  This is a very important aspect of food because a “balanced diet” will be different depending on a persons constitution.  For example a person with a  cold constitution will need more hot foods.  If a person suffers from cold rheumatism and the pain is worse on cold days, it makes sense to give this person hot foods such as a soup made with Chinese herbs such as ginger, red pepper, green pepper or cinnamon. Understanding  the energies of foods to create a balance diet  is of the utmost importance.  Often herbs are more effective and faster acting than foods and for this reason herbs are commonly used in Chinese cooking.

 

This subject is vast and I’ve only covered  two topics relating to Chinese herbs, food and diet theory thus far.  The other main differences between the Western diet and the Chinese concept of diet are: Movements of  Foods in the body and Actions of Foods.  To learn more on these concepts see part two of this article.

 

Although, I may have simplified how a Chinese diet focuses on the five flavors  and five energies of foods you can see that from the Chinese viewpoint the word  “diet” has almost nothing to do with weight loss and everything to do with how foods effect our bodies. This may be a completely new view of diet and nutrition to you, but Sun Shu Mao wrote about  Chinese herbs and healing foods approximately 1400 years ago. Asian cultures have proven these food and herb theories and seeing that history always repeats itself, it’s time to reiterate it today.

 

For more information see Part II of this article.

supplements for insomnia

Study Links Allergies to Sleep Quality

Posted by Cathy on

Are your allergies connected to how well you sleep?

A study conducted by New York Medical College says there is a link between your REM sleep and your allergy symptoms.

We all know getting enough quality sleep is key to good overall health. This first-of-its-kind study is a breakthrough for many suffering from allergies.

“When I started focusing on the new REM-RDI numbers, I was able to connect patient’s symptoms such as fatigue, allergies, nasal blockage or congestion” with REM abnormalities, said Dr. Berson. “This led to the correlation of tired allergic patients having a problem during REM and some patients who were tired and had REM-RDI elevations testing positive for allergies.”

While the new approach can provide patients with sleep issues better diagnoses and new symptoms to look for, Dr. Berson cautions that there is no one-size-fits-all diagnosis.

“Every patient is different and the study aims to provide more clarity on the relationship between allergies and a person’s overall quality of sleep,” said Dr. Berson. “The airway begins in the nose and its anatomic form needs to be properly balanced with its function. This shows that Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctors, as well as allergists and sleep physicians, should be collaborating more closely to help pinpoint sleeping problems patients may be facing.”

If you’re having trouble sleeping try iSleep Herb Pack a combination of herbs used together for over 500 years which will not interfere with any allergy medication you may be taking.  iSleep herbs will help quiet your mind and stop the ruminating process. A quiet mind helps you get to REM sleep much faster and longer. Give it a try here, or find it on Amazon here.

 

menopause natural relief

Rock Your Menopause

Posted by Cathy on

Coming February 2020 – The Rock Your Menopause Challenge!

A program that spotlights the top areas in your life that are sabotaging your hormonal balance. 

Cathy Margolin, Licensed Acupuncturist, speaker, author and “been there – done that”  Menopause Guru has helped hundreds of women balance their hormones naturally at any age and every stage.  Learn healthy, simple solutions so you can sail through Menopause. PS. Without drugs.

Join the Rock Your Menopause Facebook group here!

menopause natural relief

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sexy flowers, Chinese herbs

Flowers Are Sexy and Smart

Posted by Cathy on with 4 Comments

 Flowering plants are smart.  They know how to grab our attention and the attention of passing insects. Flowers actually intentionally, flaunt sex. Makes perfect sense really, since it’s the flowers job to manage the reproduction of the plant.  Plants produce beautiful flower petals of varying colors and shape to advertise the sexual organs ever so masterly hidden inside. Flowers release powerful aphrodisiac scents, an instinctive incentive for insects to come in and play. Nectar and pollen are the insects’ rewards and the plant benefits from the insects who carry their pollen to other plants which ensures rapid fertilization and reproduction. Flowers are smarter than you might think, but there’s more to flowers than just sex.

As spring weather emerges and flowers begin to bloom, you might want to consider that many flowers are so much more than just look pretty.  We have depended on flowers for our food supply, such as rice, wheat, corn and for clothing materials such as cotton and for medicine, continuously for thousands of years. Long before western pharmaceutical drugs, flowers were used as herbal remedies and recorded use goes back to 500 AD.  Chinese medicine, for example, has used flowers in herbal remedies to heal a huge variety of afflictions. Here are a few examples:

Lonicerae Flower – (Jin Yin Hua) has been used in Asian cultures for colds, flu, and sore throats. Recently, it was one of the four herbs in a formula to combat the swine flu and has proven its antibiotic properties successfully through years of research.

Viola Flower – (Zi Hua Di Ding) is known as the purple flower earth herb. This herb/flower has both anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects, meaning it can treat fevers and bacterial infections. It has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy to treat snake bites because it can reduce both swelling and toxicity.

Pagoda Flower – or Sophorae flower (Huai Hua) is used to stop various bleeding disorders. Chinese medicine often uses this herb/flower in the treatment of hemorrhoids and excessive menstrual bleeding.

 

Chrysanthemum Flower– (Ju Hua) This common Chinese medicine herb has over 30 different species and is a wonderful natural eye treatment for dry, irritated eyes. It’s also commonly used for high blood pressure, headaches and other ailments in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  

Safflower also is known as Carthamus – (Hong Hua) is a red flower used to treat menstrual disorders such as cramps and amenorrhea. It’s known to invigorate circulation and help dissolve clots. Safflower has been extensively studied and found beneficial for use in patients with heart disease and joint pain. This flower also has a high success rate in treating flat warts. (Now that’s a fun herbal remedy fact!)

 

Magnolia Flower – (xin yin hua) How about a flower to treat nasal congestion? This flower is one of the most effective herbal remedies for stuffy noses and chronic sinusitis. 

 

Lotus Flower – (Lian Zi Xin) I would be remiss not to mention one of the most famous flowers associated with Chinese medicine, the Lotus flower. Eight parts of the lotus plant are used for their botanical medicine qualities. The flower is known to treat bleeding disorders  (i.e. bloody noses) and often used for irritability and fevers. The stamen of the lotus flower also has healing qualities. One use in Traditional Chinese Medicine is to reduce excessive dreaming.

Flowers truly have wonderful healing properties and have changed our world more than we imagine.  Chinese medicine understands flowers are useful beyond just their sexual appeal of beautiful packaging.  (Many more are used in Traditional Chinese medicine than I could possibly have space to mention here.)    

I thank the flowering plants for their beauty, but even though flowers are beautiful to look at,  I never overlook the fact they also provide us with an abundance of natural herbal remedies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26087234

tumeric chinese herbs

Turmeric for Osteoarthritis, an Indian and Chinese Herbal Tradition

Posted by Cathy on

This chinese herbal remedy helps osteoarthritisIf you or someone you know suffers with arthritis, Turmeric is a Chinese herb you have probably heard about but not sure if it will work for you. Turmeric is what gives that yellow color to Indian food, this root has been used for centuries in Indian food and traditional remedies.  The yellow color, often in curry sauces comes from the active compounds known as curcuminoids, or mainly curcumin. 

A recent clinical trial in Italy studied the effects of curcumin on 50 patients with osteoarthritis in the knees.  The effects of supplementing ones diet with this Chinese herb was impressive.  The patients that took the turmeric supplement had a 16 fold decrease of inflammation markers in their blood.  If that wasn’t enough, these same patients were able to reduce their NSAID’s (Non-Sterodial Anti-Inflammatory) usage by 63%.   Remarkable, and these benefits occurred without unintended side effects.  Yes, that is the magic of mother nature and this data is consistent with other human studies done of various types of turmeric extracts. 

“This is great news for people who suffer from osteoarthritis and the physicians who treat them,” said Mark Blumenthal, Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit, American Botanical Council an independent herbal medicine research and education organization in Austin, Texas.

So, what is this Chinese herb and how does it work?  First and foremost,  the active ingredient curcumin has been extensively studied around the world.  It has been used for thousands of years in both Ayurveda Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.  It is the root of the turmeric plant  that is used for herbal remedies. Chinese herbal medicine has always classified turmeric as a blood moving herb, interestingly it also has properties to clear heat from the blood,  break up blood stasis and benefit the gall bladder and help jaundice, most likely because it stimulates bile production.

Turmeric’s popularity has been rising quickly as its reputation for treating chronic inflammatory diseases, some cancers and also Alzheimer’s disease get more media attention.  In 2009 sales of turmeric dietary supplements were up about 23% from the previous year.  This is understandable, who wouldn’t want a safe, effective herbal supplement  to reduce the suffering of osteoarthritis?  Pacific Herbs uses turmeric to a combination of herbs to move blood and reduce pain.  Many of these herbs have been historically used together to reduce pain and improve blood flow. The Pacific Herbs product is called Corydalis Pain Relief Herb Pack and can be found here.

Pharmaceutical labs have been trying to chemically copy the chemical bonds of curcumin for years but it never seems to have exactly the same effect.  When turmeric is used as a whole herb, all the important and beneficial compounds of the plant are present. Science has not yet been able to copy this mix exactly to mimic the same effects.

More studies on curcumin can be found on Pubmed.com and from Dr. Weill here.