Health Notes
Herbal Medicine
Herbal actions
What are Adaptogens?
Adaptogens are “tonic” herbs that rather than having a specific target have a wide
range of effects on regulatory systems (immune, endocrine, Central nervous system)
Adaptogens will:
- Support the ability of the organism to respond to and withstand various “stressors”
- physical, emotional, mental and environmental. They may be considered substances
that allow us to resist stress at higher levels of challenge
- Support and restore adrenal health and normalizes levels of stress hormones
- Increase body immunity, relieve fatigue and improve energy metabolism and tissue
repair
- Increase exercise capacity, endurance, stamina
- Increase cognitive function and mental alertness
Adaptogens may be used prior to times of physical, emotional, or mental stress,
or restoratively, such as after a long illness or prolonged period of debility or
stress. Historically, Adaptogens have been used as general tonics to gently strengthen
the central nervous system in cases of fatigue, physical exertion, and aging, weakness
from disease and injury, and prolonged stress. There are many herbs that belong
to this class, but each individual herb possesses unique characteristic that distinguish
it from the others.
What are Digestive Bitters?
Digestive Bitters contains a combination of bitter herbs used traditionally in Western
herbal medicine to assist with digestion by increasing the flow of digestive juices
and bile. Bitters have long been regarded as beneficial for a wide range of digestive
conditions including sluggish liver, loss of appetite, indigestion, heartburn, gastric
reflux, constipation and nausea. How do they work? Digestive Bitters stimulate the
bitter taste receptors on the tongue and gets the salivary glands going. This helps
the stomach start secreting digestive juices, and be ready to better digest the
foods. The bitterness sends the signal to the brain to get the whole digestive tract:
the liver, the pancreas, and the intestines--on the lookout for incoming food. The
result is improved appetite and digestion. Bitter herbs help food to be properly
digested before it enters the bloodstream. These herbs also influence the gallbladder
to empty properly, allowing for more complete digestion of fats.
Holistic Nutrition
Fats – Beneficial or Harmful?
"Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet." Most of us have heard this simple recommendation
so often over the past two decades that we can recite it in our sleep. Unfortunately,
this simple message now seems largely out of date. Research in the past decade had
demonstrated that the total amount of fat in the diet has no real link with disease.
Rather, what really matters is the type of fat in the diet.
Fats play vital roles in:
- Normal Growth
- Cell communication
- Brain function
- Help maintain normal cholesterol Level.
- Immune system function.
- Build our Energy reserves.
There are “bad” fats that increase the risk for certain diseases and “good” fats
that lower the risk. Many times this is not necessarily related to the type of oil
used, but rather the quality of the specific product. For example - Supermarket
corn oil is usually oil that has been heated to a high temperature and chemically
treated with various compounds. On the other hand “unrefined” corn oil that has
been extracted without chemicals, and has not been heated, refined or filtered can
be beneficial and healthy oil. In addition there are hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated
oils are man made fats that do not exist in nature. They are produced by heating
a vegetable oil to a very high temperature in the presence of hydrogen. Manufacturers
use hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils (also called Trans fats) to increase
shelf life of various products.
Important facts to know about hydrogenated oils:
- All vitamins, Minerals, fibers and essential fatty acids are destroyed.
- Aluminum is involved and fractions of it remain in the final product.
- Decrease immune system function, and damages cell membranes.
- The chemical nature of the oil molecules changes.
Where Tran’s fats may hide?
- Margarine, Shortening
- Most commercial baked goods (e.g. crackers, cookies)
- Chips and microwave popcorns.
- Baby foods
- Fish sticks and other frozen breaded foods
- Instant noodles
- Flour tortillas
- Processed cheese
Beginning 2006 there is a mandatory labeling of Trans fats. Please note that even
if the label says "zero grams of trans fat," it does not mean that this is a hydrogenated
oil free product. The FDA regulations states that "if the serving contains less
than 0.5 gram the product can still be called “trans fat free”.
A healthy diet is not a “fat free” diet.Rather it should consist
of mainly beneficial fats. The main idea is to substitute “bad” fats for “good”
fats. Sources of “good” fats are natural fats:
- Raw and fresh nuts and seeds – Walnut, Sunflower, Pumpkin, Almonds
- Avocado, Beans, Olives
- Organic unrefined Coconut oil
- Organic Butter or Ghee
- Unrefined, glass bottled plant oils – Flax, Borage, Olive, Corn, Sesame
- Excellent sources of fish oils
Why Eat Organic?
- Studies show that on average organic food contains more vitamins and minerals
than non-organic. This is because plants grow in a naturally nutrient-rich soil.
- Non-organic chemical farming methods can speed up growth rates which can change
the structure of a plant - resulting in the plant containing more water. Is that
a good thing? No because it means the plant will contain less nutrients. In other
words when you buy organic produce you get more carrot for your carrot.
- Even food that we think is healthy, such as non-organic apples, can be sprayed
16 times. There are real concerns about the links with pesticides and cancers, decreasing
male fertility, fetal abnormalities and chronic fatigue syndrome to name but a few.
Organic farmers predominantly use natural methods to control pests, weeds and disease.
So buying organic is one way to reduce the chances that your food contains pesticides.
- Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered before extensive research
linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases had been established. Now the
EPA considers that 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and
30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic. A 1987 National Academy of Sciences
report estimated that pesticides might cause an extra 1.4 million cancer cases among
Americans over their lifetimes. The bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed
to kill living organisms, and can also be harmful to humans. In addition to cancer,
pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation.
- When lots of animals are kept in cramped, stressful conditions they can become
ill quickly. To prevent this non-organic farmers put antibiotics routinely in their
feed. However there are worries that these low level but constant doses may end
up making them ineffective when they are used to treat actual diseases in both humans
and animals. Organic farmers can only use antibiotics when an animal falls ill.
They take many steps to prevent this from happening – such as keeping smaller flocks
and herds, giving them a natural diet and ensuring they can free range. Under organic
standards, the withdrawal period (time lapse between animal having antibiotics and
the meat or milk going on sale) is double or in some cases triple that of non organic
standards. This is to ensure that there is no risk of residues.
- Genetically modified ingredients are also banned under organic standards. There
is mounting evidence to suggest that there are many health problems resulting from
this random science. Eating organic food is the only way you can be sure that your
food or drink doesn’t contain these ingredients.
What is GMO?
A GMO is a genetically modified organism (also called "genetically engineered"):
a plant, animal, or microorganism that is created by means that overcome natural
boundaries. Genetic engineering involves crossing species that could not breed in
nature. For example, genes from a fish have been placed in strawberries and tomatoes.
Many people are concerned with the fact that neither the FDA, the USDA, nor the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has done any long-term testing of GMO in food
or the environment. It could take years for the unhealthful effects of GMO to develop.
Some experts conclude GMO foods could have new and different risks for you, your
family, and the environment.
The most widely grown GMO crops include soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton. Most
GMO crops today are of two types: "insect resistant" and "herbicide tolerant." Those
that are insect resistant are regulated as a new insecticide. When you eat GMO insect
resistant corn, for example, it may be like eating pesticides. With herbicide tolerant
crops, farmers no longer have to limit herbicide use to avoid killing plants. Farmers
can use larger amounts of herbicides sprayed directly on plants. The practice may
lead to more chemicals in your food