Macronutrients

Origins and History

Food is the basic resource of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that allow our body to do its daily performance. Our ability to eat foods and then extract the proper nutrients is what allows us to gain both energy and the building blocks for our immune system and other bodily functions. To understand human nutrition we must begin with the basics, that is, the building blocks and the chemical structure of food. Some reeducation is useful to help realize that many of the foods that we buy in food stores, fast food chains, and in health food stores may not actually be healthy for the human body. No longer may we overlook terms such as complex carbohydrates, simple carbohydrates, processed foods, refined grains, caffeine ingestion, alcohol consumption, and refined oils..(Macronutrients) Food intake and type have a profound effect on individual health. Although the ingestion of foods may not cause any acute deleterious effects on the health for humans, the long-term effects have been clearly documented in the literature. (Macronutrients)

As we cross the line into the new millennium, physicians and other health care providers need to consider how to effect change in our patients with less emphasis on the use of synthetic drugs and other chemical concoctions. Nutritional literature supports a growing realization that food could have a significant contributory factor in many of our chronic ailments of today, including cancer, collagen vascular diseases, arthritis, and even progressive aging. Our patients are spending billions of dollars on diets like high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat, low protein, Paleolithic, blood typing, zone, starvation, food pyramid, allergic disorder, caloric restriction, and juicing diets. Unfortunately, none of these specialized protocols is universally ideal. Individualized treatment and prescription of the appropriate diet is essential for the improvement for a patient’s nutritional status. (Macronutrients)



Thanks to alternative medicine for contributing this article to our Ginseng blog:

Chinese Handbook Healing Herb

Can you answer Headless Chicken!!’s question about Ginseng?:

Hi, my friends parents have a siberian ginseng plant in their garden and would really like to know more about how to care for it and what to do in the way of pruning, watering and general stuff like that. I have looked on the net but only really found medicinal uses and origins of ginseng but no gardening advice. Anyone who can help please speak up now!
Cheers, Donna.

Chinese Herbs And Vitamins

While many people go for the quick fix of prescription drugs most don’t have to and there are plenty of herbs which can increase libido and they do so naturally. Here we are going to look at a little known but powerful herb which has been used in China for centuries to increase libido – Cnidium…

Before we discuss the herb lets look at the two major causes of low libido.

The first is poor blood circulation. If you want a strong libido, you need blood that runs smoothly around the body and is pumped strongly to the extremities such as the genitals. Blood flow is crucial to libido and needs to respond quickly when sexual arousal messages are transmitted by the brain.

The Key to an Erection

When an erection occurs, blood that has moved to the extremities needs to enter the penis and this is where the key chemical nitric oxide comes in. This chemical is secreted in the walls of the blood vessels leading to the penis and allows them to open, expand and for an increased flow of blood to enter and create an erection.

If you don’t get enough of it, you will fail to get an erection, so it’s vital but it declines with age and many men, who think their impotence cannot be cured, simply need more nitric oxide.

Of course we all know prescription drugs perform this function and give you an erection – but that’s all they do. They do nothing for arousal or sexual desire, they simply give you an erection and that’s all.

Herbs however actually work naturally in the body and can increase the feeling of sexual desire as well which makes for a complete sexual experience.

So what does Cnidium do?

Cnidium seed contains several compounds which are important for sexual health and include the following imperatorin, glucides Coumarins, osthol, imperatorin and hepatoprotective sesquiterpenes.

Cnidium works in the same way as synthetic drugs, to increase levels of nitric oxide release and inhibit PDE-5 and it does it naturally.

It also acts as a circulatory herb, helping the blood flow around the body and to the extremities, nourishing the blood at the same time.

In China Cnidium is combined with complimentary herbs to provide a potent mix and if you add Ginseng and Ginkgo Biloba, you get great body tonic herbs which help with blood circulation, increase energy and enhance mood. Add in Horny Goat Weed and you have another herb that helps nitric oxide production, as well as increasing testosterone and is another great energy booster.

Cnidium is now being found in the best herbal sex pills and is one of the best herbs to increase libido It’s natural, safe and can enhance your wellbeing, as well as your sexual health.



Thanks to Kelly Price for contributing this article to our Ginseng blog:

Small Grinder For Ginseng

Ginseng is a popular herbal supplement that has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. In the west it has been used to increase energy and boost the immune system. Ginseng is made from the roots of several plant species including Asian and American ginseng. Modern medicine has found it difficult to discover the results of using ginseng. Studies are inconclusive and may be because of the wide variety of quality of the ginseng products. Chinese have touted the benefits of ginseng for various ailments and continue to use this herb regularly.

In a recent study from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, 1455 Chinese women treated for breast cancer were followed for six years. They found that women who had already been using ginseng were less likely to die of breast cancer. Those women who started taking ginseng after their cancer diagnosis reported they were able to be more active and they had a better emotional health during treatment. The women who were taking ginseng were using an American ginseng product or white ginseng root that was unprocessed. They also received regular cancer treatment such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Although the benefits of ginseng have been difficult to prove, the 1065 women who survived breast cancer, sixty-three percent used ginseng after their diagnosis. It is difficult to assess if ginseng was responsible for these remarkable numbers because it is impossible to separate the effects of ginseng from other alternative medicines that some of the women used. Laboratory studies do show the ingredients of ginseng do slow down tumor cell growth.

Women who have breast cancer should talk to their doctor about any benefits that ginseng would give them. You should always consult your health care professional before adding any alternative medicine to your breast cancer treatment. The herb may also have side effect or could interact with other medications your doctor has prescribed. It is not recommended that you use ginseng instead of conventional cancer treatments. The findings of increased survival rate still need to be proved in more clinical studies.

Those who have benefited from ginseng as an addition to their cancer therapy strongly suggest that further clinical trials should be done. These studies will find out if ginseng used with conventional breast cancer treatment will increase the survival rate of breast cancer patients.

Ginseng does have an effect on the patient’s sense of well being, giving them a more positive attitude and a feeling of good emotional health. If you are already taking ginseng, it may be a benefit for you to continue to take the herb. If you are not taking it, consult with your doctor to see if it will benefit you. If you decide to take ginseng as a supplement to your cancer treatment, be sure your doctor is aware of all medications you are on. It may cause drug interactions that can do more harm than good from using ginseng. As with any new medicine or alternative treatment, always get all the information you can about new products or methods of treatments.



Thanks to Scott Meyers for contributing this article to our Ginseng blog:

How To Grow Ginseng

Can you answer ULTIMASPAMMER’s question about Ginseng?:

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Chinese Handbook Healing Herb