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Benefit of Garlic

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:52:18 +0000

It is not by opportunity that garlic is indigenous to central Asia, the area where people live the longest, and the occurrence of cancer is the lowest known. The ancient Egyptians included garlic in the diet of the slaves who built the pyramids. They know the benefits of garlic.

History attributes many properties to garlic, and most of them are proven by scientific means. Conceivably garlic is the vegetal medicine with the most scientifically established properties. more

The complete plant, but especially the bulb contains alliin a (a sulphured glycoside), and enzyme (alliinase), vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and niacin (a vitamin of the B group). Alliin does not smell, but by the action of alliinase, which releases and acts when garlic is crushed, it is altered first into alliicine, and then into diallyl disulphide (the genine of the glycoside), which are the most important active principles which give garlic its typical smell.

Alliin and diallyl dysulphur are highly unstable substances, which melt quite easily into liquids and gases. When transported by the blood, they infuse all tissues and organs of the body. Thus they act on the whole body, though more powerfully on the organs through which they are eliminated: Bronchi and lungs, kidneys, and skin.

In high doses, garlic produces a decrease in blood pressure, both highest and lowest. It has vasodilating effects, and is recommend for people suffering from hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and heart dysfunctions (angina pectoris or heart attacks).

Benefits of garlic include helping with anticlotting of platelets (prevents an excessive tendency of platelets to group, forming clots), and fibrinolytic (disintegrates fibrin, the protein that forms blood clots). This makes garlic highly recommended for people suffering from thrombosis, embolism, or vascular accidents due to the lack of blood flow.

It decreases the level of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in the blood, because it makes its absorption by the intestine more difficult. It has been proven that in the hours following a breakfast of toast with butter, the level of cholesterol increases 20%, however when the bread is rubbed with garlic, even if it has butter, this increase does not take place.

Since it normalizes the level of sugar in blood, it is a must for people suffering from diabetes, and obesity.

Garlic is also an antibiotic and antiseptic. It is proven to be effective against the following micro-organisms:

- Escherichia coli, which causes intestinal dysbacteriosis and urinary infections.

- Salmonella typhi, which causes typhoid, and other Salmonella genus that cause severe intestinal afflictions.

- Shigella dysenteriae, which causes bacillus dysentery.

- Staphylococcus and streptococcus, which causes furuncles (infected blemishes) and other skin infections.

- Diverse types of fungi, yeasts, and some viruses, such as herpes. The active principles of garlic are supposed to interact with the nucleic acids of the virus, thus limiting its proliferation.

The bacteria-killing powers of garlic inside the intestine are vigilant with bad bacteria, respecting the normal bacteria, for which it is good. This makes garlic better than most known antibiotics, since it regulates good intestinal bacteria instead of destroying it all.

Its use is recommended:

- In diarrhea, gastroenteritis, and colitis.

- In salmonellosis (intestinal infections usually caused by spoiled food.

- In intestinal bacterial imbalance (alteration of microbial balance of the intestine) often caused by the use of antibiotics.

- In fermentative dyspepsia, which cause flatulence in the colon.

- In urinary infections (cystitis and pyelonephritis), often caused by Esterichia coli.

- In diverse bronchial affections (acute and chronic bronchitis), because when the dysulphur of allyl is liberated through the breath, it acts directly on the bronchial mucous membrane. It is also an expectorant and antiasthmatic.

Garlic stimulates the activity of the defensive cells of the body, both lymphocytes and macrophages. These cells, which flow with the blood, protect us from microorganisms, and furthermore they are able to destroy cancerous cells, at least in the initial phases of tumor formation. Garlic is now used with some success as a complement in the treatment of AIDS.

It is also active against ascarides and oxyuridae (little white worms that provokes anal itching in children). The most frequent types of intestinal parasites.

It also prevents malignant tumors especially digestive cancers. This is likely due to its regulating action on intestinal bacteria, and normalizing action on the digestive function, though this may be related to its effects on the set of chemical reactions of the body (metabolism). Remember we only recommend it as a preventative substance.

Garlic is also widely used as a corn remover. Applying a piece of garlic mashed onto a callus, covering it with a plaster (Band-Aid). Within two or three days, the corn will soften and its inflammation will reduce, thus allowing easier extirpation.

Coffee into traditional Chinese medicine

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:28:56 +0000

To discuss coffee’s classification into traditional Chinese medicine energetics I prefer to look at its actions and side effects. Increased alertness/energy, diuretic, diaphoretic, and purgative. The last three are easy to classify as drain dampness, resolve exterior and mild purgative. Classifying increased energy I think can mistakenly be classified as a Qi tonic. I mention mistakenly as I do not see coffee having any supplementing energies. If it were supplementing like Ren Shen or Huang Qi then I would expect over time that coffee would build your Qi and stamina. This is not the case. Once the effect of coffee wears off you are tired again and often more tired needing more coffee. I think coffee is borrowing from your jing and this is experienced as an increase in energy. Over time continuous coffee consumption will deplete your Jing and causes more fatigue. Bob Flaws explains how coffee can cause the stirring of ministerial fire giving you a sense of increased energy. more
To Quote Bob Flaws: It is also possible for ministerial fire to stir frenetically simply due to too much stirring. This means mental-emotional, verbal, and/or physical stirring. All stirring or movement is the expression of the activity of yang qi, and all the yang qi of the body is rooted in the life gate fire. Stirring consumes yang qi at the same time as it transforms and consumes yin essence. In particular, stirring of heart and/or liver fire due to emotional stress, excitement and anger or the stirring of excessive sexual desire and activity may stir ministerial fire to flame upward and become hyperactive above. Last but not least, many so-called recreational drugs which are acrid, warm, up bearing, out-thrusting, and scattering may also cause upward stirring of ministerial fire. – This includes marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiods, and hallucinogens. It also includes coffee, alcohol, and tobacco.
Bob Flaws has referenced from somewhere that coffee is acrid, warm, up bearing, out-thrusting, and scattering. My question is how does this description explain the diuretic and purgative affect?
Coffee is acrid, warm, up bearing, out-thrusting, and scattering may also cause upward stirring of ministerial fire according to Bob Flaws. Knowing Bob, he came to this conclusion through detailed analysis and appropriate references to respected Chinese medicine sources and journals.
This description explains how it can give a sense of increased energy and act as a diaphoretic. Any comments how the traditional Chinese medicine classification of Coffee above explains the purgative and diuretic effect?
According to traditional Chinese medicine herbal theory, which channel(s) do(es) coffee have an affinity for? This is often a contentious subject within traditional Chinese medicine since many of the main effects of coffee are related to its ability to affect the mind (i.e. inducing wakefulness and insomnia, reducing anxiety, and enhancing cognition). And since, according to traditional Chinese medicine, the mind is housed in the heart, it may appear that coffee is primarily directed to the heart channel. However, it is in my opinion that the tropism of coffee is primarily the liver, secondarily for the heart, and kidneys. The five-element theory illustrates the effect that coffee has on these three channels/organs. The liver over taxes from its mother element, the kidneys. In turn, the liver generates excessively with its child element, the heart.
I agree that coffee’s flavor is predominantly acrid and that its energy is very warm. Acrid herbs that enter the Liver act to up bear (another example is chai hu). Chai hu is acrid and cool, and it up bears qi. Coffee is acrid and warm and seemingly up bears the yang. This up bearing of yang is transferred to the heart where it arouses the mind, which leads to wakefulness, or insomnia, etc.
It is difficult to fit coffee neatly into a Chinese herbal category. It appears that coffee regulates the qi, while at the same time warms the interior. Generally, acrid herbs for releasing the exterior have affinities for the lung (the most superficial organ), or the bladder (the most superficial channel, taiyang). Even though coffee is considered to possess diaphoretic and diuretic actions, I do not think coffee has affinities for either the lung or bladder, and therefore would not be a particularly effective herb for releasing the exterior. Nor does coffee conform to the downward draining purgatives and laxatives categories, despite promoting bowel movements.
The grounds for coffee’s diaphoretic, diuretic, and purgative actions are less orthodox. From extensive self-experimentation, I understand that the diaphoretic action of coffee is a property that relates to coffee overdose. That is, an excessive consumption of coffee brings about diaphoresis, along with a host of other adverse effects: jitters (stirring of liver wind), and anxiety (disturbed mind). Diaphoresis and anxiety occur when coffee’s dispersing action excessively diffuses heart qi. The diuretic and purgative actions for the most part stem from the over taxation of the kidney and less so from any direct action on the fu organs. This seems a reasonable explanation, since the kidney controls the lower two orifices (1).

Weight loss with Green Tea !

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:21:50 +0000

Surprised aren’t you? Believe it or not but you will find green tea or green tea extract included as an ingredient in some much popular weight loss supplements. Green tea is gaining popularity as a weight loss supplement. It’s being used as a digestive aid for quite sometime but now experts agree that green tea can also induce weight loss, the Chinese have touted its benefits for centuries. But nowadays due to global access to virtually any product, the rest of the world has also discovered about the benefits of green tea with regards weight loss. But have you ever wondered why the supplement makers are so hastily including green tea in their weight loss products? Well there are numerous benefits. more

Benefits of Green Tea Most importantly green tea extract often replaces the caffeine component of the standard ephedrine caffeine -salicin (aspirin) fat burning batch. That makes green tea a great fat burner. That’s not all what green tea does! It also provides additional benefits far and beyond what caffeine does. Firstly it’s a powerful anti-oxidant like vitamin C and beta-carotene. But the researchers suggest that the active ingredient called epigallocatechin gallate may be up to 200 times more powerful than vitamin E as an oxidant.

Increases metabolism and thermogenesis

Green tea’s component catechin polyphenol speeds up fat oxidation and thermogeneis (heat generated when the body burns up the fat). Alabama scientist Christopher Freville specifies that this compound increases the body metabolism and enhances the effects of protein diets and exercise. Traditional green tea contains caffeine but nowadays you can get caffeine free varieties in the market. Reduces Cholesterol Green tea also aids in reducing bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins. Majority of obesity related problems and cardiovascular diseases are caused by this bad cholesterol. LDL can also leave deposits on the arteries, which can interfere with the blood circulation, and this interference causes stroke, heart attacks and other serious health issues. Green tea can also washes out LDL the bad cholesterol and slows down the conversion to the dietary fats into cholesterol.

Regulates Glucose Level

Unused sugar and carbohydrates are stored in the body in the form of fat cells, which appears as excess weight. Green tea prevents this formation by blocking amylase enzyme that helps in breaking down starches to be absorbed by the body. Green tea catechin prevents obesity by regulating the movement of glucose in fat cells. It also prevents the formation of blood clots that is thrombosis that causes heart attack, thus reducing the risk of stroke.

By drinking about 2-4 cups if green tea per day you can shed about some weight. But while preparing green tea do not use boiling water, as this will make the tea bitter as the longer the tea steeps in the more bitter it will taste.

Green tea can be used for weight loss as well as it can be used as another tool towards good health. Most importantly you must carve out a healthy lifestyle which includes balanced died and daily physical activity.

Technique Acupressure

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:16:19 +0000

Acupressure is a traditional Chinese technique based on the same principles as acupuncture. Unlike Acupuncture, that uses needles to achieve response, acupressure uses gentle but firm physical pressure exerted by hand, elbow, and foot or with the aid of different devices. Pressure is applied to different acupuncture points found on the human body surface to achieve the desired remedial effect. more Many East Asian martial arts extensively use this technique to incapacitate their opponents. As per the historians acupressure is older than acupuncture, but acupressure lost popularity with the advent of acupuncture. Still it continues to be most effective method for the treatment of tension related ailments and pain. While we talk of acupressure and acupuncture we continuously refer to the traditional Chinese principles of acupressure or acupuncture points. The traditional Chinese principles treat the human body as a whole; it represents various jiaos or levels of the ventral body cavity. Any disease is taken as a loss of balance between the yin and yang energies and treatment of disease is attempted by modifying the activity of one or more systems of function. Chinese principle holds that acupuncture or acupressure works by normalizing the free flow of qi (vital energy), blood and body fluids (jin ye) throughout the body. Pain is treated by correcting the local or systemic upsurge or insufficiency. Pain is considered to indicate blockage or stagnation of the flow of qi, blood and/or fluids, the delicate balance between qi and blood is of primary concern in Chinese principle, hence the saying blood is the mother of qi, and qi is the controller of blood. Both qi and blood work together to move and to nourish the body fluids. Acupressure or acupuncture points are located along several layers of pathways, most commonly the twelve primary pathways or meridians, located throughout the body. Beside that other pathways are the eight unusual Pathways Qi Jing Ba Mai, Luo Vessels, the Divergent and the Sinew Channels. Ten of the primary pathways are named after organs of the body, eleventh pathway is named for the membrane that wraps the heart, the last pathway is the ‘three spaces’ (San Jiao). The twelve primary pathways run vertically, bilaterally, and symmetrically and every channel corresponds to and connects internally with one of the twelve organs. There are six yin and six yang channels in all. Out of these, three yin and three yang channels are present on each arm, and three yin and three yang on each leg. All the acupuncture points of a channel lie on its external pathway. The internal pathways are the deep path of the channel where it enters the body cavities and related organs. The external pathways of the twelve channels depict three complete circuits of the body, chest to hands, hands to head, head to feet, feet to chest, etc. There are some electronic devices now available which will make a noise when the correct acupressure/acupuncture point is pressed. As soon as a point is pressed, the muscle tension give way to the pressure, enabling the muscle fibers to stretch and relax, blood to flow freely, and toxins to be released and eliminated. Increased circulation also brings in more oxygen and other nutrients to the affected area. This increases the body’s resistance to illness and promotes a longer, healthier, more vital life. When the blood and bioelectrical energy circulate properly, we have a greater sense of harmony, health, and well-being. The acupressure expert decides which points to treat by observing and questioning the patient in order to make a diagnosis according to the tradition. There are four diagnostic methods: inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiring, and palpation. The whole process I relatively pain free. After prolonged finger pressure is applied directly on the pressure point; gradual, steady, penetrating pressure for approximately three minutes on the affected point is ideal. A general guideline is that the pressure should be firm enough so that it hurts between pleasant, firm pressure and outright pain. The middle finger is the longest and strongest of the fingers and is best suited for applying acupressure. The thumb is strong, too, but often lacks sensitivity. The knuckles or fist or other tools can be used according to specific requirements. The rule of thumb is to apply slow, firm pressure on the point at a 90 degree angle from the surface of the skin. It’s important to apply and release finger pressure gradually because this allows the tissues time to respond, promoting healing. After repeated acupressure sessions using different degrees of pressure, the patient will begin to feel a pulse at the point. This pulsation is a good sign, it means that circulation has increased in the affected area. Each body and each area of the body requires a different amount of pressure. At present different kinds of acupressure are being practiced. The same age-old pressure points are used in all of them to date. Varying rhythms, pressures and techniques create different styles of acupressure. Shiatsu, for instance, the most well-known style of acupressure, can be quite vigorous, with firm pressure applied to each point for only three to five seconds. Another kind of acupressure gently holds each point for a minute or more. Pressing with an intermittent, fast beat is stimulating; a slower pressure creates a deeply relaxing effect on the body. Slow motion kneading uses the thumbs and fingers along with the heels of the hands to squeeze large muscle groups firmly. This motion is similar to that of kneading a large mass of dough. This relieves general stiffness, shoulder and neck tension, constipation, and spasms in the calf muscles. Brisk rubbing uses friction to stimulate the blood and lymph. The skin is rubbed lightly to relieve chilling, swelling, and numbness by increasing circulation, as well as to benefit the nerves and tone of the skin. Quick tapping with fingertips stimulates muscles on unprotected, tender areas of the body such as the face. For larger areas of the body, such as the back or buttocks, loose fist is used. This can improve the functioning of nerves and sluggish muscles in the area. Acupressure can be very effective in helping relieve headaches, eyestrain, sinus problems, neck pain, backaches, arthritis, muscle aches, and tension due to stress. It also relieves ulcer pain, menstrual cramps, lower back aches, constipation, indigestion, anxiety and helps you get to sleep at night. The best part of acupressure is – there is no side effect as no drugs or medications are being used.