Good news for diabetics in New Scientist:Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics, a new study has found. The effect, which can be produced even by soaking a cinnamon stick your tea, could also benefit millions of non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem but are unaware of it.
No, that doesn't give you license to pig out on pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Way too much sugar and other crap. You can also get cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) in a powder form and add it to just about anything you like!
Special thanks to Julius from Outwardly Normal for the link!
That's a phrase you might be hearing soon, if an Italian alternative clothing manufacturer has anything to say about it. Corpo Novo uses stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) as their fiber, and for good reasons: Nettle fibre had previously been used to clothe Napoleon's Armada and was reintroduced during cotton shortages during both world wars:
"The fibres of the stinging nettle have a special characteristic in the fact that they are hollow which means they can accumulate air inside thus creating a natural insulation. To create a cool fibre for Summer the yarn lengths are twisted closing the hollow core and reducing insulation. In Winter with a low twist the hollow fibre remains open maintaining a constant temperature.
"Existing problems in the agricultural sector such as overproduction in the dairy industry, over-fertilisation of the soil, problems due to monocultures as well as the lack of financial opportunities underline the need for alternative crops. The stinging nettle is a perennial plant which thrives on nitrogenous and over-fertilised soil, making it a very interesting alternative that would add a completely new aspect to agriculture in central Europe."
Thanks to the good folks at World Changing for the link!
A slight twist on the Classic version of Elderberry Syrup. This one has a much stronger "bite" thanks to the increased levels of Cinnamon and Osha. Also, I've added three other new herbs to the mix. I'm not usually one to add more than three herbs to a formula, but in the case of colds and flu for the masses, I'll make an exception. Too difficult to customize the formula to one person, and the payoff wouldn't be that great. This is a "one size fits all" remedy.
Elder-sha Syrup
Ingredients:
- Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) berries, dried - 8 oz.
- Osha (Ligusticum porteri) root, dried - 3.5 oz.
- Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) root, dried - 2 oz.
- Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens) root, dried - 2 oz.
Red Root (Ceanothus spp.) root, fresh - 2 oz. - Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) bark, dried - 3 tsp.
- Honey (unpasturized) - 2 cups
- Distilled water - 8 cups
- Grand Marnier liquor - 1/4 cup
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root, dried - 1 oz.
Weigh the proper quantity of each herb and combine with the water in a stainless steel pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes.
Strain the mixture into another pan using a cheese cloth and strainer (a press if you have one.) Once the liquid is separated, add the honey and brandy at a low heat setting, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Pour the syrup into dark glass bottles. Green wine bottles work nicely and can be stored in the refrigerator. I keep a 2 oz brown, blue or green bottle out and handy during the winter months.
Starting to get a little chilly here in the desert southwest. And lots of folks I know are starting to get sick with colds and flu. Time for a new batch of Elderberry Syrup. This time, I'm going to try adding some new ingredients:
- Pau D'arco (Tabebuia heptaphylla) - A powerful anti-viral and immunomodulator
Red Root (Ceanothus spp.) - An excellent lymphatic, to help move the "junk" left over in the sytem after the battle has been waged.
LIcorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra> - I almost always add Licorice when I'm using more than one herb. It just makes all of them work together better!
If it works as well as I'm hoping, I'll update the original formula. Friends and family, put your orders in now!
Michael Tierra is one of the most influential herbalists of our generation. He recently posted a letter on the American Herbalist Guild website and asked it to be forwarded to all interested parties. I'm not big on email forwards, but if you're reading this site, you must be an interested party.
Dear friends of natural healing,Following information is extremely important if you value the availability of food supplements and herbs. The DSHEA act of 1998 made these supplements available based on claims based on form and function. In other words no supplement or herb can be sold as a treatment for a named disease but they can be prescribed based on the fact that they have a beneficial effect on a particular organ or bodily function. For instance parsley is good for the kidneys and bladder and increases urination; oatmeal helps lower cholesterol, beets are good for the liver and blood, artichokes are beneficial for the liver, etc.
A manufacturer is prohibited by law to say that artichoke products cures hepatitis (which it does), or that parsley can cure urinary tract infections (which it does). This is the law and it has worked quite well.
Claims must be substantiated by well known historical use or current research. This means that any manufacturer who promotes their product for which it has no significant historical use (ephedra for weight loss for instance) is in violation of DSHEA and the FDA can and should enforce the law against these companies. They haven't, and considering that they hated the DSHEA bill that was passed by the largest grassroots letter writing lobby that has ever occurred in the US, they have considerable pressure from pharmaceutical companies to allow abuses to occur so that the present bill that would significantly roll back the DSHEA bill of 1998.
By now we have all heard of the abuses of some manufacturers who have made highly concentrated extracts of ephedra used dangerously as legal as a stimulant or in weight loss products. There is no traditional basis for use of ephedra in this way. Ma Huang or ephedra is the most potent herb for the treatment of asthma but it is prescribed in far smaller doses by herbalists.
Again, this is not a traditional use and the FDA deliberately allowed this herb to be sold, despite the well known potential for serious adverse reactions.
There have been a few other either completely unsubstantiated claims or isolated idiosyncratic (individuals experiencing an adverse reaction as some might do to any particular food) incidents that are blown up out of proportion, compared to the thousands of deaths each year directly caused by acetaminophen, aspirin and other over the counter drugs) to the number of cases involved.
(NOTE: ibuprofen -- at least 103,000 hospitalizations yearly from aspirin and ibuprofen related GI problems (including ulcer disease, blood in stools, GI bleeding, dyspepsia)WITH 9000 deaths a year from stomach hemorrhage as two for instances. Then there's the April 15, 1998 report published in the Washington Post how "More than 2 million Americans become seriously ill every year because of toxic reactions to correctly prescribed medicines taken properly, and 106,000 die from those reactions."
In contrast herbs and supplements have so low an incident of serious adverse reactions that they don't even earn a category of risk based on a survey of government poison control centers around the US.
The issue banning Kava Kava was found to be based on product by certain German manufacturer's who, to increase profits, instead of insisting on marketing only the root bark based on traditional usage, purchased the upper bark of the Kava tree which is for good reasons never used by the Polynesians over 1000 years of traditional use in their Kava ceremonies. So there were a handful of largely unsubstantiated cases of liver toxicity based on the use of this inferior, 'non-traditional' product. Because of this, kava kava, one of the world's greatest medicinal herbs is either banned or voluntarily not sold. Again, the reason is because of deliberate and inappropriate FDA enforcement and enforcement by other similar authorities worldwide. Its like selling commercial apple sauce with the seeds which are a potent source of cyanide ground into the sauce. Or including the highly toxic upper stems of the potato plant in products that include potatoes as part of their ingredients. Would you ban potatoes because of such a flagrant abuse?
The supplement and herb industry is over 10 billion dollars a year and you can bet it is taking a bite out of the over priced pharmaceuticals that are replete with well known side effects and involve millions of deaths and injuries each year.
The present bill allows the FDA to ban the sale of any herb or supplement based on even one reported adverse reaction. You can imagine the pharmaceutical company and opponents of the supplement and herb industry will be busily at work to lobby a number of reported adverse reactions until the industry is virtually gutted or better yet, these wonderful God-given traditional remedies are only available by prescription or from pharmaceutical companies at an exorbitantly high cost.
FOR THE SAKE OF THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO HAVE COME TO RELY ON THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTS AND HERBS, I IMPLORE YOU TO RESPOND TO THIS LETTER IMMEDIATELY AND FORWARD IT TO AS MANY AS YOU KNOW.
Sincerely,
Michael Tierra
Click the MORE button below for info on exactly how you can help. And do it now, please.
--------- Forwarded message ----------
from American Herbal Product Association
****
Dear Practitioners,
Please be aware that the following developments will impact your ability to provide herbs to your patients. This proposal is also attempting reduce the difference between the way that drugs and dietary supplements are regulated.
OM practitioners and their patients need to take action now with their legislators.
Thank you,
Bill Egloff
President, Crane Herb Company
Co-Chair, AHPA's Chinese Herbal Product Committee
AHPA Update
American Herbal Product Association
September 25, 2003
Rally on Capitol Hill Set for October 21
- AHPA Members and Practitioners are Urged to Attend -
Critics of DSHEA on the move.
Do you know that Senator Richard Durbin, the Democratic Senator from Illinois, has introduced legislation that would grant FDA broad, new authorities over dietary supplements? The so-called Dietary Supplement Safety Act (S. 722) would establish new rules for dietary supplements but not for drugs so that a single report of a serious adverse event could result in a demand by FDA for a dietary supplement to be removed from the market.
Do you know that the American Medical Association (AMA), located in Chicago, Illinois, has a standing policy to amend DSHEA? In 1998, the AMA adopted its Policy H-150.954, which urges Congress to modify DSHEA so that all dietary supplements, including those already on the market, be required to undergo approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Do you know that Consumers Union, the published of Consumer Reports, is actively working to support Senator Durbin’s legislation with a coordinated “grassroots project? With a call to “urge stricter FDA oversight of dietary supplements, this organization is encouraging its readers to contact the U.S. Congress with a message to reform DSHEA and protect consumers.
Senators Harkin, Hatch focus on FDA accountability.
But you should also know that Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced a bill that would provide additional funding for FDA to enforce the current dietary supplement law. Finding that FDA has not adequately used its authority to enforce DSHEA, the DSHEA Full Implementation and Enforcement Act(S. 1538) would increase FDA funding for regulation of dietary supplements and would require that the agency submit an annual accountability report to the U.S. Congress on the agency’s enforcement of DSHEA.
Now is the time to act.
Our critics and others who believe that there should be little, if any, difference between the way that drugs and dietary supplements are regulated, are lining up. They are organized and focused, they have established their goals and are actively implementing their strategies. At the same time, our champions continue to address the real issue which is the failure of the federal regulatory agency to adequately enforce the law.
The herbal and dietary supplement industry must be at least as well organized and active as our critics. We must support our Congressional allies and build new alliances. We must Get Out the Vote, beginning with our own, to send a clear message of support for S. 1538 and opposition to S. 722.
What you can do.
1. Rally on Capitol Hill set for October 21. In cooperation with other industry organizations, AHPA is co-sponsoring a Lobby Day in Washington, DC. This event, scheduled for October 21, 2003, will create a real opportunity for you to meet personally with key members of Congress and their staff to educate them about your stake in keeping dietary supplements on the market. There is no cost to attendees and all your meetings are prearranged for you. For more information and to register for the Rally on Capitol Hill, visit the AHPA website at http://www.ahpa.org/rally.pdf or call (301) 588-1171 x106.
2. Write to the Senate and House of Representatives.
No message is more important to an elected officeholder than one received from someone who votes in their state or district. If you can not get to Washington, DC on October 21, you should contact your Congress members in writing. A pre-scripted letter (subject to your modifications) is posted at the end of this alert. Direct email access to your Congressional representatives can be accessed at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/
3. Forward this message to others. You and your company have relationships with your vendors, your customers, and possibly your customer's customers to whom you should communicate the message that NOW is the time to act. The more voices that Congress hears whether in person on October 21, or in writing, by telephone, or by email, the more clearly they will hear this important message in support of S. 1538 and in opposition to S. 722.
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To Use This Suggested Letter.
Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/, then simply insert your zip code (preferable zip + 4) and hit go. Follow the instructions (click “email” and then click “Compose Your Own letter”) to send 3 separate emails: one to each of your two senators and one to your representative. Then insert this prescripted message or your own letter and send.
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Subject: Support S. 1538 and Oppose S. 722
As your constituent, I urge you to support a very important bill from Senators Tom Harkin and Orrin Hatch, the DSHEA Full Implementation and Enforcement Act of 2003 (S. 1538). This bill will give the Food and Drug Administration the resources it needs to enforce the current law, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
Even though the two most recent FDA commissioners have said that they have the power to ensure dietary supplements are safe for American consumers, the agency has also expressed concern that it doesn't have enough funding to enforce the current law. S. 1538 will provide funding that is consistent with FDA’s needs and will also require the agency to file annual reports to Congress about how DSHEA is being implemented and enforced.
Please support Senators Harkin and Hatch in their efforts to pass this bill and please also consider becoming a co-sponsor.
At the same time that I am requesting your support for S. 1538, I urge you to oppose S. 722, the so-called Dietary Supplement Safety Act, introduced by Senator Richard Durbin. Despite its title, this bill provides no more consumer protection than DSHEA if it were properly enforced. It does, however, contain new and discretionary enforcement powers that would significantly undermine many of the freedoms that American consumers of dietary supplements - like myself, my employees and my customers - hold dear.
S. 722 would also establish a regulatory scheme that subjects nearly all vitamins, minerals, herbal products and other supplements to a level of scrutiny that is both unwarranted and unnecessary. Products that have been used safely and beneficially for many years would be subject to clinical evaluation using standards that are at the complete discretion of the FDA.
Instead of changing a good law, Congress should help FDA do a better job enforcing DSHEA by providing the resources the agency needs to make full use of its existing and adequate authority.
In closing, I ask you support the S. 1538 to help FDA fully implement and enforce DSHEA. I also ask that you oppose the extreme and unnecessary legislation proposed in S. 722.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important matter.
In a recent article on drkoop.com, the question of accurate and responsible labeling of herbal remedies was brought into question. Believe it or not, I tend to agree with that statement. Other pieces of the article give me pause, however. Allow me to explain.
There are two kinds of people involved in phytomedicine and herbalism. Those who understand the healing power of herbs and wish to explore this healing modality further, and those who understand the potential revenue from a mass-marketed "get-well-quick-and-natural" product and wish to explore higher profits. Guess which camp I fall into?
Good herbalists (I lump myself in this group) are keenly aware of the products they recommend to their clients. They are diligent about researching their suppliers and put quality high on their list as well as impress this upon their clients. As such, we know exactly what we're recommending and for the most part don't encounter the issue of ingesting something other than what was intended.
But all too often, "consumers" (how I hate that word) take it upon themselves to select their own herbal remedies-- often based solely on price. I'm not saying that all medicine should be expensive. In fact, many of the custom compounds I create on behalf of clients are significantly cheaper than similar products found in whole food and health food stores. Conversely, just because an herbal remedy is expensive doesn't make it more effective than others. That's why you need an herbalist to help you make those decisions.
Some key points from the article:
- Over the past 10 years the use of herbal products by Americans has increased 380 percent.
In 1998, there was over $600 million in sales of herbal products.
The 10 most popular used herbal supplements include echinacea, St. John's wort, Ginkgo biloba, garlic, saw palmetto, ginseng, goldenseal, aloe, Siberian ginseng and valerian.
That's a huge market. Of the herbs listed, the first three are literally worthless if not properly prepared. Garlic (Allium sativa) has different properties depending on how it is prepared. Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) extracts of poor quality often contain high levels of hexane and other noxious chemicals used in the extraction process. Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is most definitely not ginseng if it doesn't break your pocketbook. Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is overused, over harvested and misunderstood. The claims for the healing power of Aloe (Aloe spp.) (while a very valuable phytomedicine) greatly exaggerated. Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosis) (now called Eleuthero) is less effective (though still effective) with less-than-rigorous preparation methods, and a good percentage of the population will be either unaffected or adversely affected by valerian (Valeriana officinalis).
My point: treat herbalism more like prescription medications than like OTC meds. There are too many people after your wallet to go at this on your own. Take the time to get to know an herbalist in your community. It's money well spent, and the knowledge can last you a lifetime.