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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.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Herbal Remedies.

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Tags: chinese medicine, ginseng, Herbal Remedies, immune system

Eating peppers is a great way to stay healthy. Besides tasting great, peppers contribute to fighting disease, improving your respiratory health, and stimulating the digestive tract. Although some object to the tingling sensations of hot peppers, many swear by their advantages.

All peppers come from the genus “Capsicum,” but the variety among peppers is tremendous. There are peppers that are mildly flavored, sweet peppers, and dangerously hot firecrackers.

No matter whether you enjoy the taste of the mild Anaheim or bell pepper, the medium Cascabel or the fiery Jalapeno or Tabasco, you should enjoy peppers on a regular basis. Peppers are not only delicious, they are also virtually fat free.

Peppers come in a wide variety of colors: light, medium and dark green; gold; orange; bright red and all the way up to dark red; yellow peppers from pale to bright; browns from medium to extremely dark and some peppers are even purple in color.

Peppers are comparable to garlic and onions in their health benefits. Peppers are helpful for respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and an assortment of other breathing problems.

Hot peppers have played an integral role in Chinese medicine. Peppers have an ingredient in them known as “Capsaicin;” this ingredient is particularly good at encouraging the lungs to work as well as they possibly can. If you want your lungs to work efficiently, then add peppers to your diet on a regular basis. Peppers are recommended as a daily food for all individual who smoke. If you are exposed to second hand smoke on a regular basis, you might want to eat as many peppers as you possibly can.

Peppers help to fight off a cold or flu, due to their anti-inflammatory properties. Anyone who suffers from sinus congestion or sinus pain or has postnasal drip or problems with their nasal passages should add peppers to their daily diet. Peppers of all sorts can help to decrease the incidence of headaches.

Peppers have very few calories and are extremely high when it comes to vitamin C. In fact a green bell pepper contains more vitamin C than any kind of citrus fruit that is of the same weight and a red pepper triples that when it comes to vitamin C. The hotter the pepper, the higher quantity of vitamin C it contains. Back in history Chile peppers have been used to help prevent the common cold and when a person did get a head cold, Chile peppers helped to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Many people complain that they get indigestion hot peppers. Some people believe that stomach ulcers are linked to eating a great deal of hot peppers– but this has never been proven conclusively in research studies.

Hot peppers are thought to work as a blood thinner, which can help the body to fight some causes of both strokes and heart attacks.

There are topical skin creams that contain the ingredient capsicum and this is useful for a number of chronic skin disorders as well as skin pain.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Food Cures.

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Tags: capsicum, chinese medicine, digestion, Food Cures, garlic, hot peppers, peppers

In the continuing search for alternates to antidepressants those who suffer from depression are looking to acupuncture as one option. Acupuncture has its origins in Chinese medicines: it is the process by which a qualified therapist inserts thin needles into the skin at particular points with the intention of treating illnesses. This ancient art has been used for over three thousand years in China and many hundreds of years in other nearby Asian countries. It was carried to Europe by early physicians and by missionaries in the sixteen hundreds. But it was not until the 1970s before it had begun to be used and later accepted here.

One of the reasons that it is hard for Westerners to accept that acupuncture works is that the there is as much philosophy behind it as medical proof. The Chinese believe that the way to heal the body is to help it find a balance. They believe that if the body and the mind are not in balance that this is when illness can succeed. They include illnesses of the body and emotional illness like depression.

Studies have shown that acupuncture seems to work for dispelling depression or at least diminishing it. Some physicians will recommend it for their patients who suffer only mild to moderate depression, while others think that acupuncture works well for those who can trace their depressive episodes directly to stress. Still other health care providers will cautiously suggest its use but only if the patient continues on whatever medications they have been using.

So many people wonder how the acupuncturist knows where to put the tiny needles. The acupuncturist targets twelve main nerve pathways, called meridians. There are also eight lesser important pathways. Along these major and minor pathways are some two thousand of these pressure points that can be used depending on where the patient has pain or depression. All of these points are believed to channel energy, (called “chi” or ”qi”) between different parts of the body.

Some people in the medical community have a difficult time believing that sticking a bunch of needles into someone at places that seem unrelated to the medical issue could possibly do the patient any good. Ongoing studies are show that acupuncture does help. A recent study involving a small test group of around forty adult women individualized the acupuncture for each woman and continued for a period of two months. It began with the patient attending two times a week for the first month and then once a week for the second month. When the trial period was over, seventy percent of the patients had a minimum of fifty percent improvement in their symptoms of depression. This is considered at least as good, if not better, then the average results with therapy or perception pills.

There seems to still be much for Westerners to learn about the art of acupuncture but this should not discount its healing elements, especially with something as devastating as living with depression.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Depression.

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Tags: acupuncture, chinese medicine, Depression, stress

There are many cures that have been tried in order to ease the pain of the common hangover that many of us suffer from after a New Year’s Eve party or an evening out with our friends.

Maybe your thought is to pig out on greasy bar food while you drink. Maybe you have the latest and greatest over the counter miracle cure pill to try. Or maybe you have a cooler made up with some “hair of the dog” chilling in the back of your fridge for the morning after. However, if you are looking for a healthy alternative to your traditional hangover cures, you might take a look at what your local Chinese herbalist has to offer.

If you are familiar with traditional Chinese foods, you may have noticed that many of the recipes include ginger and garlic, which are known for their medicinal affects on a variety of discomforts. This is because many of the recipes evolved as part of traditional Chinese medicine, which traditionally uses these and other herbs and foods to help keep the body in top shape.

So, while you are out shopping for beer, wine coolers, and tequila, you might consider a stop into your local Chinese herbalist. Here are a couple of recipes that might perk you up after your night of overindulgence.

For hangovers, you can consider some herbal tea. You will need 20 grams of Hovenia dulcis, known as zhi ju, 10 grams of Pueraria/kudzu root, known as ge gen, and 10 grams of Peuraria flowers, known as ge hua as well as four cups of spring water. Take a glass or ceramic pot, and bring the herbs to a boil in the water. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until you only have two cups of liquid. Strain the mixture, discarding the herbs, and divide into two cups. Drink one cup on an empty stomach immediately, and then drink the second cup about two hours later.

If you want to detoxify your liver, you can try a Lotus Root Cooler. You will need a large fresh lotus root, raw sugar or barley malt, and four cups of spring water. Cut the root into one inch pieces, and add the pieces and the sweetener to a saucepan. Cover with boiling water. Put a lid on the pot and allow the mixture to steep for a few minutes. You can then strain it and drink throughout the day.
If you want to detoxify your whole system, you should try some Ginseng Licorice Tea. You will need a handful of the small rootlets of white ginseng roots, known as ren shen. You will also need 10 long, thin slices of licorice root, known as gan cao, and eight cups of boiling water. Add licorice and ginseng together with four cups of boiling water in a teapot or thermos, allow to steep for 20 minutes, and then pour off the liquid into another container. Repeat with another four cups of water (can be repeated up to five times) and drink throughout the day.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more informaton on Hangover Cures.

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Tags: chinese medicine, Hangover Cures, Herbal Remedies, herbal tea, Traditional Chinese Medicine