Chamomile Tea

I accidentally discovered the nerve calm effect of drinking chamomile tea. I was on the way back from a seminar, fighting heavy stop-and-go traffic. Normally, I would be cursing and my blood pressure probably would be on the rise as well. Strangely, I felt extremely calm and relax. It suddenly dawned onto me that I had a cup of chamomile tea that afternoon! When I became insomnia due to too much caffeine, my daughter suggested chamomile tea, which is also very effective.

The following is an article from the web showing the benefit of chamomile tea, particularly to control glucose.

Study: Chamomile Tea May Help Ward Off Vision Loss, Nerve and Kidney Damage
By Caroline Wilbert, WebMD Health News
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD, Sept. 12, 2008

When you sit down for a meal today, consider drinking a cup or two of chamomile tea, especially if you have diabetes. A new study shows the tea may help prevent the development of diabetic complications, such as loss of vision, nerve damage, and kidney damage. Chamomile tea, a popular drink in many countries and long considered to have medicinal benefits, has been studied more closely in the past 30 years, according to the report published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Chamomile has been used to treat inflammation, skin diseases, wounds, gout, and ulcers. Recent research shows that chamomile plant extract suppresses the growth of human cancer cells.Chamomile tea is prepared with dried flowers from a plant called Matricaria chamomilla L. It is considered one of the richest sources of dietary antioxidants.

Researchers from the University of Toyama in Japan and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research in the United Kingdom added chamomile extract to the diets of diabetic rats for 21 days. Scientists compared the chamomile-treated rats to a group of diabetic rats fed a normal diet without the addition of chamomile extract. The rats that received the chamomile showed a significant decrease in blood glucose levels compared to the diabetic rats eating a normal diet. The chamomile also inhibited two enzymes, both of which have a role in the development of diabetic complications such as diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), cataracts, retinopathy (retinal damage of the eye), and nephropathy (kidney damage).

"These results clearly suggested that daily consumption of chamomile tea with meals could contribute to the prevention of the progress of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications," the authors conclude.The findings could also lead to the development of a new chamomile-based drug for type 2 diabetes.

Sources:
Sofi, F. BMJ online, Sept. 11, 2008. News release, BMJ.

Natural alternatives to OTC remedies

The season of cold and flu is upon us. Please be careful of those OTC cold remedies.

Here are fool proof natural remedies:

When sore throat developed, chew couple pieces of licorice (bought in Chinese drug store for better quality);

For stuffy nose, use XClear spray;

For cough, Wild Cherry Bark or horehound (one teaspoon to a cup of water, bring to boil and steep for 10 minutes.

For stomach flu, 5 to 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract.

Flu & Cold

Now the autumn has arrived. Great temperature fluctuation. It's time to think of preventive measures to ward off cold and flu.

Flu shot is not the answer to prevent flu. First, the flu shot is developed from the flu virus of the past and if HIV flu has any indication, the flu can change DNA and will render the flu shot ineffective. According to the study conducted by the the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the winter of 2003 with millions of flu shots only around a 2% difference in infection rates - not statistically significant. Another study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, based on three decades of data found that flu shots administered to the elderly had not saved any life.

According to Julian Whitaker, M.D., flu shots may cause neurological damage and partial paralysis. I wonder would it be possible caused by the additives in the flu shot -Thimerosal (a mercury derivative added as a preservative) Formaldehyde (to kill viruses) Aluminum (to promote antibody response) Ethylene glycol (also known as antifreeze, used in vaccines as a disinfectant).

How do you ward off cold and flu?

You build your own immune system by doing the following:

• Eat a balanced nutritious diet - small serving of meat, chicken etc, a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil.
• Do moderate exercise like brisk walking, golfing, gardening, or house cleaning. No strenuous exercise.
• Deprived of adequate sleep is the easiest way to weaken your immune system. Do allow yourself at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
• Another window for the germs and virus is caused by stress. Try manage stress by doing some meditation with deep breathing exercise.
  Add an extra serving of vitamins C to the total of 1000mg, may help fight colds and flu.
• Selenium seems to be an effective flu fighter but make sure you do not overdose, from nuts and supplements, the total should not be over 200 mcg.
• A low dosage of Zinc, 15mg, is another supplement you may want to take to ward off a cold.