Herb Guide | Plants

Herb Research Foundation - Herbs and Herbal Medicine for Health

Learn about herbs for health from the nonprofit Herb Research Foundation dedicated to responsible informed self-care with medicinal plants.

Website challenges FDA ban on herbal remedies

By Anonymous

January 26 2004--In response to the FDA's attempt to conduct the first-ever ban of a herbal dietary supplement, ephedra, public outcry is being heard loud and clear on the forum page of ephedra.com.

Since the FDA's announcement of the intended ban of all dietary supplements containing the herb ephedra, a flood comments supporting the continued marketing of ephedra have been pouring into the website. Members of the ephedra.com forum are presenting mounds of information both contesting the alleged danger of ephedra, discrediting numerous studies, including those contracted for the FDA by the Rand Corporation, and providing information and research that clearly support ephedra, a herb that has been used for nearly 5000 years in China, as a safe product.

The FDA is being verbally pounded by ephedra.com forum members against the FDA for supporting unfair bias against dietary supplements in collaboration with the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a body of experts whose members are substantially comprised of pharmaceutical company executives. Other allegations being made on the website include the FDA's use of ephedra's unfair allotment of bad press with the eventual intent to regulate vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbal and various other nutritional supplements with the eventual intent to institute a system like the one in the UK, where many supplements have been banned or reduced to a point that many consumers feel that they are no longer effective. These public opinions only add to the sting of criticism by Chinese medical practitioners, who are ridiculing American's for our ignorance of the safe use of herbal products and our public embrace of the hype surrounding ephedra.

"I can't imagine how stupid the Americans must be," said Chinese Herbal Safety Committee spokesperson Zhou Li Quing. "We've had this
stuff for like 5000 years. The Americans get it for a few decades and screw it all up. Morons."

Members of the website forum at ephedra.com, contend that they have used the herb safely and with few, if any, side effects. Others are hoping to find a replacement for the ephedra containing supplements in the hope of fighting obesity and other conditions such as asthma.

Whether supported by the public or not, the FDA ban on ephedra containing herb products, excluding Chinese traditional herbal remedies and herbal teas, is due to begin in March, if the action passes congressional review.

Anyone interested in voicing their opinion on the ephedra ban is encouraged to join the forum and share their thoughts at ephedra.com.    


This article courtesy of http://affordableherbs.info/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.

ENERDISIA HERBAL COFFEE - Natural Coffee which offers Energy, Vitality, and Sensual Enhancement

By Anonymous

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         CONTACT (312) 375.5882
October 26, 2002                                        www.herbal-powers.com

CHICAGO, IL – Herbal Powers and National Shopping Club have launched a National Ad Campaign for Enerdisia Herbal coffee to air on 800 DMA's in major metropolitan areas.

Herbal Powers and the National Shopping Club have teamed together on an ad campaign for Enerdisia, Energy, Vitality & Passion Herbal Coffee, to be aired nationally beginning on October 15th, 2002. Direct response commercials will be shown in a minimum of fifteen designated markets areas, as defined by Nielsen Media Research, on at least three hundred spots. The campaign will air on major networks – such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PAX, WB, and UPN - and affiliate stations from October to December, with potential for a continued agreement early next year.

Enerdisia, Energy, Vitality & Passion Herbal Coffee. Enerdisia is enriched with tonic and passion herbs such as: Tongkat Ali, Maca, American Ginseng, and Gingko Biloba. With a rich, mocha taste, Enerdisia is great coffee alternative for people who need energy, but can't take the jitters of regular coffee. The herbs in Enerdisia naturally boost energy, provide mental alertness, and improve the body’s endurance. This brew is ideal for anyone who would like to increase endurance or get a natural boost of energy throughout the day.

National Shopping Club, Inc., founded in 1989, is a leading producer of quality, direct response campaigns. Based in Pompano Beach, Florida, NSC has helped new companies as well as major advertisers create powerful, effective, DR strategies using a proven combination of television, Internet and targeted e-mail distribution.

Herbal Powers

Herbal Powers is dedicated to the research and development of the finest and most innovative herbal products available today. Our products embrace the wisdom of Asian herbal traditions and also exemplify the latest scientific discoveries in methods of formulation, standardization, quality assurance and education in correct usage.

These goals are achieved by:

·    Placing great emphasis on introducing high quality, well studied herbal products that have a tradition of effectiveness.
·    Leveraging the proven commercial success of effective herbal health products.
·    Maintaining our "Green" philosophy by using only the highest quality herbal extracts produced by sustainable wild-crafting and organic farming methods.
·    Actively participating in disseminating professional herbal information via regular articles and editorial review in newspapers, magazines, etc.
·    Committing to educate our retailers and distributors about Herbal Powers' products.

Media photograph or interview requests for Herbal Powers, please contact May Ling Lai at 312.375.5882 or info@herbal-powers.com



This article courtesy of http://affordableherbs.info/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.

The Tip of the Iceburg

By Daniel James Ahern

For thousands of years, tea has been considered a healthy, even medicinal drink in China. And why not? China has a long history of herbal medicines. There is a widely-used herbal medicine called kugan that cures the common cold. The treatment for cancer is an herbal remedy which the patient must drink five times a day for a few years, a much more comfortable process than that used in the west. But, it was only recently that western methods have been used to study the science of Chinese medicine.
Since then, we've seen that Chinese medicines not only work, but work without the unpleasant side effects of manufactured medicines. But, until funding for such research increases, we'll have to continue using those manufactured medicines as prescribed by our doctors. FDA approval costs are high, and the drug industry, which does much of that funding, makes it's money from the manufacture of *patented* drugs, not from growing widely available herbs.
We have been blessed though, mostly by the British Medical Association, with research on that most common Chinese medicine - tea.
Not distinguishing here between different types of tea leaves, which all come from the same plant but are processed differently, we can explore the many health benefits of tea, most of which are closely related to its antioxidant content, and include benefits to metabolism, strong bones and teeth, hydration and prevention of aging diseases.
One not so well known fact about tea is its flouride content. One cup of tea will provide you with 70% of your minimum recommended daily flouride intake. Fluoride is, of course, needed to support bone mineralization and protect against tooth decay. Drinking two cups of tea a day will therefore have preventative effects against osteoporosis and cavities. It is a much better source of caffeine than coffee, therefore, since coffee has the opposite effect on bones.
Tea also has less caffeine than coffee, less than half of fresh-brewed coffee. It's not safe to consume more than 300mg of caffeine in a day. Your average cup of fresh-brewed coffee has 115mg of caffeine, while tea has a mere 50mg. Because of its caffeine content, tea is a central nervous system stimulant, aiding in your focus and attention; a bronchodialator, helping you to breath more easily; and a diuretic, helping you to clean your system out.
In the past, the diuretic affects of the caffeine in tea were considered a health risk, as it was generally accepted that caffeine causes dehydration. However, because tea only has 50mg of caffeine per serving, its holistic effect is that of a hydrator. Staying properly hydrated will reduce both mental and physical fatigue.
The caffeine in tea also plays a part in tea's effect on metabolism. Tea increases metabolism by about 10%. Though it's not exactly clear and proven why, it is theorized that this is due to the synergistic affects of caffeine and adrenal gland stimulation.
Much of tea's greatest health-enhancing characteristics are the result of its antioxidant content, which rids the body of free radicals.
Free radicals find their way into your body through normal metabolic processes, but, can also be formed in response to pollution, UV sunlight, and cigarette smoke. Free radicals are molecules that attack other molecules in the body. Free radicals are thought to be the cause of some chronic and aging diseases such as cancer, stroke, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cataracts and Alzheimer's.
Antioxidants rid the body of free radicals by giving them something to attack, thus reducing the risk of all those diseases. Vegetables and fruits, which contain antioxidants, should for the same reason be eaten everyday. Of the Chinese teas, green teas have the most antioxidant content (one cup of green tea is equivalent to eating six apples), while black teas have the least.
So, you can see, for those concerned about their body and looking for a safe alternative to their everyday high-calorie caffeinated drinks, tea is a drink of choice. However, for our doctors to prescribe us the whole range of world medicines, we will have to restructure our system to funnel more money to research methods that don't necessarily reap a handsome profit for the drug industry. Until then, you can view the tip of the iceburg by drinking daily tea.

The author is an American living in China, working to pay off school debts before he continues his education in Chinese medicine. In the meantime, he is starting a site ilikegoodtea.com to begin marketing Chinese medicine to the west.

This article courtesy of http://affordableherbs.info/.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.

Home