Michael and Lesley Tierra's Blogs

For a good ‘romp in the hay’ this Valentine's Day, be sure the hay is oat straw!

Wild oat straw and its seeds foster the right balance of relaxation and enhanced libido for both men and women.

Sowing your Wild Oats

For their aphrodisiac effect, it’s the milky sap of the green unripe grain (shown at right) that gives the most ‘bang for the buck,’ so to speak. Wild oats have been known to act as a noticeable sexual stimulant for horses and other animals, which seems to suggest that they have the same effect on humans of both sexes. Avena sativa extract contains an amorphous alkaloid which acts as a stimulant to the nervous ganglia producing an increase of ‘ready to go’ excitability of the muscles in horses and humans.

Testosterone means increased sex drive

One of the main effects of testosterone is increased libido. While often associated with males, testosterone is also produced in women’s ovaries. Studies show that a low libido in either sex is most likely caused by low testosterone.

Let’s get something straight here: no herb contains identical human hormones. Claims that wild yam, dang gui  or black cohosh contain estrogen are false. Similarly, wild oats contain no human testosterone. Considering that only 2% of human testosterone is in a free state, the remaining 98% is in a state bound to protein molecules. It is thought that Avena sativa acts to increase libido by freeing bound testosterone. 

Because Avena sativa is a restorative, (as opposed to Viagra which is contraindicated by men who are at risk for cardiovascular disease) it is an effective and safer alternative to male-female virility drugs. Besides, not accounting for the placebo effect which is likely to be considerable with any intended sex drug, Viagra has been found to work on only 42% of the men who take it, according to published studies.

For more chronic sexual debility, one may need to take Avena extract on a daily basis over the course of several days to weeks. Over long term use, the benefit is more systemic, with oats being beneficial for lowering cholesterol (especially true of the high fiber cereal), restoring a burned out nervous system, and promoting an overall feeling of health and well being.

Avena sativa may even help your love life by getting rid of bad smoker's breath!

Bad breath is an instant turn-off and desire diminisher. This could be due to hyper-acidic Stomach Heat (as the condition is patterned in Traditional Chinese Medicine) or, very commonly, from smoking.

In the case of the latter, an effective remedy to help break the tobacco habit is Avena sativa extract. Simply take a dose of 20 to 30 drops of the liquid extract whenever you feel the urge for tobacco.

Planetary Herbal Formulas for Increasing Libido

I developed two special Planetary Herbals formulas, Avena Sativa Oat Complex for Men and Avena Sativa Oat Complex for Women.

Herbalists know that when taken in formula, herbs become more than a sum of any of its corresponding parts. When a formula is carefully blended, the sum combination of all the herbs working on different systems of the body, bringing into play hundreds of biochemical constituents, is stronger than a single herb taken alone.

Avena Sativa Oat Complex For Men has additional benefit for the prostate and the buildup of seminal fluid. It combines milky oat tops extract with saw palmetto berry, stinging nettle root, damiana, epimedium (“horny goat weed”), Asian ginseng, sarsaparilla, rosehip, cinnamon bark and ginkgo leaf extract.

Avena Sativa Oat Complex for Women combines milky oat tops with dong quai root, white peony root, ligusticum root, circuligo orchid, ginger, alfalfa, vitex seed, jujube fruit and cinnamon bark.

Remember, a healthy libido is a life-affirming indication of overall health and well-being. It is usually accompanied with a general zest and interest for life. Rather than simply trying to treat a problem such as erectile dysfunction, pain or lack of feeling during intercourse, or low libido, it is wiser to look to the cause in terms of diet, stress, emotional and other aspects that directly or indirectly contribute to our nature as vital sexual beings. Herbs such as Avena sativa can be considered a ‘special food,’ first for our nervous system overall and specifically for increasing sexual desire.

I’m rounding out this trio of blogs on diet and weight management with the following 20 tips. Under each tip is a link to a supporting article or study.

1. If it’s on your plate, you will eat it. Develop the habit of taking small portions. This is a variation on the notion that our 'eyes are bigger than our stomach' or rather, 'our eyes are bigger than we want our stomach to become'.

Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake: This study showed that we are poor judges of satiety and often rely on visual cues to signal when our hunger has been fulfilled rather than relying on what our stomachs actually tell us.

2: Don’t eat mindlessly. Be attentive to the amount as well as the flavor of your food.
At the Movies: How External Cues and Perceived Taste Impact Consumption Volume: This study showed that packaging combined with the distraction of entertainment not only prevented people from judging how much they ate depending on amount, but also with little regard to flavor!

3.  Make a practice of NOT CLEANING YOUR PLATE, especially in restaurants.

Restaurant Portions Are Gargantuan: When you wish to eat a particular food, it is assumed you are eating one serving of that food. Most restaurants serve portions that really are for three or four people. When we see huge portions so often, they start to look normal.

4. In restaurants, ask for half the food to be wrapped to take home BEFORE it is
served to you. See the tip and study above.

5. Keep a diet diary. Record whatever you eat and tally your calories before you go to bed each night. A combination of calorie accountability based on their unique point counting method and the scale forms the basis of Weight Watchers, arguably the most successful dieting method.

Losing Weight: Start by Counting Calories: Studies have shown that dieters who jot down everything they eat in a diet diary tend to eat less than those who don’t keep a written record of their food intake. Bad eating habits are hard to break but the act of writing down everything eaten throughout day goes a long way towards allowing us to consider "Am I really hungry?" before putting that morsel of indulgence into your mouth. It also allows a health professional to evaluate whether in fact you are eating a ‘healthy diet.’ For the serious dieter, I recommend enrolling onto an online data program such as the one found on MyFoodDiary.com will compare what you are eating with a massive database of 65,000 foods, 850 brands and 250 restaurants, showing you all that you need. This will also help you to maintain strict records of the amount of calories you are eating each day.

6: Break up your weight-loss goals into small manageable units of pounds to be lost. Concentrate on losing one unit at a time.

Little Losses, Big Gains: Just the loss of 5% to 10% will relieve symptoms and complications related to being overweight. Don’t intimidate yourself by thinking you have a huge amount of weight to lose. Instead, think of losing 8-10 pounds at a time. Just that small amount of weight lost is enough to make you feel much better.

7: The Nutrition Facts panel on your food is important. Learn how to read it here and be sure inspect it before you purchase or eat a particular food.

"Food Rules" author Michael Pollan offers some basic guidelines to purchasing food and a lot of it has to do with knowing how to navigate that Nutrition Facts label stuck on every package.

Beware of sugar and all its disguises. Learn to recognize it by its many names on the ingredient lists of your food. The ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup is a particularly problematic form of sugar, mostly because of the refinement processes used to make it. It is present in countless food products and is linked to obesity, allergies, and diabetes.

Finally, learn about good fats versus bad fats and how to identify them on the Nutrition Facts label. Don’t cut out all fat but limit it in amount and use good quality, unsaturated fats and oils from nuts, avocado, canola, olive and sesame. These good fats and oils are all high in mono-unsaturated fat which have actually been shown to help in weight loss.

Polyunsaturated fats in the Omega 3 group of fatty acids are also needed in the diet. These lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and are found in salmon, flax, corn, safflower, sunflower, and fish oils.

Bad fats are saturated and found mainly in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs (which despite the fat content I consider one of the most perfect proteins) and seafood. Some plant foods such as coconut, palm and palm kernel oil are also high in saturated fat. It is claimed that this type of fat raises total LDL (bad cholesterol).

The seriously bad fats are trans fats. As hydrogenated fats, these were invented by scientists to prolong shelf life. Trans fatty acids are found in many commercially packaged foods including deep fried foods, microwave popcorn, vegetable shortening and margarine. These are known to be carcinogenic and are present in countless foods. As a general rule, don’t eat anything that has "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" in its ingredient list, even if 0% trans fat is listed in its Nutrition Facts label. For more details on good and bad fats, read this.

8. Eat breakfast every morning.

Long-Term Weight Loss and Breakfast in Subjects in the National Weight Control Registry: This study showed that people who ate breakfast every morning lost weight and were better able to keep it off after losing than those who did not.

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Depending on whether we have adequate protein and other nutrients for breakfast, mitigates in a direct one-to-one ratio the amount of abnormal cravings we are likely to have throughout the day.

9. Turn the TV off , especially during meals.

Television Viewing and Long-Term Weight Maintenance:  People who spend less time in front of the TV are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

Food provides two vitally important aspects to life: nutrition and satisfaction. A lack of satisfaction invariably leads to overeating. These days, the dinner table has been replaced by a seat in front of the TV. Besides all the other richness of life that is lost as a result of enjoying each other at mealtimes, our attention to our food is diverted to what is showing on the TV with the result that we unconsciously tend to eat more.

10: Eat at home as often as you can. Just preparing your own food is an effective treatment for most eating disorders.

Learn to cook. This is especially true for younger people today who have grown to rely on eating out. Some cultures believe as do I, that the subtle vibration that is imparted in the process of cooking is important not only nutritionally but for our psycho-spiritual wellbeing as well.

Association between Eating Patterns and Obesity in a Free-living US Adult Population: A study in Massachusetts of 500 adults over a year found that those with the highest risk of overweight and obesity were those who ate the most meals out. The study also evaluated the nutritional content of meals eaten at home versus those eaten away from home. Breakfasts and dinners eaten away from home were significantly higher in total calories, percentage of calories from total fat, and percentage of calories from saturated fat. Meanwhile, they were lower in their percentage of calories from protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.

11:  Buy a digital scale and a tape measure. Use them every morning.

Despite the occasional plateaus that can be discouraging as we work to lose weight, the act of weighing ourselves helps us to keep our focus.

12: Walk more!

Effects of the amount of exercise on body weight, body composition, and measures of central obesity: Even without diet changes, most people can lose weight if they walk at least 30 minutes a day.

As with other changes start with small ones such as taking the stairs as opposed t the elevator, walking to the grocery store instead of driving, parking your car as far from your destination as possible. If you use public transportation, get off a stop earlier than your usual stop and walk the rest of the way.

13: Chew your food well and eat slowly.

Eating Slowly Makes You Feel Full: This goes along with the limiting the many distractions while we are eating. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island fed a group of women some pasta. Half of the women were instructed to eat very slowly and half were told to eat quickly. When the eaters were interviewed after the meal, the fast eaters had eaten more calories and did not feel full. The slow eaters ate less, and felt full.

14:  Stick to a boring menu. Eliminate choices, and stay away from buffets.

The Influence of Assortment Structure on Perceived Variety and Consumption Quantities: Six kinds of jelly beans versus one? Where there appears to be more variety of the same kind of food, people eat more.

We need to achieve a balance between ‘living to eat and eating to live.’ Too many choices of foods, eating too many different foods overstimulates our senses so that we tend to always look at food and eating as the main event in our lives. One of the most effective ways we use to help people regain their health and lose unwanted pounds is a mono diet based on eating only brown basmati rice and split yellow mung beans in an East Indian dish called kicharee (scroll down for the recipe).

15: Eat alone when possible. Limit your social eating to a few friends. Meet with larger groups of friends while walking, or in a non-food environment.

Environmental Factors That Increase the Food Intake and Consumption Volume of Unknowing Consumers: Many people tend to eat more when they are in a relaxed setting with friends as opposed to eating alone.

16: Serve yourself dinner on a salad-sized plate. Use smaller sized spoons, too. Your portions will look larger and you will eat less.

Unit Bias: A New Heuristic That Helps Explain the Effect of Portion Size on Food Intake: Scientists have found that people eat as much as what one serving appears to be (whether large or small), regardless of hunger.

17. If you have kids, limit their fatty foods and junk foods marketed specifically to their age group. Buy food that is good for you – it’ll be good for them, too.

Adult Fat Intake Associated with the Presence of Children in Households: Findings from NHANES III: This study found that adults living in families with children ate far more fatty foods than adults living alone or with only other adults.

18: Don’t just exercise to lose weight. Take up a sport or some physical activity that you enjoy doing.

Go Figure? Body-Shape Motives are Associated with Decreased Physical Activity Participation Among Midlife Women: This study found that women who had fun and stress relief as their main motivators for exercise led to increased physical activity.

19: Keep healthy foods accessible and visible. Don’t buy and store unhealthy foods in your home or office, because you may eat more than you intend to.

The office candy dish: proximity's influence on estimated and actual consumption: Knowing that visibility and proximity can influence your estimation of how much you eat can be a useful tool in the battle to keep weight off.

20: Get at least seven hours of sleep every night.

Food is used by humans for many reasons, required nourishment, comfort but also for stimulation. When we eat, we momentarily stimulate our metabolism, which provides short-term energy for an exhausted body. Recognize when you are turning to food more for stimulation rather than for nourishment.

Leptin Levels Are Dependent on Sleep Duration: Relationships with Sympathovagal Balance, Carbohydrate Regulation, Cortisol, and Thyrotropin: While they are sleeping humans produce leptin, the hormone that signals the brain to let it know that it is full and it is time to stop eating. The sleep-deprived may produce less leptin, which leads to hunger and overeating.

Herbal Suggestions and Supplements

Planetary Herbal's Triphala Gold used regularly is the one single herbal formula that I would recommend daily not only because it helps achieve balanced detoxification without depleting the system of vital nutrients, but because it is the richest source of natural antioxidants.

In addition for any digestive disturbance, including bloat, gas, acid reflux and other conditions such as headache causes by poor digestion, 2 to 3 tablets of Planetary's Digestive Comfort seems to always bring relief. 

Health and well-being is the foundation for everything, including success in worldly endeavors and spiritual pursuits. I hope these principles derived from my own experience and many other sources will help you to achieve a optimal health and well-being so you can attain your life's dreams and goals in this new year.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, exercise and wise dieting principles aren’t enough to help you reach your optimal weight. Portion control is essential.

Just how important is portion control? In one study, Cornell University researchers David Levitsky and Trisha Youn offered a group of students free lunch for several weeks. Everything the students consumed was secretly measured and weighed. Meanwhile, portions of soup, pasta, breadsticks and ice cream were increased significantly every week. Guess what happened: the students just ate whatever portions were served! The scientists concluded that portion size determines calorie intake.

Many of us have a problem with knowing when we are satiated. If you’d like to pay closer attention to the amount of food you consume at a meal, read on for serving sizes suggested by the American Dietetic Association. All of these serving sizes may be regarded as "approximate ounce equivalents."

Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta

Grains embody all aspects of a plant in seed form. They are generally regarded as being the food most balanced in Yin (cooling and eliminative) and Yang (warming and building) qualities. Select grains depending on your digestive strength (this is determined by such things as abdominal bloating or gas after meals): eat unrefined whole grains if you have strong digestion, or eat more refined grains if your digestion is weak.

One serving equals:

• 1 slice of bread, a about the size of a plastic CD case
• 1/2 cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal, about the size of a tennis ball
• 1 ounce of cold cereal

Vegetables

Vegetables, especially above ground vegetables, generally supply the necessary yin, cooling and detoxifying aspects of our diet. Most root vegetables, on the other hand, tend to be warmer in energy, but perhaps not so warm as grains. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s important to have a balanced diet of yin/cool and yang/warm foods.

Vegetable servings are best measured in cups rather than ounces.

One serving equals:

• 1/2 cup of ovegetable juice or raw or cooked vegetables (about the size of a light bulb)
• 1 cup of leafy raw vegetables

Fruits

Fruit is the most cooling and eliminating food group in a balanced diet. They are also the most seasonally sensitive. Eating fruits as they are seasonally ripened in your area is a way to fine tune blood chemistry in terms of density and other chemical elements that help us to adjust to seasonal and climatic influences. People who live in the country appreciate this more than people who live in the city where awareness of seasonal limitations tends to be ignored in favor of year-round availability. Nevertheless, we all are affected by the barometric, climatic and other elements that are part of the cycle of life. Fruits that are not locally grown or out of season are not completely tree ripened and thus deprived of flavor and nutrients. Most of us can adapt to eating out of season fruits in modest portions. Because fruits come in so many different shapes and sizes, it's hard to say how many pieces of fruit count as a serving.

One serving equals:

• 1 cup of fruit (about the size of 7 cotton balls or 1 baseball) or 100 percent fruit juice
• 1/2 cup of dried fruit
• 1 serving size of whole fruit (about the size of 1 tennis ball)

(Those who may be unable to consume the necessary daily intake of vegetables and fruit may try Planetary Herbals’ new Vita Greens & Berries that contains 59 fruits, vegetables, and immune factors that help you to meet daily fruit and vegetable needs. )

Dairy Products - Milk, Cheese and Yogurt

A common mistake that many make is to use dairy for all their protein needs. Milk is just one molecule different from blood and so it is vitally important that we have the best quality dairy we can find. Ideally it should not be homogenized. Because of its congesting, mucus-forming properties, it should never be taken cold out of the refrigerator, but served warm. I have seen just this practice alone eliminate the symptoms of many who believed they were allergic to dairy.

Many people (especially those of African and Asian descent) are unable to digest the lactose in dairy. Rather than taking a lactase supplement, if would be best if these people would simply eliminate dairy entirely from their diet.

As we get older, our need for the body-building properties of milk is less, and it is better to receive the benefits of dairy from a probiotic cultured food such as yogurt. Because it is still dense and a bit congesting, yogurt should be avoided in the evening and is best taken midday. The same would apply to cottage cheese.

Because the fat globules are closer to those naturally occurring in human milk, goat’s milk is the best dairy to use. While for many the flavor of goat’s milk is not as appealing as that of cow’s milk, goat cheese seems to meet with a lot less resistance and is even preferred.

Choose low-fat options from this group whenever possible.

One serving equals:

• 1 cup of milk or yogurt
• 1.5 to 2 ounces of cheese (about the size of two 9-volt batteries or the size of your thumb)
• 1.5 cups of ice cream

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts

Protein forms the basic building block of the body. Some people require more protein than others and some may require “first class” protein derived from animal or dairy sources. The best choice for animal protein is organic.

Beans and whole grains have a full complement of all the amino acids necessary to form a complete protein. In order to have a chance at thriving on a strictly vegetarian diet, it is essential that beans and whole grains make up a significant part of the diet.

Animal-source protein is called “first class” protein because it is more immediately assimilated into the body. Vegetable-source protein in the form of legumes is called “second class” protein because the body has to go through more physiological processes to digest and assimilate it. This is one of the reasons that it is necessary to soak grains and legumes 12 hours before cooking, and it is also why some Indian legume dishes are heavily spiced with carminative (digestive) herbs. Switching from animal to bean sources of protein can cause digestive disturbance in the form of bloating and gas. The transition should be done carefully, adhering to the soaking and spicing practices mentioned above.

In terms of fish, the most healthful fish with the least contamination from heavy metals are the fast growing and fast maturing fish such as sardines. One of the lesser known secrets and indeed a corner stone of the Mediterranean diet, considered to be the most healthful in the world because of its emphasis on vegetables and olive oil, is the wide use of small fish such as sardines and smelt.

One serving or ounce equivalent equals:

• 1 ounce of cooked lean meat or poultry (3 ounces is about the size of 1 deck of cards)
• 1 ounce of cooked fish (3 ounces is about the size of 1 checkbook)
• 1/4 cup dried beans, after cooking
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (2 servings is about the size of a roll of 35 mm film or a ping pong ball)
• 1/2 ounce of nuts or seeds

Oils and Fats

Because oils are found in many of the foods we eat, there may not be a need to add this group to your diet. For example, half of a medium avocado or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter provide 3 and 4 teaspoons or servings of oil respectively, while also counting towards your vegetable or nuts allowance. This is a highly controversial food group with recommendations by many to use them sparingly.

• 1 serving/teaspoon of butter or oil spreads should be equal to the size of one die
• 2 serving/teaspoons of salad dressing should be about the size of one thumb tip

Snacks

A portion of snack food, such as small crackers, potato chips or pretzels, should be one ounce.

Keep in mind that most portions in the U.S. are oversized and contain several servings of the recommended categories. Ideally, most of your diet should be composed of whole grains, plenty of fruits and vegetables, low-fat calcium fortified foods (such as milk and cottage cheese), and lean sources of protein (such as fish, turkey, and chicken).

Next up: 20 tips for achieving optimal weight and healthy eating!

After the period of feasting from Thanksgiving through Christmas, the New Year leads many of us to think about getting back in shape and losing some of those holiday pounds.

There's a wide variety of dieting approaches, ranging from raw food, juice, vegetarian, high carbohydrate, low carbohydrate, low fat, and paleolithic diets, to name only a few. Naturally, the contradictions between these different diets leads to a great deal of confusion. What may work fantastically for one person may spell failure for another.

After exploring all of these, it's my opinion that there is no single diet that is right for everyone. Rather than adhere to a rigid program, I think it's better to adopt the following principles that can guide us according to our individual needs and circumstances.

Ten Principles for Healthy Eating

1: Choose foods that you know are nutritionally dense. In that way, you will be more satisfied and experience fewer cravings. Don't rely on either dairy or soy as a primary source of protein. Dairy tends to be mucus forming and congesting while soy is too cooling and can cause low thyroid.

2: Develop a regular eating routine. The body operates best in regular cycles (night, day, the seasons, etc.). When the body recognizes a regular time to eat, digestive juices will flow into the stomach creating a sense of hunger.

3: All meals should be balanced in terms of protein, vegetables and carbohydrates with appropriate attention to serving portions (which I will address in my next blog post). This will help satisfy our nutritional as well as emotional needs and provide a balance of Yin (cooling, detoxifying, eliminating) properties and yang (warming, repairing, building) properties. 

4: Give thanks and bless your food before eating. This fosters a more centered approach to eating and cultivates the virtues of appreciation and gratitude. One way this can be done inconspicuously is to reserve a small portion, say a half teaspoon, of every type of food on your plate to one side. This tiny portion is not eaten and is left as an offering to the Great Spirit.

5: Eat slowly in a quiet, peaceful and undistracted atmosphere. This may mean eating alone most of the time which is best. Feeling anxious or distracted often leads to overeating as a way to dull the senses. Eating too fast does not give the body a chance to signal that you are full until you may have already overeaten. Setting down your fork or spoon in between every couple of bites slows down the process and can give things a chance to settle.

6: Eat when you are hungry and only what you feel you need. Your parents may have told you to eat everything on your plate, but as we get older this tendency should be reversed. A woman I know who is 98 and remarkably fit for someone even 20 years younger makes it a practice to eat only half of everything she is served, saving the leftovers for later.

7: If you tend to overeat, try drinking a glass of room temperature (never cold) water 10 minutes or so before your meal. This helps give a fuller feeling in the stomach and thus you eat less.

8: Eat according to what is as local and seasonally available as possible. Foods that are locally grown acclimatize and adjust your body to the seasonal and environmental influences where you live. This practice is one of the best ways to prevent and treat seasonal allergies. It is also best for the economy and the environment

9: Don't unduly deny yourself. It is better to have a small amount of something that you desire, even if it is not the best for you, than to avoid it altogether; abstaining completely often leads to binge-eating later. If at all possible, try to understand what the real nutritional need is behind a desire. For instance, a diet of carbs, vegetables and fruit, lacking in protein, will often precipitate ravenous sweet cravings later. Protein deficiency leads to exaggerated sweet cravings, making a sweet in the form of candy or ice cream seem irresistibly attractive. Furthermore, excessive self denial contributes to a rigidity that will effect other areas of your life.

10: Avoid ice-cold drinks and foods. Heat is energy; when we ingest ice-cold drinks and foods, we tend to cool our gastric fires and deplete our energy reserves. The feeling of bloat and gas that occurs after eating means imperfect digestion, where food is not fully processed in a timely way, failing to move smoothly through the GI tract.  Ingestion of cold drinks and foods can cause this, as well as inappropriate combinations of heating and cooling foods such as proteins with vegetables (especially raw vegetables) and fruit. 

What About Exercise?

The notion that building muscles greatly accelerates weight loss is overemphasized by many gyms and fitness experts.

The fact is that muscle building, however good for you, has comparatively little effect on weight loss if you cannot come to terms with the issue of portion control. Have you ever seen what happens to the muscles of body builders when they stop building those muscles? They typically turn to flab. Muscles should be cultivated based upon our daily work and activity needs -- not for the sake of appearance. (I used to live in Venice Beach and watched musclebound wonders working out in front of my doorstep each day. The Beat poet Clare Horner wrote, "Hey muscle man, when are you going to start using those muscles you are building?")

Aerobic exercise in the form of vigorous walking, jogging or some other such activity is preferred to muscle-building because it burns more calories and it benefits the cardiovascular system. Getting outside for fresh air (preferably in a natural setting) allows us to get our daily dose of Vitamin D, which is so essential to maintaining a healthy immune system. Anyone who cultivates and appreciation for taking their 'daily constitutional,' be it a walk or moderate jog, will readily tell you how much better they immediately feel. It is the cure for so many ills, including obesity, weak digestion, respiratory diseases, pains of the joints, and of course, cardiovascular disease. 

Just as many of us prefer variety in our food we will find that variety in our physical activities is also preferred and best. Coupling a physical activity with play can be the most satisfying fitness endeavor, especially if we have achieved some level of proficiency in a sport.

In sum, regular aerobic activity along with adherence to some basic principles for eating responsibly rather than fad diets will take us a long way toward achieving our health and weight goals.

Next week we'll take a look at proper portion control.

This Dec. 1, 2009, article at the BBC website entitled "Prince Charles: 'Herbal medicine must be regulated'" points to a potential crisis for the practice of herbal medicine in the UK. Under threat of new European Union (EU) laws scheduled to take effect in April 2011 that would restrict the prescription of manufactured herbal medicines to "statutorily regulated professionals like doctors," the Prince of Wales is urging his government to regulate herbalists, lest they be banned from practice entirely when the new laws take effect. The new laws also stipulate that the only herbal medicines that will be sold over the counter will be ones used to treat "'mild and self-limiting' conditions - basically meaning nothing worse than a cold.

Apart from the fact that this would undoubtedly cause a large legally disenfranchised body of people to seek natural remedies through illegal venues, it also would overturn a 500 year-old Commonwealth law that prohibits governmental legal restriction enabling anyone to treat patients with herbs.

Since 1542, the Commonwealth Charter of Henry VIII has guaranteed herbalists the right to practice freely throughout the Commonwealth. This law is still applied in the UK as well as its former territories worldwide such as Australia and New Zealand. In fact, many think an argument could be made that the U.S.A., as a former British colony, has a legal basis for unregulated and free practice based on the English Herbalists' Charter.

For over 400 years, this has worked pretty well with very few adverse incidents reported, especially compared to those reported about conventional mainstream medicine. Other European countries such as Germany and France have chosen to impose highly restrictive laws limiting the practice of herbal medicine to medical doctors. As a result, there is economic pressure for the UK to declare the Herbalists' Charter antiquated and to get in step with the same restrictions imposed by other European countries. This has met with stiff opposition from a well established tradition that has allowed for the comparatively unrestricted practice of herbal medicine by both lay and professional herbalists.

Aside from the many differences of language, culture and history between closely adjoining countries, the standards for the practice of herbal medicine is yet another obstacle to true union. With obvious financial advantages to globalization in respect to the EU, many of the differences between these financially interdependent countries must be resolved -- and apparently how herbal medicine is practiced and regulated is just another one of those issues. Countries such as the UK with a long history of distinctive customs and traditions encounter difficulties with conformity. For instance, while most European countries have converted their currency to the Euro, the UK still uses the pound sterling as its distinctive "coin of the realm." So far, under the Herbalists' Charter, the UK is similarly seen as 'not fully participatory.'

The upshot of all of this is an ongoing fundamental conflict as to how herbal medicine is practiced, manufactured and sold between the UK and its European Union partners.

One of my former students, John Smith, is now a professional herbalist in the UK who opposes licensure and restrictions of herbalists in that country. In discussion on this issue he recently wrote me the following:

Unfortunately, what has been happening in UK is that it was felt by the powers that be that herbal medicine either had to be regulated or banned entirely -- so herbal bodies agreed to compromise and go for self regulation (i.e. Herbal Registers). (In other words,) we"d get together to exclude non registered or unqualified practitioners and agree on what herbs could and could not be used, etcetera). This was done even though many of us saw such negotiations as a huge compromise but the lesser of two evils. Ten years of time and energy went into this regulation process internal wrangling for power and influence within the herbal and alternative medical community and discussions with the Department of Health and European Union representatives. What is happening at present is that the government has pulled the plug and left herbal medicine back at square one where herbal medical practice could be banned entirely. Prince Charles, a long time proponent of herbal medicine, homeopathy, and alternative medical practice, has chosen the path of supporting the regulated practice of herbal medicine and fights that corner.

Any decision in the EU and UK to restrict herbal medicine to licensed medical doctors would be a purely financial one with no regard for the needs of the people. At the same time it supports an already established free socialized medicine of a particular state-supported brand, administered only by licensed medical doctors.

Preserving the Tradition of Herbal Medicine

Here are three good reasons why herbal medicine should remain as unregulated as possible:

1. The roots of herbal medicine are empirical and depend on a stream of trial and error to evolve and renew. To do this, it must remain an inalienable right to be able to access and use herbs obtained in the market, from nature and the garden, and should not be subject to highly restrictive governmental regulations.
2. The practice of herbal medicine is its own unique methodology that only experienced herbalists understand. Because most herbs are mild and have myriad non-specific biochemical elements, best results are achieved when an assessment methodology is used that takes into account not only the presenting symptoms but the underlying causes. This is the unique strength of traditional herbal medical use and practice.
3. Further, conventional medicine has a different focus, useful in its own way to attend to the alleviation of symptoms irrespective of wholistic considerations and of course in crisis care. But most medical doctors have, at best, an extremely limited understanding of the practice of herbal medicine.

Because of the above stated reasons, both China and India, which have long standing traditions of herbal medicine, are able to recognize professional herbalists without prohibiting the accessibility to herbs and herbal preparations and the popular practice of herbal medicine by all.

It seems either a poor compromise or simply naive for Prince Charles to promote restrictions on herbal medical practice in the UK similar to those now in effect in other European countries. The compromise, which is the financial advantage, is probably more the reason as I can"t imagine that someone has not discussed these other matters with him.

Who else stands to gain from herbal regulation and restriction?

Commingled with EU financial considerations to override the UK Commonwealth law and the 1542 Herbalists' Charter is the protection and practice of healing professions. Of course this includes conventional Western medicine but also the practioners of newer recognized alternative medicine professions, such as acupuncturists, herbalists, naturopaths, and Ayurvedic and Chinese healers who have been struggling over recent years with various degrees of success to gain recognition. Despite their roots as popular unregulated healing modalities, each of these, backed by schools standing to benefit from increased enrollment, at least superficially stand to gain in restricting practice to "licensed professionals."

Historically there is nothing new in any of this motivation of protection. Since medieval times, guilds and other organizations have been established specifically for promoting the professional (i.e. financial) interests of its members. There is something gained and something lost from this. What is gained is a standing organization that can share its experience and knowledge with its members and establish a standard of practice. What is lost, of course, is the wider experience that is the result of non-members who may also practice a particular discipline or practice such as herbal medicine.

In order to safeguard its knowledge, these professional organizations developed their own language and jargon that distinguished them from the populace. We encounter this when we try to decipher the diagnostic assessments and prescriptions of medical doctors as well as the metaphorical jargon used by Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurvedic doctors.

For example, Latin, a universal language understood by medical legal and scholarly professions across all European countries, was used this way. While at first intended for more widespread understanding and greater definition and clarity, the use of Latin as a professional language of medicine had the same effect as it did when it was used by the Church for 1,500 years where the Bible was only available to be read and interpreted by clergy: to prevent free thought.

The mid-17^th century English apothecary-herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper, caused a furor when he published his own translations from the Latin to the English vernacular of various herbal and medical texts of the College of Physicians. He did this so that his fellow countrymen who could not afford expensive doctors would have available to them guides for maintenance of their own health. He published his own herbal, The English Physitian (1652), arguing that "no man deserved to starve to pay an insulting, insolent physician," when he could obtain his herbs from the nearby countryside. Culpeper upheld medicine as a "public asset rather than a commercial secret." Since its first publication over 350 years ago, Culpeper"s Complete Herbal has been reprinted as many times as the Bible. He remains a revered iconic figure for English people and herbalists worldwide.

Education, not regulation

Many will still argue that the unrestricted use of herbs and self treatment is dangerous, but the fact remains that statistics of adverse events and deaths from herbal treatments are infinitesimal compared to the estimated 400,000 people who die annually from pharmaceuticals alone, or who are otherwise injured or made sick from conventional medicine and drugs.

It is undoubtedly my personal bias that herbal medicine remain as unregulated and unrestricted as reasonable. In fact, this was my personal path of learning. As part of a counterculture seeking independence from the mainstream in all ways possible, I looked to herbal medicine first as a passionate attraction to nature and plants, and secondly for the possibilities of what it might offer as an alternative to more invasive and Western medical drugs and procedures. It was out of this need that acupuncture and herbal medicine has grown in North America since the late 1960s.

There were no official schools to turn to for an education on this continent, and if there were, I certainly did not have the financial means to afford them. So I made do at first with the scant few books that were available by Jethro Klos and a few others and tried different herbal potions on myself and members of the commune to which I belonged. Despite the limitations of this approach I learned that plants do work and found common weeds such as plantain, comfrey, mullein, goldenseal, and later echinacea to be amazingly effective.

So my career arose out of years of personal trial and effort. I eventually got a leg up when I began to find a few experienced herbalists such Norma Meyers of British Columbia and Dr. John Raymond Christopher of Provo, Utah to study from. This eventually extended to the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbalism in Yunnan, China with some remarkable doctors. Through this path, I think I received a wonderful education. Certainly there were holes because of the sporadic nature of the learning process but I found that I would only learn what I could absorb at the time and gradually my understanding deepened.

To legislate and deprive others from this path of learning to me would seem a shame of the first order. I know today, that there exists a large number of herbalists living in the mountains, forests and countryside who practice with local plants in ways that are not "official" according to accepted standards of clinical Western herbalism, TCM or Ayurveda, and that the contribution of these individuals are just as important as those made by the professionals. I think that there remains a place for both lay herbalists and individuals who might follow a path similar to my own as well as those who may seek a more set curriculum leading to professional licensure.

Driving on Highway 50, the only highway on the island of Kauai, during morning traffic, a sign advertising fresh Longan berries next to an improvised roadside fruit stand (Euphoria longana) caught my eye. I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to stop and see if these were the very same as the dried long yan rou I stock and use in my clinical prescriptions and formulas for decades. Happily, they were.

Many wonder about the discovery of the medicinal properties of herbs: "How did they figure out that such-and-such herb has medicinal value?" In the case of Longan berries, and many other herbs, their first use was as a food, and the road of discovery began there.

Having only known this as a botanical medicine that I would frequently nibble on in my clinic and offer to patients as a pleasant introduction to Chinese herb tonics, I was excited about the prospect of eating Longan berries in their fresh, unadulterated form.

Eyes of the Dragon

Commonly known in Chinese as long yan rou, literally meaning "dragon eyes," the Longan berry is the fruit of a tropical tree found throughout Southeast Asia, including southern China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. For the first time, I was able see and taste the syrupy sweet opalescent fruit which is like an iris with the hard lacquered black dark pit faintly showing in the center. When fully ripened, the freshly harvested outer shell is rough and bark-like and is easily cracked allowing one to squeeze out the inner fruit. The Chinese woman minding the fruit stand described how if the fruit is too ripe, the shell is soft and dark and the flavor is not so appealing.

The Vietnamese riddle aptly describes the experience of Longan fruit: Da cc m bác bát lác, bát lác m bá»c hn than (literally: Toad's skin covers tapioca flour, tapioca flour covers coal stone). Toad's skin is the skin, tapioca flour is the clear white flesh and coal stone is the black seed.

As a botanical, Longan berries are sold pitted and dried and they have a golden brown iridescent color. In order to more easily extract the seed from the rough outer skin and the pit from the fruit, they are lightly heated and smoked.

The Medicinal Properties of Longan

Longan berries are one of the three or more "super fruits" used as tonics in Chinese medicine. Two others would be jujube date (Zizyphus jujube) and goji berries (Lycium chinensis). Sometimes in my clinic I"d make a kind of Chinese herbal trail mix with Longan berries, lycii berries, fennel seeds, almonds and hemp seed. (Scroll down this page for another recipe for Chinese trail mix from Lesley.) Apart from being a tasty snack, this works beautifully for diabetics and individuals suffering from chronic constipation.

The third generation Chinese woman tending the fruit stand was surprised that I apparently knew so much about the fruit she was selling. She confessed how she had even forgotten the Chinese name for Longan berries; I couldn't resist reminding her. I also told her and a woman deliberating whether to buy some or not about their use in traditional Chinese medicine as a blood tonic and as a tonic for Spleen and Heart, for low energy and with special benefit for the mind and improving memory. The Chinese fruit seller, who apparently had suppressed most of this to the general public out of embarrassment because of fear that they would not believe her, simply chimed in at the end something that most Chinese will revert to as a description for non-Chinese customers about a Chinese food herb: that they clean the blood.

While my fellow customer purchased her small bag of longans, I was given several samples to eat on the spot which I consumed with relish. These fruit are closely related to the more common lychee fruit and like that fruit, they are canned in syrup, made into a liqueur, confection, desserts and added as a natural sweetening ingredient in soups. I could easily imagine making a jelly or jam with them.

My personal sense of this herb is that it is indeed a powerful brain-nourishing food. It is high in glucose, and the brain relies on a steady supply of glucose for thought energy. The skull and brain usually contain about a third of the blood of the entire body. So it is easy to understand how glucose-rich Longan berries are used to counteract brain fatigue, anxiety, insomnia and poor memory. It is an essential herb to give to anyone but especially the aged who are prone to memory lapses, dementia and possibly Alzheimer"s as well. In this regard it is useful for anyone who thinks a lot and may experience occasional brain fog. Despite their high sugar content I have prescribed both Longan berries and lycii berries to diabetics who found that they both actually helped regulate blood sugar.

However it is not only the glucose of Longan berries that make them a superior blood tonic. Apparently, they are high in blood-enriching iron content, reportedly 20 times that of grapes and 15 times that of spinach! Iron is an important blood nutrient which carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the body. This is obviously important for maintaining youthfulness and vitality (both being therapeutic claims for Longan berries). However they have a special benefit for women in that they add luster and beauty to the skin and their iron-rich "red-blooded" properties enhance female attractiveness and serve as a special tonic for sexual vitality. Those individuals who have iron sensitivity need not worry because the iron is organically present and the body will be better able to regulate its usage.

Longan berries have a generally calming effect, which apart from relieving symptoms of anxiety and sleeplessness, contributes to an overall feeling of calm.

Finally, Longan berries are very beneficial for the skin, hair and eyes.

Longan berries are a longevity power food and one needn"t wait until developing symptoms of anemia, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia and memory problems before having them prescribed by a medical herbalist. You can purchase them in bulk (they are reasonably priced) and keep them on hand as occasion demands. You can even look into growing them if you live in an area where the temperature does not drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, or purchase them fresh from various online sources or Chinese markets.

Contraindications

It was a good moment encountering a beloved Chinese herb there on the highway in Kauai. I bought a $10 bag of fresh longan berries and managed to experience the one contraindication from eating too many of them, described as a "damp Spleen" which in Chinese diagnostics means a swollen and bloated fruit belly. (I also got to experience how taking a couple tablets of Planetary"s Digestive Comfort, which I always have on hand when I travel, relieved this condition within 15 minutes!)

Bacopa is the true "brahmi" with strong central nervous system properties. Click here to read the results of an Austrialian study describing bacopa's benefits for cognitive function and ADHD in particular. (Scroll down past the section on gingko and ginseng.)

Last year, I purchased a live Bacopa monnieri plant from Horizon Herbs. I kept it in my greenhouse all winter and found that it's a fast-growing creeper, overrunning many of the nearby containers that already had their own plants and soil. I decided to plant some outside in the spring in a semi-shaded part of the garden, watered by a drip irrigation system.

It loved the space; after three or four months, it filled a large area, and I was able to snip a bunch of it to blend with vodka. The bright green 'slurry' that immediately occurred informed me that the plant was already extracted. I took about two teaspoons of this tincture, and after about 30 minutes became extremely tired and could not resist taking a nap, which I did.

It was only later that I realized that the tiredness I was experiencing was not a case of an afternoon post lunch 'slump' but was in fact, a much more profound phenomenon. I thought it might be the brahmi.

I recently read an Ayurvedic weight loss protocol that included bacopa taken a few times a day to reduce nervous food cravings. The kind of sleepiness that a high dose of bacopa induces is not a heavy, drugged feeling, but a feeling of deep peace and calm in keeping with its respected Ayurvedic mental and soul-calming properties.

I've since made it a habit to take fresh brahmi tincture -- about 1 teaspoon before bed. The result for me has been a full night's deep sleep, with my thoughts turned "off." Bacopa/brahmi is just the herb for insomnia caused by anxiety and worry, and is more powerful than any other I've experienced! Let me reiterate, it does not have a drugging effect like valerian root can.

Bacopa is an ideal herb to give not only to induce sleep, but for staying asleep through the night. To build a good sleep habit, Todd Caldecott combines reishi mushroom, western skullcap and bacopa taken three times a day. This follows the dictum of the late Dr. Christopher that insomnia is a condition that is created during the day and therefore should be treated throughout the day.

In Ayurveda, it is thought to have general restorative effects (rasayana and balya), having bitter, sweet and cold energies. Unfortunately, when you read about the herb in Ayurvedic texts, it's difficult to sort out whether gotu kola or bacopa is being described, because of the similar properties they share, but for its effect on the nervous system, bacopa is by far the superior herb and should be regarded as the 'true' brahmi.

This is where my favorite home remedy comes to the rescue. It is the time-honored onion poultice

1. Finely chop two or three onions (you may also add a few cloves of chopped garlic for increased antibiotic effect).
2. Steam these for a short while in a steamer.
3. Remove from steamer, place in a large bowl, and add a half cup of corn flour and a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to help hold the poultice together. Mix well.
4. Place the entire mash in a natural fiber cloth, large enough to wrap and keep the entire mash over an area roughly the size of your patient's chest.
5. Apply the wrapped mash to your supine patient, as hot as can be tolerated without burning, over the chest, from the base of the neck down as far as you wish.  If the cough seems more on the back then apply it over the upper back. (If you are putting the poultice on yourself, you might need assistance from a friend or family member.) 
6. Place a hot water bottle or heating pad over the top of the poultice to maintain heat for greater penetration.
7. Rest with the poultice on for at least 20 or 30 minutes. 

Albizzia is one of my favorite herbs because of its real and unique ability to nourish the spirit in a way no other herb (or chemical substance, for that matter) can. Better known as the eautiful mimosa tree (Albizzia julibrissin), both the bark and the flowers are used to help one cope with feelings of profound loss and grief. Mostly we think of these emotions associated with the death of a loved one, but albizzia has a much wider application such as emotional trauma and stress associated with financial loss, bankruptcy, unemployment, divorce, children moving out to college or on their own, break up of a relationship. All of these are common occurrences that swirl around us and effect all of us in profound ways. Taken properly, albizzia extract works very fast to help dispel the anguish brought about by loss and grief – usually within a day.

Just yesterday, a woman in my employ showed up in an obvious state of extreme emotional sensitivity. She was distracted, teary, feeling vulnerable and it was obvious that something was getting her down. Finally I asked her about it and she said that she and the man she had been living with for some time had broken up the night before. I suggested she start chugging down teaspoonful doses of albizzia extract, hourly or as necessary in the beginning.

This morning she awoke after a sound night’s sleep and commented how the sadness that she was experiencing yesterday was still in the background but was not interfering with her life in the same way. I have heard this sort of report from so many patients that I was hardly surprised. If someone takes enough albizzia it is really difficult to get buried in negative feelings of grief and sadness. These feelings are there appropriately, but with the help of albizzia, they do not impinge so heavily on all the other important aspects of our lives.

So we might legitimately ask how ingesting an extract of the bark or flower of the albizzia tree works. Could a hormone be responsible for sadness, grief and tears? Lo and behold, there is! I’ve said many times before, there’s a hormone or neutro-transmitter for every human feeling and emotion. The hormone for sadness and tears happens to be the same associated with the production of breast milk: prolactin.
 

Prolactin

Prolactin is a major stress hormone released from the body via tears. It is found in much higher concentration in women's bodies than in men's, because it is employed in the synthesis of breast milk. One other secretion that prolactin is responsible for creating are human tears. At least one study found that women have a tendency to cry on average four times more frequently than men, due in part because women have at least 60% more prolactin than men.  Older men have noticed how when their hormones shift it is easier to come to tears. Apparently there is a direct correlation between emotional crying and prolactin.

Tears tend to help us release our feelings and inner tension. As many women will attest when under high stress, "there’s nothing like a good cry!" Female weepiness is assumed in all parts of the world and plays a role in all our social interactions.

Men are particularly distressed by the tears and outpouring of women. I remember once being stranded in an airport in Japan. The shuttle from the hotel where I was staying had been a tad late getting myself and a fellow traveler, a woman, on time to catch the only connecting flight leaving to the US that day. The plane was still on the ground but the airline staff told us that it was too late to board. Finally it took off without us, and after pleading for another flight, we were told that because we missed that one we’d have to wait and buy another return ticket. Neither of us had money for that. With a wink, my female companion went into a very convincing crying fit that caused all the male attendants to rush from behind the counter and usher us into a private room and set up special return travel arrangements for us in a few hours. Ah, the power of tears!

I think men, who serve as aggressive defenders in battle, are not only taught but are physiologically less inclined to show vulnerability under stress. Thus they lack this vital means that women have to achieve stress relief through tears and thus restore homeostasis. Some may argue that women take in more stress, dealing with childbirth, children, and so on so that they have a need to pour out more. Structurally, men’s tear glands are, as a whole, smaller than women's, which supports the notion that they are used less.

There is a difference in the chemical makeup of tears used for lubrication as opposed to those used by the emotions. Emotional tears contain more of the protein-based hormones prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and leucine enkephalin (a natural painkiller) than basal or reflex tears. Basic emotional drives such as anger, fear, and so forth are governed by the limbic system which includes the hypothalamus which also has some influence over the autonomic system. The yin aspect of the body which refers to the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic system also controls the lacrimal glands via the neurotransmitter acetylcholine through both the nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. When these receptors are activated, the lacrimal glands are stimulated to produce tears.

Considering the ages-old Chinese appellation of albizzia as the “tree of happiness” referring to its traditional use of easing feelings of grief as a result of the loss of anything near and dear, and the fact that prolactin is responsible for the expression of this, it could very well be that this hormone is in some way regulated by the complex chemistry of albizzia. Because human hormones interact with each other in complex ways much like the instruments in an orchestra, it would be very difficult to prove that prolactin alone is the only hormone affected by albizzia; certainly a case could be made for a possible relationship between albizzia and serotonin, a neurotransmitter sometimes dubbed ‘the happiness hormone.’ But my own clinical experience with patients taking albizzia shows that some have specifically remarked how they were less inclined to ‘tear up’ as easily over some sad occasion. As prolactin has a specific relationship to tears, it just may be that somewhere between the serotonin-prolactin cascade, there is a valid biochemical relationship with the herb albizzia.

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