Tag Archive for ‘Supplements’

So Many People Are Asking – How Much Acai Berry Should I Take?

Published on August 6, 2009 in Weight Loss. Closed
by Travis Van Slooten

Acai berry has become the "in" thing in health supplements lately but because little has been known about it until recently so many people still need to ask, "How much acai berry is safe to consume?" While pure acai berry supplements should not cause any harm, it's still better to be safe than sorry especially if you have a medical condition that could affect your taking acai supplements. So first, identify who can give you the right dosage.

Who is Qualified to Determine My Dosage?

It is extremely important that you understand right away that only your doctor is qualified to determine what amount of acai berry, if any, is safe for you to consume. While there are many internet 'experts' who will rush to tell you that a certain dosage is right for you, they are not qualified to make that decision. On average, people are taking between 1000 and 4000 mg of different acai berry supplements. While you will most likely fall into this category, it is always the best bet to consult with your doctor to make sure you do not have potential allergies to the product you are considering.

What Are the Consequences of Too Much Acai?

You can take too much of just about everything. Although acai poses no real danger in terms of overdose, many supplements may contain additives that could be unhealthy in large quantities. However, even something as normally harmless as acai berry could cause stomach problems or diarrhea from taking too much. Unless you have allergies or take an absurd amount, you will likely be fine. But you should still take the recommended dosage on the bottle or the amount your doctor has suggested.

Are All Acai Supplements The Same?

You need to remember that not all acai berry products are created equal. Some products are considered pure acai berry. They contain nothing except the nutritious fruit of the acai berry. These products are not known to have any side effects and are considered as safe as any common fruit. However, some products may contain fillers or additives such as sugars or caffeine which may have unwanted side effects if you consume too much. It is important that you consider the specific product if you are planning on taking a different dosage than what is on the bottle.

Again, pure acai berry supplements do not have any observed side effects. However, if you want to stay on the safe side, the best thing you can do is to check with your physician or at the very least, follow the recommended dosage printed on the label of your product. Also, do your own research before signing up for any product. The quality of the supplement itself is as vital a factor as how much acai berry you should take.

About the Author:
Which acai products are risk-free? Only pure acai berry supplements are absolutely safe! Visit us to find out more about how much acai berry you should consume for optimal health. You'll also learn what the potential health benefits are and you'll get indepth reviews and product recommendations.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Medicinal Mushroom Used in Korea as Cancer Therapy Adjunct

Published on July 21, 2009 in Nutrition. Closed
by Dr. Markho Rafael

There's a new star on the medicinal mushroom sky. It goes by Phellinus linteus in Latin. The little known English common name is Black Hoof Fungus. It's far more common, even in America, to hear it referred to by its Japanese name as Mesima.

Common to southern United States and Southeast Asia, Phellinus linteus is a polypore on hardwood trees such as poplar, oak and mulberry. [1]

Unlike most medicinal mushroom species, which were originally used in China or Japan, Phellinus linteus first became popular in Korea as a complement to traditional cancer therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy.

From Korea, its reputation has spread like wildfire around the world. Doctors across the globe are now beginning to use it as an immune booster [2-11], and especially for preventing cancer metastasis. [5,10,12-17] Apart from Korea, Phellinus linteus is particularly popular in Japan, the U.S., and the Middle East from Israel to Turkey.

It may have all began when a 1996 Korean study reported that Phellinus linteus extract exhibited a broader range of immune enhancing and anti-cancer properties than the extracts from other species of medicinal mushrooms. [4]

Years later, American world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets helped deepen our understanding of Phellinus linteus when he published a comparative analysis with the most common medicinal mushroom species: Agaricus blazei, Lion's Mane, Chaga, Reishi, Maitake and Cordyceps. [18]

Phellinus linteus had a stronger effect than any of them on the part of the immune system known as macrophages. The activity of this type of white blood cell increased by 5,700% when Phellinus linteus extract was administered in an amount equivalent to 3,750 mg for an average size adult (165 lbs). [18]

It should be noted that macrophages may promote cancer growth as well as fight cancer. The research that has been published about Phellinus linteus extract indicates that it enhances the anti-cancer properties of macrophages. [8,14,19,20]

Additional reports have been published on cases of "spontaneously" regressed cancers, where the patients reported having used Phellinus linteus by their own choice:

1. A 2004 paper out of Japan reported "a hormone refractory prostate cancer patient with rapidly progressive bone metastasis who showed dramatic response to intake of an extract from the mushroom, Phellinus linteus." [15]

2. Next out was a Korean article published in 2005, which reported on a patient who "ingested mushroom called Phellinus linteus for one and a half years" before exhibiting "spontaneous regression" of liver cancer and skull metastasis. [17]

3. And then one year later, in 2006, another Japanese article was published on "a case of spontaneous regression of hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple lung metastases." The 79-year-old patient had been taking an extract of Phellinus linteus Mycelium for a month. When examined by his doctor 6 months later, his tumors had disappeared. [16]

Note: This article is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose any disease. It is intended for informational purposes only. Phellinus linteus is not approved by the FDA. Never use any herb or mushroom for medicinal purposes without first consulting a licensed medical professional.

About the Author:
Dr. Rafael currently focuses on medicinal mushrooms research, having worked with natural health since the mid-90's. He partners with Cordyceps Reishi Extract, LLC, a business offering premium quality medicinal mushroom products including Phellinus linteus extract. For article references, go the Phellinus linteus reference page.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Resveratrol Supplements and Your Health – What’s the Connection?

Published on June 13, 2009 in Anti Aging. Closed
by Francisco T. Blumenthalle

It's long been a mystery why the French, who eat a diet high in calories and fat, typically live longer and healthier lives than Americans -- now we know it may be that they drink so much wine that's the answer.

This fact isn't coincidental. The real solution to the mystery seems to be resveratrol. This is a compound that a handful of plants produce in the skins of their fruit to fight off bacterial and parasitic fungal infections, and it works by being a powerful anti-oxidant.

But scientists weren't entirely sure that the levels of resveratrol the French were getting from their diet was high enough to fully explain the paradox.

But, what almost no one can argue with is that the trials performed in the lab produced nearly uniform benefits as a result of taking resveratrol. The lucky mice who were given resveratrol lived longer, but that's just one part of it. They also had more energy and more lean muscle than their counterparts.

But hold on, there's more...

Mice with diabetes who took resveratrol wound up with blood glucose levels that were very close to normal afterwards.

No one claimed this "cured" diabetes, but the benefits were dramatic enough that they warranted some serious human trials.

And now, as you'd expect, the internet is playing a large role in all of this. I'm pretty confident you're well aware of the reports that have been over-the-top in their glowing enthusiasm for this new wonder drug.

Does it warrant all this attention?

It just may. However, for any one particular supplement to live up to the promises being made about resveratrol would be pretty darn hard. A fairytale fountain of youth doesn't really exist out here in the real world.

But maybe, if the studies are right, resveratrol might be as close as we can get in the near future.

So I would think that it's probably worth looking into, especially considering it only takes a couple minutes. You should be aware that resveratrol isn't subject to drug purity laws because it's not technically a drug, but is instead classified as a "nutrional supplement."

Buying resveratrol, like buying any supplement online, is a game of buyer beware. Because we have to harvest it from plants rather than producing it synthetically, a lot of time and effort goes into getting resveratrol. Which means that resveratrol supplements tend to vary in quality, along with their price.

Unfortunately, you can't just increase your consumption of a certain food to get enough resveratrol to make a difference. In fact, even red wine, which contains high levels of resveratrol, doesn't do the trick. You'd need to drink several liters -- at least 3, or about 5 regular-sized bottles -- every day.

So you're going to have to go with supplements. But what do you need to do to choose the best resveratrol supplements?

What you should look for in a resveratrol supplier is something that doesn't contain a lot of unnecessary fillers. Store your resveratrol supplements in proper conditions, because they can break down if kept in intense heat or very bright light.

The very first thing I would recommend is to go over to the resveratrol supplements review pages that I link to below, where you'll find constantly updated reviews. You should also take a few minutes to watch the videos there -- they have some directions for how to get free samples of resveratrol. This is good stuff. So it's definitely better than a haphazard trial and error process, and it just might wind up saving you a decent amount of money.

Just to sum up, whichever resveratrol supplements you choose to take, understand that it's only a part of a health maintenance system. Excerise, a health diet and some attention to your emotional health are still important.

A pill won't undo all of the damage we do to our bodies by itself, but it the lab tests are to be believed, it can seriously cut down on the time needed for these changes to have a positive effect.

About the Author:
The first thing to do in choosing the top resveratrol is to check out this resveratrol supplements review, where you'll also get tips on how to get a supply for free. Also see this resveratrol supplements page for even more background.
Tags: , , , , .

Historic Use of Mushrooms in Religious Ceremonies

Published on June 10, 2009 in Nutrition. Closed
by Dr. Markho Rafael

People have used mushrooms as spiritual tools for at least 7,000 years. Thats the age of the oldest preserved records, cave paintings left by the historic San Peoples in Tassili of southeast Algeria. Images depict what has been interpreted as masked, dancing medicine men holding mushrooms in their hand; presumably of the awareness altering variety.

Tassili is located in an area that today is an uninhabitable mountainous desert. But in ancient times, the climate was wet, allowing not only humans to live there but also cattle, and even crocodiles. The San Peoples were culturally tied to other tribes across the desert, from Chad to Egypt, maybe even Greece.

Jumping forward 3,400 years in time to Greece, 1,600 B.C., we find the Eleusinian Mysteries. Continuous for an astounding two millennia, the Eleusinian Mystery initiation was the most important spiritual ceremony of ancient Europe. Scholars believe the Mysteries involved use of consciousness-altering mushrooms. With well-known participants like Plato and Aristotle, its influence on western civilization cannot be denied.

Jumping another millennia or so forward in time, the Vikings were known to consume the poisonous species Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) in limited amounts to overcome fear. In spiritual pre-war ceremonies, they are said to have eaten mushrooms and danced in the woods before going into battle.

It may not have been an admirable type of spirituality practiced by this warrior culture but it was none-the-less part of their religious practices whatever we may think of them. Siberian shamans are also said to have used Fly agaric in their spiritual practices to help them talk to their gods.

In a controversial book titled Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality by R. Gordon Wasser, Fly agaric is even attributed as the source of the Vedic juice called "soma" - a liquid described to have been used in ancient Hindu religious practices, and said to be bestow divine qualities to the soul of the consumer, even immortality.

(Note: Make no mistake, Fly agaric - Amanita muscaria - is poisonous and can also be confused with other deadly species. Consumption for any reason is completely discouraged.)

On the other side of the ocean from Europe, the Mixtec culture likewise employed mind-altering mushrooms in their spiritual ceremonies, as recorded in the Mixtec Codex (13th-15th century). Their Gods were frequently engraved with mushrooms in hand.

Although Mixtecs themselves told white anthropologists they used spiritual mushrooms in their religious rituals, western scientists still doubted them in characteristic condescending manner.

American botanist William Safford argued that peyote buttons were mistaken for mushrooms, while other scientists insisted that the Mixtec culture really did use mind-expanding mushrooms in their religious rituals.

The debate raged on until the early 1930s, when amateur anthropologist Robert Weitlaner got invited to witness an original spiritual ceremony that included the use of consciousness-altering mushrooms.

Then in 1953, mycologist R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Povlovna as the first westerners became honored participants in a mushroom ceremony - Velada - performed by shaman Don Aurelio. Wasson published his account of the Velada in Life Magazine, 1957. His article initiated the broader public awareness of spiritual mushrooms.

25 species of the Psilocybe genus are known to contain the consciousness-altering chemical compounds psilocybin (stable) and psilocin (unstable). The species used by the Mixtec culture are believed to have been Psilocybin caerulescens and Psilocybin mexicana. The more common and sometimes cultivated species Psilocybin cubensis did not exist in America before the arrival of Europeans.

Viewed as recreational drugs, mind-altering mushrooms have been prohibited in most countries since the early 1970's. The exception, which will come as no surprise, was The Netherlands, were fresh Psilocybe mushrooms were legal until very recently.

However, that came to an abrupt halt when a 17-year-old girl jumped off a bridge in Amsterdam after consuming Psilocybe mushrooms. In response, the Dutch parliament banned all sale of "magic mushrooms" effective December 1, 2008. So from Tassili to Amsterdam, the use of consciousness-altering mushrooms is now officially history.

About the Author:
Dr. Markho Rafael has worked in the natural health field since the mid-90's, today specializing in medicinal mushrooms. He does not support the use of mind-altering mushrooms. The article on this page is for entertainment only. Click reishi to visit site for more free mushroom articles, or reishi cordyceps for mycomedicinal products. Note: Absolutely no magic mushroom products, please do not inquire.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .