VR Columns
Ancient Ayurveda, Modern Medicine
While the Egyptians can claim the oldest surviving medical text in the world, the Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus from 1800 BCE (making it almost 4,000 years old), most historians agree that the oldest surviving system of medicine is ayurveda, originating in India. The word “ayurveda” contains the Sanskrit words ayur (life) and veda (science or knowledge). ...
Cellular Health: Nutraceutical Support
Our bodies are made up of tens of trillions of cells.1 They are the fundamental building blocks of our tissues, organs and virtually everything that makes us a living organism. Naturally, it is vital that our cells stay healthy so they can function optimally, including the ability to replicate and make new cells as needed.Despite ...
Serving Vegetarian and Vegan Customers
Whether we are talking about veganism or vegetarianism, both of these lifestyles are, and have been on the rise for quite some time now. There are some compelling reasons why people make the switch to these lifestyles. Some want to live longer, healthier lives. Others have made the switch because they want to preserve Earth’s ...
Konjac Root/Glucomannan for Weight Control, Blood Lipids & Constipation
The konjac plant (Amorphophallus konjac), native to warm subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, has been used in China, Japan and South East Asia as a food source (to make noodles, tofu and snacks) and as a traditional medicine (for treating asthma, cough, hernia, breast pain, burns as well as hematological and skin disorders) for more ...
Back Talk with Doug Crabtree
THIS MONTH:Doug Crabtree and his wife, Anna Jones-Crabtree, own and operate Vilicus Farms, a diverse organic dryland crop farm north of Havre, MT, near the Canadian border. They grow 12 to 15 crops annually in a five-year rotation of grains, legumes, broadleaves, pulses and oilseeds. Doug also serves as organic certification program manager for the ...
The First Herbal Extract? Prehistoric Tea
Popular medicinal teas for modern health.Tea, Camellia sinenesis, is the most popular beverage in the world (excluding water), and most likely, some form of tea was the world’s first herbal extract.1 Soaking dried camellia plants in hot water releases compounds that can have systemic effects, from stimulating caffeine, to cancer preventing polyphenols, to the calming ...
Medicinal Mushrooms
For over 2,000 years, mushrooms have been used as medicines. In fact, in September of 1991, a 5,300-year-old mummy in the Tyrolean Alps, was found along with his medicine kit that contained Piptoporus betulinus, a mushroom he probably used as a natural wormkiller and laxative.1 Edible mushroom extracts, especially those used in Chinese and Japanese ...
Metabolic Syndrome: Watch Your Waistline
According to the American Heart Association, metabolic syndrome has become common in the United States. Approximately 20-25 percent of adult Americans are estimated to have it.1 This syndrome is associated with central obesity (fat in the abdominal area) and insulin resistance. Obesity contributes to high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, low HDL or “good” cholesterol ...
Back Talk with Fraser Kershaw
Fraser Kershaw is the founder of Water Works, a charitable organization with the goal to provide clean, safe drinking water to people in third-world nations. He is also the host of the new film, Behind the Water, and works alongside medical teams, as well as on-air with international film crews. In order to maintain their ...
High Homocysteine Levels and Nutraceutical Treatment
Dean of Academics, Huntington College of Health SciencesHomocysteine is a byproduct of normal protein metabolism. It is formed from the conversion of the amino acid methionine. Since high levels of homocysteine is not a good thing for our health, the body has a built-in mechanism to partially convert it back into methionine and other beneficial, ...
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