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(Actuele) publicaties 2006 Ginseng
CocaCola Enterprises Completes United States Distribution Agreement with Hornell Brewing
2006/11/16 - AriZona is the top-selling ready-to-drink tea brand in the U.S. and will significantly strengthen CCE's offerings in the rapidly-growing tea category, especially in immediate consumption.
Coca-Cola Enterprises announced that it has completed a United States distribution agreement with Hornell Brewing Co., Inc., maker of AriZona Iced Tea products. Beginning in February 2007, CCE will begin distributing three flavors of a new 34 oz. package of AriZona Iced Tea to its retail customers in the U.S.: Iced Tea with Lemon, Green Tea with Ginseng & Honey, and Sweet Tea. In June, CCE began distribution of seven AriZona flavors in a variety of bottle and can packages throughout its territories in Canada.
AriZona is the top-selling ready-to-drink tea brand in the U.S. and will significantly strengthen CCE's offerings in the rapidly-growing tea category, especially in immediate consumption. AriZona joins CCE's growing tea portfolio which now includes Nestea, Gold Peak, and Enviga, a new calorie-burning sparkling tea from The Coca-Cola Company.
"We are combining the power of our sales and distribution system with the number one ready-to-drink brand in the fast-growing tea category," said John F. Brock, president and chief executive officer, Coca-Cola Enterprises. "This provides substantial opportunities, now and in the future, to generate profitable growth for both of our companies."
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. is the world's largest marketer, distributor, and producer of bottle and can liquid nonalcoholic refreshment. Coca-Cola Enterprises sells approximately 80percent of The Coca-Cola Company's bottle and can volume in North America and is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, and the Netherlands.
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Get the Best Ginseng for Your Money
2006/10/28 - Ginseng is in season, and demand is in full swing. Many people also drink red Ginseng juice every day for their health, but few take care to check that the Ginseng or red Ginseng they buy at a premium is really worth it, as they would if it was wine. The Chosun Ilbo has some tips for choosing the best Ginseng and red Ginseng for consumers who want value for money.
Look for Certificates
Ginseng is harvested for only three months a year, between September and November, when the active ingredient, saponin, is at its highest level. Usually, Ginseng becomes efficacious when it is four years old, reaching the peak of its efficacy at six years old. After seven years it turns white inside, which means it no longer does much good. Qualified inspection institutes for Ginseng, white Ginseng, taegeuk Ginseng and red Ginseng are under the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and designated by the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service. With Ginseng products imported or smuggled from China, it's buyer beware: you cannot know whether agrichemical residues meet government criteria, and it is highly likely that they are low-quality products with false information about age and moisture level.
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The government monopoly on red Ginseng was scrapped in 1996. Since then, small and medium-sized companies specializing in Ginseng have emerged. Big corporations like CJ, Dongwon F&B and Daesang have also made forays into the field recently, and the market for processed Ginseng and red Ginseng products is expanding fast. The labels on processed products contain name, original ingredients and their percentage, how to take them and the expiry date. Consumers need to pay close attention to the percentage of red Ginseng. The term "dry solid" (DS) refers to the percentage of pure red Ginseng and determines the product quality. For example, when the label says DS 60 percent, red Ginseng accounts for 60 g of 100 g of juice. Concentrated red Ginseng extract with 60 percent DS and more than 70 mg/g saponin is often called "100 percent" red Ginseng juice among products available in the market. But in many cases, products with less than 3 percent of concentrated red Ginseng extract or mixed with other medicinal stuff are sold under the name of "red Ginseng original extract", and consumers should make it a habit to check the DS percentage.
Fresh Ginseng for Cooking
Fresh Ginseng makes good tea for the cold, windy season when marinated with the same amount of sugar after rinsing and mincing. Ground fresh Ginseng also adds flavor to some dishes. Parents can make healthful soup for their children by adding one or two spoonfuls of ground Ginseng per cup of rice to the soup. And even children who do not like Ginseng may have no way to pick ground Ginseng out. One or two teaspoonful of ground Ginseng in cream sauce pasta can reduce the oily taste and add a special flavor. Fresh Ginseng also goes well with pears or kiwis, so blending half a piece of fresh Ginseng root with some plain yogurt and a quarter of a pear makes a good breakfast.
Myths
The bigger the better?
In fact, good Ginseng is rather small and has lots of root hairs because the root hairs contain a lot more saponin than the stalk. Herbal doctors recommend boiling down Ginseng with a ratio of stalk to root hairs of 1:1.
Raw Ginseng is best
Red Ginseng juice is better than raw fresh Ginseng. The amount of saponin in red Ginseng juice is almost twice as much as that in fresh or dried Ginseng.
Better with soil
It is a myth that earth on fresh Ginseng means it is fresher. Since earth on Ginseng contains quite a lot of organic chemicals and some pesticide residues, it is important to rinse it thoroughly. Softly rub it with a toothbrush under running water several times. Those who know nothing about Ginseng will take less risk by buying dried Ginseng with certificates.
FROM: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200610/200610280008.html
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Bei der Ginseng-Ernte packen alle mit an
2006/10/25 - Die Florafarm war seinerzeit der erste Betrieb in Deutschland, der sich auf den Anbau der exotischen Pflanze spezialisierte
Der Ginseng benötigt sechs Jahre, um reif zu werden. In den Monaten Oktober und November werden die hellen Wurzeln gezogen. Sie werden getrocknet oder als Extrakt in Kapselform verkauft. Ginseng gilt als Stärkungsmittel und soll das Immunsystem unterstützen.
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Prüfend betrachtet Clemens die frisch geernteten Ginseng-Wurzeln. Seine Eltern, die die Florafarm bei Walsrode bewirtschaften, bauen die koreanische Heilwurzel seit 24 Jahren an. |
FROM: http://www.haz.de/niedersachsen/291726.html
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Healing herb rated a Far East treasure
2006/10/22 - Here's a little gem of a book, "Ginseng Dreams: The Secret World of America's Most Valuable Plant." We've been shipping this botanical oddity to the Far East for 300 years now. Daniel Boone trafficked in it.
Panax quinquefolius was recognized early as a remedy. In 1728, a Virginia surveyor named William Byrd wrote, "Its vertues are that it gives an uncommon warmth and vigor to the blood, and frisks the spirit, beyond any other cordial. It cheers the hart even of Man that has a bad Wife."
Connoisseurs believe Ginseng adds "yang" energy and increases anger and appetite. The roots are shaped like penises, and this constitutes much of the herb's appeal. Some of these aphrodisiac plants are up to 2 feet long.
China is the main market. Very little wild Ginseng grows on the mainland anymore and demand has exploded with population. The plant is mostly cultivated in South Korea, whose citizens consume Ginseng wine, tea, shampoo and cigarettes. Today, the best Ginseng in the Far East comes from North Korea, which is too economically backward to have pulled down its forests.
Kristen Johannsen seems out of her depth when it comes to Asian Ginseng, but she has her ducks in a row when it comes to the United States. Kentucky is to Ginseng as Iowa is to corn. The plant grows only on steep mountainsides in drifts of old leaves, on a 45-degree angle in the shade. Appalachia is rich in it.
The author traces the cultivation and export of Ginseng up hill and down dale, covering Ginseng growers, poachers and smugglers. Despite the mystique linking the root to male potency, readers learn that the roots are not really needed for medicine. The plant has just as much of the active ingredient, ginsenosides, in the leaves. If the roots were left alone, the leaves could supply the market indefinitely.
Johannsen's finest chapter deals with an ATF "sting" operation run by an agent posing as a rural Kentuckian. In truth, he was a game warden from Virginia, named Rocco Ciancotti, known as Rock. He set up a fake general store and bought illegal Ginseng for a year, along with illegal bear paws and other contraband. But the case never came to trial. Compared with weapons smuggling, Ginseng smuggling is nothing. The district attorney declined to prosecute.
We also meet Paul Hsu, a Chinese citizen who set up shop in Wisconsin and now markets most of the Ginseng sold in the United States. A bottle of 100 caplets costs $16. Far higher grades are available.
Originally a collection of magazine articles, Johannsen's book brews up an intriguing tale. By the end, the twisty root has corkscrewed its way into your heart and mind.
Five stars, one for each leaf of the quinquefolius.
Browning wrote this review for Cox News
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Chinese chocolate heads for Europe
2006/10/20 - Singapore-based healthcare company Eu Yan Sang is hoping to make an impression on the European chocolate market with a range of sweets containing traditional Chinese herbs.
The company has developed chocolates with Ginseng and red date flavours and is planning to trial the products in the domestic market before introducing them to Western consumers.
With the range, Eu Yan Sang is hoping to tap into the allure of traditional Eastern herbs to target the European confectionery market and gain a foothold in the growing functional chocolate sector.
By using the well-known Chinese herb Ginseng as an ingredient the company is following the trend for exotic additions to chocolate promising an array of benefits from increasing libido to enhancing mood.
Ginseng is typically taken to enhance stamina and reduce feelings of fatigue and physical stress. It is also believed to have an anti-cancer function and has been reported to normalise blood glucose levels, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of obesity.
Eu Yan Sang chief executive Richard Eu told a press conference for the launch:
"We think that an idea like this probably has greater appeal in the Western markets because that is where we want to go. We want to find something with broader appeal."
The range is the first of its kind for Eu Yan Sang who produce herbal supplements, beauty products and alternative medicines and will allow the company to enter the European functional foods market which grossed €4bn last year.
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Smoothie Smarts: Bee pollen. Protein powder. Ginseng. Do these fat burners trim your gut -- or your wallet?
2006/10/10 - Swimming in smoothies. Once a simple fruit shake sold behind the counter in health food stores, smoothies are now a $1.6 billion industry with some 33,000 smoothie stores dotting the U.S. landscape, according to Mintel Group, a market research company.
These aren't your fern bar's strawberry/banana blends. These babies make bold promises to burn your fat, to turn Clark Kents into Supermen, even improve your sexual potency. Ooo, la-la.
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"At least one out of three customers adds either bee pollen or protein to our smoothies," says Kyle Bruschia, a clerk at Wayside Market in Pinecrest.
Protein-based supplements, such as Wheyplex, which has 50 grams of whey protein, are especially popular with athletes post-workout since the product touts muscle building and repairing properties, says Adam Ogden, CEO of Weston-based JUICEBLENDZ, which sells fresh fruit drinks.
But do these smoothie additives work?
"A smoothie doesn't replace a plate of hot foods, it's not a good benefit," said Daniela Neri, a licensed dietician at the University of Miami. Most protein sources, for instance, can be found in fish, meat, beans (when combined with rice for a complete protein) and dairy products. Still, the promises are sexy and mysterious.
WHEY PROTEIN
- THE HYPE: Boosts energy levels, provides immune support, aids in weight management and bone health. Proponents recommend its consumption after a workout or between meals.
- THE SKINNY: A recent study at Baylor University in Texas showed that men who drank a protein shake with 24 grams of whey protein and 16 grams of casein protein after lifting weights gained 8 percent more muscle in 10 weeks than those who passed on the shake. But, taken too often, protein supplements can lead to dehydration, calcium loss, liver and renal damage, says Neri. "With a proper diet, adequate protein is easy to obtain."
SOY BEAN LECITHIN
- THE HYPE: Assists in dissolving fat deposits, lowers cholesterol and, thanks to soybeans' high iron, potassium and isoflavones, some believe it fights cancer. (Lecithin is a fatty substance derived from egg yolks and legumes. It's added to shortenings, chocolate and peanut butter for preserving and moisturizing food. It is low in saturated fat compared to other fats.
- THE SKINNY: There is some evidence that soy bean lecithin could lower the body's level of bad cholesterol while not affecting the good cholesterol, Neri says.
L-GLUTAMINE
- THE HYPE: Metabolic-booster (read: fat burner!) and stress reducer -- particularly after some sort of trauma. A favourite among those who practice resistance training. (L-glutamine's an amino acid found in animal proteins and important in the body's acid-base balance.)
- THE SKINNY: No concrete proof that it has significant effect on muscle performance or on body composition as a supplement post-workout. Some evidence in animal studies that L-glutamine could function as an appetite suppressant but more study is needed on humans.
BEE POLLEN
- THE HYPE: ''The world's most perfect food!'' its manufacturers bellow. After all, it contains more than 4,000 enzymes, is a complete protein with vitamins A, C, D, E and K and its makers claim it boosts energy levels, rejuvenates hair, nails, and enhances memory and stamina. (Bee pollen is made of plant pollens collected by worker bees combined with plant nectar and bee saliva. Bee pollen first started its buzz in the mid-'70s via coaches who claimed the little yellow granules improved athletic ability.)
- THE SKINNY: Serious allergic reactions can include potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis for those with pollen allergies. Can reduce bad cholesterol and lower blood pressure but additional research is required. Has a honey-like flavour, but with a strong aftertaste that can overpower other ingredients in a smoothie. Best used in moderation -- less than a teaspoon -- sprinkled atop a cup of yogurt, ice cream or cereal (use it like wheat germ).
WHEAT GRASS
- THE HYPE: Graced with vitamins A, B, C, E and K plus calcium, iron and many other minerals, wheat grass is touted as anti-aging. The ads also say it suppresses appetite, boosts metabolism, improves circulation and benefits the hair, lungs, liver and kidneys.
- THE SKINNY: That's a mouthful for a product served as a tiny shot. Usually double the price of the other supplements. No ill effects cited on this one, but, as Neri points out, clinical trials are lacking and most of the positive healthful pronouncements come from producers of the supplements.
SPIRULINA
- THE HYPE: A micro algae, all-vegetable protein rich in beta carotene, iron, vitamins B-12 and E and used for centuries. Antioxidant, good for the eyes; sometimes touted as an appetite suppressant.
- THE SKINNY: The National Cancer Institute found in a 1994 study that natural polysaccharides in spirulina increased T-cell counts (which boosts the immune system), and raised disease resistance -- in chickens, fish and mice. ''We still lack evidence from human studies,'' Neri notes.
Ginseng
- THE HYPE: Hugely popular, we spend up to $400 million a year on various varieties of Ginseng (grown in China, America and Canada). We use it to treat hypertension and high blood cholesterol and to help our athletic performance.
- THE SKINNY: The World Health Organization (WHO) has found Ginseng to be ''generally safe.'' But whether it works remains debatable. There is no proof that it can boost athletic performance. Can help the immune system but, as with the others, more trials are necessary on humans. Adverse effects can include nausea, diarrhoea, insomnia, headaches. Avoid its use with caffeine (so, no mocha smoothies laced with Ginseng).
FROM: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/15717360.htm
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What's the bull with energy drinks?
2006/10/04 - Reporter undergoes supreme caffeination in the name of research
As a Mountain Dew devotee, I was always a little skeptical about the fanatic followers of energy drinks. After all, what could these drinks offer that my sweet, green nectar couldn't? In the interest of curiosity and journalism, I set out to test a new energy drink every day in what became my most caffeinated week ever.
Sunday - Red Bull
I started slow on Sunday with a familiar name. Red Bull costs $1.99 for an 8.3-ounce can. The key ingredients are taurine and, of course, caffeine.
I can best describe Red Bull's taste as an ultra-sour Sweet Tart. I found this a little odd since it contains 27 grams of sugar per serving.
The can promised to "improve performance, especially during times of increased stress or strain." I thought this might be useful, as I was watching football with five guys and needed to keep my edge. Unfortunately, I soon found myself spinning in a rolling chair, singing "Here We Go Steelers" (even though Green Bay was on TV) and annoying the boys.
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Media Credit: Nisha Panday |
Monday was SoBe's No Fear. Don't worry, the name doesn't lie - you have nothing to fear. The taste was average, and the effects were negligible. No Fear costs $2.19 for a 16-ounce can. The main ingredients are taurine, creatine, Ginseng, guarana, caffeine and B-Vitamins. I can't really find too many redeeming factors for this drink.
Tuesday - Rockstar
On Tuesday, I downed a Rockstar. I have to admit, I was impressed by the taste. It was sweet, but not too sweet, with no aftertaste. Although I achieved a small level of hyperactivity, it wasn't unmanageable. Rockstar costs $2 for a 16-ounce can, and the main ingredients are taurine, guarana, ginko, caffeine, milk thistle, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12.
Wednesday - Starbucks Double Shot
Wednesday, it was time to bring out the big guns. I was working a late shift at the library, and by my break, time was standing still. I downed a Starbucks Double Shot, not really sure what to expect. I'm Italian - espresso runs through my veins. I wondered if I might have inherited some sort of tolerance. That fear was quickly calmed. The taste was surprisingly smooth. The caffeine took effect almost immediately, and I was soon almost dancing books back to their shelves. Double Shot costs $1.50 for a 6.5-ounce can, and the main ingredient is caffeine.
Thursday - Monster
I tackled Monster on Thursday. Monster was so sweet I could barely finish it. I was unimpressed by its effects on energy. Monster costs $1.99 for a 16-ounce can. The active ingredients are L-Carnitine, glucose, caffeine, guarana, inositol, glucuronlactone, maltodextrin, taurine, panax Ginseng, B6 and B12.
Friday - SoBe Adrenaline Rush
Friday, I went with the SoBe Adrenaline Rush. It was absolutely delicious! I achieved the perfect level of caffeination! I loved the world! I could leap tall buildings in a single bound! This was by far my favorite of the energy drinks I tested. It cost $1.99 for an 8.3-ounce can. The major ingredients are taurine, Ginseng, caffeine, guarana, B6 B12.
Saturday - Tab
After the perfection of Adrenaline Rush, I could barely contain my excitement for Saturday and Tab Energy Drink. Tab comes in beautiful pink cans and is advertised as being an energy drink for women. As a woman, I am offended. I have never tasted anything more disgusting in my life. It tasted like rotten fruit and cauliflower.
As for its energizing effects, I'm afraid I can't comment on that. It was far too nauseating to finish. Tab costs $1.99 for an 8.2-ounce can and can be difficult to locate (I finally found it at Target). The main ingredients are B3, B6, B12, Ginseng, caffeine, guarana and taurine.
Other than lost study time due to the jitters, I was in no danger during my hyper week. According to nutrition experts, energy drinks can become dangerous when they are combined with alcohol. They should also not be used during sports because of risk of dehydration. Remember these tips when midterms are upon us, and happy energizing!
FROM: http://www.theguardianonline.com/media/storage/paper373/news/2006/10/04/Feature/Whats.The.Bull.With.Energy.Drinks-2329213.shtml?norewrite200610040411&sourcedomain=www.theguardianonline.com
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Where medicinal plant is everyday root
2006/09/23 - GEUMSAN, South Chungcheong Province - The residents of Geumsan, a city of approximately 60,000 people about three hours from Seoul, positively glow with health. The men on the streets look energetic, walking with big strides, their arms swinging. Even elderly women, although their faces may have deep furrows, have a smooth complexion.
Once you discover that Geumsan is a Ginseng town where 80 percent of the country's Ginseng is traded, you nod your head with an "Aha." The gently undulating ranges of Mount Geumsan embrace the city that also boasts a very long history of Ginseng cultivation - 1,500 years according to a written record. The average elevation of Geumsan is 250 meters above sea level and the subsequent large temperature fluctuations make the area ideal for growing Ginseng.
Ginseng is said to have a myriad health benefits: From having an effect on such serious illnesses as diabetes, cancer and hypertension to boosting immunity, improving blood circulation and enhancing overall stamina. No wonder folks in Geumsan seem full of vitality. There are four common types of Ginseng available in the market. "Susam" is a raw gingseng, 4 to 6 years old, best eaten uncooked. "Baeksam" is a 4- to 6-year-old root processed to preserve its original shape. The process includes peeling and drying in sunlight to maintain moisture content to below 14 percent. "Taegeuksam" is made by boiling and drying, a hybrid of Baeksam and "Hongsam," which has a dark burgundy color, a result of the steaming and drying process. Hongsam can be preserved for a long time and is further divided into three kinds depending on the quality.
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About 80 percent of the country`s raw Ginseng is traded at the International Ginseng Market in Geumsan. |
At Jang Seok-yeok Laboratory, which Jang heads, there are three giant pots each holding Ginseng at different stages of steaming. "Six-year-old roots, which contain about 75 percent water, are steamed nine times over a 50-day period," says Jang as he takes out a handful from a steaming pot. "The musk fragrance becomes stronger with each process," he says, sniffing the Ginseng.
It is not only the fragrance that is intensified in the multiple-steaming process. Heuksam contains 40 percent more saponin than regular Hongsam, Jang claims. Saponin is the chemical responsible for the bubbles found in Ginseng tea and is also present in soaps. It is one of the important chemicals with health benefits found in Ginseng. In the pot in the middle are Ginseng that look like hongsam. "By the third steaming, they are similar to Hongsam," Jang explained.
Although there are modern drying machines on the laboratory's premise, Jang has no use for them. His heavy metal pots are fired using only Korean pine logs. After the repeated steaming process, the roots are arranged on trays and stored in a drying room which is kept at 45 degrees Celsius.
From selling his Heuksam extract, drinks and powder, Jang makes about 5 million won a month. He cannot sell the roots because they have yet to be certified.
To prepare the Ginseng growers of his town for the onslaught of cheaper Chinese imports, Jang attempted to make his creation an area brand but failed. "If you are 10 years ahead, you are considered crazy," he says with a laugh. There was so much in-fighting among the growers, he recalls. Geumsan Yakryeong Market is one of the three major herbal medicine markets along with Daegu and Geumsan. The main street is lined with shop after shop selling various dried herbs and Ginseng products, including decorative Ginseng kept floating in a large glass jar. The five-day market attracts buyers from around the country as well as visitors. For the casual tourists, the street puts on Ginseng cutting demonstrations as well as traditional street music performances.
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Yang Hyeon-cheol demonstrates how Ginseng is harvested with a specially shaped hoe. [Kim Hoo-ran/The Korea Herald] |
The International Ginseng Market houses 190 shops where more than 530 tons of raw Ginseng is traded on a market day. Traditional units of measure are still in use at the market. One chae, which equals 750 grams, of 5-year-old Ginseng goes for anywhere from 21,000 won to 40,000 won for "handsome" looking ones.
A visitor from Gwangju buys 150,000 won worth of Ginseng after much haggling over price. "I will powder some of it and steam some," she says carrying her heavy black plastic bag. "We eat Ginseng everyday," she says.
People in Geumsan put Ginseng in virtually everything. A Ginseng fish porridge, a local specialty, has none of the fishy smell, the fragrance of the sliced Ginseng taking away the offending smell.
On the Geumsan Yakryeong Market street, there are shops selling Ginseng fritters and Ginseng drinks. Even the blue-collar makkeolli is accompanied by a side dish of deep-fried Ginseng fritters.
At a community center cooking class, the students are trying dishes made with raw Ginseng. The sweet and sour Ginseng dish has the usual deep-fried pork bits together with deep-fried Ginseng slices. Ginseng Yuja cold cut features Ginseng julienne along with other vegetables that are mixed together with a citrus sauce. Ginseng roll features Ginseng, shitake mushroom, carrot, cucumber and egg, all cut into very thin strips that are placed on a small flour pancake and rolled before being cut.
Ginseng is supposed to be good for the hot weather and when cooked, the bitter taste is taken away. However, the top head of the Ginseng must be cut because it can cause nausea. In this land of Ginseng, samgyetang is an everyday dish, not something that you eat once a year in the dead heat of summer. Fried Ginseng is popular as is raw Ginseng that has been preserved in sugar, according to Song Geum-seon, a housewife attending the class. People here even put Ginseng through a mixer with milk for a Ginseng milkshake. "My children never catch cold," Song boasts.
Noh Jeom-i, 56, who owns Ginseng fields in Geumsan as well as three other nearby cities believes that drinking red Ginseng extract has made her healthy. "It is more bitter than white Ginseng but it is also more effective," says No, who has a clear complexion despite her years of working in the fields.
At Dowon Farm (010-4516-6862), Yang Hyeon-cheol, Noh's husband, runs a Ginseng digging program. Visitors are charged 5,000 won for digging a root which can also be bought at a market price. It is just about harvest time for the 4-year Ginseng that are grown under a black shade, says Yang.
(khooran@heraldm.com)
If you go ...
KTX train ride from Seoul to Daejeon takes about 50 minutes. From Daejeon Dongbu Terminal, a bus for Geumsan departs every 10-15 minutes.
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Ginseng Expo to Open
2006/09/20 - A Ginseng exhibition, the 2006 World Ginseng Expo, will kick off in Kumsan, South Chungchong Province, tomorrow, running for 24 days through Oct. 15.
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Kumsan has been famous for Ginseng, a well-known medicinal plant, and is the primary marketing area for its products. The region produces about 10 percent of the nation's total Ginseng products, while 80 percent of the nation's Ginseng is gathered and traded here.
Under the theme ``Ginseng, Root of Life,'' the expo aims to promote Korea's Ginseng as a best ``well-being'' product.
Exhibitions, events, conferences and performances will be presented in six exhibition halls and outdoor facilities on the 129,000 pyong (425,700 square meters) expo site.
Sixty-five companies and agencies from eight countries will take part in the exhibition and showcase their Ginseng products. More than 100 buyers will also come for business opportunities.
Both domestic and foreign scholars will also present 250 papers about Ginseng's medical efficacy and other subjects regarding the plant.
Visitors can learn about the cultivating methods for Ginseng and try collecting the plant in the wild. The programs also include 130 kinds of foods made from Ginseng and brief medical checkups from oriental medicine doctors.
People can also buy Ginseng products at the Ginseng and medicinal herb market next to the exhibition venue.
Various events such as Korean traditional music and folk games and foreign troupes' folk music performances will also be featured throughout the expo period.
Admission is 10,000 won for adults, 8,000 won for middle and high school students, and 5,000 won for elementary school children.
FROM: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200609/kt2006092019230911960.htm
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Confusion over role of Christie
2006/09/07 - UK athletics chief Dave Collins says Linford Christie will not now act as a mentor to the country's rising stars
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Christie won Olympic 100m gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992 |
Christie was unveiled as one of four "mentors" by UK Athletics in August
But the move caused concern, with Paula Radciffe claiming the former Olympic champion, who failed a drugs test in 1999, was unsuitable for the role.
Now UKA boss Collins appears to have backtracked, telling BBC Five Live: "Linford as a mentor to young athletes? No, that's not what he's doing."
UK Athletics (UKA) announced last month that Christie would be taking on a high-profile position with the organisation.
They issued a statement headlined: "Daley Thompson, Linford Christie, Steve Backley and Katharine Merry to mentor athletes on path to glory."
But Collins now insists the 46-year-old Christie, who won gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992, was never meant to have such a position.
"Linford is there in a technical coaching role, extending the very good work he has been doing before the Sydney Olympics," Collins told the BBC on Thursday.
"He will be based at one of our high-performance athletic centres. He will be working with a fellow coach and a group of athletes."
Yet Collins did nothing to dispel the confusion by adding later in the interview that Christie would be providing both "coaching and mentorship".
Christie's appointment has caused such controversy because he failed two drugs tests during his career.
He tested positive for a banned stimulant at the 1988 Olympics but was cleared by a panel after claiming to have ingested it in a cup of Ginseng tea.
Then he was banned for two years by the IAAF in 1999 after testing positive for banned steroid nandrolone.
When asked if she thought Christie's appointment was a good idea, world marathon champion Radcliffe said: "Personally I don't think it is, no.
"We have to make sure that the people in that mentor role have an integrity and strong sense of ethics and morals."
But not everyone agrees with Radcliffe's view. "He (Christie) is the kind of person that athletes can relate to, and that's important," former British 400m champion Derek Redmond told Five Live. "It's all well and good Paula saying he is not the right kind of person. "Well, actually he is, because he is the kind of person who can relate to the athletes and he is the kind of person to get through to them.
"He is not a 'suit', so he is doesn't lose that street cred, if you like. He'll have that in abundance. "He will be one of the athletes who will easily connect with the athletes he is working with."
FROM: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/5325084.stm
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Ginseng linked to improved breast cancer outcomes
2006/08/18 - Ginseng, one of the most well known traditional herbals, may improve survival rates and quality of life for breast cancer patients, suggests a study based in China, but experts have urged caution over the results.
In a population-based observational study of 1,455 breast cancer patients in Shanghai, it was found that women who used Ginseng before breast cancer diagnosis, or started taking the herb after diagnosis experienced benefits.
"When patients used Ginseng prior to diagnosis, they tended to have higher survival," said lead researcher Xiao-Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D. from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. "Ginseng use after cancer diagnosis was related to improved quality of life."
Over one million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, with about 400,000 new cases in Europe. According to the European School of Oncology, the highest incidence rates are found in the Netherlands and the US. China has the lowest incidence and mortality rate of the disease.
The research, published recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology (Vol. 163, pp. 645-653), involved collecting data on Ginseng use by person-to-person interviews to determine pre-diagnosis use, and then during follow-up interviews to ascertain post-diagnosis use. The type of Ginseng used - white or red Asian Ginseng (Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer), American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L) - the nature of the product - powder, extract, tablet, capsule and so on - and the duration and frequency.
Prior to diagnosis, it was found that 398 women (27.4 per cent of the population) used Ginseng on a regular basis. All of these women received at least one type of mainstream breast cancer treatment (chemotherapy, surgery, or radiotherapy).
Ginseng is typically taken to enhance stamina and reduce feelings of fatigue and physical stress. It is also believed to have an anti-cancer function and has been reported to normalise blood glucose levels, improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of obesity.
The herb has been gaining popularity in Western societies, finding its way into, for example, energy drinks. In the US it is estimated to be the second top-selling herbal supplement, with $62m (€48.2m) in annual sales.
Despite such impressive sales figures, Shu said that there is still a lot of skepticism about herbal medicine. "That is why we are taking the observational approach at this time to see whether there is any efficacy. If so, we can go to the next phase… and eventually go to clinical trials," she said.
During the follow-up surveys, over an average of 4.8 years, the researchers found that number of Ginseng users had jumped to 62.8 per cent of the 1,065 survivors.
It was found that women who had taken Ginseng regularly pre-diagnosis had a higher overall survival rate than pre-diagnosis non-takers (88.6 versus 80 per cent), as well as a higher disease-free survival rate (83.8 versus 77.4 per cent, respectively).
Quality of life (QoL), measured using the General Quality of Life Inventory-74, improved amongst the women who started taking the herb after diagnosis. This is a measure of physical, social, psychological and material well-being.
"In our study, the average daily dose of Ginseng was 1.3 grams of Ginseng root material, and the average cumulative duration of use was 4.3 months per year. We found that Ginseng use at this level significantly improved breast cancer survival and survivors QoL," concluded the researchers.
Both the WHO and the German Commission E have recommended daily safe doses of the herb as between one and two grams of Ginseng root, which equates to between 200 and 600 milligrams of standardised extracts.
Although this observational study was not intended to elucidate the mechanism of protection, the researchers proposed that the compounds ginsenosides are behind the apparent benefits. Previous in vitro and animal studies have supported the proposal that these compounds have anti-cancer activity.
The study has several limitations, including the inability to measure survival rates of women who started taking the herb post-diagnosis. Also, no information on other complementary or alternative therapies was collected until the follow-up interviews. Finally, the study was based on the patients' recall of their Ginseng habits and could be subject to under- or over-estimation.
"Thus caution is required in interpreting the results, and our findings need to be confirmed in more rigorous and randomised clinical trials," wrote the researchers.
This caution was echoed by Josephine Querido, from British charity, Cancer Research UK. Querido told NutraIngredients.com: "This Chinese study suggests that Ginseng may have a beneficial effect on the quality of life of breast cancer patients and may also increase survival. But the overall body of research still provides no reliable scientific evidence that Ginseng is effective in preventing or treating cancer in humans.
"If you are considering using complementary therapies, you should always discuss this with your GP to make sure it doesn't interfere with your current treatment," she said.
A recent review by Edzard Ernst, professor of complimentary and alternative medicine at the University of Exeter, concluded that the herb is generally well-tolerated, with adverse effects reported to be mild and reversible.
However, high doses of Ginseng can lead to elevated blood pressure and dry eyes and throat.
FROM:
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Spa taps into B.C.'s gold mine of ginseng root
2006/08/12 - The terry slippers and the soothing sound of water rolling down the marble-walled entranceway of Sunmore Ginseng Spa are meant as a respite for the tour-bus crowd on their long trek from Vancouver to Canada's famed Banff and Lake Louise.
So is the Chinese tea house in this odd oasis of calm on the industrial-park outskirts of this British Columbia ranching community.
And the tour buses have been coming - packed with about 85,000 tourists a year, most of them Asians - since Sunmore spa opened its doors in late 2004.
Unfortunately, few of the passengers have time to spread out on one of the spa's 20 treatment beds. They've come here looking for a quicker boost to their well-being - at the adjacent Sunmore Healthtech Ltd. factory where Ginseng roots and seeds are turned into magical elixirs.
Ginseng has been called "the king of herbs" and has been revered in China for more than 5,000 years for boosting energy and prolonging life. The first Chinese emperor considered the plant so valuable, he would pay soldiers the same weight in silver for all the wild Ginseng they could bring him.
So it's a surprise to find a virtual gold mine of Ginseng right here in the B.C. interior.
"Most Canadians don't even know that this is one of the Ginseng capitals of North America," says Carrie Pan, manager of the spa and, at a very young-looking 39, a walking advertisement for the treasured root.
"We have tried so hard (to get the word out). Our showroom and factory is open to everybody and we've tried to educate people about what we do here, which is not the normal spa treatments. We focus on the whole body: the balance of being healthy (inside and out). We're trying to promote a healthy lifestyle and teach people different ways to relax."
Not far away are 120 hectares of Ginseng plants, now in full bloom, that have put Kamloops on the map as one of just two major North American Ginseng-growing areas. (The other is in Wisconsin.)
It was a Jesuit priest who first discovered wild Ginseng near Montreal in 1716 and knew, thanks to a fellow Jesuit who had spent time in Manchuria, of its healing powers and how much the Chinese valued it. Native Indians had been using the plants, which they called bitterroot, for medicinal purposes for centuries and the French paid them to dig up all the plants they could and ship them to China.
The discovery sparked a "Ginseng rush" between the two countries, eventually spreading to the U.S. where a New Yorker found a way to grow the plants commercially: by constructing shade covers to simulate the canopy of trees that shield the plant from too much sunlight in Asia where it grows naturally.
It wasn't until the early 1980s that farmers in this semi-arid area started growing Ginseng, which now pumps millions into Kamloops' economy.
Ginseng is thought to slow aging, relieve stress, bolster the immune system, regulate blood pressure, improve concentration and memory, as well as ease insomnia, depression and even the dreaded symptoms of menopause. There's also some evidence that North American Ginseng (which is slightly different than Asian Ginseng) can regulate sugar levels in diabetics.
In the 1980s, the B.C. agriculture department - recognizing the economic benefits of the novel cash crop - convinced master herbalist Dr. Donna Chang to open a processing facility in B.C.
The 1,672-square-metre factory offers tours and a wide range of products that are shipped worldwide, from Ginseng tea to candy (Ginseng maple candy), creams, oils, capsules, tablets, extract and powder. Her dream was to open a "resort spa" close to nature (Sunmore backs onto a major provincial park.)
But, sadly, something was lost in the translation.
The contractor hired to build a "log house" instead threw up what looks like a suburban box.
What was to have been an overnight resort is now a day spa with four beautifully themed rooms (Chinese, Japanese, European and Thai) with plans to eventually add rustic accommodation.
But, worst of all, neighbours started moving into Chang's wilderness, including a Wal-Mart, a Real Canadian Superstore and cars, all of which you miraculously forget once the door of the Zen-like spa shuts behind you.
Amazingly, 45 per cent of Sunmore spa's clients are men, many of them ranchers and heavy-equipment operators.
"We have one rancher who came in here to buy a gift certificate for his wife. We said, `Why don't you come with her?' He did and left with a smile," says Pan.
The only downside of working with those calloused clients?
"They're tough to massage."
Sunmore spa is located just off the TransCanada Highway at 925 McGill Place. For more information see http://www.sunmore.com or call 1-250-372-2814.
FROM:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1155120847017&call_pageid=970599119419
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Ginseng as a cure
2006/08/11 - A PLANT used to brew a cup of soothing tea may be destined as a cure for a debilitating disease. The potential breakthrough is exciting news for those diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but even more so for patients in Nova Scotia, where the research is being carried out at a local university.
Halifax scientists have found using Ginseng and a substance called sonic hedgehog might be keys to halting the progression of Parkinson's. Dalhousie University researcher Harold Robertson has been part of studies showing that in mice, the plant can completely stop the action of a toxin that kills the brain cells affected by the disease.
Mr. Roberston says a post-doctoral fellow he was working with suggested using Ginseng in mice. Results were so encouraging Mr. Robertson says it could be used in clinical trials in humans now.
While the results are promising, many questions remain as to why Ginseng appears to have the effect it does in Parkinson's cases. Those answers may be provided in research to be conducted here, thanks to more than $300,000 in grants announced last week by the Parkinson Society Maritime Region on behalf of Parkinson Society of Canada. Mr. Robertson and Anna-Marie Szczeniak were two of three Dal researchers and two clinical programs sharing the funding. His $44,597 grant will allow Mr. Robertson to probe the use of Ginseng to fight Parkinson's, in particular its effect on preventing inflammation associated with the killing of brain cells in patients.
Ms. Szczeniak was awarded a two-year, $80,000 fellowship that will allow her to study the role of the protein dubbed sonic hedgehog in cell division. Two groups working with Parkinson's patients also received funding.
Parkinson's drastically changes the lives of those who suffer from it; work being done right here in our backyard could yet drastically alter the course of the disease itself.
FROM:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/521070.html
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Getting to the root of Parkinson's
2006/08/04 - Ginseng may be able to halt disease in its tracks
Halifax scientists have high hopes that common Ginseng and a substance called sonic hedgehog might be keys to halting the progression of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative condition for which there's currently no cure
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Pharmacologist Harold Robertson holds Ginseng capsules at his laboratory in Halifax on Tuesday. Mr. Robertson is doing research on the therapeutic effects of Ginseng in mice with Parkinson's disease. (Peter Parsons / Staff) |
Mr. Robertson has already been involved in a number of studies that, to his amazement, demonstrated the plant Ginseng can completely stop the action of a toxin that kills the brain cells affected by Parkinson's disease in mice.
The consumption of Ginseng has been fingered as a possible explanation for the lower rate of Parkinson's disease in Asia compared to the western world, he said. Some data show the prevalence of the disease in China is about a quarter of the average 200 cases per 100,000 population worldwide. And among Koreans it may be as little as one-tenth the overall rate.
Mr. Robertson said a post-doctoral fellow he was working with suggested the experiment.
"I didn't expect this to work," he said. "I said, 'Sure, go ahead and do it,' but I had no confidence it would produce anything at all."
The symptoms of Parkinson's appear when the brain cells that produce a signal-carrying chemical called dopamine die.
The effects, explained Goban Sawh, 75, who's lived with the disease for several years, include tight, stiff muscles, difficulty moving and poor balance.
Parkinson's has almost completely robbed him of his voice.
"If it helps, it's very good," he whispered when asked about the research.
As a result of earlier research, Mr. Robertson is so sure Ginseng is effective in animals, he says it could be used in clinical trials on humans now.
What he and the handful of others around the world studying the matter don't understand is how it works.
The $44,597 grant he received will let him study one possible answer to that question.
When Parkinson's kills the brain cells that make dopamine, it seems to produce an inflammation, and other brain cells called microglia arrive to respond, Mr. Robertson said.
"In trying to clean it up, they produce even more damage, and when they produce more damage, they send out signals that call in more microglia," he said. "It seems that if you prevent the microglia from coming in . . . you prevent a lot of the damage."
This project will test to see if Ginseng's effect occurs because it prevents inflammation.
Parkinson's can be difficult to diagnose, but when caught early, doctors can sometimes only monitor its progress through the first stages. The conventional treatment, L-dopa (a synthetic means of producing dopamine), is only effective for a few years.
If it's proven effective in humans, Ginseng could be given to patients immediately upon diagnosis and halt the disease in its tracks, Mr. Robertson said.
"If you could stop it right there, you'd eliminate all of the problems with Parkinson's disease," he said.
And Ginseng is readily available - the stuff used in his lab comes from a north-end Halifax health food store.
"We could do it tomorrow."
Until it's possible to stop the disease from progressing, Ms. Szczesniak is working to ensure more successful treatment for those suffering the effects.
The short window of effectiveness and serious side-effects of L-dopa are a concern, she said.
"There is a need to develop something different."
One cutting-edge treatment being used in Halifax involves the transplanting of healthy dopamine-producing neurons in place of those destroyed by Parkinson's.
Such work has been done in humans, but Ms. Szczesniak is working with mice and rats.
"The aim of this research is to replace the system," she said.
The problem is that so far, only five to 10 per cent of transplanted cells seem to survive inside the recipient.
"We are trying to come up with strategies that will support the survival of the neurons that we transplant," Ms. Szczesniak said.
The two-year $80,000 fellowship she was awarded Tuesday will allow her to study whether sonic hedgehog, a protein involved in cell division and named after the videogame character, helps those cells survive.
She'll compare how rats who have transplants of healthy neurons capable of producing sonic hedgehog fare compared to those whose transplanted cells don't produce the protein.
Dr. Karim Mukhida, who also works in neural transplantation, was awarded a two-year fellowship valued at $105,000 Tuesday.
Two clinical projects also received funding. A $38,000 grant to Halifax's Maritime Parkinson Clinic will keep the two-day-a-week operation, which serves about 350 patients, running for two more years. A matching amount will support Victorian Order of Nurses staff working with Parkinson's patients in New Brunswick.
FROM: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/519436.html
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Sunsam S-7 Cosmetics Help Fend off Aging
2006/08/03 - An all-new cosmetics line is attracting a large number of both women and men consumers ? "Sunsam S-7" by ginseng Science, a Korean oriental medicine products maker.
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Sunsam S-7 makeup set includes nutrition cream as well as lotion and essence skincare. |
After six years of research and development, a team of scientists at Seoul National University's College of Pharmacy created not only Sunsam but also beauty products that are highly effective in protecting the skin from external hazards and preventing the symptoms of aging.
The S-7 makeup product is primarily made out of "Sunsam'' _ meaning "supernatural ginseng" in Korean _ which contains ginsenosides and saponins derived from ginseng, plants and roots.
Its ingredients are said to be ten times as effective as mountain ginseng and cannot be found in white or natural ginseng. Also, as an anti-oxidant, it boosts the immune system.
ginseng Science secured patents for the Sunsam technology both at home and abroad and released the premium herb-mixed cosmetics earlier this year.
'S' in the brand S-7 refers to Seoul National University created the new substance and '7' is for the seven effects which product has in helping keep the skin clean and clear and from drying and having wrinkles.
The Sunsam cosmetics help blood circulation while fending off aging, and keep the skin soft and supple with a brighter tone, said a ginseng Science official.
It is currently sold at some 120 retail stores across Korea. Exports of Sunsam, in the meantime, surpassed $1 million in its first year of overseas shipping.
FROM: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200608/kt2006080317073311910.htm
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The Root of All Good
2006/07/23 - The medicinal plant whose very name means "cure-all."
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ginseng plant and root (Getty Images) |
A list of the ailments ginseng can treat reads like an advertisement for a 19th-century cure-all. It stimulates the libido (at least in lab rats), aids recovery from hangovers, helps control blood-sugar levels in diabetics, regulates hormone levels in the body generally, and, most dramatically, appears to prevent breast cancer cells from reproducing. Indeed, American ginseng's Latin name, Panax quinquefolius , derives from the Greek pan for all and akos , for cure. In China it is used as an all-purpose tonic. American medical researchers are examining its properties, but it has not yet entered the medical mainstream as a prescription drug. However, the herb's medical uses are not the primary focus of these books, which dwell on the surprising fact that ginseng grows in the United States and has been exported to China since the 18th century. This American angle surely enabled the publication of two books on such an obscure industry.
American ginseng was discovered by a French Jesuit who lived among the Iroquois in the early 18th century and was familiar with the Chinese plant. Although it is an overstatement on David Taylor's part to equate the ensuing "ginseng frenzy" to the California Gold Rush, such was the enthusiasm of fortune-seeking, Canadian diggers that they quickly eradicated ginseng from Canada's forests.
In 1784, the first American ship to sail to China arrived at Canton with a load of 30 tons of Pennsylvania and Virginia ginseng, and the trade between the United States and China was established. The Chinese incorporated American ginseng into their pharmacology, where its relaxing qualities complemented those of the energizing Asian root. ginseng digging became a sideline for fur trappers and a source of supplementary income for Minnesota's first settler communities, who held ginseng balls and festivals. Rural Appalachian families still go out 'sanging in the woods in the fall to make a little extra money for Christmas.
By 1912 Americans were making a concerted effort to cultivate ginseng. As Kristin Johannsen tells it, one particularly endearing advocate of this new crop was Penn Kirk, who published the ginseng Journal, a one-man enterprise funded by advertising for an appealingly eclectic range of things from sneezing powder and cures for corns to "a home-study taxidermy course." The rather testy Kirk supplied all the articles on ginseng growing and the answers to readers' inquiries. Both Johannsen and Taylor met present-day versions of Kirk: agricultural outreach workers running seminars on how to grow ginseng in the woods as part of an attempt to save the Appalachian forest from mining and logging. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, large-scale farms employ Hmong refugees from Laos to undertake the back-breaking work of growing ginseng in troughs, covered over by a system of wooden laths that simulate forest shade. Wild, simulated-wild or cultivated, virtually all American ginseng eventually finds its way to Ko Shing Street in Hong Kong or the vast herb market of Puning, a town on China's southern coast.
Even though Johannsen constantly reminds us of the extraordinary value of ginseng, the only people making a substantial profit out of the root seem to be the big exporters. But it is no wonder that ginseng is expensive. It is a slow-growing, temperamental plant, and the Chinese prefer the oldest roots. To make matters worse, ginseng is vulnerable to poachers who sneak into national parks and other people's woodlands to dig it up.
Both books cover essentially the same ground, though Johannsen's book reads like a series of local newspaper articles while Taylor gives us more history, especially on ginseng in China. The root seems to have a mystical hold over the people these authors meet. I was not captured, but their descriptions of the woodland habitat of the plant itself and the pleasures of hunting ginseng in the leaf mold of a damp autumnal forest did make me want to go for a tramp in the woods.
FROM: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001049.html
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FWS reverses wild ginseng five-year export rule
2006/06/12 - The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has performed a U-turn over the ban imposed last year on the export of five-year-old wild American ginseng roots - a decision met with relief from an industry that feared years of decline while plants matured to catch up with the regulation.
Wild American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), the root of which has a variety of uses in traditional medicine including stress, cognitive function and immune system boosting, takes between four and five years to reach maturity and start producing seeds. The life span of a plant is around 30 years and it becomes more fruitful with age.
Since 1975 the plant has been listed under the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) as species that, while not being in immediate danger of extinction, may become extinct if trade is not strictly controlled.
In its 2005 CITES finding published last August, the FWS determined that wild roots must be at least ten years old (double the previous minimum age of five years) and have four 'prongs' or leaves before they can be legally exported from the US.
This decision met with dismay from the botanicals industry, not least because it was made behind closed doors.
But the agency subsequently held four well-attended public meetings, which elicited comments from the spectrum of those involved with the wild ginseng trade.
Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, also said: "Our concerns with the 10-year rule were centered on errors in some of the calculations used by FWS, and on the absence of any meaningful consideration of the positive impact that can come from harvesters who are also acting as ginseng stewards by replanting mature seeds."
The newly announced decision to reinstate the 5-year minimum export rule for those states that have a ginseng program for at least the next three harvest seasons came after FWS concluded from the information gathered at the public meetings that the practice "will not be detrimental to the survival of the species".
It said that it had heard opinions that the meetings that increasing the exportable age of wild ginseng would increase result in greater harvest pressure on older plant, and undermine the transition to woodsland planting and management to replace harvesting of wild roots.
If new evidence to the contrary comes to light in the meantime, it does reserve the right to alter the regulation again, but pledges to do so in sufficient time before the 2007 or 2008 harvest so that stakeholders can be consulted and notified.
Around 19m wild plants were exported from the US each year until 2004, making up 7.3 percent of the overall ginseng exports.
The 2005 ruling meant that significantly less wild ginseng would be available for export in the next five years, to allow for plants that would previously have been cleared for harvesting to grow older and bridge the gap.
ginseng exports from cultivated sources were excluded from the 2005 ruling, which also held that held that the position wood-grown or wild-simulated ginseng would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
In the update, however, FWS says it has determined that woodsgrown roots qualify as artificially propagated and are not covered by the same regulation as wild American ginseng.
FROM: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=68362-fws-wild-ginseng-export
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Ginseng energising instant coffee sales in Indonesia
2006/06/01 - Indonesia's instant coffee makers are spicing up sales by adding functional herbs like ginseng and ginger.
Fortified coffee products have boomed in the last three years, allowing the instant coffee segment to attract older consumers who have typically grown up drinking fresh, ground coffee, according to researchers at Euromonitor.
"Indonesia, as one of the big coffee-producing countries, has a well-established coffee culture, but the bulk of sales still go on fresh coffee,"
explained Ratna Handayani, the firm's Indonesia analyst.
Instant coffee tends to be consumed by the younger generation who are not so concerned about taste and more interested in coffee's function in keeping one alert, she added.
However when the wellness company Citra Nusa Insan Cemerlang (CNI) launched a ginseng-fortified instant coffee in 2003, and attracted strong demand, other coffee makers realized that such a product could help them appeal to the older generation.
"This kind of product doesn't have such a great taste so it will do better with older consumers who are buying it for ginseng's health properties," said Handayani.
ginseng is known throughout Asia for its energy-boosting properties, and is also thought to generate heat.
Instant coffee is, anyway, a growing product in Indonesia, as urban consumers are increasingly drawn to convenience foods. However the traditional herb has further fuelled this growth.
It has helped increase the sales of fortified coffee by 32 per cent between 2002 and 2005, according to Euromonitor, and by 18 per cent during last year alone, helped by intensive advertising campaigns.
CNI, a direct marketing company, is still the market leader with CNI ginseng Coffee, but a spate of newcomers have entered the market, including South Korean producer Hanmayum with its Hi Red Korean ginseng Coffee.
"Indonesians don't really consider coffee to be unhealthy so decaf products didn't take off," said Handayani. "Fortified products tend to be seen as better than 'healthy' variants as they have something added."
Overall, fortified coffee sales only totalled US$0.7 million in 2005 but Euromonitor expects this segment to grow by nearly 90 per cent between 2005 and 2010.
Future sales will be driven by new products. For example, the leading instant coffee brand in the market, Sari Incofood's Indocafe, has introduced ginger-fortified coffee during 2006, which is likely to be copied by other players.
There is also some interest in other herbs, including Korean plant extracts.
Elsewhere in the region, fortifying instant coffee with functional ingredients has already taken off in Japan, where the health-obsessed market can opt for coffees containing calcium, black soybeans, polyphenols, or oligosaccharides.
The segment registered value sales of US$52 million last year and is set to grow to US$71 million by 2010, according to Euromonitor.
But fortified instant coffee, particularly ginseng coffee, also has the potential to be a huge hit in South Korea, Malaysia and China within the next decade.
"ginseng is a very well known ingredient in traditional chinese medicine, and as such, there is potential in particular in Asia where functional products are, compared to Western countries, very easily accepted," said Euromonitor.
FROM: http://www.ap-foodtechnology.com/news/ng.asp?n=68114&m=2APF601&c=tbcofwatvvhylkj
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ConsumerLab.com Tests ginseng Supplements - Several Products Fail
2006/05/25 - ConsumerLab.com has released test results for dietary supplements made with ginseng, a popular herb promoted for vitality and the treatment or prevention of a range of medical conditions. Of a total of eighteen products tested (including four products tested through ConsumerLab.com's certification program) six products failed to pass the review due to lead contamination, lack of ingredient, or inadequate ingredient identification. Seven others passed the review along with the four products tested through the certification program. Contamination with pesticides - a problem found in earlier reviews of ginseng products from North America (2000 and 2003) and Japan (2005), was not found in the recent testing.
"There is growing evidence for biological effects of ginseng and its special compounds known as ginsenosides. At the same time, consumers must remain wary of the quality of ginseng supplements," said Tod Cooperman, MD, President of ConsumerLab.com. "One product had less than 10% of its claimed amount of ginsenosides despite being labeled "EXTRA STRENGTH", and a major store brand product had high lead levels."
ginseng is used for many purposes. While there is not much clinical evidence to support an energy boosting effect, studies indicate that American ginseng may help prevent respiratory infections. American ginseng and Korean red ginseng may keep blood sugar levels down in people with diabetes. ginseng may also enhance mental function, stimulate the immune system, improve erectile dysfunction in men and, in combination with Ginkgo biloba, improve symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
The new report is available at www.consumerlab.com/results/ginseng.asp. Nineteen products are included: thirteen selected by CL for testing in the review, four certified through CL's Voluntary Certification Program, and two products similar to ones that passed testing but sold under different brand names. The report provides test results, ingredient comparisons, and information about how to buy and use these supplements and their potential side effects. Reviews of other popular types of supplements are also available at www.consumerlab.com. New reviews to be released in coming weeks cover garlic and other cholesterol lowerers, probiotics, and CoQ10 supplements.
ConsumerLab.com is a provider of consumer information and independent evaluations of products that affect health and nutrition. The company is privately held and based in Westchester, New York. It has no ownership from, or interest in, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell consumer products. ConsumerLab.com is affiliated with PharmacyChecker.com, an evaluator of online pharmacies, and MedicareDrugPlans.com, which reviews and rates Medicare Part D plans. Subscription to ConsumerLab.com is available online. For group subscriptions or product testing contact Lisa Sabin, Vice President for Business Development, at lisa.sabin@consumerlab.com.
FROM: http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=15718&zoneid=2
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Kick-Ass Juice
2006/05/23 - Got the Monday-morning blues? Need something for that post-barbecue fest hangover? If so, now might the perfect time to try Steven Seagal's Lighting Bolt Energy Drink!
"With a healthy dosing of Tibetan Goji Berry, Asian Cordyceps, B-Vitamins, Green Tea, Yerba Mate, Ginseng, Ginkgo Biloba, Guarana, and Policosanols, Lightning Bolt will give you the strength you need to punch your adversaries' faces through plate glass windows day in and day out!"
For more information on how you can have the energy of Memphis' martial arts master, go here.
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FROM: http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A16016
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Korean Ginseng Revitalizes the World
2006/05/18 - In early April, Chang Kyung-seop got a moving e-mail from a Iranian man. The message to Chang, an official in Korea ginseng Corporation's overseas department, said the Iranian's 17-year-old son, who has cancer, saw his pain reduced and appetite increase after he started drinking Korean red ginseng tea he was given by an acquaintance.
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"It is a very urgent issue," he said. "Can I get more Korean red ginseng tea?" Chang says that is just one of many positive responses he has been getting since Korean ginseng started selling around the world.
This year, Korean ginseng rules the global market again. The nation aims to export US$100 million worth of ginseng this year, an increase of more than 30 percent from last year's $75 million. Yet exports declined 15 percent last year from the $89 million worth of ginseng exported in 2004. The slide was due to the global economic downturn and decreasing price competitiveness caused by the strong won, allowing low-priced ginseng from China, the U.S. and Canada to eat into Korea's market share. |
Korea is not the world's no. 1 in terms of ginseng production. That is China, which produces 52,000 tons of the root to account for 67 percent of global production. Korea follows with 16,000 tons (20 percent), ahead of Canada with 6,000 tons (7 percent) and the U.S. with 2,100 tons (3 percent). Recently, countries like Australia and Germany have also started producing ginseng. But in terms of market size, Korea is way ahead. As of last year, the global ginseng market was valued at W2 trillion(US2 billion) and the Korean market took the biggest share with W85 million. The reason is that Korean ginseng is significantly more expensive than ginseng from elsewhere, and much of it is consumed locally. The highest quality Korean ginseng is 10 times more expensive than the Chinese variety and five times more than the U.S. equivalent.
Among the various varieties, red ginseng leads the way in recovering Korean exports. Red ginseng is produced by steaming six-year-old ginseng and then drying it. The unique color that results gives it its name. As a flagship ginseng product, red ginseng accounts for two-thirds of total exports.
Korean ginseng is so popular around the world because it is particularly efficacious, as scientific studies show. Research by pharmacologists and doctors suggest ginseng is effective in preventing cancer and diabetes and also helps treat erectile dysfunction. In addition, taking ginseng helps reduce stress and fatigue and improves memory. The core element that makes it so effective is called ginseng saponin. "Korean six-year-old red ginseng has as many as 37 kinds of ginseng saponin," says Park Jong-dae, a researcher with KT&G, the nation's biggest tobacco company and KGC's parent company. "By contrast, Chinese ginseng and U.S. ginseng have only 13 and 14 kinds of ginseng saponin."
Another reason is that Korean ginseng has very strong brand power. Among consumers worldwide, the brand known as Korean Red ginseng or Korean ginseng is seen as a premium product.
FROM: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605180020.html
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Super Foods, Natural Anti-Aging and Your Health
2006/04/11 - Alan Rode
That certain foods have healing powers is a concept that is as old as civilization, but this concept is only now beginning to take root in the West. The terms "functional food" and "super food" are now popping up everywhere. Just what do these terms mean, however, and how does a food qualify as "super"?
The first thing to take into account when exploring the functional foods terrain is that not all foods that are advertised as "super foods" are proven as having healing properties. As such, one must be very careful about what they believe in the avalanche of hype sprouting up on the Internet and elsewhere.
Why the Sudden Interest in Super Foods?
There are a number of reasons why the functional foods industry is growing at incredible rates every year. First of all, the populations of many industrial nations, such as the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Britain, and elsewhere, are aging rapidly. Baby boomers are beginning to taste their own mortality and are taking notice of how they treat their bodies.
"In the U.S., baby boomers who started turning 50 in 1996 are doing so at a rate of 300,000 per month. The interest in retarding the aging process and remaining healthy will continue to drive the market demand for functional food products," noted Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada.
Another reason for the surge in the functional foods industry is the increasing scientific research being done into the effects of certain foods on the body and mind. It has long been known in Asia that certain foods have incredible medicinal value, and with the sharing of research between world scientists, this knowledge is beginning to make its way to North America and elsewhere. Foods that have a long history of medicinal use are only now being verified as having medicinal value through peer reviewed research. An example of this is the goji berry (a.k.a. wolfberry, a.k.a Himalayan goji Juice).
Just a few short years ago this berry was virtually unknown in North America. However, nutritionists and other researchers have since added countless studies to the medical databases involving the berries, and this has fueled a flurry of marketing websites from marketing networks and natural foods companies. These studies have been published in a number of peer-reviewed medical journals in Asia and elsewhere, and a number of natural healers and doctors have promoted the use of goji juice or berries.
What to Watch For
Unfortunately, there are many products available that have little or no scientific backing, and if you enter a health food store, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the dizzying array of choices you are faced with. It is therefore extremely important to first consult with a doctor who is familiar with the medicinal properties of plants (not many regular doctors are, so you'll have to find a good naturopathic doctor or traditional Chinese doctor, etc.). Take a good look in the PubMed medical database online, and do your research. Don't depend on companies who sell the products to get your information, find the skeptics. This is very important, as some plants may actually be damaging to your system. Other plants are very healthy for some people, but do not work well for others. Since everyone's body chemistry is different, it is important to get the advice of someone who is knowledgeable about such natural healing products. Using goji berries or goji juice as an example again, they may overstimulate the liver if used in excess. Although they are very beneficial to the liver, it may be wise to start off with around 20 berries per day and then slowly increase the dosage, according to naturopathic doctor Michelle Garieri of the Kingston Wellness Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
Food vs. Pharmaceuticals
The truth is, if everyone ate optimally, it would not be uncommon to see people living to be well over 100 years old. Most of our aging takes place due to our eating habits. Eating cooked foods, processed foods, and downright synthetic foods is the main cause of aging, according to many doctors. Most people simply do not get enough natural foods in their diet, specifically fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead, drugs are often prescribed to cover the symptoms that were initially caused by eating poorly. Unfortunately, our bodies are better adapted to foods than pharmaceuticals, so functional foods have few side effects, whereas pharmaceuticals do little except cover the symptoms while supporting a "disease economy".
Take it Over Time
Another aspect of the functional foods industry that often goes unmentioned is the fact that health foods are much more effective if used over time. Many Asians are well aware of the beneficial effects of using certain "tonics" over the long term. Such plants as He shou wu, Gotu Kola, American ginseng, and Astragalus are examples of herbs that, used over a period of time, can help to boost the health of specific bodily systems, or the overall health of the body in general.
Whereas our health system and its medicines focus on treating the symptoms, many functional foods are used to prevent the illness to begin with by providing the body with materials it can use to repair existing damage, improve communication between cells, fortify the immune system and protect against free radicals. A number of herbs have symptom-treating functions as well, but these are used only when preventative measures have failed.
In conclusion, many benefits can come from exploring the so-called "super foods", many of which have been adopted from the ranks of traditional Asian medicinal herbs and foods. As long as one remembers that many of these herbs are indeed medicine, and should be treated as such, this is a relatively safe area to explore. There are many foods that you can begin eating immediately, and besides the aforementioned goji berries, one can also achieve many benefits from eating such super foods as sea buckthorn berries, acai berries, garlic, kale, pomegranates, cinnamon, flax seed and oil, turmeric, algae and brown basmati rice. This is by no means a comprehensive list, however.
For more information, visit http://www.antiagingaid.net, where you will find articles with extensive information on functional foods, comparisons of the companies selling certain natural health products and general information on anti-aging, including anti-aging advice on everything from how to eat to how to breath. At http://www.gojijuices.net, you will find information on goji berries and goji juice, a highly nutritious, antioxidant rich super food.
FROM: http://www.dailyindia.com/show/16457.php
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The root of a new economy
2006/03/25 Berea - Author sees ginseng as financial tonic for Appalachian growers
Five years ago, Kristin Johannsen could walk through an Appalachian forest and have little idea what she might be stepping on or by or over or in. Her quest for gold in the hills would have been limited to what fortune there is in peace and solitude.
Then she immersed herself in the world of ginseng and now deems it "America's most valuable plant." She isn't without some authority here. She's gotten to know the ginseng botanists and the commercial growers, the casual cultivator and the diggers, the wholesalers and the mysterious men in Hong Kong who set its price.
Five years and a seminal book about the herb later, Johannsen is still not confident she could find wild ginseng except when the red berries throw up a flag to help her, and maybe not even then.
The background
The first day on her job teaching English in Korea in 1988, Johannsen lunched on ginseng root in a chicken dish. Chewy, like toothpicks. Still, before she left the country three years later, she had witnessed the populace of the nation and most of Asia lean heavily on the root as a curative tonic for just about whatever ailed them.
She had seen it, ubiquitous and exotic, sold in elixirs in coffee shops and raw in open-air markets. And she had gotten herself deeply attached to ginseng chewing gum. Tasted a lot like dirt, but in a good way, she notes.
When Johannsen moved here, ginseng sort of began to assert itself upon her in little ways. Her sister, who lives in Wisconsin, mentioned that it was becoming a state crop there. A calendar listing advertised ginseng workshop opportunities. A writer, she thought: story idea!
Then, like the magician pulling a scarf out of his jacket pocket only to find more scarves, Johannsen kept filling her notebooks until she had the stories she needed to make a book, not merely about what ginseng is, but what it means.
The promise
If this is hype about ginseng being a cure-all, it certainly has a long history of hypedom. And it has a very long line of those wanting to believe in its potential on all scores.That line starts here.
Johannsen explains in her book, ginseng Dreams: The Secret World of America's Most Valuable Plant: "ginseng is very fussy about where it will grow. There must be at least 40 days of below-freezing temperature ... It needs soil that is at once well-watered and well-drained -- the climate must be cool and temperate, with plenty of rain, but the water must not stagnate around its roots ... A steep hillside is best. It needs protection from the direct rays of the sun ... And most of all, it needs a particular combination of nutrients found only in the decaying leaves of certain hardwood trees that drop their leaves in the fall ...
"In all of human history, only two environments in the world have offered these ideal conditions for ginseng, and one of them has vanished." That one is in the forests of northern China. The one that remains is in the Appalachians.
Ginseng, then, could be a tremendous replacement crop for tobacco and a route to agricultural prosperity for families in the eastern Kentucky hills. And there is no need to build demand. We already export ginseng -- $24 million of it a year.
The math is impressive. At today's prices, a single acre of it would yield more than $50,000. The hitch: It must be planted -- germination takes 18 months -- and allowed to grow for 10 years before it can be legally harvested here.
The caveat: Most of Kentucky's ginseng is stolen. And usually a long time before it has reached maturity.
The problem
Forty-seven percent of Kentucky is forested. Almost 90 percent of that is privately owned. Still, Johannsen says, the problem seems to be the culture of eastern Kentucky, "where people see the land as common property. Digging up ginseng on someone else's land is the same for them as shooting a bird there if you're hungry or gathering firewood if it's cold. The forest belongs to everybody in hard times."
Appalachia knows hard times. It also doesn't seem to realize that poaching ginseng is self-cannibalization.
(Wild ginseng can be legally dug in Kentucky only between Aug. 15 and Dec. 1. An Agriculture Department certificate of registration is required to legally sell it.)
In her book, Johannsen suggests ways to make the golden goose start giving up eggs -- make laws to protect the growers, police the stealing, legally certify growers, get a marketing plan. Then, maybe, the precious root could be grown commercially here and we all could prosper.
The even better part
Let us not be greedy nor selfish. Consider that some scientific studies indicate that learning ability, memory and physical stamina can be improved with a regular regimen of ginseng. Some have suggested the herb can lower blood sugar in diabetics, enhance liver function and slow prostate cancer. Recent work at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University have begun to show ginseng's promise in killing breast cancer cells. Other studies, however, caution those women with breast uterine or cancer to actively avoid the drug, because its role in regulating cell growth is still largely unknown.
Put simply, ginseng biological gifts are being extensively probed. The Asian market doesn't require such stamps of approval from medical boards and regulatory agencies. Johannsen affectionately calls them "ginseng obsessives."
She isn't one of them, but she does take two Panax ginseng capsules a day.
"I don't believe it will make you immortal, but it is good for your health," she says, adding that she asked each expert and every farmer she talked to for her book if they regularly ingest the herb.
all of them said they did.
FROM: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/home/14174304.htm
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Some old-fashioned remedies
2006/03/16 Ethelene Dyer Jones
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My grandmother, Sarah Evaline Souther Dyer (18571959) was considered "Granny Woman." Among other things, she had a knowledge of herbal medicine, she was a mid-wife, and she compounded formularies that could relieve some of the illnesses that beset her own large family and others in the surrounding Choestoe community where she lived. Some of my cousins and I have often wondered what happened to her hand-written remedies that she referred to faithfully as she boiled up soothing teas and recommended old-fashioned remedies to the country folk living round about her. Then, sending for a doctor was not always an option in the years in the 19th and early 20th centuries when she lived and practiced her folk knowledge. |
I can remember as a child when we visited Grandma Sarah's house that faced Brasstown Bald Mountain, we children would be warned not to "touch or play with" Grandma's roots that hung on pegs to dry on the back porch of her house. These were drying in order to make her medicines to help sick people. I often wondered how the strange, twisted roots could possibly aid people. Did they have to swallow portions of them in order to become well? My best plan, I thought, was to stay well and healthy so I could avoid such monstrous-looking roots being crushed up and forced into my body in dark, bitter teas. Little did I know then that the teas Grandma knew how to make were the antidotes for many an ailment, and highly welcomed by her neighbours.
Take, for example, ginseng, known better to our mountain forebears as 'sang. The ginseng root was harvested from the mountains where it grew wild in the olden days.
How it got from its native China and Korea is left to speculation. Perhaps it was brought over the "land bridge" believed to have formerly connected the great continents of the earth and over which the first Native Americans may have traveled. In doing some research on the plant, I found that it was the most famous of the old Chinese herbal remedies, having been used for more than 5,000 years. Imagine the kings of Chinese dynasties being treated by court physicians on this very herb. That's how far back its history goes. Nowadays, because the plant is still in great demand, growers are cultivating it. The plant takes about six years to mature and grows up to two and one-half feet in height. It has a yellow taproot, resembling a carrot but with more prongs. It is the root that is beneficial for medicinal purposes, and was one of the roots I saw as a child drying on my Grandmother's porch pegs.
Ginseng as a tonic is believed to aid the heart and circulatory system. It also is a balm for the brain and aids in concentration, even among the aged with dementia or what we currently call Alzheimer's disease. Ginseng boosts the immune system and is held by many to be an aphrodisiac (sexual stimulant). Ginseng in various forms can be found nowadays in health food stores.
This is not my Grandmother's formulary for ginseng Tea but one I found by researching folk remedies. I might urge, "use with caution." If ginseng tonics are taken for more than three months or in higher dosages than recommended, sleep disturbances, restlessness or anxiety can result.
Ginseng Tea: Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 teaspoon of grated ginseng. Steep for 10 minutes and strain. This tea will sharpen concentration, even in the elderly.
Ginseng Tonic: Take 20 to 30 drops of ginseng tonic (from a health food store) daily to prevent heart disease. If you have low blood pressure, this tonic can stimulate blood flow. Beware of using it if your blood pressure is high already.
Ginseng for the Bath: Add grated ginseng root to warm bath water to help you relax and sleep well
Ginseng as a Food Supplement: Sprinkle a pinch of grated ginseng over your soup or food. This is as effective as buying the more expensive commercial ginseng soup.
As the familiar saying goes, "We've come a long way." But with Medicare, Medicaid, and the more recent Medicare D for prescription drugs that give us a headache when we present our "non-approved" on the "formulary" prescriptions for filling, we could wish we knew what our grandand great-grandparents knew about making do with what they had. It must have worked then. My Grandmother Sarah lived to be within two months of 102 years of age.
FROM: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases?id=25335
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Study: Ginseng aids cancer survival
2006/03/15 - NASHVILLE (UPI) -- Women who take ginseng before they develop breast cancer have higher rates of surviving the disease, U.S. and Chinese researchers say.
Women who take the herb after developing breast cancer have "an improved quality of life," said lead researcher Xiao-Ou Shu of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
Ginseng is the most-used herb in traditional Chinese medicine.
The study drew from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, which has followed 1,455 patients since 1996, and focused on women who received at least one type of conventional cancer therapy.
Shu said the work is the first step in a long journey.
"There is a lot of skepticism about herbal medicine," Shu said. "That is why we are taking the observational approach at this time to see whether there is any efficacy. If so, we can go to the next phase ... and eventually go to clinical trials."
Shanghai Cancer Institute researchers joined the study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
FROM: http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060315-050259-6121r
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Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Researchers Find Ginseng May Improve Breast Cancer
2006/03/15 - NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Ginseng, one of the most widely used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, may improve survival and quality of life after a diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a recent study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers. The large epidemiological study, led by Xiao-Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D., was published online recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Ginseng is a slow-growing perennial herb whose roots have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years. The two main classes of ginseng - red and white - have different biological effects, according to traditional Chinese medicine theory. White, or unprocessed, ginseng is used over long periods to promote general health, vitality and longevity. Red, or processed, ginseng provides a much stronger effect and is used for short periods to aid in disease recovery.
Both varieties of ginseng contain more than 30 chemicals, called ginsenosides, which have anti-tumor effects in cell culture and animal studies, suggesting that the herbs may provide specific benefits to cancer patients. In fact, ginseng use has been increasing among cancer patients in recent years, particularly in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
However, despite the encouraging laboratory findings, scientific analysis of ginseng's health benefits in patient populations has been lacking. "There is a lot of skepticism about herbal medicine," said Shu. "That is why we are taking the observational approach at this time to see whether there is any efficacy. If so, we can go to the next phase. … and eventually go to clinical trials."
Shu and colleagues assessed the effects of ginseng use in breast cancer survivors as part of a large epidemiological study, the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, which has followed 1,455 breast cancer patients in Shanghai since 1996. For the current study, Shu and colleagues evaluated breast cancer patients for ginseng use both before and after their diagnosis of breast cancer. All patients who used ginseng had received at least one type of conventional cancer therapy (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy).
Information on ginseng use prior to cancer diagnosis, which was available for every subject, was used to determine whether prior ginseng use predicted survival. At follow up - about three to four years after diagnosis - the researchers asked about ginseng use since diagnosis. That information, which was available only for survivors, was used to look at quality of life measurements - i.e., physical, psychological, social and material well-being.
Before diagnosis, about a quarter of patients (27.4 percent) reported using ginseng regularly. After diagnosis, that percentage jumped to 62.8 percent, the researchers found. They also found significant improvements in both survival and quality of life measures in patients who used ginseng. "When patients used ginseng prior to diagnosis, they tended to have higher survival," Shu explained. "ginseng use after cancer diagnosis was related to improved quality of life."
The findings suggest that ginseng may provide tangible benefits to breast cancer survivors, but there are limitations to the study. The varieties and the methods of ginseng use and the use of other complementary and alternative therapies could not be fully accounted for in the analysis. Also, the quality of life measures exclusively relied on patient self-reporting.
Although side effects of ginseng use were not recorded in this study, Shu warned that the seemingly innocuous root can create problems when improperly used and should be taken with caution. "It's not a 'drug' in terms of being managed by the FDA, but it was used as a drug in traditional Chinese medicine," she said. "Any drug may have some side effects and may interact with other drugs. So, discuss with your primary care doctor before you decide to take ginseng roots or products."
Shu hopes to confirm and expand the current findings through continued collection of data in this patient population, from another ongoing study of 4,000 breast cancer patients, and eventually, in randomized clinical trials. Scientific study of complementary and alternative medicines is tricky though, said Shu. "Chinese traditional medicine is very individualized. It gives you different drugs based on your symptoms and your overall health. There is much to be learnt."
Other authors on the paper were Yong Cui, M.D., Hui Cai, M.D., Ph.D., Meng-Hua Tao, M.D., and Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., from Vanderbilt and Yu-Tang Gao, M.D., from the Shanghai Cancer Institute. The research was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute.
The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is dedicated to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to cancer care, research, prevention, and patient and community education. With nearly 300 investigators, Vanderbilt-Ingram is ranked among the top 10 centers in total research funding from the National Cancer Institute and generates more than $150 million each year in research support from public and private sources. Vanderbilt-Ingram is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Tennessee and one of only 39 to achieve this distinction nationwide. The center is consistently recognized among the best places for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit us online at www.vicc.org.
FROM: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases?id=25335
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RushNet taps growing herbal beverage market
07/03/2006 - A beverage company believes it is on to winner with a new range of natural ginseng-based energy products.
US-based firm RushNet claims that its Ginseng Rush XXX and Rush Ginseng Cola XXX drinks have received a huge response from wholesalers eager to distribute the product globally.
"Following RushNet's entry into the huge Japanese market, the company has been inundated with calls from overseas distributors who want to sell our ginseng-powered, non-caffeinated, 100 per cent natural energy drinks,"
said RushNet president Robert Corr
"Our energy-drink competitors rely on caffeine, which is harmful, especially to youngsters, in large doses. They have to put caffeine-warning labels on their cans."
Herbal juice drinks for adults, particularly buoyant in the US, are also beginning to develop in Europe. Popular US brands are SoBe and Snapple, and formulations include ginseng, guarana, echinacea and kava root.
Claims mainly focus on 'lifestyle' positionings (eg energising, stimulating, calming, relaxing) or are influenced by health (eg protection against colds and other common ailments).
Corr claims that the company's range of caffeine-free, natural energy beverages can provide stamina and performance by using herbs such as American ginseng, Siberian rhodiola rosea and Chinese peony root.
"In order to take advantage of opportunities, presented to us, for global marketing of our energy drinks, we are printing labels in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Japanese,"
said Corr.
The company also said that it is now in negotiations with a contract beverage canning and packing facility. The facility is equipped with a tunnel pasteurisation unit that allows aseptic processing while preserving and stabilising active ingredients.
RushNet is the licensed marketing agent for Rush Beverage Company products
FROM: http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=66254-herbal-beverage-energy
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Use trendy energy drinks wisely, nutritionists warn
2006/03/06 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- With intense designs resembling the tattooed arm of an intimidating biker, some energy drink cans look like they could literally deliver the punch they promise.
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Energy drinks such as Amp promise a boost. Experts say some of the drinks can cause dehydration |
Jason Pietz, a 24-year-old engineering major at California State University, Sacramento, feeds his caffeine addiction with a drink called Amp several times a week.
"We tend to frequent the campus general store every morning for energy drinks," says Pietz, who was cramming for a midterm with friends in the student union, at a table lined with several 16-ounce cans of Amp. "All I know is it keeps me awake," he says.
Pietz's reasoning explains why energy drinks have become so popular: They work.
"They're basically like coffee for a young person," says Jeffrey Klineman, editor of Beverage Spectrum, a publication that tracks the nonalcoholic beverage industry.
But nutritionist Richard DeAndrea thinks their addictive quality is the reason for the drinks' growth in popularity.
"These things throw the body way off," says DeAndrea, a nutritionist for the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine in Santa Monica, Calif.
He urges people to avoid energy drinks and caffeine. Other nutritionists say it's all right to have one energy drink a day.
"Energy drinks are like a quick solution to a busy list of activities, but the priority should be making sure they're eating well and resting well," says Sandra Braganza, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
High doses of caffeine can cause dehydration, irritability, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, insomnia and indigestion.
According to Beverage Digest, energy drinks have exploded into a $3-billion-dollar-a-year industry. The United States boasts more than 1,000 brands of energy drinks, Klineman says.
The energy-drink industry grew more than 700% between 2000 and 2005, according to MarketResearch.com, a Web site that collects research on businesses.
Energy drink connoisseurs will notice the drinks tend to share the same ingredients: taurine, carnatine, ginseng, guarana, random B vitamins and, of course, caffeine.
Nutritionists are eager to clear up what does what:
- Taurine: This is an amino acid our bodies naturally produce; it helps regulate heartbeat and muscle contractions. Energy-drink producers claim that this stimulant enhances the effects of caffeine, but this hasn't been proven. "Cats need it; we don't," says Liz Applegate, a professor of sports nutrition at UC Davis.
- Carnatine: Also an amino acid, this stimulant is produced by the liver and kidneys. It can be used to build muscle and boost energy levels. But, DeAndrea says, most people's bodies won't process extra supplements of carnatine unless they have an unusual diet or are a high-level athlete.
- Ginseng: It's a Chinese herb that can be used as a stimulant. It does no harm and can increase the body's resistance to stress, says Braganza.
- Guarana: Also a stimulant, this herb from South America can be used to regain strength. It's similar to caffeine.
- B vitamins: They bolster metabolism and help convert sugar to energy
FROM: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/FEATURES01/603060342
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Mental health: a global supplement trend
22/02/2006 - Supplement-makers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in other parts of the world, too, are tapping into consumer anxiety to become, or remain the brightest button in the box, with the number of new products aimed at cognitive function mushrooming in the past five years.
Data drawn from Mintel's Global New Products Database indicates that the category has caught marketers' attention most markedly from the early 2000s onwards.
Overall, the database shows up more product launches in the category in the US over the past 10 years than in Europe: 255 product lines (product variants not included) to 139.
Although general curve in the US has been upwards, it has not been without its peaks and troughs. In 1996 five product lines were entered, and the most abundant year was 2003 with 48 entries. In 2005 there were 26 new entries logged.
In Europe there was just one new product line in each of 1996 and 1997, but by 2000 the number had risen to 14. The peak year was 2004, with 42. In 2005 there were 27 new entries logged.
The two European countries showing the highest number of launches over the period are the UK and The Netherlands (34 and 35 entries respectively). The latter was particularly bountiful in 2004 - the database shows 13 product lines, skewing the continent's total for that year upwards.
There have also been products launched in the category in South American countries and Greater China, as well as the Antipodes.
Market researchers tend to draw on the ageing population as an explanation for growing demand for all things aimed at preserving people from the ravages of time, be it on the inside or the outside.
The 'baby boom' generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) forms the biggest age-bracket of the population in both the US and Europe. These people are starting to enter old age - by 2010 a third of Americans will be over the age of 50. And with a higher disposable income than their parents, they have the means to keep themselves looking and feeling young for longer.
To some extent, the baby boomers explain the increased interest in supplements for mental health and cognitive function, especially given fears over the rising incidence of Alzheimers and other age-related diseases.
Cognitive function is not, however, just about mental acrobatics and a sharp memory. There are other issues that may affect other swathes of the population, too. There are supplements featured in Mintel's database that are aimed at pregnant and nursing mothers, children, stressed-out types, vegetarians, the depressed, the tired and physically active, and those who simply want to boost their brain power, whatever the reason.
As one would expect given the amount of science and media attention in the last few years, omega-3 (DHA and EPA, and, to a lesser extent, ALA), figure large in Mintel's results.
But certain other ingredients also crop up time and again. These include gingko biloba and ginseng (linked to improved memory); soy lecithin; CoQ10 (reported to help slow the progression of Parkinson's disease); and St John's wort (recognised as combating depression).
FROM: http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=65913&m=2NIE224&c=tbcofwatvvhylkj
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Mens ginseng underwear launched
03-02-2006 - AN Australian underwear company has produced a range of men's jocks that release residue into the skin to make the wearer feel "revitalised".
It is even looking at plans to develop underwear containing Viagra residue.
AussieBum's Essence range contains micro-capsules within the fabric fibres of either Acerola (Vitamin C) or Ginseng which have energising, regenerating properties.
"Basically you can put a substance and a residue within a micro-fibre fabric and that fabric will release the substance over a period of time," said aussieBum founder Sean Ashby.
"This particular product is going to give the guy a sensation and experience and men are getting more and more into body image and feeling good."
And Viagra underwear isn't far away, Ashby said.
"Someone said it as a joke but that made us think," he said.
"Imagine Viagra. Are people going to be crushing the vitamins? Who knows? But the concept is there."
The micro-fibre fabric was developed by Italian company Jersey Lomellina while the treatment residue was made by international company Bayer.
The residue remained in the underwear for up to 15 washes, Ashby said.
Essence was launched less then a month ago and already, aussieBum has sold more than 25,000 pairs.
The design has attracted a lot of interest in the US and Europe, featuring in print and television programs such as Good Morning America.
New York Post journalist Philip Recchia tried the underwear. "Moments after I snapped them on, I felt a cooling sensation not unlike the one you'd get from Vicks VapoRub - but without the wet greasy feeling," Recchio wrote.
AussieBum is manufactured in Australia with the business run completely out of the company's headquarters in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt.
The brand is sold in some of the biggest department stores in the world including Selfridges and KaDeWe and is distributed to more than 70 countries via internet sales.
In Australia, aussieBum is sold mostly over the internet with the exception of one store in Byron Bay.
FROM: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18026742-29277,00.html
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Ginseng may prevent colds, ease symptoms
2006/01/31 - Jan. 31, 2006 TORONTO (MRI) - Here's some news that's nothing to sneeze at: A team of Edmonton researchers have found that taking ginseng supplements can reduce your risk of contracting the common cold and reduce the severity and length of a cold if you do get one.
In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the researchers compared the effects of North American ginseng supplements and an inactive placebo when it comes to warding off colds or reducing their severity.
The researchers compared these effects by randomly assigning 323 adults to receive either 200 mg per day of ginseng in capsule form or a placebo (a capsule containing no active ingredients) for a period of four months. Neither the participants nor the investigators knew who was getting which treatment while the treatment was being given.
All of the participants reported contracting a minimum of two colds in the year prior to the study, but were in good health at the time the trial commenced. None of the participants had received a flu shot in the previous six months.
Every evening, participants were required to rate themselves on a variety of cold-related symptoms, such as sore throat, runny nose, sneezing and nasal congestion. Symptoms were scored on a scale of zero (no symptom) to three (severe symptom), with a cold being considered a two-day total score greater than 14.
Participants who did come down with colds during the study period were instructed not to take any cold medications unless advised to do so by their doctor.
Over the next four months, participants who received the ginseng capsules reported suffering from 0.68 colds, while the placebo group reported an average of 0.93 colds. There was also a difference in the number of subjects from each group reporting two or more colds, with 10% of the ginseng group and 22.8% of the placebo group reporting multiple colds over the four-month period.
When it came to cold length and severity, ginseng wasn't all stuffed up either. The total symptom scores of participants in the ginseng group was 77.5, on average, compared to 112.3 for the placebo group, while the number of days cold symptoms were reported was 10.8 and 16.5 for the ginseng and placebo groups respectively.
While the study doesn't explain how ginseng may work against colds, the researchers speculate that ingredients called polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, found in North American ginseng, may enhance immune response.
Ginseng "appears to be an attractive natural prophylactic treatment for upper respiratory tract infections," concluded the researchers. "However, further studies are required to assess its efficacy and safety for children and immunocompromised populations."
The study was funded by CV Technologies, a manufacturer of ginseng supplements, though the Canadian Medical Association Journal notes that the company had no role it the trial's design or execution.
Experts also caution against using ginseng if you are pregnant, on blood thinners, have high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, diabetes, or some other medical conditions, so talk to a doctor before you use it. As well, because the composition of supplements can vary from product to product due to a lack of regulation, you may see a difference in results.
FROM: http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=9130&news_channel_id=1020&channel_id=1020&rot=11
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Ginseng may be a vitalizing cure-all, but it can also over-yang you
2006/01/26 - You know ginseng as a notorious cure-all, but have you heard the legend about it making you immortal? Sounds okay only if you can afford domestic help. Think about all the laundry you'd have to do over an eternity.
But before you dabble with eternal life, you need to know your tonics. One of the most famous, Siberian ginseng, isn't actually ginseng at all, but a distant relative with like properties. Then there's North American, Chinese and Korean types. And while they all have different effects, benefits touted include cures for depression, fatigue, sexual dysfunction and infertility.
Like everything else under the sun that isn't accused of causing cancer, some claim it can reduce the risk of cancer. And a 2000 study at the University of Toronto revealed that taking American ginseng before a meal reduced blood sugar levels, which could have an impact on diabetes.
With all the different types out there, you should really consult someone who knows what he or she is doing and can tell you which ginseng is best for you, especially since some can have harmful effects.
And if you're pregnant, you know the drill: stay away or talk to a doctor first.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
"Ginseng tonifies your source chi, the chi that all the other chi in your body comes from. In Western medicine they call it an adaptogen. It can do opposite things depending on what your body needs, and bring things back to regular functioning. Panax, or Chinese ginseng, is more yang, hotter, than Canadian or American. Panax might make your hangover worse, for example, or be bad for high blood pressure. It can also lead to headaches, palpitations or insomnia if you tend that way or if you use too much of it. The Canadian and American roots do not have those qualities. Canadian is [generally] safer. Ginseng is not an aphrodisiac. It gives you more energy, so you have more to use for sex. The same goes for fertility, specifically women's fertility."
Kaleb Montgomery ,Chinese medicine practitioner, Toronto
"In hospitals in China they use ginseng in feeding tubes to pick people up who are out cold. It can even stop heavy bleeding. Siberian ginseng (in Chinese medicine we refer to it as a ginseng) is acrid, slightly bitter and a bit warmer. It tonifies the digestive tract, kidneys and heart. It has a calming effect and opens up blood circulation. Canadian (North American) ginseng, instead of being warm, is a bit cool, so it tonifies chi and yin and has a cooling effect to bring hyperactivity down. Canadian ginseng is most commonly prescribed because most people have a deficiency in yin that makes them hyper. Long-term use of red ginseng could lead to diabetes."
Robert McDonald , traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, Toronto
"We use ginseng in preparations called rasayanas. Rasa' means the nectar, the taste of life, and ginseng is bitter, hot and pungent. It's wonderful to increase vitality, and we add it to hair- and skin-care prepartions as a preservative, but mostly to entice the senses, to increase blood flow and preserve the body. In Ayurveda it's used in potent sexual elixirs and also for certain aches and pains. We use it in much the same way we use ginger root. It's part of the blend for the secret to immortality with which we help stop the aging process."
Andrea Olivera , Ayurvedic practitioner specializing in skin care, Toronto
"I haven't seen any proven evidence of ginseng causing an improvement in sperm quality. A lot of people say, "Yes, it worked well for me," but in terms of proven effects there is nothing. They keep on putting it into male fertility concoctions. I've looked at ginseng and have not been very impressed. On the other hand, people come in all the time who are on it. They say they feel better on it or take it because someone else told them it worked."
Keith Jarvi , director, male infertility program, U of T, staff urologist, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto
"[One of the legends about ginseng says that] many years ago on Phoenix Mountain in China, ginseng plants grew without medicinal powers. One large ginseng plant grew larger and larger until it suddenly transformed itself into a young maiden. One day she scurried into the forest to protect her new woodland friends from the torrential rains. She found that they had all become sick from the wetness. The sun then appeared and told the ginseng maiden that there was a very old wise man who lived a long distance from her and could help with special medicines made from herbs.... Once back in her forest, she administered the elixir he made to her friends, and they immediately recovered. She had a small amount left and sprinkled it on a ginseng plant that was suffering from the long dry summer. Once the ginseng plant absorbed the elixir, it acquired strong medicinal powers, and from that day on ginseng became an effective medicinal herb."
Scott Harris , ginseng historian, president, Empire State Ginseng Growers Association, Cooperstown, New York
FROM: http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2006-01-26/goods_health.php
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Ginseng Benefits Type II Diabetics
2006/01/25 - COLUMBUS, Ohio--Ginseng extract (GE) improves glycemia in Type II diabetics by reducing free fatty acid (FFA) availability and improving insulin sensitivity (J Nutr, 136:337-42, 2006). These benefits may be attributable to the botanical's ability to inhibit lipolysis (the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells) within the body.
Researchers from Ohio State University and Abbott Laboratories isolated rat adipocytes (fat cells) by collagenase digestion and assessed the ability of GE to inhibit lipolysis by measuring glycerol and FFA release into the incubation medium. GE was found to inhibit lipolysis by 49 percent from baseline, possibly through a signaling pathway different from that of insulin. The researchers concluded the ability of GE to inhibit lipolysis may be mediated in part by the activation of PDE4 (phosphodiesterase 4, an enzyme involved in cell messaging) in rat adipocytes.
FROM: http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/61h25112233.html
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Sweet Success to initiate production of Powerblend beverage
2006/01/13 - The unique all-natural drink is part of a growing line of healthy functional beverages offered under the Sweet Success brand.
Sweet Success Enterprises Inc. has announced that it has scheduled a preliminary production run for its all new juice-based stamina and strength building Powerblend beverage later this month.
The unique all-natural drink is part of a growing line of healthy functional beverages offered under the Sweet Success™ brand. It is scheduled for initial distribution next month in southern Florida, along with the Company's current dairy-based nutritional shakes, under a recently announced commitment from a major regional distributor.
The new Powerblend beverage, which includes ingredients like Peruvian Maca Root (used to enhance the libido), Ginseng for strength and Guarana for endurance, will be produced at the California Natural Foods co-packing plant in Savannah, GA.
Powerblend will come packaged in 330ml (11 ounce) aseptic Tetra Prisma containers packaged as four-packs. It is also expected to be marketed for individual unit sales.
San Antonio-based Sweet Success Enterprises Inc. acquired the Sweet Success brand in 2002, including all formulas, copyrights, trademarks, records and research. The Company has relaunched a product line to tap into the rapidly growing demand for convenient and nutritious beverages. Its dairy-based Sweet Success Complete Fuel™ shakes are now available in a limited number of stores and contain state-of-the-art ingredients like Aktivated Barley™ for endurance, ground flax to provide omega-3 fatty acids for heart health, and guarana for a natural energy boost. Additional products are expected to be introduced over the next few months.
FROM: http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/newsmaker_article.asp?idNewsMaker=9957&fSite=AO545&next=pr
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Depressed Root Price, Demand Hurts Ginseng Suppliers
2006/01/09
RICHMOND & VANCOUVER, British Columbia-As North American ginseng suppliers closed their recent financial quarters, a volatile market for ginseng root continues to cause increased costs and losses related to excess inventories and decreased revenues.
"Ginseng buyers are hesitant to buy root and reluctant to carry inventory due to root prices remaining volatile," said William Zen, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Chai-Na-Ta Corp. (OTCBB:CCCFF), the largest supplier of North American ginseng. "In order to stimulate sales, Chai-Na-Ta sold substantial amounts of their inventory below the actual cost price in the first nine months of 2005, a decrease of 58 percent over the average price for the same period last year."
Despite a significant increase in revenue for the period, gross margin plummeted to 5 percent from 36 percent a year ago, net loss widened, and cash deficit from operations fell substantially lower compared to the same quarter last year. Zen noted the company (www.chainata.com) also wrote-down $2.9 million (Canadian) in inventory during its fiscal 2005 third quarter to reduce the carrying value to its estimated net realizable value. He noted the company should be able to satisfy its host-term cash needs with the reduced price inventory sale, as well s the support of its principal shareholder. However, relative to growing and market conditions, he stated, "In light of the continued province-wide rust problem and the downward price pressure on ginseng grown in British Columbia, Chai-Na- Ta has decided to stop planting in British Columbia in 2006 and thereafter and close its operations after the final harvest in 2008."
Imperial Ginseng Products Ltd. (OTCBB:IGPFF), a smaller supplier, logged no ginseng root sale for its fiscal 2006 first quarter, posting only fractional revenues from retail sales of its value-added products, which actually generated a stronger gross margin. Likewise, selling and administrative expenses were lower and net loss per share was halved, compared to the same period last year.
Imperial (www.imperialginseng.com) reported it expects world ginseng root price to remain depressed over the next two quarters, but it recommenced its planting and harvesting activities during first quarter and expects to meet the challenges in the forthcoming selling season. It further expressed belief world ginseng root prices will recover beginning in the fourth quarter fiscal 2006 and will continue to strengthen within the next two years, when the demand for and the supply of ginseng should once again reach equilibrium.
FROM: http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/611finan04.html?wts=20060307030511&hc=595&req=ginseng
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10 cold/flu remedies: Immunize yourself the natural way
2006/01/01
As the temperature dips lower in January and February we often encounter an expected but not exactly welcome house guest -- the winter cold, or the even more demanding and obnoxious visitor, the flu. The cold brings a headache, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, sneezing and exhaustion. If it's the flu, you can plan on body aches and a fever along with everything else. Naturally, you want to get rid of these guests as soon as possible.
The common cold is caused by any one of around 300 different viruses. These viruses evolve and mutate from one season to the next, which is why it's impossible to develop a single vaccine effective against them all. Over-the-counter medications can't prevent the common cold or flu either. In fact, over the long term, these medications can often make matters worse. Decongestants and antihistamines may treat obvious cold symptoms, but not the underlying infection. On top of that, they can actually suppress the body's natural response -- fevers, sneezing, coughing, etc. -- to rid itself of an unwelcome intruder.
No one wants endure an untreated cold or flu. Thankfully, there are natural ways to strengthen your immune system and shorten a cold's duration and severity. Prevention is always better than cure, and a strong immune system is the best defense against all infections. So here are some of the most useful natural remedies that can make the difference between winter well-being, and a lot of Kleenex and misery.
Echinacea
Echinacea, or purple coneflower, has been used by Native American Indians for hundreds of years. In the 1930s, it became popular in Europe and the United States as a folk medicine. It lost its popularity with the arrival of antibiotics, which, ironically, only work against infections caused by bacteria -- viruses, not bacteria, cause the common cold. Today in Germany, echinacea still remains the main remedy for minor respiratory infections and for good reason: it works.
Echinacea increases the "nonspecific" activity of the immune system; unlike a vaccine, which is active against a specific disease, echinacea stimulates the overall activity of the cells responsible for fighting all kinds of infections. It's been shown to boost the production of a substance called interferon, which helps the body fight viral infections.
To get the benefits of this immune-boosting herb, take it at the first sign of a sniffle, or at the possibility of an infection (e.g. as soon as a family member gets a cold). Echinacea can also be used at a lower dose to help prevent a cold or flu. But don't take it all winter long, as high doses for extended periods may eventually lead to a depressed immune system.
There are three main species of Echinacea: Echinacea purpurea, E. angustifolia and E. pallida. Echinacea purpurea has the best supporting evidence for effectiveness in treating colds and flus. At the onset of an infection, take 3-4 ml of echinacea in a liquid preparation or 300 mg of a powdered form in a capsule or tablet, every two hours for the first day of a cold or flu, then three times per day for a total of seven to 10 days.
Caution: Echinacea is an immune system stimulator, so it's not recommended for people with autoimmune disease (e.g. lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis). Pregnant women or those allergic to plants of the sunflower (Asteraceae) family should also avoid it.
Vitamin C
Everyone's need for vitamin C goes up dramatically when you get a cold. Animals our size that synthesize their own vitamin C produce dozens of grams when stressed by an infection. For example, an adult goat will manufacture more than 13,000 mg of vitamin C per day and as much as 100,000 mg daily when faced with life-threatening disease, trauma or stress.
We humans don't synthesize, but by taking a high enough dose you can stop a cold dead in its tracks. Once an illness has taken hold, the body's response to vitamin C is called a "threshold" response where very little happens until a high enough dose is reached, then everything happens -- fever subsides, organisms are killed and you generally start feeling better. Vitamin C does this by boosting interferon (a natural antiviral substance) as well as antibody levels in the body.
At the first hint of a scratchy throat or sneezing, take 500-3,000 mg of vitamin C with a glass of water every hour. If this causes diarrhea or an upset stomach, reduce the dose until digestion settles down again. You can also shorten the length and severity of a cold after you get one, but again you have to take enough vitamin C to do the job.
Zinc
If vitamin C is the "super immunity" vitamin, then zinc may just be the super immunity mineral. Zinc boosts the development and production of white blood cells which are vitally important cells in fighting off foreign bacteria and viruses.
Zinc lozenges can help prevent viruses from attaching to the back of your throat. Suck on zinc lozenges containing zinc gluconate, zinc gluconate-glycine or zinc acetate, providing 13-25 mg every few hours, for the first few days of a cold or flu. Swish and gargle some of the dissolved zinc, contacting as many mouth and throat surfaces as possible with the solution, as this will help kill the microorganisms by direct contact. Taken as a nasal gel application, zinc also appears to markedly shorten the duration of a cold.
Caution: Don't take high doses of zinc for many weeks at a time as it can cause a copper deficiency.
Garlic
Because of its strong odor, garlic is sometimes called the "stinking rose" and many people joke that garlic makes you smell so bad that people stay away from you, so you don't catch their cold. However, evidence suggests that it does work. This pungent herb was highly valued by the ancient Egyptians, who ensured that the slaves building the Great Pyramids were given a daily supply. The Romans also fed it to their soldiers before battle.
Garlic increases the activity of immune cells, and has a number of anti-fungal and anti-yeast properties. It also contains a compound, called allicin, which is a potent natural antibiotic. Opt for a garlic supplement or one to two cloves of raw garlic to ward off colds and perhaps anyone you wish to avoid.
Ginseng
For 5,000 years Asians have revered ginseng as a longevity tonic. Ginseng (Panax) is a family of about five or six species of slow-growing plants with fleshy roots including North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium), Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) and Chinese/Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng).
The various species of ginseng are each purported to enhance immune function and a recent Canadian study using North American ginseng found it to be effective in keeping the common cold at bay. An extract of ginseng was given to people who usually suffered colds, and it resulted in significantly less colds, with less severe symptoms, than the placebo group.
Caution: Don't take American ginseng if you have a fever or any other signs of acute infection, or if you have high blood pressure, heart disease or hypoglycemia.
Mushrooms
The French prize their truffles, but even truffles and other edible fungi don't show as much potential as shiitake (Lentinus edodes), maitake (Grifola frondosa) and reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) mushrooms. In Japan and China, mushrooms have long been treated much like herbs, and these three species have been used for centuries to strengthen the immune system and promote longevity.
Shiitake contains a compound called lentinan, which stimulates the activity and production of many important immune system cells including T-cells -- the body's own defense against viruses -- and white blood cells. Maitake is also used to enhance the immune system. Reishi mushrooms, also known as the mushroom of immortality, have been found to stimulate specific immune cells such as macrophages.
Maitake, shiitake and reishi are available in supplement form, sometimes in combination.
Andrographis
Andrographis (Andrographis paniculata) is a shrub found throughout India and other Asian countries. It's sometimes called "Indian echinacea" because it is believed to provide much of the same benefits. It has been used during epidemics, including the Indian flu epidemic in 1919 when andrographis was credited with helping to stop the spread of the disease. A member of the Acanthaceae plant family, it is also widely used in Scandinavian countries to treat and prevent common colds. A number of studies have found that andrographis significantly reduces the duration and severity of cold symptoms.
Take 500-3,000 mg of dried Andrographis in capsule form three times per day at the onset of a cold.
Caution: Andrographis should be avoided by women who are pregnant or who wish to become pregnant, as it exhibits antifertility effects.
Oscillococcinum
Many people swear by the homeopathic remedy "oscillococcinum" for the flu. It's even the number one flu medicine in France, more popular than any conventional medicine.
Oscillococcinum is made from the heart and liver of a duck. Scientists have discovered that the majority of ducks carry virtually every known influenza virus in their digestive tract. So you can perhaps think of oscillococcinum as the homeopathic version of a chicken soup. Oscillococcinum has been effective at warding off the flu if taken within 48 hours of the earliest symptoms. Symptoms may be vague, and include feeling vulnerable, irritable or just not quite right.
Oscillococcinum comes in small vials. Dissolve the entire contents of one tube in your mouth, usually under your tongue, at the first sign of a flu. Repeat this every six hours, up to three times a day for three days. Don't eat or drink anything for 15 minutes before or after.
Exercise
Don't let the cold weather be an excuse not to get your exercise as research has found that people who exercise regularly experience 25 percent fewer colds than those whose daily activities are relatively low. The benefits of a reduced risk of colds can be attained with moderate physical activity each day, such as a 30-minute walk. But high levels of physical activity may have the opposite effect; exercising too vigorously, such as marathon training, can deplete the immune system defenses, leaving you more vulnerable. So aim for moderate regular exercise such as a 30-minute walk five times a week.
Sleep and de-stress
Colds and flus strike when people are under stress, overworked or sleep deprived. Sleep is a natural requirement for effective prevention and speedy recuperation. When the body is denied sleep, its production of the white blood cells that fight off microbes slows down. So no matter how well you cover the other areas of your health, sleep deprivation will cause an eventual breakdown. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep every night and try to find ways to manage stress effectively. If you do get a cold or the flu, rest and sleep are critical for recuperation.
Remember, serious conditions such as sinus infections, bronchitis, meningitis, strep throat and asthma can masquerade as the common cold. If symptoms continue beyond a week or are accompanied by a high fever, persistent cough, swollen glands or greenish nasal secretions, it could signify a more serious problem, so consult a doctor.
Here's to a happy, healthy winter.
FROM: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20060103a1.htm
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