Anticoagulants: From 1 Different Sources
Anticoagulants are drugs which inhibit COAGULATION of the blood. They are used to prevent and treat abnormal clotting of the blood, to treat THROMBOSIS, and sometimes to prevent or treat STROKE or TRANSIENT ISCHAEMIC ATTACKS OR EPISODES (TIA, TIE). Anticoagulant drugs are also prescribed preventively in major surgery to stop abnormal clotting from occurring; HAEMODIALYSIS is another procedure during which these drugs are used. Anticoagulants are also prescribed to prevent thrombi (clots) forming on prosthetic heart valves after heart surgery.
The drugs are much more e?ective in the treatment and prevention of venous clotting – for example, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), see under VEINS, DISEASES OF – than in preventing thrombosis formation in arteries with their fast-?owing blood in which thrombi contain little ?brin (against which the anticoagulants work) and many PLATELETS.
The main anticoagulants now in use are the natural agent HEPARIN (a quick-acting variety and a low-molecular-weight long-acting type); synthetic oral anticoagulants such as WARFARIN and the less-often-used acenocoumarol and PHENINDIONE; and antiplatelet compounds such as ASPIRIN, clopidogrel dipyridamole and ticlopidines. Fondaparinux is an extract of heparin which can be given once daily by injection; ximelagatran, an inhibitor of thrombin, is being trialled as the ?rst new oral anticoagulant since heparin.
Patients taking anticoagulants need careful medical monitoring and they should carry an Anticoagulant Card with instructions about the use of whatever drug they may be receiving – essential information should the individual require treatment for other medical conditions as well as for thrombosis.
Stroke, or cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is sudden damage to BRAIN tissue caused either by a lack of blood supply or rupture of a blood vessel (see ISCHAEMIC STROKE). The affected brain cells die and the parts of the body they control or receive sensory messages from cease to function.
Causes Blood supply to the brain may be interrupted by arteries furring up with ATHEROSCLEROSIS (which is accelerated by HYPERTENSION and DIABETES MELLITUS, both of which are associated with a higher incidence of strokes) or being occluded by blood clots arising from distant organs such as infected heart valves or larger clots in the heart (see BLOOD CLOT; THROMBOSIS). Hearts with an irregular rhythm are especially prone to develop clots. Patients with thick or viscous blood, clotting disorders or those with in?amed arteries – for example, in SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE) – are particularly in danger of having strokes. Bleeding into the brain arises from areas of weakened blood vessels, many of which may be congenital.
Symptoms Minor episodes due to temporary lack of blood supply and oxygen (called TRANSIENT ISCHAEMIC ATTACKS OR EPISODES (TIA, TIE)) are manifested by short-lived weakness or numbness in an arm or leg and may precede a major stroke. Strokes cause sudden weakness or complete paralysis of the muscles controlled by the part of the brain affected, as well as sensory changes (e.g. numbness or tingling). In the worst cases these symptoms and signs may be accompanied by loss of consciousness. If the stroke affects the area of the brain controlling the larynx and throat, the patient may suffer slurring or loss of speech with di?culty in initiating swallowing. When the face is involved, the mouth may droop and the patient dribble. Strokes caused by haemorrhage may be preceded by headaches. Rarely, CVAs are complicated by epileptic ?ts (see EPILEPSY). If, on the other hand, numerous small clots develop in the brain rather than one major event, this may manifest itself as a gradual deterioration in the patient’s mental function, leading to DEMENTIA.
Investigations Tests on the heart or COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY or ultrasonic scans (see ULTRASOUND) on arteries in the neck may indicate the original sites of distantly arising clots. Blood tests may show increased thickness or tendency to clotting, and the diagnosis of general medical conditions can explain the presence of in?amed arteries which are prone to block. Special brain X-rays show the position and size of the damaged brain tissue and can usually distinguish between a clot or infarct and a rupture of and haemorrhage from a blood vessel in the brain.
Management It is better to prevent a stroke than try to cure it. The control of a person’s diabetes or high blood pressure will reduce the risk of a stroke. Treatment with ANTICOAGULANTS prevents the formation of clots; regular small doses of aspirin stop platelets clumping together to form plugs in blood vessels. Both treatments reduce the likelihood of minor transient ischaemic episodes proceeding to a major stroke.
Once the latter has occurred, there is no e?ective treatment to reduce the damage to brain tissue. Function will return to the affected part of the body only if and when the brain recovers and messages are again sent down the appropriate nerves. Simple movements are more likely to recover than delicate ones, and sophisticated functions have the worst outlook. Thus, movement of the thigh may improve more easily than ?ne movements of ?ngers, and any speech impairment is more likely to be permanent. A rehabilitation team can help to compensate for any disabilities the subject may have. Physiotherapists maintain muscle tone and joint ?exibility, whilst waiting for power to return; occupational therapists advise about functional problems and supply equipment to help patients overcome their disabilities; and speech therapists help with diffculties in swallowing, improve the clarity of remaining speech or o?er alternative methods of communication. District nurses or home helps can provide support to those caring for victims of stroke at home. Advice about strokes may be obtained from the Stroke Association.... stroke
Abortion is de?ned as the expulsion of a FETUS before it is normally viable, usually before 24 weeks of pregnancy. (There are exceptional cases nowadays in which fetuses as young as 22 weeks’ gestation have survived.) (See also PREGNANCY AND LABOUR.)
Spontaneous abortion Often called miscarriage, this may occur at any time before 28 weeks; 85 per cent occur in the ?rst 12 weeks of pregnancy. Of all diagnosed pregnancies, 25 per cent end in spontaneous abortion.
Spontaneous abortions occurring in early pregnancy are almost always associated with chromosomal abnormalities of the fetus. Other causes are uterine shape, maternal disorders such as DIABETES MELLITUS, diseases of the thyroid gland (see under ENDOCRINE GLANDS), and problems with the immune system (see IMMUNITY). Recurrent spontaneous abortion (that is, three or more) seems to be a particular problem in women who have an abnormal response of their immune system to pregnancy. Other factors include being older, having had a lot of babies previously, cigarette smoking and spontaneous (but not therapeutic) abortions in the past.
Early ULTRASOUND scans have altered the management of spontaneous abortions. These make it possible to distinguish between threatened abortion, where a woman has had some vaginal bleeding but the fetus is alive; inevitable abortion, where the neck of the uterus has started to open up; incomplete abortion, where part of the fetus or placenta is lost but some remains inside the uterus; and complete abortion. There is no evidence that bed rest is e?ective in stopping a threatened abortion becoming inevitable.
Inevitable or incomplete abortion will usually require a gynaecologist to empty (evacuate) the uterus. (Complete miscarriage requires no treatment.) Evacuation of the uterus is carried out using local or general anaesthetic, usually gentle dilatation of the neck of the uterus (cervix), and curetting-out the remaining products of the pregnancy.
A few late abortions are associated with the cervix opening too early, abnormal structural abnormalities of the uterus, and possibly infection in the mother.
Drugs are often used to suppress uterine contractions, but evidence-based studies show that these do not generally improve fetal salvage. In proven cases of cervical incompetence, the cervix can be closed with a suture which is removed at 37 weeks’ gestation. The evidence for the value of this procedure is uncertain.
Therapeutic abortion In the UK, before an abortion procedure is legally permitted, two doctors must agree and sign a form de?ned under the 1967 Abortion Act that the continuation of the pregnancy would involve risk – greater than if the pregnancy were terminated – of injury to the physical and/or mental health of the mother or any existing child(ren).
Legislation in 1990 modi?ed the Act, which had previously stated that, at the time of the abortion, the pregnancy should not have exceeded the 24th week. Now, an abortion may legally be performed if continuing the pregnancy would risk the woman’s life, or the mental health of the woman or her existing child(ren) is at risk, or if there is a substantial risk of serious handicap to the baby. In 95 per cent of therapeutic terminations in the UK the reason is ‘risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the woman’.
There is no time limit on therapeutic abortion where the termination is done to save the mother’s life, there is substantial risk of serious fetal handicap, or of grave permanent injury to the health of the mother.
About 190,000 terminations are carried out in the UK each year and only 1–1.5 per cent are over 20 weeks’ gestation, with the vast majority of these late abortions being for severe, late-diagnosed, fetal abnormality.
The maternal mortality from therapeutic abortion is less than 1 per 100,000 women and, provided that the procedure is performed skilfully by experienced doctors before 12 weeks of pregnancy, it is very safe. There is no evidence that therapeutic abortion is associated with any reduction in future fertility, increased rates of spontaneous abortion or preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies.
Methods of abortion All abortions must be carried out in premises licensed for doing so or in NHS hospitals. The method used is either surgical or medical, with the latter being used more and the former less as time goes on. Proper consent must be obtained, signed for and witnessed. Women under 16 years of age can consent to termination provided that the doctors obtaining the consent are sure she clearly understands the procedure and its implications. Parental consent in the under-16s is not legally required, but counselling doctors have a duty to record that they have advised young people to inform their parents. However, many youngsters do not do so. The woman’s partner has no legal say in the decision to terminate her pregnancy.
MEDICAL METHODS A combination of two drugs, mifepristone and a prostaglandin (or a prostaglandin-like drug, misoprostol – see PROSTAGLANDINS), may be used to terminate a pregnancy up to 63 days’ gestation. A similar regime can be used between nine and 12 weeks but at this gestation there is a 5 per cent risk of post-treatment HAEMORRHAGE.
An ultrasound scan is ?rst done to con?rm pregnancy and gestation. The sac containing the developing placenta and fetus must be in the uterus; the woman must be under 35 years of age if she is a moderate smoker, but can be over 35 if she is a non-smoker. Reasons for not using this method include women with diseases of the ADRENAL GLANDS, on long-term CORTICOSTEROIDS, and those who have a haemorrhagic disorder or who are on ANTICOAGULANTS. The drugs cannot be used in women with severe liver or kidney disease, and caution is required in those with CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), disease of the cardiovascular system, or prosthetic heart valves (see PROSTHESIS), as well as with those who have had a CAESAREAN SECTION or an ECTOPIC PREGNANCY in the past or who are being treated for HYPERTENSION.
Some clinics use this drug combination for pregnancies older than 12 weeks. In pregnancies approaching viability (20 weeks), pretreatment fetocide (killing of the fetus) with intrauterine drug therapy may be required.
SURGICAL METHODS Vacuum curettage is a method used up to 14–15 weeks. Some very experienced gynaecologists will perform abortions surgically by dilating the cervix and evacuating the uterine contents up to 22 weeks’ gestation. The greater the size of the pregnancy, the higher the risk of haemorrhage and perforation of the uterus. In the UK, illegal abortion is rare but in other countries this is not the case. Where illegal abortions are done, the risks of infection and perforation are high and death a de?nite risk. Legal abortions are generally safe. In the USA, partial-birth abortions are spoken of but, in fact, there is no such procedure recorded in the UK medical journals.... abortion
An ENZYME present in the venom of the Malayan pit viper, which destroys the FIBRINOGEN in blood and thereby prevents the blood from clotting. In other words it is an anticoagulant (see ANTICOAGULANTS).... ancrod
Pepper, bell pepper, chili pepper, cayenne (Capsicum annuum, C. frutescens & C. chinense).Plant Part Used: Leaf, fruit.Dominican Medicinal Uses: The leaf is traditionally prepared as a warm poultice and applied topically for skin abscesses, boils or infections, or prepared as a tea and taken orally for menstrual cramps and related disorders. The fruit is typically used for culinary and nutritional purposes and is said to increase heat in the body.Safety: No data on the safety of the leaf in humans (for internal or external use) has been identified in the available literature; however, in animal studies, topical application of the leaf did not show signs of toxicity or adverse effects. The fruit is widely consumed and considered safe in moderate amounts. Prolonged or excessive use may cause irritation of the mucosa or other adverse effects.Contraindications: No data on the safety of this plant during pregnancy, lactation or in children has been identified in the available literature. The fruit should not be taken by patients with inflammatory gastro-intestinal or renal disorders. Avoid contact with the eyes or open wounds due to potential irritation of the mucosa.Drug Interactions: Consumption of the fruit may inhibit liver microsomal enzymes and potentiate drugs metabolized by these enzymes. Aspirin and salicylic acid compounds: bioavailability may be reduced by concurrent use of peppers. Barbiturates: concomitant use of the dried fruit has been shown to potentiate the effects of hexobarbital. Anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents, thrombolytic agents: concomitant use of the fruit may increase the risk of bleeding.Clinical Data: No human clinical trials of the leaf have been identified in the available literature. The fruit has been investigated in clinical trials for the following effects: analgesic, carotenoid bioavailability enhancement, gastroprotective, swallowing dysfunction treatment and urinary incontinence treatment.Laboratory & Preclinical Data: The following biological activities of this plant have been investigated in laboratory and preclinical studies (in vitro or animal models): antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, chemopreventive, cytotoxic, learning enhancement, learning impairment amelioration and renoprotective.* See entry for Ají in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... ají
Anise, anise burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella anisum).Plant Part Used: Fruit (seed).Dominican Medicinal Uses: The seeds are traditionally prepared as a decoction and taken orally for colic (in children and adults), common cold, empacho, flatulence, flu, gastrointestinal disorders, headache, indigestion, nervous tension, pasmo and stress.Safety: The seeds are generally regarded as safe for human consumption in moderation and widely used as a culinary spice. Caution is advised if this herbal remedy is combined with anís de estrella due to potential contamination with a toxic look-alike (see entry for “Anís de estrella”).Contraindications: Studies show conflicting recommendations regarding safety of internal use during pregnancy and lactation. Use of this herb in combination with anís de estrella is contraindicated in children (due to potential for contamination with the toxic look-alike Illicium anisatum (see “Anís de estrella”); however, anís chiquito is considered safe for children when used appropriately.Drug interactions: Anticoagulants, NSAIDS, antiplatelet drugs, warfarin: Avoid use of anís chiquito if taking any of these medications due to potential risk of excessive bleeding as a result of interaction with coumarin derivatives.Clinical Data: No clinical trials of the oral use of this herb have been identified in the available literature. One open clinical trial has evaluated the pediculicidal effects of anise oil in combination with other ingredients.Laboratory & Preclinical Data: The following biological activities of this plant have been investigated in laboratory studies using in vitro or animal models: anticonvulsant, antidiuretic, antiflatulent, antifungal, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, estrogenic, expectorant, hypotensive, liver regeneration, muscle stimulant and mutagenic.* See entry for Anís chiquito in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... anís chiquito
(Ale)
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Moderate
Fat: None
Saturated fat: None Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: None
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution:
B vitamins
Major mineral contribution: Phosphorus
About the Nutrients in This Food
Beer and ale are fermented beverages created by yeasts that convert the sugars in malted barley and grain to ethyl alcohol (a.k.a. “alcohol,” “drink- ing alcohol”).*
The USDA /Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines one drink as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or
1.25 ounces of distilled spirits. One 12-ounce glass of beer has 140 calo- ries, 86 of them (61 percent) from alcohol. But the beverage—sometimes nicknamed “liquid bread”—is more than empty calories. Like wine, beer retains small amounts of some nutrients present in the food from which it was made.
* Because yeasts cannot digest t he starches in grains, t he grains to be used in mak ing beer and ale are allowed to germinate ( “malt” ). When it is t ime to make t he beer or ale, t he malted grain is soaked in water, forming a mash in which t he starches are split into simple sugars t hat can be digested (fermented) by t he yeasts. If undisturbed, t he fermentat ion will cont inue unt il all t he sugars have been digested, but it can be halted at any t ime simply by raising or lowering t he temperature of t he liquid. Beer sold in bott les or cans is pasteurized to k ill t he yeasts and stop t he fermentat ion. Draft beer is not pasteurized and must be refrigerated unt il tapped so t hat it will not cont inue to ferment in t he container. The longer t he shipping t ime, t he more likely it is t hat draft beer will be exposed to temperature variat ions t hat may affect its qualit y—which is why draft beer almost always tastes best when consumed near t he place where it was brewed.
The Nutrients in Beer (12-ounce glass)
|
Nutrients |
Beer |
%R DA |
| Calcium |
17 mg |
1.7 |
| Magnesium |
28.51 mg |
7–9* |
| Phosphorus |
41.1 mg |
6 |
| Potassium |
85.7 mg |
(na) |
| Zinc |
0.06 mg |
0.5– 0.8* |
| Thiamin |
0.02 mg |
1.6 –1.8* |
| R iboflavin |
0.09 mg |
7– 8* |
| Niacin |
1.55 mg |
10 |
| Vitamin B6 |
0.17 mg |
13 |
| Folate |
20.57 mcg |
5 |
* t he first figure is t he %R DA for a man; t he second, for a woman
Source: USDA Nut rient Database: w w w.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin /nut _search.pl.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Bland diet
Gluten-free diet
Low-purine (antigout) diet
Buying This Food
Look for: A popular brand that sells steadily and will be fresh when you buy it.
Avoid: Dusty or warm bottles and cans.
Storing This Food
Store beer in a cool place. Beer tastes best when consumed within two months of the day it is made. Since you cannot be certain how long it took to ship the beer to the store or how long it has been sitting on the grocery shelves, buy only as much beer as you plan to use within a week or two.
Protect bottled beer and open bottles or cans of beer from direct sunlight, which can change sulfur compounds in beer into isopentyl mercaptan, the smelly chemical that gives stale beer its characteristic unpleasant odor.
When You Are Ready to Serve This Food
Serve beer only in absolutely clean glasses or mugs. Even the slightest bit of grease on the side of the glass will kill the foam immediately. Wash beer glasses with detergent, not soap, and let them drain dry rather than drying them with a towel that might carry grease from your hands to the glass. If you like a long-lasting head on your beer, serve the brew in tall, tapering glasses to let the foam spread out and stabilize.
For full flavor, serve beer and ales cool but not ice-cold. Very low temperatures immo- bilize the molecules that give beer and ale their flavor and aroma.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
When beer is heated (in a stew or as a basting liquid), the alcohol evaporates but the flavor- ing agents remain intact. Alcohol, an acid, reacts with metal ions from an aluminum or iron pot to form dark compounds that discolor the pot or the dish you are cooking in. To prevent this, prepare dishes made with beer in glass or enameled pots.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Reduced risk of heart attack. Data from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study 1, a 12-year survey of more than 1 million Americans in 25 states, shows that men who take one drink a day have a 21 percent lower risk of heart attack and a 22 percent lower risk of stroke than men who do not drink at all. Women who have up to one drink a day also reduce their risk of heart attack. Numerous later studies have confirmed these findings.
Lower risk of stroke. In January 1999, the results of a 677-person study published by researchers at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University showed that moder- ate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of stroke due to a blood clot in the brain among older people (average age: 70). How the alcohol prevents stroke is still unknown, but it is clear that moderate use of alcohol is a key. Heavy drinkers (those who consume more than seven drinks a day) have a higher risk of stroke. People who once drank heavily, but cut their consumption to moderate levels, can also reduce their risk of stroke. Numerous later studies have confirmed these findings.
Lower cholesterol levels. Beverage alcohol decreases the body’s production and storage of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), the protein and fat particles that carr y cholesterol into your arteries. As a result, people who drink moderately tend to have lower cholesterol levels and higher levels of high density lipoproteins (HDLs), the fat and protein particles that carr y cholesterol out of the body. The USDA /Health and Human Services Dietar y Guidelines for Americans defines moderation as two drinks a day for a man, one drink a day for a woman.
Stimulating the appetite. Alcoholic beverages stimulate the production of saliva and the gastric acids that cause the stomach contractions we call hunger pangs. Moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages, which may help stimulate appetite, are often prescribed for geriatric
patients, convalescents, and people who do not have ulcers or other chronic gastric problems that might be exacerbated by the alcohol.
Dilation of blood vessels. Alcohol dilates the capillaries (the tiny blood vessels just under the skin), and moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages produce a pleasant flush that temporar- ily warms the drinker. But drinking is not an effective way to warm up in cold weather since the warm blood that flows up to the capillaries will cool down on the surface of your skin and make you even colder when it circulates back into the center of your body. Then an alco- hol flush will make you perspire, so that you lose more heat. Excessive amounts of beverage alcohol may depress the mechanism that regulates body temperature.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Increased risk of breast cancer. In 2008, scientists at the National Cancer Institute released data from a seven-year survey of more than 100,000 postmenopausal women showing that even moderate drinking (one to two drinks a day) may increase by 32 percent a woman’s risk of developing estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) and progesterone-receptor positive (PR+) breast cancer, tumors whose growth is stimulated by hormones. No such link was found between consuming alcohol and the risk of developing ER-/PR- tumors (not fueled by hor- mones). The finding applies to all types of alcohol: beer, wine, and spirits.
Increased risk of oral cancer (cancer of the mouth and throat). Numerous studies confirm the American Cancer Society’s warning that men and women who consume more than two drinks a day are at higher risk of oral cancer than are nondrinkers or people who drink less. Note: The Dietary Guidelines for Americans describes one drink as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
Increased risk of cancer of the colon and rectum. In the mid-1990s, studies at the University of Oklahoma suggested that men who drink more than five beers a day are at increased risk of rectal cancer. Later studies suggested that men and women who are heavy beer or spirits drinkers (but not those who are heavy wine drinkers) have a higher risk of colorectal cancers. Further studies are required to confirm these findings.
Fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a specific pattern of birth defects—low birth weight, heart defects, facial malformations, and mental retardation—first recognized in a study of babies born to alcoholic women who consumed more than six drinks a day while pregnant. Subsequent research has found a consistent pattern of milder defects in babies born to women who consume three to four drinks a day or five drinks on any one occasion while pregnant. To date, there is no evidence of a consistent pattern of birth defects in babies born to women who consume less than one drink a day while pregnant, but two studies at Columbia University have suggested that as few as two drinks a week while preg- nant may raise a woman’s risk of miscarriage. (“One drink” means 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.25 ounces of distilled spirits.)
Alcoholism. Alcoholism is an addiction disease, the inability to control one’s alcohol consumption. It is a potentially life-threatening condition, with a higher risk of death by accident, suicide, malnutrition, or acute alcohol poisoning, a toxic reaction that kills by para- lyzing body organs, including the heart.
Malnutrition. While moderate alcohol consumption stimulates appetite, alcohol abuse depresses it. In addition, an alcoholic may drink instead of eating. When an alcoholic does eat, excess alcohol in his/her body prevents absorption of nutrients and reduces the ability to synthesize new tissue.
Hangover. Alcohol is absorbed from the stomach and small intestine and carried by the bloodstream to the liver, where it is oxidized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), the enzyme our bodies use to metabolize the alcohol we produce when we digest carbohydrates. The acetaldehyde is converted to acetyl coenzyme A and either eliminated from the body or used in the synthesis of cholesterol, fatty acids, and body tissues. Although individuals vary widely in their capacity to metabolize alcohol, on average, normal healthy adults can metabolize the alcohol in one quart of beer in approximately five to six hours. If they drink more than that, they will have more alcohol than the body’s natural supply of ADH can handle. The unmetabolized alcohol will pile up in the bloodstream, interfering with the liver’s metabolic functions. Since alcohol decreases the reabsorption of water from the kidneys and may inhibit the secretion of an antidiuretic hormone, they will begin to urinate copiously, losing magnesium, calcium, and zinc but retaining more irritating uric acid. The level of lactic acid in the body will increase, making them feel tired and out of sorts; their acid-base balance will be out of kilter; the blood vessels in their heads will swell and throb; and their stomachs, with linings irritated by the alcohol, will ache. The ultimate result is a “hangover” whose symptoms will disappear only when enough time has passed to allow their bodies to marshal the ADH needed to metabolize the extra alcohol in their blood.
Changes in body temperature. Alcohol dilates capillaries, tiny blood vessels just under the skin, producing a “flush” that temporarily warms the drinker. But drinking is not an effective way to stay warm in cold weather. Warm blood flowing up from the body core to the surface capillaries is quickly chilled, making you even colder when it circulates back into your organs. In addition, an alcohol flush triggers perspiration, further cooling your skin. Finally, very large amounts of alcohol may actually depress the mechanism that regulates body temperature.
Impotence. Excessive drinking decreases libido (sexual desire) and interferes with the ability to achieve or sustain an erection.
“Beer belly.” Data from a 1995, 12,000 person study at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill show that people who consume at least six beers a week have more rounded abdomens than people who do not drink beer. The question left to be answered is which came first: the tummy or the drinking.
Food/Drug Interactions
Acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.). The FDA recommends that people who regularly have three or more drinks a day consult a doctor before using acetaminophen. The alcohol/acetamino- phen combination may cause liver failure.
Disulfiram (Antabuse). Taken with alcohol, disulfiram causes flushing, nausea, low blood pressure, faintness, respiratory problems, and confusion. The severity of the reaction gener- ally depends on how much alcohol you drink, how much disulfiram is in your body, and how long ago you took it. Disulfiram is used to help recovering alcoholics avoid alcohol. (If taken with alcohol, metronidazole [Flagyl], procarbazine [Matulane], quinacrine [Atabrine], chlorpropamide (Diabinase), and some species of mushrooms may produce a mild disulfi- ramlike reaction.)
Anticoagulants. Alcohol slows the body’s metabolism of anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin (Coumadin), intensif ying the effect of the drugs and increasing the risk of side effects such as spontaneous nosebleeds.
Antidepressants. Alcohol may increase the sedative effects of antidepressants. Drinking alcohol while you are taking a monoamine oxidase (M AO) inhibitor is especially hazard- ous. M AO inhibitors inactivate naturally occurring enzymes in your body that metabolize tyramine, a substance found in many fermented or aged foods. Tyramine constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure. If you eat a food containing tyramine while you are taking an M AO inhibitor, you cannot effectively eliminate the tyramine from your body. The result may be a hypertensive crisis. Ordinarily, fermentation of beer and ale does not produce tyramine, but some patients have reported tyramine reactions after drinking some imported beers. Beer and ale are usually prohibited to those using M AO inhibitors.
Aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Like alcohol, these analgesics irritate the lining of the stomach and may cause gastric bleeding. Combining the two intensifies the effect.
Insulin and oral hypoglycemics. Alcohol lowers blood sugar and interferes with the metabo- lism of oral antidiabetics; the combination may cause severe hypoglycemia.
Sedatives and other central nervous system depressants (tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antidepres- sants, sinus and cold remedies, analgesics, and medication for motion sickness). Alcohol inten- sifies sedation and, depending on the dose, may cause drowsiness, respiratory depression, coma, or death.... beer
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: High
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: Moderate Fiber: Very high
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, folate, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Calcium
About the Nutrients in This Food
Broccoli is very high-fiber food, an excellent source of vitamin A, the B vitamin folate, and vitamin C. It also has some vitamin E and vitamin K, the blood-clotting vitamin manufactured primarily by bacteria living in our intestinal tract.
One cooked, fresh broccoli spear has five grams of dietary fiber,
2,500 IU vitamin A (108 percent of the R DA for a woman, 85 percent of the R DA for a man), 90 mcg folate (23 percent of the R DA), and 130 mg vitamin C (178 percent of the R DA for a woman, 149 percent of the R DA for a man).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Raw. Studies at the USDA Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville,
Maryland, show that raw broccoli has up to 40 percent more vitamin C
than broccoli that has been cooked or frozen.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Antiflatulence diet
Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Broccoli with tightly closed buds. The stalk, leaves, and florets should be fresh, firm, and brightly colored. Broccoli is usually green; some varieties are tinged with purple.
Avoid: Broccoli with woody stalk or florets that are open or turning yellow. When the green chlorophyll pigments fade enough to let the yellow carotenoids underneath show through, the buds are about to bloom and the broccoli is past its prime.
Storing This Food
Pack broccoli in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator or in the vegetable crisper to protect its vitamin C. At 32°F, fresh broccoli can hold onto its vitamin C for as long as two weeks.
Keep broccoli out of the light; like heat, light destroys vitamin C.
Preparing This Food
First, rinse the broccoli under cool running water to wash off any dirt and debris clinging to the florets. Then put the broccoli, florets down, into a pan of salt water (1 tsp. salt to 1 qt. water) and soak for 15 to 30 minutes to drive out insects hiding in the florets. Then cut off the leaves and trim away woody section of stalks. For fast cooking, divide the broccoli up into small florets and cut the stalk into thin slices.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
The broccoli stem contains a lot of cellulose and will stay firm for a long time even through the most vigorous cooking, but the cell walls of the florets are not so strongly fortified and will soften, eventually turning to mush if you cook the broccoli long enough.
Like other cruciferous vegetables, broccoli contains mustard oils (isothiocyanates), natural chemicals that break down into a variety of smelly sulfur compounds (including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia) when the broccoli is heated. The reaction is more intense in aluminum pots. The longer you cook broccoli, the more smelly compounds there will be, although broccoli will never be as odorous as cabbage or cauliflower.
Keeping a lid on the pot will stop the smelly molecules from floating off into the air but will also accelerate the chemical reaction that turns green broccoli olive-drab.
Chlorophyll, the pigment that makes green vegetables green, is sensitive to acids. When you heat broccoli, the chlorophyll in its florets and stalk reacts chemically with acids in the broccoli or in the cooking water to form pheophytin, which is brown. The pheophytin turns cooked broccoli olive-drab or (since broccoli contains some yellow carotenes) bronze.
To keep broccoli green, you must reduce the interaction between the chlorophyll and the acids. One way to do this is to cook the broccoli in a large quantity of water, so the acids will be diluted, but this increases the loss of vitamin C.* Another alternative is to leave the lid off the pot so that the hydrogen atoms can float off into the air, but this allows the smelly sulfur compounds to escape, too. The best way is probably to steam the broccoli quickly with very little water, so it holds onto its vitamin C and cooks before there is time for reac- tion between chlorophyll and hydrogen atoms to occur.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Freezing. Frozen broccoli usually contains less vitamin C than fresh broccoli. The vitamin is lost when the broccoli is blanched to inactivate catalase and peroxidase, enzymes that would otherwise continue to ripen the broccoli in the freezer. On the other hand, according to researchers at Cornell University, blanching broccoli in a microwave oven—two cups of broccoli in three tablespoons of water for three minutes at 600 –700 watts—nearly doubles the amount of vitamin C retained. In experiments at Cornell, frozen broccoli blanched in a microwave kept 90 percent of its vitamin C, compared to 56 percent for broccoli blanched in a pot of boiling water on top of a stove.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Protection against some cancers. Naturally occurring chemicals (indoles, isothiocyanates, glucosinolates, dithiolethiones, and phenols) in Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauli- flower, and other cruciferous vegetables appear to reduce the risk of some forms of cancer, perhaps by preventing the formation of carcinogens in your body or by blocking cancer- causing substances from reaching or reacting with sensitive body tissues or by inhibiting the transformation of healthy cells to malignant ones.
All cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane, a member of a family of chemicals known as isothiocyanates. In experiments with laboratory rats, sulforaphane appears to increase the body’s production of phase-2 enzymes, naturally occurring substances that inacti- vate and help eliminate carcinogens. At the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland,
69 percent of the rats injected with a chemical known to cause mammary cancer developed tumors vs. only 26 percent of the rats given the carcinogenic chemical plus sulforaphane.
To get a protective amount of sulforaphane from broccoli you would have to eat about two pounds a week. But in 1997, Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that broccoli seeds and three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain a compound converted to sulforaphane when the seed and sprout cells are crushed. Five grams of three-day-old sprouts contain as much sulphoraphane as 150 grams of mature broccoli.
* Broccoli will lose large amounts of vitamin C if you cook it in water t hat is cold when you start. As it boils, water releases ox ygen t hat would ot her wise dest roy vitamin C, so you can cut t he vitamin loss dramat ically simply by lett ing t he water boil for 60 seconds before adding t he broccoli.
Vision protection. In 2004, the Johns Hopkins researchers updated their findings on sulfora- phane to suggest that it may also protect cells in the eyes from damage due to ultraviolet light, thus reducing the risk of macular degeneration, the most common cause of age-related vision loss.
Lower risk of some birth defects. Up to two or every 1,000 babies born in the United States each year may have cleft palate or a neural tube (spinal cord) defect due to their mothers’ not having gotten adequate amounts of folate during pregnancy. The current R DA for folate is 180 mcg for a woman, 200 mcg for a man, but the FDA now recommends 400 mcg for a woman who is or may become pregnant. Taking a folate supplement before becoming pregnant and continuing through the first two months of pregnancy reduces the risk of cleft palate; taking folate through the entire pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects. Broccoli is a good source of folate. One raw broccoli spear has 107 mcg folate, more than 50 percent of the R DA for an adult.
Possible lower risk of heart attack. In the spring of 1998, an analysis of data from the records for more than 80,000 women enrolled in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard School of Public Health/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, demonstrated that a diet providing more than 400 mcg folate and 3 mg vitamin B6 daily, either from food or supple- ments, might reduce a woman’s risk of heart attack by almost 50 percent. Although men were not included in the study, the results were assumed to apply to them as well.
However, data from a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 2006 called this theory into question. Researchers at Tulane Univer- sity examined the results of 12 controlled studies in which 16,958 patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease were given either folic acid supplements or placebos (“look-alike” pills with no folic acid) for at least six months. The scientists, who found no reduction in the risk of further heart disease or overall death rates among those taking folic acid, concluded that further studies will be required to ascertain whether taking folic acid supplements reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Possible inhibition of the herpes virus. Indoles, another group of chemicals in broccoli, may inhibit the growth of some herpes viruses. In 2003, at the 43rd annual Interscience Confer- ence on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, in Chicago, researchers from Stockholm’s Huddinge University Hospital, the University of Virginia, and Northeastern Ohio University reported that indole-3-carbinol (I3C) in broccoli stops cells, including those of the herpes sim- plex virus, from reproducing. In tests on monkey and human cells, I3C was nearly 100 percent effective in blocking reproduction of the HSV-1 (oral and genital herpes) and HSV-2 (genital herpes), including one strain known to be resistant to the antiviral drug acyclovir (Zovirax).
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Enlarged thyroid gland. Cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, contain goitrin, thio- cyanate, and isothiocyanate, chemical compounds that inhibit the formation of thyroid hormones and cause the thyroid to enlarge in an attempt to produce more. These chemicals,
known collectively as goitrogens, are not hazardous for healthy people who eat moderate amounts of cruciferous vegetables, but they may pose problems for people who have thyroid problems or are taking thyroid medication.
False-positive test for occult blood in the stool. The guaiac slide test for hidden blood in feces relies on alphaguaiaconic acid, a chemical that turns blue in the presence of blood. Broccoli contains peroxidase, a natural chemical that also turns alphaguaiaconic acid blue and may produce a positive test in people who do not actually have blood in the stool.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants Broccoli is rich in vitamin K, the blood-clotting vitamin produced natu- rally by bacteria in the intestines. Consuming large quantities of this food may reduce the effectiveness of anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin (Coumadin). One cup of drained, boiled broccoli contains 220 mcg vitamin K, nearly four times the R DA for a healthy adult.... broccoli
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: High
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: High
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, folate, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Potassium, iron
About the Nutrients in This Food
Brussels sprouts are high in dietary fiber, especially insoluble cellulose and lignan in the leaf ribs. They are also a good source of vitamin A and vitamin C.
One-half cup cooked fresh brussels sprouts has three grams of dietary fiber, 1,110 IU vitamin A (48 percent of the R DA for a woman, 37 percent of the R DA for a man), 47 mcg folate (16 percent of the R DA), and 48 mg vitamin C (64 percent of the R DA for a woman, 53 percent of the R DA for a man).
Brussels sprouts also contain an antinutrient, a natural chemical that splits the thiamin (vitamin B1) molecule so that it is no longer nutritionally useful. This thiamin inhibitor is inactivated by cooking.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Fresh, lightly steamed to preserve the vitamin C and inactivate the antinutrient.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Antiflatulence diet
Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Firm, compact heads with bright, dark-green leaves, sold loose so that you can choose the sprouts one at a time. Brussels sprouts are available all year round.
Avoid: Puff y, soft sprouts with yellow or wilted leaves. The yellow carotenes in the leaves show through only when the leaves age and their green chlorophyll pigments fade. Wilting leaves and puff y, soft heads are also signs of aging.
Avoid sprouts with tiny holes in the leaves through which insects have burrowed.
Storing This Food
Store the brussels sprouts in the refrigerator. While they are most nutritious if used soon after harvesting, sprouts will keep their vitamins (including their heat-sensitive vitamin C) for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Store the sprouts in a plastic bag or covered bowl to protect them from moisture loss.
Preparing This Food
First, drop the sprouts into salted ice water to flush out any small bugs hiding inside. Next, trim them. Remove yellow leaves and leaves with dark spots or tiny holes, but keep as many of the darker, vitamin A–rich outer leaves as possible. Then, cut an X into the stem end of the sprouts to allow heat and water in so that the sprouts cook faster.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Brussels sprouts contain mustard oils (isothiocyanates), natural chemicals that break down into a variety of smelly sulfur compounds (including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia) when the sprouts are heated, a reaction that is intensified in aluminum pots. The longer you cook the sprouts, the more smelly compounds there will be. Adding a slice of bread to the cook- ing water may lessen the odor; keeping a lid on the pot will stop the smelly molecules from floating off into the air.
But keeping the pot covered will also increase the chemical reaction that turns cooked brussels sprouts drab. Chlorophyll, the pigment that makes green vegetables green, is sensi- tive to acids. When you heat brussels sprouts, the chlorophyll in their green leaves reacts chemically with acids in the sprouts or in the cooking water to form pheophytin, which is brown. The pheophytin turns cooked brussels sprouts olive or, since they also contain yel- low carotenes, bronze.
To keep cooked brussels sprouts green, you have to reduce the interaction between chlorophyll and acids. One way to do this is to cook the sprouts in a lot of water, so the acids will be diluted, but this increases the loss of vitamin C.* Another alternative is to leave the lid off the pot so that the hydrogen atoms can float off into the air, but this allows the smelly sulfur compounds to escape, too. The best solution is to steam the sprouts quickly in very little water, so they retain their vitamin C and cook before there is time for reaction between chlorophyll and hydrogen atoms to occur.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Freezing. Frozen brussels sprouts contain virtually the same amounts of vitamins as fresh boiled sprouts.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Protection against cancer. Naturally occurring chemicals (indoles, isothiocyanates, gluco- sinolates, dithiolethiones, and phenols) in brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables appear to reduce the risk of some cancers, perhaps by pre- venting the formation of carcinogens in your body or by blocking cancer-causing substances from reaching or reacting with sensitive body tissues or by inhibiting the transformation of healthy cells to malignant ones.
All cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane, a member of a family of chemicals known as isothiocyanates. In experiments with laboratory rats, sulforaphane appears to increase the body’s production of phase-2 enzymes, naturally occurring substances that inac- tivate and help eliminate carcinogens. At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 69 percent of the rats injected with a chemical known to cause mammary cancer developed tumors vs. only 26 percent of the rats given the carcinogenic chemical plus sulforaphane.
In 1997, the Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that broccoli seeds and three- day-old broccoli sprouts contain a compound converted to sulforaphane when the seed and sprout cells are crushed. Five grams of three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain as much sulforaphane as 150 grams of mature broccoli. The sulforaphane levels in other cruciferous vegetables have not yet been calculated.
Lower risk of some birth defects. Up to two or every 1,000 babies born in the United States each year may have cleft palate or a neural tube (spinal cord) defect due to their mothers’ not having gotten adequate amounts of folate during pregnancy. NOTE : The current R DA for folate is 180 mcg for a woman and 200 mcg for a man, but the FDA now recommends
* Brussels sprouts will lose as much as 25 percent of their vitamin C if you cook them in water that is cold when you start. As it boils, water releases oxygen that would otherwise destroy vitamin C. You can cut the vitamin loss dramatically simply by letting the water boil for 60 seconds before adding the sprouts.
400 mcg for a woman who is or may become pregnant. Taking a folate supplement before becoming pregnant and continuing through the first two months of pregnancy reduces the risk of cleft palate; taking folate through the entire pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects.
Possible lower risk of heart attack. In the spring of 1998, an analysis of data from the records for more than 80,000 women enrolled in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard School of Public Health/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, demonstrated that a diet providing more than 400 mcg folate and 3 mg vitamin B6 daily, either from food or supple- ments, might reduce a woman’s risk of heart attack by almost 50 percent. Although men were not included in the study, the results were assumed to apply to them as well.
However, data from a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 2006 called this theory into question. Researchers at Tulane Univer- sity examined the results of 12 controlled studies in which 16,958 patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease were given either folic acid supplements or placebos (“look-alike” pills with no folic acid) for at least six months. The scientists, who found no reduction in the risk of further heart disease or overall death rates among those taking folic acid, concluded that further studies will be required to verif y whether taking folic acid supplements reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Vision protection. In 2004, the Johns Hopkins researchers updated their findings on sulfora- phane to suggest that it may also protect cells in the eyes from damage due to ultraviolet light, thus reducing the risk of macular degeneration, the most common cause of age-related vision loss.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Enlarged thyroid gland (goiter). Cruciferous vegetables, including brussels sprouts, contain goitrin, thiocyanate, and isothiocyanate. These chemicals, known collectively as goitrogens, inhibit the formation of thyroid hormones and cause the thyroid to enlarge in an attempt to produce more. Goitrogens are not hazardous for healthy people who eat moderate amounts of cruciferous vegetables, but they may pose problems for people who have a thyroid condi- tion or are taking thyroid medication.
Intestinal gas. Bacteria that live naturally in the gut degrade the indigestible carbohydrates (food fiber) in brussels sprouts and produce gas that some people find distressing.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants Brussels sprouts are rich in vitamin K, the blood-clotting vitamin produced naturally by bacteria in the intestines. Consuming large quantities of this food may reduce the effectiveness of anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin (Coumadin). One cup of drained, boiled brussels sprouts contains 219 mcg vitamin K, nearly three times the R DA for a healthy adult.... brussels sprouts
(Bok choy [Chinese cabbage], green cabbage, red cabbage, savoy cabbage)
See also Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Radishes,
Spinach, Turnips.
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Moderate
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High
Fiber: Low
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, folate, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Calcium (moderate)
About the Nutrients in This Food
All cabbage has some dietary fiber food: insoluble cellulose and lignin in the ribs and structure of the leaves. Depending on the variety, it has a little vitamin A, moderate amounts of the B vitamin folate and vitamin C.
One-half cup shredded raw bok choy has 0.1 g dietary fiber, 1,041 IU vitamin A (45 percent of the R DA for a woman, 35 percent of the R DA for a man), and 15.5 mg vitamin C (21 percent of the R DA for a woman, 17 percent of the R DA for a man).
One-half cup shredded raw green cabbage has 0.5 g dietary fiber, 45 IU vitamin A (1.9 percent of the R DA for a woman, 1.5 percent of the R DA for a man), 15 mcg folate (4 percent of the R DA), and 11 mg vitamin C (15 percent of the R DA for a woman, 12 percent of the R DA for a man).
One-half cup chopped raw red cabbage has 0.5 g dietary fiber, 7 mcg folate (2 percent of the R DA), and 20 mg vitamin C (27 percent of the R DA for a woman, 22 percent of the R DA for a man).
One-half cup chopped raw savoy cabbage has one gram dietary fiber, 322 IU vitamin A (14 percent of the R DA for a woman, 11 percent of the R DA for a man), and 11 mg vitamin C (15 percent of the R DA for a woman, 12 percent of the R DA for a man).
Raw red cabbage contains an antinutrient enzyme that splits the thiamin molecule so that the vitamin is no longer nutritionally useful. This thiamin in hibitor is inactivated by cooking.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Raw or lightly steamed to protect the vitamin C.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Antiflatulence diet
Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Cabbages that feel heavy for their size. The leaves should be tightly closed and attached tightly at the stem end. The outer leaves on a savoy cabbage may curl back from the head, but the center leaves should still be relatively tightly closed.
Also look for green cabbages that still have their dark-green, vitamin-rich outer leaves.
Avoid: Green and savoy cabbage with yellow or wilted leaves. The yellow carotene pig- ments show through only when the cabbage has aged and its green chlorophyll pigments have faded. Wilted leaves mean a loss of moisture and vitamins.
Storing This Food
Handle cabbage gently; bruising tears cells and activates ascorbic acid oxidase, an enzyme in the leaves that hastens the destruction of vitamin C.
Store cabbage in a cool, dark place, preferably a refrigerator. In cold storage, cabbage can retain as much as 75 percent of its vitamin C for as long as six months. Cover the cabbage to keep it from drying out and losing vitamin A.
Preparing This Food
Do not slice the cabbage until you are ready to use it; slicing tears cabbage cells and releases the enzyme that hastens the oxidation and destruction of vitamin C.
If you plan to serve cooked green or red cabbage in wedges, don’t cut out the inner core that hold the leaves together.
To separate the leaves for stuffing, immerse the entire head in boiling water for a few minutes, then lift it out and let it drain until it is cool enough to handle comfortably. The leaves should pull away easily. If not, put the cabbage back into the hot water for a few minutes.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Cabbage contains mustard oils (isothiocyanates) that break down into a variet y of smelly sulfur compounds (including hydrogen sulfide and ammon ia) when the cabbage is heated, a reaction that occurs more strongly in aluminum pots. The longer you cook the cabbage, the more smelly the compounds will be. Adding a slice of bread to the cooking water may lessen the odor. Keeping a lid on the pot will stop the smelly molecules from floating off into the air, but it will also accelerate the chemical reaction that turns cooked green cabbage drab.
Chlorophyll, the pigment that makes green vegetables green, is sensitive to acids. When you heat green cabbage, the chlorophyll in its leaves reacts chemically with acids in the cabbage or in the cooking water to form pheophytin, which is brown. The pheophytin gives the cooked cabbage its olive color.
To keep cooked green cabbage green, you have to reduce the interaction between the chlorophyll and the acids. One way to do this is to cook the cabbage in a large quantity of water, so the acids will be diluted, but this increases the loss of vitamin C.* Another alternative is to leave the lid off the pot so that the volatile acids can float off into the air, but this allows the smelly sulfur compounds to escape too. The best way may be to steam the cabbage ver y quickly in ver y little water so that it keeps its vitamin C and cooks before there is time for the chlorophyll/acid reaction to occur.
Red cabbage is colored with red anthocyanins, pigments that turn redder in acids (lemon juice, vinegar) and blue purple in bases (alkaline chemicals such as baking soda). To keep the cabbage red, make sweet-and-sour cabbage. But be careful not to make it in an iron or aluminum pot, since vinegar (which contains tannins) will react with these metals to create dark pigments that discolor both the pot and the vegetable. Glass, stainless-steel, or enameled pots do not produce this reaction.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Pickling. Sauerkraut is a fermented and pickled produce made by immersing cabbage in a salt solution strong enough to kill off pathological bacteria but allow beneficial ones to sur- vive, breaking down proteins in the cabbage and producing the acid that gives sauerkraut its distinctive flavor. Sauerkraut contains more than 37 times as much sodium as fresh cabbage (661 mg sodium/100 grams canned sauerkraut with liquid) but only one third the vitamin C and one-seventh the vitamin A.
* According to USDA, if you cook t hree cups of cabbage in one cup of water you will lose only 10 percent of t he vitamin C; reverse t he rat io to four t imes as much water as cabbage and you will lose about 50 percent of t he vitamin C. Cabbage will lose as much as 25 percent of its vitamin C if you cook it in water t hat is cold when you start. As it boils, water releases ox ygen t hat would ot her wise dest roy vitamin C, so you can cut t he vitamin loss dramat ically simply by lett ing t he water boil for 60 seconds before adding t he cabbage.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Protection against certain cancers. Naturally occurring chemicals (indoles, isothiocyanates, glucosinolates, dithiolethiones, and phenols) in cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauli- flower, and other cruciferous vegetables appear to reduce the risk of some cancers, perhaps by preventing the formation of carcinogens in your body or by blocking cancer-causing substances from reaching or reacting with sensitive body tissues or by inhibiting the trans- formation of healthy cells to malignant ones.
All cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane, a member of a family of chemicals known as isothiocyanates. In experiments with laboratory rats, sulforaphane appears to increase the body’s production of phase-2 enzymes, naturally occurring substances that inac- tivate and help eliminate carcinogens. At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 69 percent of the rats injected with a chemical known to cause mammary cancer developed tumors vs. only 26 percent of the rats given the carcinogenic chemical plus sulforaphane.
In 1997, Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that broccoli seeds and three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain a compound converted to sulforaphane when the seed and sprout cells are crushed. Five grams of three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain as much sulforaphane as 150 grams of mature broccoli. The sulforaphane levels in other cruciferous vegetables have not yet been calculated.
Vision protection. In 2004, the Johns Hopkins researchers updated their findings on sulfora- phane to suggest that it may also protect cells in the eyes from damage due to ultraviolet light, thus reducing the risk of macular degeneration, the most common cause of age-related vision loss.
Lower risk of some birth defects. As many as two of every 1,000 babies born in the United States each year may have cleft palate or a neural tube (spinal cord) defect due to their moth- ers’ not having gotten adequate amounts of folate during pregnancy. The current R DA for folate is 180 mcg for a woman and 200 mcg for a man, but the FDA now recommends 400 mcg for a woman who is or may become pregnant. Taking a folate supplement before becom- ing pregnant and through the first two months of pregnancy reduces the risk of cleft palate; taking folate through the entire pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects.
Possible lower risk of heart attack. In the spring of 1998, an analysis of data from the records for more than 80,000 women enrolled in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard School of Public Health/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, demonstrated that a diet providing more than 400 mcg folate and 3 mg vitamin B6 daily, either from food or supple- ments, might reduce a woman’s risk of heart attack by almost 50 percent. Although men were not included in the study, the results were assumed to apply to them as well.
However, data from a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 2006 called this theory into question. Researchers at Tulane Univer- sity examined the results of 12 controlled studies in which 16,958 patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease were given either folic acid supplements or placebos (“look-alike” pills
with no folic acid) for at least six months. The scientists, who found no reduction in the risk of further heart disease or overall death rates among those taking folic acid, concluded that further studies will be required to verif y whether taking folic acid supplements reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Enlarged thyroid gland (goiter). Cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, contain goitrin, thiocyanate, and isothiocyanate. These chemicals, known collectively as goitrogens, inhibit the formation of thyroid hormones and cause the thyroid to enlarge in an attempt to pro- duce more. Goitrogens are not hazardous for healthy people who eat moderate amounts of cruciferous vegetables, but they may pose problems for people who have a thyroid condition or are taking thyroid medication.
Intestinal gas. Bacteria that live naturally in the gut degrade the indigestible carbohydrates (food fiber) in cabbage, producing gas that some people find distressing.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants Cabbage contains vitamin K, the blood-clotting vitamin produced natu- rally by bacteria in the intestines. Consuming large quantities of this food may reduce the effectiveness of anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin (Coumadin). One cup of shredded common green cabbage contains 163 mcg vitamin K, nearly three times the R DA for a healthy adult; one cup of drained boiled common green cabbage contains 73 mcg vita- min K, slightly more than the R DA for a healthy adult.
Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are drugs used to treat depression. They inactivate naturally occurring enzymes in your body that metabolize tyra- mine, a substance found in many fermented or aged foods. Tyramine constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure. If you eat a food such as sauerkraut which is high in tyramine while you are taking an M AO inhibitor, you cannot effectively eliminate the tyramine from your body. The result may be a hypertensive crisis.... cabbage
Chinese star anise (Illicium verum).Plant Part Used: Fruit, seed.Dominican Medicinal Uses: The fruits or seeds are traditionally prepared as a decoction and taken orally for flatulence, headache, indigestion, stomach ache, upper respiratory tract infection and cleansing the intestines.Safety: The fruit is generally considered safe for human consumption in small amounts and is widely used as a culinary spice. When taken in excessive quantities, isolated compounds from the fruit have shown neurotoxic effects in animal studies. Caution is advised due to possible adulteration with the highly poisonous look-alike, Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum).Contraindications: Avoid use in small children due to potential contamination with misidentified toxic look-alike. Caution and avoidance is advised in patients with a history of convulsive disorders including epilepsy due to case reports of seizures associated with internal use of the tea. Caution advised in patients prior to surgery due to potential risk of increased bleeding.Drug Interactions: Anticoagulants, antiplatelet medications and NSAIDS: based on animal studies in mice, star anise increases cytochrome P450 dependent 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity which may affect the metabolism of these drugs.Clinical Data: No human clinical trials evaluating this plant species have been identified in the available literature.Laboratory & Preclinical Data: The following biological activities of this plant have been demonstrated in laboratory and preclinical studies using in vitro or animal models: antiangiogenic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, insecticidal, neurotropic and sepsis prevention.* See entry for Anís de estrella in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... anís de estrella
Celery (Apium graveolens variety dulce).Plant Part Used: Stalk, leaves, roots, seeds.Dominican Medicinal Uses: The stalks and leaves are traditionally eaten raw or taken as a juice for treating obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and menopausal hot flashes.Safety: The stalks, leaf and root are widely consumed and generally considered safe. Cases of allergic reaction to the root have been reported. Plants infected with pink rot fungus can cause phototoxicoses.Contraindications: Internal use of the seeds and essential oil are contraindicated during pregnancy (emmenagoge, abortifacient, uterine stimulating effects) and patients with renal disorders (potential kidney-irritating effect of oil).Drug Interactions: Celery seeds and seed extract: anticoagulants, warfarin (risk of bleeding, drug potentiation); thyroxine (lowered T4 levels).Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive (plant extract); hepatoprotective (seeds).In vitro: antimicrobial, antioxidant (plant extract); cercaricidal (essential oil); vasodilation (chemical constituent).* See entry for Apio in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... apio
Linn.
Family: Caricaceae.
Habitat: Native to West Indies and Central America; now cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and South India.
English: Papaya, Papaw.
Ayurvedic: Erand-karkati, Papitaa.
Unani: Papitaa Desi.
Siddha/Tamil: Pappaali, Pappayi.
Action: Ripe fruit—stomachic, digestive, carminative, diuretic, galactagogue. Useful in bleeding piles, haemoptysis, dysentery and chronic diarrhoea. Seeds— emmengagogue, abortifacient, vermifuge. Juice of seeds is administered in enlarged liver and spleen, and in bleeding piles.
Key application: Papain, the enzyme mixture extracted from raw papain (latex of Carica papaya), has been included among unapproved herbs by German Commission E. Experiment-based as well as clinical research indicate that papain may be effective (in the treatment of inflammations) in high doses (daily dose 1500 mg corresponding to 2520 FIP units).Unripe fruit—emmengagogue and abortifacient. Latex—applied topically on eczema, ringworm, psoriasis, corns, warts, sloughing wounds, carbuncles and eschar of burns.Green parts of the plant and seed contain an alkaloid carpaine. Seeds also contain carpasemine.Latex contain enzymes—papain and chymopapain and alkaloids carpaine and pseudocarpaine. A proteinaceous material from latex showed anticoagulant activity; in higher doses it is heart depressant and as a spasmogen on smooth muscle of guinea pig ileum. An alkaloid solution showed depressant action on heart, blood pressure and intestine.The anthelmintic action of seeds against Ascaris lumbricoides is due to carpasemine.Papain, an enzyme mixture prepared from the fruit, seeds and leaf, hydrolyses polypeptides, amides and esters, particularly when used in an alkaline environment, and is used in digestive disorders.Papain inhibits platelet aggregation, which may further increase the risk of bleeding in patients also taking anticoagulants. Concurrent administration of cyclophosphamide with papain caused sever damage to lung tissues in rats. (Sharon M. Herr.)Chymopapin C is an immunosup- pressive enzyme from plant extract. Carpaine, extracted from the plant, exhibited anti-tubercular activity, also antitumour in vitro, and hypotensive.
Dosage: Leaf—40-80 ml infusion; latex—3-6 g (CCRAS.)... carica papaya
A drug used to treat GOUT in the acute stage. Its use is limited by the development of toxicity at higher doses, but in patients with heart failure it may be preferable to NON-STEROIDAL ANTIINFLAMMATORY DRUGS (NSAIDS), which tend to cause ?uid retention. Colchicine can be given to patients receiving ANTICOAGULANTS. The drug does have side-effects on the gastrointestinal system.... colchicine
(Brandy, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey, vodka)
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Moderate to high
Protein: None
Fat: None
Saturated fat: None
Cholesterol: None
Carbohydrates: None (except for cordials which contain added sugar)
Fiber: None
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: None
Major mineral contribution: Phosphorus
About the Nutrients in This Food
Spirits are the clear liquids produced by distilling the fermented sugars of grains, fruit, or vegetables. The yeasts that metabolize these sugars and convert them into alcohol stop growing when the concentration of alcohol rises above 12–15 percent. In the United States, the proof of an alcoholic beverage is defined as twice its alcohol content by volume: a beverage with
20 percent alcohol by volume is 40 proof.
This is high enough for most wines, but not high enough for most whiskies, gins, vodkas, rums, brandies, and tequilas. To reach the concentra- tion of alcohol required in these beverages, the fermented sugars are heated and distilled. Ethyl alcohol (the alcohol in beer, wine, and spirits) boils at a lower temperature than water. When the fermented sugars are heated, the ethyl alcohol escapes from the distillation vat and condenses in tubes leading from the vat to a collection vessel. The clear liquid that collects in this vessel is called distilled spirits or, more technically, grain neutral spirits.
Gins, whiskies, cordials, and many vodkas are made with spirits
American whiskeys (which include bourbon, rye, and distilled from grains.
blended whiskeys) and Canadian, Irish, and Scotch whiskies are all made from spirits aged in wood barrels. They get their flavor from the grains and their color from the barrels. (Some whiskies are also colored with caramel.)
Vodka is made from spirits distilled and filtered to remove all flavor. By law, vodkas made in America must be made with spirits distilled from grains. Imported vodkas may be made with spirits distilled either from grains or potatoes and may contain additional flavoring agents such as citric acid or pepper. Aquavit, for example, is essentially vodka flavored with caraway seeds. Gin is a clear spirit flavored with an infusion of juniper berries and other herbs (botanicals). Cordials (also called liqueurs) and schnapps are flavored spirits; most are sweetened with added sugar. Some cordials contain cream.
Rum is made with spirits distilled from sugar cane (molasses). Tequila is made with spirits distilled from the blue agave plant. Brandies are made with spirits distilled from fruit. (Arma- gnac and cognac are distilled from fermented grapes, calvados and applejack from fermented apples, kirsch from fermented cherries, slivovitz from fermented plums.)
Unless they contain added sugar or cream, spirits have no nutrients other than alcohol. Unlike food, which has to be metabolized before your body can use it for energy, alcohol can be absorbed into the blood-stream directly from the gastrointestinal tract. Ethyl alcohol provides 7 calories per gram.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
The USDA /Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines one drink as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.25 ounces of distilled spirits, and “moderate drinking” as two drinks a day for a man, one drink a day for a woman.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Bland diet
Lactose-free diet (cream cordials made with cream or milk) Low-purine (antigout) diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Tightly sealed bottles stored out of direct sunlight, whose energy might disrupt the structure of molecules in the beverage and alter its flavor.
Choose spirits sold only by licensed dealers. Products sold in these stores are manufac- tured under the strict supervision of the federal government.
Storing This Food
Store sealed or opened bottles of spirits in a cool, dark cabinet.
Preparing This Food
All spirits except unflavored vodkas contain volatile molecules that give the beverage its characteristic taste and smell. Warming the liquid excites these molecules and intensifies the flavor and aroma, which is the reason we serve brandy in a round glass with a narrower top that captures the aromatic molecules as they rise toward the air when we warm the glass by holding it in our hands. Whiskies, too, though traditionally served with ice in America, will have a more intense flavor and aroma if served at room temperature.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
The heat of cooking evaporates the alcohol in spirits but leaves the flavoring intact. Like other alcoholic beverages, spirits should be added to a recipe near the end of the cooking time to preserve the flavor while cooking away any alcohol bite.
Alcohol is an acid. If you cook it in an aluminum or iron pot, it will combine with metal ions to form dark compounds that discolor the pot and the food you are cooking. Any recipe made with spirits should be prepared in an enameled, glass, or stainless-steel pot.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Reduced risk of heart attack. Data from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study 1, a 12-year survey of more than 1 million Americans in 25 states, shows that men who take one drink a day have a 21 percent lower risk of heart attack and a 22 percent lower risk of stroke than men who do not drink at all. Women who have up to one drink a day also reduce their risk of heart attack. Numerous later studies have confirmed these findings.
Lower cholesterol levels. Beverage alcohol decreases the body’s production and storage of low density lipoproteins (LDLs), the protein and fat particles that carry cholesterol into your arteries. As a result, people who drink moderately tend to have lower cholesterol levels and higher levels of high density lipoproteins (HDLs), the fat and protein particles that carry cholesterol out of the body. Numerous later studies have confirmed these findings.
Lower risk of stroke. In January 1999, the results of a 677-person study published by researchers at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University showed that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of stroke due to a blood clot in the brain among older people (average age: 70). How alcohol prevents stroke is still unknown, but it is clear that moderate use is a key. Heavy drinkers (those who consume more than seven drinks a day) have a higher risk of stroke. People who once drank heavily, but cut their consumption to moderate levels, reduce their risk of stroke.
Stimulating the appetite. Alcoholic beverages stimulate the production of saliva and the gastric acids that cause the stomach contractions we call hunger pangs. Moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages, which may help stimulate appetite, are often prescribed for geriatric patients, convalescents, and people who do not have ulcers or other chronic gastric problems that might be exacerbated by the alcohol.
Dilation of blood vessels. Alcoholic beverages dilate the tiny blood vessels just under the skin, bringing blood up to the surface. That’s why moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages (0.2–1 gram per kilogram of body weight, or two ounces of whiskey for a 150-pound adult) temporarily warm the drinker. But the warm blood that flows up to the surface of the skin will cool down there, making you even colder when it circulates back into the center of your body. Then an alcohol flush will make you perspire, so you lose more heat. Excessive amounts of beverage alcohol may depress the mechanism that regulates body temperature.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Alcoholism. Alcoholism is an addiction disease, the inability to control one’s alcohol consumption. It is a potentially life-threatening condition, with a higher risk of death by accident, suicide, malnutrition, or acute alcohol poisoning, a toxic reaction that kills by para- lyzing body organs, including the heart.
Fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a specific pattern of birth defects—low birth weight, heart defects, facial malformations, learning disabilities, and mental retarda- tion—first recognized in a study of babies born to alcoholic women who consumed more than six drinks a day while pregnant. Subsequent research has found a consistent pattern of milder defects in babies born to women who drink three to four drinks a day or five drinks on any one occasion while pregnant. To date there is no evidence of a consistent pattern of birth defects in babies born to women who consume less than one drink a day while preg- nant, but two studies at Columbia University have suggested that as few as two drinks a week while pregnant may raise a woman’s risk of miscarriage. (One drink is 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.25 ounces of distilled spirits.)
Increased risk of breast cancer. In 2008, scientists at the National Cancer Institute released data from a seven-year survey of more than 100,000 postmenopausal women showing that even moderate drinking (one to two drinks a day) may increase by 32 percent a woman’s risk of developing estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) and progesterone-receptor positive (PR+) breast cancer, tumors whose growth is stimulated by hormones. No such link was found between consuming alcohol and the risk of developing ER-/PR- tumors (not fueled by hor- mones). The finding applies to all types of alcohol: beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
Increased risk of oral cancer (cancer of the mouth and throat). Numerous studies confirm the A merican Cancer Societ y’s warn ing that men and women who consume more than t wo drinks a day are at higher risk of oral cancer than are nondrinkers or people who drink less.
Increased risk of cancer of the colon and rectum. In the mid-1990s, studies at the University of Oklahoma suggested that men who drink more than five beers a day are at increased risk of rectal cancer. Later studies suggested that men and women who are heavy beer or spirits drinkers (but not those who are heavy wine drinkers) have a higher risk of colorectal cancers. Further studies are required to confirm these findings.
Malnutrition. While moderate alcohol consumption stimulates appetite, alcohol abuses depresses it. In addition, an alcoholic may drink instead of eating. When an alcoholic does eat, excess alcohol in his/her body prevents absorption of nutrients and reduces the ability to synthesize new tissue.
Hangover. Alcohol is absorbed from the stomach and small intestine and carried by the bloodstream to the liver, where it is oxidized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), the enzyme our bodies use every day to metabolize the alcohol we produce when we digest carbohydrates. The acetaldehyde is converted to acetyl coenzyme A and either eliminated from the body or used in the synthesis of cholesterol, fatty acids, and body tis- sues. Although individuals vary widely in their capacity to metabolize alcohol, an adult of average size can metabolize the alcohol in four ounces (120 ml) whiskey in approximately five to six hours. If he or she drinks more than that, the amount of alcohol in the body will exceed the available supply of ADH. The surplus, unmetabolized alcohol will pile up in the bloodstream, interfering with the liver’s metabolic functions. Since alcohol decreases the reabsorption of water from the kidneys and may inhibit the secretion of an antidiuretic hormone, the drinker will begin to urinate copiously, losing magnesium, calcium, and zinc but retaining uric acid, which is irritating. The level of lactic acid in the body will increase, making him or her feel tired and out of sorts; the acid-base balance will be out of kilter; the blood vessels in the head will swell and throb; and the stomach, its lining irritated by the alcohol, will ache. The ultimate result is a hangover whose symptoms will disappear only when enough time has passed to allow the body to marshal the ADH needed to metabolize the extra alcohol in the person’s blood.
Changes in body temperature. Alcohol dilates capillaries, tiny blood vessels just under the skin, producing a “flush” that temporarily warms the drinker. But drinking is not an effective way to stay warm in cold weather. Warm blood flowing up from the body core to the surface capillaries is quickly chilled, making you even colder when it circulates back into your organs. In addition, an alcohol flush triggers perspiration, further cooling your skin. Finally, very large amounts of alcohol may actually depress the mechanism that regulates body temperature.
Impotence. Excessive drinking decreases libido (sexual desire) and interferes with the ability to achieve or sustain an erection.
Migraine headache. Some alcoholic beverages contain chemicals that inhibit PST, an enzyme that breaks down certain alcohols in spirits so that they can be eliminated from the body. If they are not broken down by PST, these alcohols will build up in the bloodstream and may trigger a migraine headache. Gin and vodka appear to be the distilled spirits least likely to trigger headaches, brandy the most likely.
Food/Drug Interactions
Acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.). FDA recommends that people who regularly have three or more drinks a day consult a doctor before using acetaminophen. The alcohol/acetaminophen combination may cause liver failure.
Anti-alcohol abuse drugs (disulfiram [Antabuse]). Taken concurrently with alcohol, the anti- alcoholism drug disulfiram can cause flushing, nausea, a drop in blood pressure, breathing difficulty, and confusion. The severity of the symptoms, which may var y among individu- als, generally depends on the amount of alcohol consumed and the amount of disulfiram in the body.
Anticoagulants. Alcohol slows the body’s metabolism of anticoagulants (blood thinners), intensif ying the effect of the drugs and increasing the risk of side effects such as spontane- ous nosebleeds.
Antidepressants. Alcohol may strengthen the sedative effects of antidepressants.
Aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Like alco- hol, these analgesics irritate the lining of the stomach and may cause gastric bleeding. Com- bining the two intensifies the effect.
Insulin and oral hypoglycemics. Alcohol lowers blood sugar and interferes with the metabo- lism of oral antidiabetics; the combination may cause severe hypoglycemia.
Sedatives and other central nervous system depressants (tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antide- pressants, sinus and cold remedies, analgesics, and medication for motion sickness). Alcohol intensifies the sedative effects of these medications and, depending on the dose, may cause drowsiness, sedation, respiratory depression, coma, or death.
MAO inhibitors. Monoamine oxidase (M AO) inhibitors are drugs used as antidepressants or antihypertensives. They inhibit the action of natural enzymes that break down tyramine, a substance formed naturally when proteins are metabolized. Tyramine is a pressor amine, a chemical that constricts blood vessel and raises blood pressure. If you eat a food that contains tyramine while you are taking an M AO inhibitor, the pressor amine cannot be eliminated from your body and the result may be a hypertensive crisis (sustained elevated blood pressure). Brandy, a distilled spirit made from wine (which is fermented) contains tyramine. All other distilled spirits may be excluded from your diet when you are taking an M AO inhibitor because the spirits and the drug, which are both sedatives, may be hazard- ous in combination.... distilled spirits
(Ugli fruit)
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Low
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: Moderate Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Potassium
About the Nutrients in This Food
Grapefruit and ugli fruit (a cross between the grapefruit and the tangerine) have moderate amounts of dietary fiber and, like all citrus fruits, are most prized for their vitamin C. Pink or red grapefruits have moderate amounts of vitamin A.
One-half medium (four-inch diameter) pink grapefruit has 1.4 g dietary fiber, 1,187 IU vitamin A (51 percent of the R DA for a woman, 40 percent of the R DA for a man), and 44 mg vitamin C (59 percent of the R DA for a woman, 49 percent of the R DA for a man). One half medium (3.75-inch diameter) white grapefruit has 1.3 g dietary fiber, 39 IU vitamin A (2 percent of the R DA for a woman, 1 percent of the R DA for a man), and 39 mg vitamin C (52 percent of the R DA for a woman, 43 percent of the R DA for a man).
Pink and red grapefruits also contain lycopene, a red carotenoid (plant pigment), a strong antioxidant that appears to lower the risk of cancer of the prostate. The richest source of lycopene is cooked tom atoes.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Fresh fruit or fresh-squeezed juice.
Buying This Food
Look for: Firm fruit that is heavy for its size, which means that it will be juicy. The skin should be thin, smooth, and fine-grained. Most grapefruit have yellow skin that, depending on the variety, may be tinged with red or green. In fact, a slight greenish tint may mean that the grapefruit is high in sugar. Ugli fruit, which looks like misshapen, splotched grapefruit, is yellow with green patches and bumpy skin.
Avoid: Grapefruit or ugli fruit with puff y skin or those that feel light for their size; the flesh inside is probably dry and juiceless.
Storing This Food
Store grapefruit either at room temperature (for a few days) or in the refrigerator.
Refrigerate grapefruit juice in a tightly closed glass bottle with very little air space at the top. As you use up the juice, transfer it to a smaller bottle, again with very little air space at the top. The aim is to prevent the juice from coming into contact with oxygen, which destroys vitamin C. (Most plastic juice bottles are oxygen-permeable.) Properly stored and protected from oxygen, fresh grapefruit juice can hold its vitamin C for several weeks.
Preparing This Food
Grapefruit are most flavorful at room temperature, which liberates the aromatic molecules that give them their characteristic scent and taste.
Before cutting into the grapefruit, rinse it under cool running water to flush debris off the peel.
To section grapefruit, cut a slice from the top, then cut off the peel in strips—starting at the top and going down—or peel it in a spiral fashion. You can remove the bitter white membrane, but some of the vitamin C will go with it. Finally, slice the sections apart. Or you can simply cut the grapefruit in half and scoop out the sections with a curved, serrated grapefruit knife.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Broiling a half grapefruit or poaching grapefruit sections reduces the fruit’s supply of vitamin C, which is heat-sensitive.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Commercially prepared juices. How well a commercially prepared juice retains its vitamin C depends on how it is prepared, stored, and packaged. Commercial flash-freezing preserves as much as 95 percent of the vitamin C in fresh grapefruit juices. Canned juice stored in the refrigerator may lose only 2 percent of its vitamin C in three months. Prepared, pasteurized “fresh” juices lose vitamin C because they are sold in plastic bottles or waxed-paper cartons that let oxygen in.
Commercially prepared juices are pasteurized to stop the natural enzyme action that would otherwise turn sugars to alcohols. Pasteurization also protects juices from potentially harmful bacterial and mold contamination. Following several deaths attributed to unpas- teurized apple juices containing E. coli O157:H7, the FDA ruled that all fruit and vegetable juices must carry a warning label telling you whether the juice has been pasteurized. Around the year 2000, all juices must be processed to remove or inactivate harmful bacteria.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Antiscorbutic. All citrus fruits are superb sources of vitamin C, the vitamin that prevents or cures scurvy, the vitamin C-deficiency disease.
Increased absorption of supplemental or dietary iron. If you eat foods rich in vitamin C along with iron supplements or foods rich in iron, the vitamin C will enhance your body’s ability to absorb the iron.
Wound healing. Your body needs vitamin C in order to convert the amino acid proline into hydroxyproline, an essential ingredient in collagen, the protein needed to form skin, ten- dons, and bones. As a result people with scurvy do not heal quickly, a condition that can be remedied with vitamin C, which cures the scurvy and speeds healing. Whether taking extra vitamin C speeds healing in healthy people remains to be proved.
Possible inhibition of virus that causes chronic hepatitis C infection. In Januar y 2008, research- ers at Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine (Boston) published a report in the medical journal Hepatology detailing the effect of naringenin, a compound in grapefruit, on the behavior of hepatitis viruses in liver cells. In laborator y studies, naringenin appeared to inhibit the ability of the virus to multiply and/or pass out from the liver cells. To date, there are no studies detailing the effect of naringenin in human beings with hepatitis C.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Contact dermatitis. The essential oils in the peel of citrus fruits may cause skin irritation in sensitive people.
Food/Drug Interactions
Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen and others. Taking aspirin or NSAIDs with acidic foods such as grapefruit may intensif y the drug’s ability to irritate your stomach and cause gastric bleeding.
Antihistamines, anticoagulants, benzodiazepines (tranquilizers or sleep medications), calcium channel blockers (blood pressure medication), cyclosporine (immunosuppressant drug used in organ transplants), theophylline (asthma drug). Drinking grapefruit juice with a wide variety of drugs ranging from antihistamines to blood pressure medication appears to reduce the amount of the drug your body metabolizes and eliminates. The “grapefruit effect” was first identified among people taking the antihypertensive drugs felodipine (Plendil) and nifedip- ine (Adalat, Procardia). It is not yet known for certain exactly what the active substance in the juice is. One possibility, however, is bergamottin, a naturally occurring chemical in grapefruit juice known to inactivate cytochrome P450 3A4, a digestive enzyme needed to convert many drugs to water-soluble substances you can flush out of your body. Without an effective supply of cytochrome P450 3A4, the amount of a drug circulating in your body may rise to dangerous levels. Reported side effects include lower blood pressure, increased heart rate, headache, flushing, and lightheadedness.
Some Drugs Known to Interact with Grapefruit Juice*
Drug Class Generic (Brand name) Antianxiety drug Diazepam ( Valium) Antiarrhythmics Amiodarone (Cordarone) Blood-pressure drugs Felodipine (Plendil), nicardipine (Cardene), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular), verapamil ( Verelan) Cholesterol-lowering drugs Atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin (Zocor), simvastatin/ezetimibe ( Vytorin) Immune Suppressants Cyclosporine (Neoral), tacrolimus (Prograf ) Impotence Drug Sildenafil ( Viagra) Pain Medication Methadone (Dolophine, Methadose)
* This list may grow as new research appears.... grapefruit
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: High
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: Moderate Fiber: Moderate
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, folate, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Potassium, iron
About the Nutrients in This Food
Asparagus has some dietary fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C. It is an excel- lent source of the B vitamin folate.
A serving of four cooked asparagus spears (½ inch wide at the base) has 1.2 g dietary fiber, 604 IU vitamin A (26 percent of the R DA for a woman, 20 percent of the R DA for a man), 4.5 mg vitamin C (6 percent of the R DA for a woman, 5 percent of the R DA for a man), and 89 mcg folate (22 percent of the R DA).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Fresh, boiled and drained. Canned asparagus may have less than half the
nutrients found in freshly cooked spears.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Low-sodium diet (canned asparagus)
Buying This Food
Look for: Bright green stalks. The tips should be purplish and tightly closed; the stalks should be firm. Asparagus is in season from March through August.
Avoid: Wilted stalks and asparagus whose buds have opened.
Storing This Food
Store fresh asparagus in the refrigerator. To keep it as crisp as possible, wrap it in a damp paper towel and then put the whole package into a plastic bag. Keeping asparagus cool helps it hold onto its vitamins. At 32°F, asparagus will retain all its folic acid for at least two weeks and nearly 80 percent of its vitamin C for up to five days; at room temperature, it would lose up to 75 percent of its folic acid in three days and 50 percent of the vitamin C in 24 hours.
Preparing This Food
The white part of the fresh green asparagus stalk is woody and tasteless, so you can bend the stalk and snap it right at the line where the green begins to turn white. If the skin is very thick, peel it, but save the parings for soup stock.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Chlorophyll, the pigment that makes green vegetables green, is sensitive to acids. When you heat asparagus, its chlorophyll will react chemically with acids in the asparagus or in the cooking water to form pheophytin, which is brown. As a result, cooked asparagus is olive-drab.
You can prevent this chemical reaction by cooking the asparagus so quickly that there is no time for the chlorophyll to react with acids, or by cooking it in lots of water (which will dilute the acids), or by leaving the lid off the pot so that the volatile acids can float off into the air.
Cooking also changes the texture of asparagus: water escapes from its cells and they collapse. Adding salt to the cooking liquid slows the loss of moisture.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Canning. The intense heat of can ning makes asparagus soft, robs it of its bright green color, and reduces the vitamin A, B, and C content by at least half. ( White asparagus, which is bleached to remove the green color, contains about 5 percent of the vitamin A in fresh asparagus.) With its liquid, can ned asparagus, green or white, contains about 90 times the sodium in fresh asparagus ( 348 mg in 3.5 oz. can ned against 4 mg in 3.5 oz. fresh boiled asparagus).
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Lower risk of some birth defects. As many as two of every 1,000 babies born in the United States each year may have cleft palate or a neural tube (spinal cord) defect due to their moth- ers’ not having gotten adequate amounts of folate during pregnancy. The R DA for folate is
400 mcg for healthy adult men and women, 600 mcg for pregnant women, and 500 mcg for women who are nursing. Taking folate supplements before becoming pregnant and through the first two months of pregnancy reduces the risk of cleft palate; taking folate through the entire pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects.
Lower risk of heart attack. In the spring of 1998, an analysis of data from the records for more than 80,000 women enrolled in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard School of Public Health/Brigham and Woman’s Hospital, in Boston, demonstrated that a diet providing more than 400 mcg folate and 3 mg vitamin B6 daily, from either food or supplements, more than twice the current R DA for each, may reduce a woman’s risk of heart attack by almost 50 percent. Although men were not included in the analysis, the results are assumed to apply to them as well.
However, data from a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 2006 called this theory into question. Researchers at Tulane Univer- sity examined the results of 12 controlled studies in which 16,958 patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease were given either folic acid supplements or placebos (“look-alike” pills with no folic acid) for at least six months. The scientists, who found no reduction in the risk of further heart disease or overall death rates among those taking folic acid, concluded that further studies will be required to verify whether taking folic acid supplements reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Odorous urine. After eating asparagus, we all excrete the sulfur compound methyl mercap- tan, a smelly waste product, in our urine.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants. Asparagus is high in vitamin K, a vitamin manufactured naturally by bac- teria in our intestines, an adequate supply of which enables blood to clot normally. Eating foods that contain this vitamin may interfere with the effectiveness of anticoagulants such as heparin and warfarin (Coumadin, Dicumarol, Panwarfin) whose job is to thin blood and dissolve clots.... asparagus
Cardioversion, or DEFIBRILLATION, is indicated in patients with ventricular ?brillation or tachycardia, fast or irregular heartbeat, if other treatments have failed. A general anaesthetic is given if the patient is conscious, following which a carefully timed direct-current shock is applied to the patient’s chest wall using a DEFIBRILLATOR. The patient’s ECG rhythm should then be monitored and anticoagulants considered, as the risk of EMBOLISM is increased.... cardioversion
Cascara Sagrada Tea has been known since ancient times as a great stimulant and laxative agent. In fact, the ones to discover its medical benefits were the American.
The first proofs of this fact date from the 17th century, when American practitioners used Cascara Sagrada bark to treat many bacterial ailments of the digestive system. Cascara is a small shrub that grows mainly in the North America, in states like Idaho, California or Montana.
Cascara never grows taller than 50 centimeters and has pale yellow greenish leaves and deep green leaves. Also known as rhamnus purshiana, Cascara has purple fruits or black berries that hide usually three hard seeds. Cascara Sagrada is harvested in the fall and can only be used dried (one year apart from the harvesting time) in order to release its curative benefits.
Many people in Northern America specialize in Cascara Sagrada harvesting and herb processing (the plant needs to be properly dried and according to a list of specifications).
Cascara Sagrada Tea Properties
Cascara Sagrada Tea is known for its strong, stimulant and laxative properties. The main substances of this tea are very efficient in cases of nervous system failures and intestinal tract ailments. Cascara Sagrada Tea has a very bitter and therefore unpleasant taste. That’s why most people prefer to take it as capsules or extracts.
Cascara Sagrada Tea Benefits
Aside from its use as a constipation treatment, Cascara Sagrada Tea can also cure a variety of diseases involving the digestive tract, such as intestinal parasites or bacterial infections. However, make sure that you take this tea responsibly and don’t forget that this is a medical treatment wich only should be taking while you’re sick. Don’t try to replace your morning coffee with Cascara Sagrada Tea or you’ll face a series of complications!
How to make Cascara Sagrada Tea Infusion
When preparing Cascara Sagrada Tea, you have to make sure that you only use ingredients from a trusted provider. Nowadays, there are many illegal substances on the market sold as tea. Also, the herb you bought may be exactly what the label says it is, but not properly dried, in which case you’ll suffer from unwanted complications as well.
Once you have the right ingredients, use a teaspoon of dried herbs for every cup of tea you want to make, add boiling water and wait 20 minutes for the wonderful benefits to be released. Strain the decoction and drink it hot or cold. You may also add honey or even sugar if the taste feels a bit unpleasant.
Cascara Sagrada Tea Side Effects
When taken in small amounts, Cascara Sagrada Tea is a safe treatment. However, high dosages may lead to various problems, such as urine discoloration, blood in stools, pain and vomiting. Make sure the dosage you’re using is the appropriate one or ask your doctor before making any moves: it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Cascara Sagrada Contraindications
Cascara Sagrada Tea is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, patients suffering from appendicitis or ulcerative colitis. Also, if you are on blood thinners or anticoagulants, avoid taking a treatment based on Cascara Sagrada Tea.
To gather more information, talk to an herbalist or to your doctor! If he gives you the green light and you happen to be in a teashop, add Cascara Sagrada Tea to your shopping cart and enjoy its wonderful benefits responsibly!... cascara sagrada tea - a powerful laxative
a disease associated with diffuse atherosclerosis and sloughing of atheromatous plaques in the aorta and main renal arteries. This results in occlusion of smaller arteries and arterioles downstream within the kidney, with ischaemic and inflammatory reactions. This leads to the onset of renal impairment. Precipitating factors include invasive procedures with aortic cannulae, vascular surgery, and therapy with thrombolytics or anticoagulants. Less commonly the condition can occur spontaneously.... atheroembolic renal disease
the presence of thrombosis in the dural venous sinuses, which drain blood from the brain. Symptoms may include headache, abnormal vision, any of the symptoms of stroke (such as weakness of the face and limbs on one side of the body), and seizures. Treatment is with anticoagulants.... cerebral venous sinus thrombosis
adj. denoting the period that extends from the day before to the first few days after surgery, during which drugs (e.g. analgesics, antibiotics, anticoagulants) may need to be administered and *vital signs are monitored.... perioperative
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: High
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low
Cholesterol: None
Carbohydrates: High
Fiber: High
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: B vitamins, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Potassium
About the Nutrients in This Food
Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C and a moderately good source of folate, a member of the B vitamin family.
One-half cup cooked fresh cauliflower florets (the top of the plant) has one gram dietary fiber, 13.5 mcg folate (3 percent of the R DA), and 35 mg vitamin C (50 percent of the R DA for a woman, 39 percent of the R DA for a man).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Raw or lightly steamed to protect the vitamin C. Cooked or frozen cauli-flower may have up to 50 percent less vitamin C than raw cauliflower.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Antiflatulence diet
Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Creamy white heads with tight, compact florets and fresh green leaves. The size of the cauliflower has no bearing on its nutritional value or its taste.
Avoid: Cauliflower with brown spots or patches.
Storing This Food
Keep cauliflower in a cool, humid place to safeguard its vitamin C content.
Preparing This Food
Pull off and discard any green leaves still attached to the cauliflower and slice off the woody stem and core. Then plunge the cauliflower, head down, into a bowl of salted ice water to flush out any insects hiding in the head. To keep the cauliflower crisp when cooked, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water. You can steam or bake the cauliflower head whole or break it up into florets for faster cooking.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Cauliflower contains mustard oils (isothiocyanates), natural chemicals that give the vegeta- ble its taste but break down into a variety of smelly sulfur compounds (including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia) when the cauliflower is heated. The longer you cook the cauliflower, the better it will taste but the worse it will smell. Adding a slice of bread to the cooking water may lessen the odor; keeping a lid on the pot will stop the smelly molecules from floating off into the air.
Cooking cauliflower in an aluminum pot will intensif y its odor and turn its creamy white anthoxanthin pigments yellow; iron pots will turn anthoxanthins blue green or brown. Like red and blue anthocyanin pigments (see beets, black ber r ies, blueber r ies), antho- xanthins hold their color best in acids. To keep cauliflower white, add a tablespoon of lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or milk to the cooking water.
Steaming or stir-frying cauliflower preserves the vitamin C that would be lost if the vegetable were cooked for a long time or in a lot of water.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Freezing. Before it is frozen, cauliflower must be blanched to inactivate catalase and per- oxidase, enzymes that would otherwise continue to ripen and eventually deteriorate the vegetable. According to researchers at Cornell University, cauliflower will lose less vitamin C if it is blanched in very little water (two cups cauliflower in two tbsp. water) in a microwave- safe plastic bag in a microwave oven for four minutes at 600 –700 watts. Leave the bag open an inch at the top so steam can escape and the bag does not explode.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Protection against certain cancers. Naturally occurring chemicals (indoles, isothiocyanates, glucosinolates, dithiolethiones, and phenols) in cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cab- bage, and other cruciferous vegetables appear to reduce the risk of some cancers, perhaps by preventing the formation of carcinogens in your body or by blocking cancer-causing substances from reaching or reacting with sensitive body tissues or by inhibiting the trans- formation of healthy cells to malignant ones.
All cruciferous vegetables contain sulforaphane, a member of a family of chemicals known as isothiocyanates. In experiments with laboratory rats, sulforaphane appears to increase the body’s production of phase-2 enzymes, naturally occurring substances that inacti- vate and help eliminate carcinogens. At the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 69 percent of the rats injected with a chemical known to cause mammary cancer developed tumors vs. only 26 percent of the rats given the carcinogenic chemical plus sulforaphane.
In 1997, Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that broccoli seeds and three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain a compound converted to sulforaphane when the seed and sprout cells are crushed. Five grams of three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain as much sulforaphane as 150 grams of mature broccoli. The sulforaphane levels in other cruciferous vegetables have not yet been calculated.
Vision protection. In 2004, the Johns Hopkins researchers updated their findings on sul- foraphane to suggest that it may also protect cells in the eyes from damage due to UV (ultraviolet) light, thus reducing the risk of macular degeneration, the most common cause of age-related vision loss.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Enlarged thyroid gland (goiter). Cruciferous vegetables, including cauliflower, contain goi- trin, thiocyanate, and isothiocyanate. These chemicals, known collectively as goitrogens, inhibit the formation of thyroid hormones and cause the thyroid to enlarge in an attempt to produce more. Goitrogens are not hazardous for healthy people who eat moderate amounts of cruciferous vegetables, but they may pose problems for people who have a thyroid condi- tion or are taking thyroid medication.
Intestinal gas. Bacteria that live naturally in the gut degrade the indigestible carbohydrates (food fiber) in cauliflower, producing intestinal gas that some people find distressing.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants (blood thinners). All cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cab- bages, cauliflower, greens, radishes, and turnips) are high in vitamin K, a nutrient that decreases the anticoagulant effect of medicine such as warfarin (Coumadin). Multiple serv- ings of this vegetable, i.e., several days a week, may interfere with the anticoagulant effect of the drug.
False-positive test for occult blood in the stool. The active ingredient in the guaiac slide test for hid- den blood in feces is alphaguaiaconic acid, a chemical that turns blue in the presence of blood. Cauliflower contains peroxidase, a natural chemical that also turns alphaguaiaconic acid blue and may produce a positive test in people who do not actually have blood in the stool.... cauliflower
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Low
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: Low
Sodium: Moderate
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Iron, potassium
About the Nutrients in This Food
Cranberries are nearly 90 percent water. The rest is sugars and dietary fiber, including insoluble cellulose in the skin and soluble gums and pectins in the flesh. Pectin dissolves as the fruit ripens; the older and riper the cran- berries, the less pectin they contain.
Cranberries also have a bit of protein and a trace of fat, plus moderate amounts of vitamin C.
One-half cup cranberries has 1.6 g dietary fiber and 6.5 mg vitamin C (9 percent of the R DA for a woman, 7 percent of the R DA for a man). One-half cup cranberry sauce has 1.5 g dietary fiber and 3 mg vitamin C (4 percent of the R DA for a woman, 3 percent of the R DA for a man).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Relish made of fresh, uncooked berries (to preserve the vitamin C, which is destroyed by heat) plus oranges.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Low-fiber diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Firm, round, plump, bright red berries that feel cool and dry to the touch.
Avoid: Shriveled, damp, or moldy cranberries. Moldy cranberries may be contaminated with fusarium molds, which produce toxins that can irritate skin and damage tissues by inhibiting the synthesis of DNA and protein.
Storing This Food
Store packaged cranberries, unwashed, in the refrigerator, or freeze unwashed berries in sealed plastic bags for up to one year.
Preparing This Food
Wash the berries under running water, drain them, and pick them over carefully to remove shriveled, damaged, or moldy berries.
R inse frozen berries. It is not necessary to thaw before cooking.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
First, the heat will make the water inside the cranberry swell, so that if you cook it long enough the berry will burst. Next, the anthocyanin pigments that make cranberries red will dissolve and make the cooking water red. Anthocyanins stay bright red in acid solutions and turn bluish if the liquid is basic (alkaline). Cooking cranberries in lemon juice and sugar preserves the color as well as brightens the taste. Finally, the heat of cooking will destroy some of the vitamin C in cranberries. Cranberry sauce has about one-third the vitamin C of an equal amount of fresh cranberries.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Urinary antiseptic. Cranberr y juice is a long-honored folk remedy for urinar y infections. In 1985, researchers at Youngstown (Ohio) State University found a “special factor” in cran- berries that appeared to keep disease-causing bacteria from adhering to the surface of cells in the bladder and urinar y tract. In 1999, scientists at study at Rutgers University (in New Jersey) identified specific tannins in cranberries as the effective agents. In 2004, research- ers at Beth Israel Medical Center (New York) published a review of 19 recent studies of cranberries. The report, in the journal American Family Physician, suggested that a regimen of eight ounces of unsweetened cranberr y juice or one 300 – 400 mg cranberr y extract tablet twice a day for up to 12 months safely reduced the risk of urinar y tract infections. In 2008, a similar review by scientists at the University of Stirling (Scotland) of 10 studies showed similar results.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Increased risk of kidney stones. Long-term use of cranberry products may increase the risk of stone formation among patients known to form oxalate stones (stones composed of calcium and/or other minerals).
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants Anticoagulants (blood thinners) are drugs used to prevent blood clots. They are most commonly prescribed for patients with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that allows blood to pool in the heart and possibly clot before being pumped out into the body. In 2006 researchers at the College of Pharmacy and the Antithrombosis Center at the Univer- sity of Illinois (Chicago) reported that consuming cranberry juice while using the anticoagu- lant warafin (Coumadin) might cause fluctuations in blood levels of the anticoagulant, thus reducing the drug’s ability to prevent blood clots.... cranberries
Heparin is one of the naturally produced ANTICOAGULANTS with a rapid e?ect, which is thought to act by neutralising thrombin (see COAGULATION). Inactive when taken orally, it is normally given intravenously – it may be given for a few days, combined with an oral anticoagulant such as warfarin, to initiate anticoagulation. Low-dose heparin may be given by subcutaneous injection for longer periods, for the prophylaxis of DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS (DVT) or PULMONARY EMBOLISM in ‘high-risk’ patients, such as those with obesity or a history of thrombosis, or post-operatively. If haemorrhage occurs, withdrawal of heparin is usually su?cient, but protamine sulphate is a rapidly active and speci?c antidote. Prolonged treatment with heparin may cause osteoporosis (see under BONE, DISORDERS OF).... heparin
Get a taste of South America by drinking pau d’arco tea. It has a pleasant, earthy taste, astringent and just a bit bitter. Find out more about its health benefits and side effects!
About Pau D’Arco Tea
Pau D’Arco tea uses the inner bark of the Pink Ipê tree, also known as Pink Lapacho. The tree can be found in many South American countries.
The Pink Lapacho is a large tree which can grow up to 30m tall. Usually, the trunk represents a third of that height, while the rest is used by the tree’s branches. The bark is dark brown, tough and hard to peel, and its branches spring up with opposite and petiolate leaves, and large, tubular-shaped pink flowers which bloom between July and September.
How to make Pau D’Arco Tea
To enjoy some pau d’arco tea, add 3 tablespoons to a pot containing 1 liter of water and bring it to boiling point. Once it reaches boiling point, lower the heat to medium-low and leave it like this for about 20 minutes. Once that’s done, strain the tea and pour it into cups.
Pau d’arco tea can be served both hot and cold. If you want to, you can sweeten it with honey, stevia or fruit juice.
Pau D’Arco Tea Benefits
The inner bark of the Pink Lapacho tea has important active constituents, such as lapachol, lapachone and isolapachone, as well as various flavonoids and tannins. They are transferred to the pau d’arco tea; this way, the beverage helps us stay healthy.
Pau d’arco tea plays an important role in the help against cancer. Cancer patients who have consumed this tea have shown progress, from alleviation of chemotherapy symptoms to complete remission of the cancerous tumors. Pau d’arco tea is also useful in the treatment of other diseases, such as diabetes, fibromyalgia, and lupus.
Drinking pau d’arco tea can help if you’ve got a cold or the flu. It is also useful as a remedy for smoker’s cough, and acts as an expectorant, stimulating coughing in order to get rid of mucus.
It was also discovered that pau d’arco tea increases the production of red blood cells. Although researches are still being made in this area, it is recommended in the treatment for leukemia, anemia and other blood disorders.
Pau d’arco tea is also useful in fighting fungi. It is used to treat yeast infection and candida, due to its antifungal nature. It can help in the treatment for stomach ulcers, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and dysentery. It also protects you against tropical diseases (malaria, schistosomiasis).
Pau D’Arco Tea Side Effects
Pau d’arco tea may act like a blood thinner. Don’t drink this tea at least two weeks before a surgery, otherwise it might increase the risk of bleeding both during and after the surgery, and can decrease the blood clotting speed. You also shouldn’t drink pau d’arco tea if you’ve got a bleeding disorder (hemophilia) or if you’re taking anticoagulants.
If you’re taking any medication, talk to your doctor first before drinking pau d’arco tea. It may interfere with various medications, for example aspirin, enoxaparin, warfarin, and dalteparin.
It is also recommended that you not drink pau d’arco tea if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. During pregnancy, it can lead to child defects or even death of the baby. It can also affect the baby during breastfeeding.
Be careful with the amount of pau d’arco tea you drink a day. The maximum amount of tea you can drink a day is 1 liter. If you drink more, it might lead to nausea, vomiting or bleeding (in which case you should consult a doctor). Other symptoms include headaches, dizziness and diarrhea.
Pau d’arco tea has lots of important health benefits, but it also has a few side effects which you should remember. If you make sure it’s safe to drink this tea, you can enjoy it with no worries!... drink pau d’arco tea from south america
A synthetic anticoagulant (see ANTICOAGULANTS). Given by mouth, it is used to prevent the formation of clots in the blood in rheumatic heart disease and atrial ?brillation (see HEART, DISEASES OF); as prophylaxis after insertion of a prosthetic heart valve; and as prophylaxis and treatment of venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is slower in action than WARFARIN, not achieving its full anticoagulant e?ect until up to 48 hours after the initial dose. The drug should be avoided in patients with renal or hepatic impairment, and whenever severe hypersensitivity reactions have previously occurred. Adverse effects include rashes, fever, LEUCOPENIA, AGRANULOCYTOSIS, diarrhoea and pink urine; breast feeding should be avoided.... phenindione
See also Onions.
Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Moderate
Fat: Low
Saturated fat: Low Cholesterol: None Carbohydrates: High Fiber: High
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Iron, selenium
About the Nutrients in This Food
Although raw garlic has some fiber and protein plus vitamins and minerals, we rarely eat enough garlic to get useful amounts of these nutrients.
Source: USDA Nut rient Data Laborator y. Nat ional Nut rient Database for Standard Reference. Available online. UR L : http://w w w.nal.usda. gov/fnic/foodcomp/search /.
Elephant garlic, a cross between an onion and garlic that may grow as large as a grapefruit, has a milder flavor than regular garlic.
Garlic contains alliin and allicin, two sulfur compounds with antibi- otic activity. In a number of laboratory experiments, garlic juice appears to inhibit the growth of a broad variety of bacteria, yeast, and fungi growing in test tubes, but its effects on human beings have yet to be proven.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food
Antiflatulence diet
Bland diet
Buying This Food
Look for: Firm, solid cloves with tight clinging skin. If the skin is paper y and pulling away from the cloves and the head feels light for its size, the garlic has withered or rotted away inside.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food
Fresh.
Storing This Food
Store garlic in a cool, dark, air y place to keep it from dr ying out or sprouting. ( When garlic sprouts, diallyl disulfide—the sulfur compound that gives fresh garlic its distinctive taste and odor—goes into the new growth and the garlic itself becomes milder.) A n unglazed ceramic “garlic keeper” will protect the garlic from moisture while allowing air to circulate freely around the head and cloves. Properly stored, garlic will keep for several months.
Do not refrigerate garlic unless you live in a very hot and humid climate.
Preparing This Food
To peel garlic easily, blanch the cloves in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then drain and cool. Slice off the root end, and the skin should come right off without sticking to your fin- gers. Or you can put a head of fresh, raw garlic on a flat surface and hit the flat end with the flat side of a knife. The head will come apart and the skin should come off easily.
To get the most “garlicky” taste from garlic cloves, chop or mash them or extract the oil with a garlic press. When you cut into a garlic clove, you tear its cell walls, releasing an enzyme that converts sulfur compounds in the garlic into ammonia, pyruvic acid, and diallyl disulfide.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Heating garlic destroys its diallyl disulfide, which is why cooked garlic is so much milder tasting than raw garlic.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Drying. Drying removes moisture from garlic but leaves the oils intact. Powdered garlic and garlic salt should be stored in a cool, dry place to keep their oils from turning rancid. Garlic salt is much higher in sodium than either raw garlic, garlic powder, or dried garlic flakes.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
Protection against some cancers. The organic sulfur compounds in garlic and onions appear to reduce the risk of some forms of cancer perhaps by preventing the formation of carcinogens in your body or by blocking carcinogens from reaching or reacting with sensitive body tis- sues or by inhibiting the transformation of healthy cells to malignant ones.
Protection against circulatory diseases. In a number of laboratory studies during the 1980s, adding garlic oil to animal feeds reduced levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), the fat and protein particles that carry cholesterol into your arteries, and raised levels of high density lipoproteins (HDLs), the particles that carry cholesterol out of the body. However, current studies are contradictory. One year-long study at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center showed that daily doses of aged garlic (brand name Kyolic) appeared to reduce the formation of cholesterol deposits in arteries while lowering blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid the American Heart Association calls an independent risk factor for heart disease. But another study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a division of the National Institutes of Health, to determine the safety and effec- tiveness of garlic showed that neither fresh garlic nor powdered garlic nor garlic tablets have any effect on cholesterol levels.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Body odor, halitosis. Diallyl disulfide is excreted in perspiration and in the air you exhale, which is why eating garlic makes you smell garlicky.
Food/Drug Interactions
Anticoagulants (blood thinners). Garlic appears to reduce blood’s ability to clot, thus increas- ing the effect of anticoagulants, including aspirin. NCCAM recommends using garlic with caution before surgery, including dental surgery. Patients who have a clotting disorder should consult their own doctors before using garlic.... garlic
Pineapple (Ananas comosus).Plant Part Used: Fruit, fruit rind.Dominican Medicinal Uses: Fruit: juice, taken orally as a diuretic for urinary tract or kidney disorders, cleansing the body internally, for treating bacterial infection, cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, menopausal hot flashes; fruit rind: fermented in sugar and water for internally cleansing and refreshing the body.Safety: Commonly consumed as food; relatively nontoxic; repeated exposure can cause hypersensitivity.Contraindications: Caution advised during pregnancy due to possible abortifacient effects of plant steroids.Drug Interactions: For bromelain (protease enzymes from stem): antibiotics, tetracyclines (elevated drug serum levels), anticoagulants and thrombocyte aggregation inhibitors (increased bleeding).Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: antidiabetic, antioxidant, antidyslipidemic (ethanolic leaf extract); antifertility (unripe fruit juice); burn debridement (bromelain—stem enzymes); diuretic (root extract).In vitro: antitumor (bromelain—stem enzymes).* See entry for Piña in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... piña
This is the hormone secreted after ovulation by the corpus luteum. It is a steroid (a cholesterol with a funny hat), enters receptive cells to stimulate their growth, and acts as an anabolic agent. Estrogen should be viewed as the primary coat underneath all the cycles during a woman’s reproductive years, with progesterone, its antagonist, surging for ten or twelve days in ovulatory months. Most of the actions of progesterone cannot occur without estrogen having previously induced the growth of progesterone-receptive binding sites. In the estrus cycle, estrogen stimulates the thickening of membranes (the proliferative phase), and progesterone stimulates their sophistication into organized and secreting mucosa (the secretory phase). The new secretions contain anticoagulants, antimicrobials, and rich mucus fluids. If there is pregnancy, the uterine membranes are fully structured for the long haul; if menses occurs, the thickened tissues can erode away without clotting, becoming infected, or flowing poorly. If there is not enough estrogen, the corpus luteum will not mature. If the corpus luteum is weak, menses becomes disorganized, clotty, and painful. It is also the first part of the cycle to become disorganized in early menopause, since the available ovarian proto-follicles have been reduced over the years to only a few. In earlier years, dozens of potential follicles may attempt maturity each month, with only the strongest one able to reach dominance, form a corpus luteum and an ovum...the rest disintegrating. In a manner of speaking, the better the follicle, the better the corpus luteum and (presumably) the sounder the ovum. Since the number of potential follicles is fixed at birth, by early menopause those that still remain contain a high number of hormone-resistant and unsound protofollicles, resulting in more and more cycles having less predictable estrogen and especially progesterone levels.... progesterone
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea variety capitata).Plant Part Used: Leaves (cabbage head), juice from leaves.Dominican Medicinal Uses: Leaves: eaten raw, juiced, cooked, as a soup, taken internally for treating obesity, diabetes, heart disease, gynecological conditions (uterine fibroids), intestinal parasites or for nutrition; fresh leaves used externally for wound-healing.Safety: Considered safe; widely consumed; shown to be nontoxic in animal studies.Contraindications: Thyroid conditions (may interfere with thyroid iodine absorption).Drug Interactions: Prothrombopenic anticoagulants (may be antagonized); hypothyroid drugs (may interfere).Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: antitumor, antiulcer (plant extracts).Nutrition: calcium, vitamins K and U.* See entry for Repollo in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... repollo
Eye infection is a general name for all ailments linked to your eye vision.
Generally, these problems are bacterial or microbial and traditional medicine recommends a series of treatments, from creams to tinctures.
However, before rushing out the door to buy all the expensive medications, you may want to give herbal remedies a try. They cost less and you don’t have to worry about putting your liver to hard work.
How a Tea for Eye Infection Works
A Tea for Eye Infection’s main goal is to stop all infection triggers and make your body produce enough antibodies to treat your immunity threats.
In order to be efficient, a Tea for Eye Infection needs to show results quickly and be one hundred percent safe (some of the active constituents may interfere with your general health status. Before starting an herbal treatment, find out more about the risks and the side effects).
Efficient Tea for Eye Infection
A Tea for Eye Infection needs to contain the right amount of tannins, nutrients, volatile oils, acids and minerals (sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese).
If you don’t know which teas contain the right amount of active constituents, here’s a list to choose from:
- Black Tea – some say that it’s more effective than a lot of the antibiotics that can be found on the market. It’s very rich in acids and tannins and it can be useful for many other disorders, such as infertility, sore throats, colds, asthenia and anemia.
However, don’t drink more than 2 cups per day for a short amount of time (one or two weeks) in order to avoid other health problems.
- Green Tea – as scientists have proven, this Tea for Eye Infection contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life. It’s useful for colds, flu, loss of appetite, but it’s best to avoid it in case you’re experiencing menstrual and menopausal symptoms (in high dosages, it might cause uterine contractions).
- Chamomile Tea – of course, let’s not forget the world’s greatest panacea. This decoction has a pleasant taste and a lovely smell and it can be used for a series of affections, from flu and headaches to menstrual pains and even diabetes. Plus, Chamomile Tea it’s one hundred percent safe so you can drink as much as you want!
Tea for Eye Infection Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day could cause uterine contractions, upset stomach, nausea and skin rash.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and something doesn’t feel quite right, ask for medical assistance immediately!
Don’t take a Tea for Eye Infection if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a surgery. Also, children should not take one of these teas unsupervised.
If your doctor says it’s ok to start an herbal treatment for your eye infection, choose a tea that fits best your requirements and enjoy nature’s great benefits!
... tea for eye infection
Cellulite is a painless affection which consists of the fat layer growth.
This is not very unusual and many women around the world suffer from it. Generally, cellulite is your body’s way of protecting your organism when you’re pregnant.
On the other hand, you can develop cellulite from having a very unbalanced diet: unhealthy foods and drinks (sodas and fast food).
Also, the lack of workout and exercise will slow your calories from burning, making them stick mostly to your hips and thighs.
How Tea for Cellulite Works
A Tea for Cellulite’s main purpose is to make your blood veins work properly and eliminate the lipids surplus. Also, their action implies veins dilatation and increased blood pressure so that your entire body will work to get rid of the unwanted fats.
What you need to know about cellulite is that this is not regular fat and, at times, even thin women have it. Keeping a diet will not make it go away so don’t starve yourself to death!
Efficient Tea for Cellulite
When choosing a Tea for Cellulite, you must keep in mind a couple of facts: it must be very efficient and safe. Since having a cellulite will not hurt more than your feelings, alternative medicine practitioners advice against all pills that promise to work miracles on your body and recommend, instead, an herbal treatment. If you don’t know which teas to choose from, here’s a list to guide you on:
- Horse Chestnut Tea – it has anti inflammatory properties. Its main active constituent, Aescin, improves your blood flow by decreasing the pore size of your capillary walls. This will make your skin look a lot smoother and reduce the cellulite level.
- Ginkgo Biloba Tea – is a great vasodilator whose main goal is to improve circulation. This Tea for Cellulite will also stop cholesterol level from enhancing and it can be used to treat memory loss, stress, anxiety, headaches and anemia. However, don’t drink more than 3 cups per day or you’ll get diarrhea.
- Green Tea – has blood thinning properties, so you must avoid it at all costs in case you’re already on regular blood thinners. A cup of Green Tea per day will also improve your general health and bring relief in case you’re suffering from infertility, anemia, headaches or stress.
However, don’t take it if you’re on menopause or menstruation in order to avoid stomach irritations and uterine contractions.
- Dandelion Tea – will enhance your liver’s ability to process lipids faster and energize your entire body. However, this Tea for Cellulite is also a strong diuretic and purgative so you may want to avoid it if you suffer from diarrhea or upset stomach. Also, too much dandelion tea might cause urinary tract infections.
Tea for Cellulite Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may weaken your digestive and nervous systems and lead to vomiting, nausea, headaches and even hallucinations.
Before starting a treatment based on a Tea for Cellulite, talk to your doctor in order to find out which are the risks. Don’t take any of these teas if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a surgery. Children shouldn’t be allowed to take an herbal treatment since there is no study to prove how safe it is for them.
But if you have the green light from your doctor and nothing could interfere with your Tea for Cellulite cure, choose a tea that fits best your needs and enjoy its health benefits!... tea for cellulite
Nerve damage can include neuropathy or neuritis, which can be caused by diabetes, nerve injury, autoimmune disease, viral infections, muscle spasms or vitamin deficiencies.
Traditional medicine found a lot of treatments for nerve damage, but alternative medicine fans think that you don’t need to take a lot of pills for something that can be treated with just a cup of tea.
How a Tea for Nerves Works
A Tea for Nerves’ main purpose is to nourish your nervous system and induce a state of relaxation to all your nervous cells. Also, these teas can reconstruct the damaged tissue and make your body heal all affected areas.
In order to be useful, a Tea for Nerves needs to contain tannins, volatile oils and minerals (manganese, magnesium, iron, preferably).
Efficient Tea for Nerves
When choosing a Tea for Nerves, remember that it must be both one hundred percent safe and very efficient. If you don’t know which teas to choose from, here’s a list to help you out:
- Saint John’s Wort Tea – is useful for sciatica and it can bring relief to patients suffering from depression and spinal nerves damages. Take only a cup per day and avoid it at all costs if you’re on antidepressants.
Also, if you’re pregnant, talk to your doctor before starting a treatment based on Saint John’s Wort Tea.
- Skullcap Tea – treats a number of affections such as inflammation, arteriosclerosis, high cholesterol and epilepsy thanks to its active constituents: antioxidant flavonoids, which can repair the nervous damages and baicalin (has anti-spastic and nerve-relaxant properties).
Don’t take more than 2 cups per day for a short amount of time and don’t combine it with anti-depressants and sedatives.
Basil Tea – this Tea for Nerves has many medical uses and not only that it can repair the nervous ailments, but it’s also a great energy and health enhancer. You can also use it to treat asthenia, anemia, loss of appetite and digestive tract problems. Drink one or two cups per day for a short amount of time and enjoy the health benefits!
Tea for Nerves Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, make sure you don’t exceed the number of cups recommended per day or you’ll get diarrhea, constipation, nausea, headaches or skin rashes. If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, talk to your doctor as soon as possible!
Don’t take a Tea for Nerves if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a major surgery (these teas contains substances that may interfere with your anesthetic). The same advice for children: there are no studies to examine the treatment’s effect on them.
If your doctor says it’s ok to try a Tea for Nerves, choose one that fits best your needs and enjoy its wonderful health benefits!... tea for nerves
Constipation is a digestive tract problem which involves your body’s incapacity to eliminate the waste.
Sometimes, constipation is a reaction to a series of a very unbalanced nutrition, which involved eating seeds and dried solid food.
The lack of liquids makes your intestines unable to push the waste out of your body. Dehydration may also be a cause for constipation.
Not treating your constipation may lead to blood in stools, internal bleeding and even ulcers.
How Tea for Constipation Works
If you’re suffering from constipation, it’s best to take teas that are well known for their diuretic and purgative action. The most important thing about these teas is that, thanks to their enzymes and nutrients, they increase the amount of liquid in your intestines, helping them eliminate the waste and irrigating the entire digestive tract.
When choosing a Tea for Constipation, you may want to pick the safest one. Of course, the market is abundant in teas for constipation, but some of them have a high level of risk and, since constipation is a minor affection, it’s not really worth it.
However, ask your doctor for guidance before starting any kind of herbal treatment in order to avoid other health complications.
Efficient Tea for Constipation
- Senna Tea – this tea is also helpful for colic, flatulence, fissures, hemorrhoids and gas, thanks to its active ingredients which take action in your digestive tract.
Senna Tea is generally a safe Tea for Constipation, its main action consisting of increasing the abdominal muscle activity. However, don’t exceed more than 2 cups of tea per day and only take it while you’re feeling sick.
- Licorice Tea – or Glycerrhiza Glabra Tea is a well known decoction used in order to treat a series of affections, such as constipation, blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease or liver disorders. Licorice Tea has a sweet and pleasant taste so you don’t need to add any honey or lemon.
- Yellow Dock Tea – has a bitter taste and therefore it’s used in combination with ginger, honey or lemon. Yellow Dock Tea has a mild laxative effect due to its active ingredients: tannins, oxalates and anthraquinones, so you shouldn’t take it if you’re suffering from liver or kidney disorders.
Tea for Constipation Side Effects
When taken according to specifications, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to a series of complications, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and upset stomach.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, ask for medical help right away! Don’t take a Tea for Constipation if you’re also pregnant, breastfeeding, on anticoagulants and blood thinners or preparing for a surgery. The same advice if you’re suffering from kidney or liver problems.
But if your doctor says it’s ok to start a medical treatment based on a Tea for Constipation, choose the one that fits you best and enjoy its great benefits!... tea for constipation
Cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa).Plant Part Used: Inner bark, stem, root.Dominican Medicinal Uses: Bark, root, stem: infusion or multi-herb tincture, orally, for arthritis, cancer, diabetes, kidney disorders, leukemia, obesity and women’s health.Safety: No toxicity shown in clinical and animal studies; long-term use may affect hormone levels.Contraindications: Pregnancy, lactation; autoimmune disorders or implanted organs (immune stimulating properties).Drug Interactions: Anticoagulants, antiplatelet and thrombolytic agents and low molecular weight heparins (potential risk of excessive bleeding); immunosuppressants (may interfere with drug); P450 3A4-metabolyzed drugs (potential inhibition).Clinical Data: Clinical: DNA repair, immune enhancement, immunostimulant, rheumatoid arthritis treatment (bark extract).Laboratory & Preclinical Data: In vivo: anti-amnesic (alkaloids), anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antinociceptive, DNA repair, immune enhancement, immunomodulatory (plant extracts).In vitro: anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antioxidant, antitumor, antiviral, cytoprotective, immunomodulatory (bark or leaf extracts).* See entry for Uña de gato in “Part 3: Dominican Medicinal Plant Profiles” of this book for more information, including references.... uña de gato
Edema is an affection in which the fluid gets trapped between the cell walls and which causes chronic pains and joint weakness.
Edema may be caused by a number of things, such as standing too long or having an unhealthy diet, based on salty foods mostly.
This is a common problem among pregnant women and, although in folklore there are many remedies, the traditional medicine advices against them.
However, alternative medicine practitioners think that you shouldn’t avoid them and, on the contrary, give them a try and, if they don’t work, rush out to the pharmacy.
How Tea for Edema Works
A Tea for Edema’s main goal is to make all of your cells improve their action and flush away the unnecessary fluid. Of course, this requires ingesting a tea that has diuretic and purgative properties.
If you’ve tried a tea to induce sweat or a decoction for constipation, you may want to take it again. The difference is that edema is a much serious condition and therefore needs to be treated more seriously.
Efficient Tea for Edema
When choosing a Tea for Edema, you must keep in mind two things: it must be safe and it must be one hundred percent safe (edema is a mild affection and you don’t want unnecessary complications).
However, if you’re suffering from pulmonary edema (which is a water retention in your lungs), it’s best to ask for medical assistance right away. But if you don’t know which Tea for Edema fits best your condition, here’s a list to choose from:
- Garlic Tea – it has a rather unpleasant taste and it doesn’t smell prettier either. You may want to add ginger, mint, lemon or honey to make it more adequate. This Tea for Edema will absorb all unwanted fluids and calm the affected areas. Don’t take more than 2 cups per day in order to avoid digestive tract complications.
- Dandelion Tea – has purgative and diuretic properties thanks to which your body will be able to eliminate the water surplus and restore your original health. You can also take it to treat diarrhea, constipation or to induce sweat.
- Bilberry Tea – not as popular as the other Teas for Edema, this wonderful decoction is very efficient, but not very safe. It’s true that you can see the results within days, but it’s best to talk to your doctor before making any move. Bilberry Tea is rich in acids and therefore it may cause uterine contractions.
- Green Tea – in small dosages, Green tea can treat almost any affection. Be careful, though. It’s not recommended if you are experiencing some menstrual or menopausal symptoms. Green Tea is also a good remedy for asthenia, anemia, sore throats and general weakness.
Tea for Edema Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may cause diarrhea, headaches, vomiting and nausea.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, talk to your doctor immediately. Do not take a treatment based on a tea for Edema if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants. The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery.
Once you have your doctor’s ok on the matter, choose a Tea for Edema that fits you best and enjoy its wonderful benefits!... tea for edema
An anticoagulant (see ANTICOAGULANTS), usually given by mouth on a daily basis. The initial dose depends upon the PROTHROMBIN or coagulation time; this should be determined before starting treatment, and then at regular intervals during treatment. It is indicated for the prophylaxis of embolisation (see EMBOLISM) in rheumatic heart disease and atrial ?brillation (see HEART, DISEASES OF); after prosthetic heart-valve insertion; prophylaxis and treatment of venous thrombosis and PULMONARY EMBOLISM; and TRANSIENT ISCHAEMIC ATTACKS OR EPISODES (TIA, TIE). When given in tablet form, its maximum e?ect generally occurs within about 36 hours, wearing o? within 48 hours. Special caution is appropriate in patients with disease of the liver or kidneys or who have had recent surgery. Warfarin is contra-indicated throughout pregnancy (especially the ?rst and third trimesters), and in cases of PEPTIC ULCER, severe HYPERTENSION and bacterial ENDOCARDITIS. The most important adverse e?ect is HAEMORRHAGE. Other reported side-effects include HYPERSENSITIVITY, rash, ALOPECIA, diarrhoea, unexplained drop in HAEMATOCRIT readings, purple toes, skin NECROSIS, JAUNDICE, liver dysfunction, nausea, vomiting and pancreatitis (see PANCREAS, DISEASES OF). (See also COAGULATION.)... warfarin
When it comes to erectile dysfunctions, not many men have the courage to accept the fact that there’s something wrong with their body and ask for medical assistance.
However, you must know that there’s nothing to be ashamed of and that there’s a high percentage of men around the world who suffer from the same disorder you do.
Scientists have proved that most erectile dysfunction causes are external and one could hardly be blamed for it. Also, the treatment is rarely painful and it’s best to cure your affection than wait for it to get worse.
How a Tea for Erectile Dysfunction Works
A Tea for Erectile Dysfunction’s main goal is to make your body produce enough natural enzymes and endorphins to induce a state of calmness to your male reproductive system.
A Tea for Erectile Dysfunction must be rich in tannins, volatile oils, nutrients and minerals (manganese, magnesium, iron, sodium) and must not do you any harm. If you found out about a risky treatment, it’s best to avoid it and ask a specialist for assistance.
Efficient Tea for Erectile Dysfunction
In order to work properly, a Tea for Erectile Dysfunction needs to be both efficient and one hundred percent safe. Of course, traditional medicine has a various number of treatments in store for you, but they are not always effective, so it’s possible to ingest pills for no reason, putting your liver through an unnecessary stress. If you don’t know which teas to choose from, here’s a list for guidance:
- Ginseng Tea – is best known for its contribution to a better sexual life. However, make sure you only use a small amount of herb when preparing this decoction in order to avoid nervous system ailments, such as nausea, hallucinations and severe headaches.
- Gingko Tea – this Tea for Erectile Dysfunction is also a great help for memory loss, asthenia and anemia. You can drink as much as you want (however, it’s best to not exceed 6 cups per day or you’ll develop an acid foods and drinks gastric intolerance).
- Catuaba Tea – is very popular in the South American regions and it’s mainly used as a sexual enhancer. However, this decoction has also healing properties, being able to induce sexual desire while calming the affected areas.
Anyway, you need to pay attention to the amount of Catuaba Tea you’re ingesting, since it’s not a very safe remedy. Even better, ask for medical assistance before taking a treatment based on Catuaba Tea.
- Black Cohosh- contains three classes of compounds and acts as a natural sexual enhancer, but it also has a lot of curative properties, being able to treat infertility in both men and women. However, since this treatment it’s not a very safe one, it’s best not to take it unsupervised.
Tea for Erectile Dysfunction Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are one hundred percent safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to a number of problems, such as gastric problems, nausea, headaches, migraines and upset stomach.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual symptoms, ask for medical assistance immediately! Do not take a Tea for Erectile Dysfunction if you’re on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a surgery (some of the active constituents found in these teas may elevate your heartbeat and cause cardiac arrest).
If your doctor gives you the green light, choose a Tea for Erectile Dysfunction that fits best your problems and enjoy its great health benefits!... tea for erectile dysfunction
One third of those taking tranquillisers become addicted. One of the problems of psychological dependence is the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms.
Symptoms. Tremors, restlessness, nausea and sleep disturbance. The greater potency of the drug, the higher the rebound anxiety. Many drugs create stress, weaken resistance to disease, tax the heart and raise blood sugar levels.
Drugs like Cortisone cause bone loss by imperfect absorption of calcium. Taken in the form of milk and dairy products, calcium is not always absorbed. Herbs to make good calcium loss are: Horsetail, Chickweed, Slippery Elm, Spinach, Alfalfa.
Agents to calm nerves and promote withdrawal may augment a doctor’s prescription for reduction of drug dosage, until the latter may be discontinued. Skullcap and Valerian offer a good base for a prescription adjusted to meet individual requirements.
Alternatives. Teas: German Chamomile, Gotu Kola, Hops, Lime flowers, Hyssop, Alfalfa, Passion flower, Valerian, Mistletoe, Oats, Lavender, Vervain, Motherwort. 1 heaped teaspoon to each cup boiling water; infuse 5-15 minutes; half-1 cup thrice daily.
Decoctions: Valerian, Devil’s Claw, Siberian Ginseng, Lady’s Slipper. Jamaica Dogwood, Black Cohosh.
Tablets/capsules. Motherwort, Dogwood, Valerian, Skullcap, Passion flower, Mistletoe, Liquorice. Powders. Formulae. Alternatives. (1) Combine equal parts Valerian, Skullcap, Mistletoe. Or, (2) Combine Valerian 1; Skullcap 2; Asafoetida quarter. Dose: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon) thrice daily. Formula No 2 is very effective but offensive to taste and smell.
Practitioner. Tincture Nucis vom. once or twice daily, as advised.
Aloe Vera gel (or juice). Russians tested this plant on rabbits given heavy drug doses and expected to die. Their survival revealed the protective property of this plant: dose, 1 tablespoon morning and evening. Aromatherapy. Sniff Ylang Ylang oil. Lavender oil massage for its relaxing and stress-reducing properties.
Diet. Avoid high blood sugar levels by rejecting alcohol, white flour products, chocolate, sugar, sweets and high cholesterol foods.
Supplements. Daily. Multivitamins, Vitamin B-complex, B6, Vitamin C 2g, Minerals: Magnesium, Manganese, Iron, Zinc. Change of lifestyle. Stop smoking. Yoga.
Notes. “Do not withdraw: insulin, anticoagulants, epileptic drugs, steroids, thyroxin and hormone replacement therapy (the endocrine glands may no longer be active). Long-term tranquillisers e.g., Largactil or any medicament which has been used for a long period. Patients on these drugs are on a finely-tuned medication the balance of which may be easily disturbed.” (Simon Mills, FNIMH)
Counselling and relaxation therapy.
The Committee on Safety of Medicines specifically warns against the abrupt cessation of the Benzodiazepines and similar tranquillisers because of the considerable risk of convulsions. ... drug dependence
Good skin is something we all want. Even if you’re a man or a woman, black heads or acne are really bothering you.
If that is the case, you have definitely tried a lot of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products and nothing seemed to be working.
Alternative medicine recommends a number of teas and decoctions that will make your skin smoother than ever. All you have to do is commit to this treatment and maintain an adequate skin hygiene.
How Tea for Good Skin Works
It’s important to know that not only acne can deteriorate your natural glow. There are also a number of affections that can stain your skin, such as liver or kidney failure, eczema or skin rash due to allergies.
Smoke will age you before time, wrinkling your mouth area and your forehead. Also, you may want to change your pillow case more often, in order to keep allergens and microbes away from your face.
A Tea for Good Skin’s main purpose is to clear your skin through its antiseptic ingredients and nourish the damaged areas.
Efficient Tea for Good Skin
When choosing a Tea for Good Skin, you need to pick the ones with the highest antifungal and antiseptic properties. You can either drink the tea or use it as a face cleanser. In case you don’t know which teas are adequate, here’s a list we made for you:
- Chamomile Tea – thanks to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties, Chamomile Tea is a great help when it comes to skin treatments. Both the pharmaceutical and the cosmetic companies have included Chamomile on their must have list of ingredients. A cup of tea per day will restore your skin’s natural glow while also improving your general health.
- Oolong Tea - contains half the amount of caffeine that other teas contain. You can drink it daily or use it as a compress to apply it on your affected areas. This is probably the most effective Tea for Good Skin and also the safest. If you haven’t tried it yet, now would be a good time!
- Black Tea – this wonderful Tea for skin improves your vascular activity and enhances your epithelial cells production. Pay attention, though: don’t take it if you’re on your period or experiencing some menopausal pains in order to avoid complication!
- White Tea – also a good nutrient, White Tea can improve your general health, not just your skin. It’s best not to combine it with other tea, though. White Tea can have a negative reaction when mixed with green tea or black tea. You can also use a decoction or White Tea tinctures in order to treat your localized injuries.
Tea for Good Skin Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are perfectly safe. Just make sure you don’t exceed the number of cups recommended per day in order to avoid complications such as diarrhea or constipation.
Other than that, there’s no reason not to try a face cleanser based on a Tea for Good skin! However, if you’re not sure about it yet, talk to a dermatologist or to an herbalist.
Don’t take a Tea for Good Skin if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a major surgery.
If there’s nothing that could interfere with your herbal treatment, choose a Tea for Good Skin that fits you best and enjoy its wonderful benefits!... tea for good skin
Auto-immune disease – antibody to DNA. Non-tubercula. Two kinds: (1) discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and (2) systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). DLE occurs mostly in middle-aged women, but SLE in young women. Activity may be followed by period of remission. The condition may evolve into rheumatic disease.
Symptoms (SLE): Loss of appetite, fever. Weight loss, weakness. Thickened scaly red patches on face (butterfly rash). May invade scalp and cause loss of hair. Sunlight worsens. Anaemia. Joint pains. Enlarged spleen. Heart disorders. Kidney weakness, with protein in the urine. Symptoms worse on exposure to sunlight. Low white blood cell count. Many patients may also present with Raynaud’s phenomenon while some women with silicone breast implants may develop lupus.
Treatment. Anti-virals. Alteratives. Anti-inflammatories, anticoagulants. Alternatives. Teas: Lime flowers, Gotu Kola, Ginkgo, Aloe Vera, Boneset.
Decoctions: Burdock. Queen’s Delight. Helonias.
Tablets/capsules. Echinacea. Blue Flag root. Wild Yam. Ginkgo.
Formula. Dandelion 1; Black Haw 1; Wild Yam half; Poke root half. Dose: Liquid Extracts: one 5ml teaspoon. Tinctures: two 5ml teaspoons. Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Thrice daily.
Topical. Sunlight barrier creams: Aloe Vera, Comfrey. Horsetail poultice. Garlic ointment. Castor oil packs.
Diet. See: DIET – SKIN DISORDERS.
Supplements. Calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Selenium.
Note: The disorder is frequently misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or ME. Lupus antibodies have been linked with premature heart disease in women and transient strokes. ... lupus erythematosus
Heart conditions may be triggered by many causes, from stomach pains to vascular strokes and depression.
However, some people have a congenital predisposition for cardiac problems and all they can do is treat this affection as it is.
Having a heart problem could mean that your heart is not pumping enough blood (or too much), that you have an abnormal growth which weakens your circulatory system or that you suffer from arrhythmia (a disease in which your blood flow is never constant, but fluctuates depending on the situation).
How a Tea for Heart Health Works
A Tea for Heart Health’s main goal is to prevent diseases from developing and treating the already installed ones.
If that is the case, you may want to look after teas and tinctures which contain a high level of antioxidants, natural enzymes, volatile oils and minerals (sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese) and are low on acids (in high concentrations, they may cause heartburn).
Efficient Tea for Heart Health
In order to work properly, a Tea for Heart Health needs to be both efficient and one hundred percent safe. Remember that you must schedule an appointment with your doctor before self medicating!
This way, you’ll eliminate the risk of triggering other health problems and you’ll know for sure what’s wrong with your body. If you don’t know which teas could have a positive effect on you, here’s a list for guidance:
- Green Tea – according to specialists, this Tea for Heart Health contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life, so it’s useful for a wide range of ailments, from sore throats, headaches and migraines to infertility and erectile dysfunctions.
However, you may want to avoid it if you’re experiencing menstrual and menopausal symptoms (due to its acids level, it may cause uterine contractions).
- Yerba Mate Tea – named “the new green tea” by the herbalists, this decoction is a great choice for many problems, such as loss of appetite, asthenia or anemia. Although it remains yet unknown to European public, Yerba Mate Tea is very popular in South American regions. However, don’t drink more than 2 cups per day! High dosages may lead to death!
- Chamomile Tea – has curative properties which are benefic for a series of health problems, from nausea, diarrhea, upset stomach to infertility and hot flashes. This Tea for Heart Health has a pleasant taste and a lovely smell.
Plus, it’s one hundred percent safe, so you can drink as much as you want. If you’re thinking about giving up on coffee, Chamomile Tea can be a great replacer.
Tea for Heart Health Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to a number of problems, such as stomach pain, nausea, headaches and even death.
Before starting any kind of herbal treatment, make sure you’re well informed of the risks that may occur. Don’t take a Tea for Heart Health if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants.
The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery. If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and something doesn’t feel quite right, ask for medical assistance right away!
Once you have the green light from your doctor and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a Tea for Heart Health that fits best your condition and enjoy its great benefits!... tea for heart health
Even if some say that hot flashes are only present during menopause, many women can experience them since the premenopausal period.
Hot flashes are described as a short feverish episode triggered by the estrogen fluctuations.
However, scientists are not sure this is the main reason and many studies are focusing their research on this matter.
The hot flash episode lasts from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on everybody and the strength of your organism. Some women say that in time their intensity fades away, some other say they remain exactly the same.
How a Tea for Hot Flashes Works
A Tea for Hot Flashes’ main goal is to bring balance to your hormone level and induce a state of calmness to your reproductive system functions.
A Tea for Hot Flashes will decrease your abnormal blood flow and restore your general health by making your body inhibit the hormone surplus.
Efficient Tea for Hot Flashes
In order to be efficient, a Tea for Hot Flashes needs to be one hundred percent sure and contain the right amount of active constituents. There have been many discussions raised by practitioners around the world concerning a tea’s effect on menopausal symptoms.
Although some of them remain skeptic to herbal treatments in these cases, some others actually recommend a decoction if you want to ameliorate your hot flash episodes. In the end, it’s all up to you!
If you don’t know which teas might trigger a positive response from your body, here’s a list to choose from:
- Licorice Tea – also used as a remedy for diarrhea and menstrual pains, this Tea for Hot Flashes will stabilize your hormone level and improve your general well being. Drink two cups per day for a short amount of time in order to avoid constipation or other digestive tract ailments.
- Sage Tea – widely known as a sleeping aid, this decoction can be a great help in cases of stress, anxiety and migraines. Sage Tea contains enough tannins and volatile oils to induce a state or happiness and to heal the affected areas. However, don’t take this remedy for more than 3 or 4 times a day.
- Green Tea – although many say that this Tea for Hot Flashes could easily bring relief to your pain, you may want to check this information with your doctor. Remember that Green Tea is under no circumstances recommended to menstrual or menopausal cases since it can cause uterine contractions. If you’re thinking a small amount, however, it might work miracles for you and your health.
Tea for Hot Flashes Side Effects
When taken according to specifications, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day might lead to nausea, vomiting, upset stomach and uterine contractions.
Don’t take a Tea for Hot Flashes if you’re on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a surgery. If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, talk to an herbalist or to your doctor as soon as possible!
If he says it’s ok to start a treatment based on a Tea for Hot Flashes, choose one that fits best your needs and enjoy its great benefits!... tea for hot flashes
n. an agent that prevents the clotting of blood. The natural anticoagulant *heparin directly interferes with blood clotting and is active both within the body and against a sample of blood in a test tube. Synthetic drugs, such as *warfarin, are effective only within the body, since they act by affecting blood coagulation factors (see blood coagulation). They take longer to act than heparin. Anticoagulants are used to prevent the formation of blood clots or to break up clots in blood vessels in such conditions as thrombosis and embolism. Incorrect dosage may result in haemorrhage (see INR). See also direct oral anticoagulant; fibrinolytic.... anticoagulant
(blood clotting) the process whereby blood is converted from a liquid to a solid state. The process may be initiated by contact of blood with a foreign surface (intrinsic system) or with damaged tissue (extrinsic system). These systems involve the interaction of a variety of substances (*coagulation factors) and lead to the production of the enzyme thrombin, which converts the soluble blood protein *fibrinogen to the insoluble protein *fibrin, forming the blood clot. Finally, fibrin is broken down by the action of *plasmin. Anticoagulants and tissue plasminogen activators act by inhibiting or activating various pathways in this cascade (see illustration). Blood coagulation is an essential mechanism for the arrest of bleeding (*haemostasis). See also platelet activation.... blood coagulation
If you have joint pains it’s best to treat them as soon as possible in order to avoid further complications, such as arthritis.
Other than making your life a lot harder, joint pains may trigger other health complications such as bone cancer or even spinal cord issues.
Joint problems consist of localized pain in your member and the incapacity to walk or move your hands properly. If that is the case, you better talk to a doctor before shopping for remedies, in order to find out which affection you’re dealing with.
How a Tea for Joints Works
A Tea for Joints’ main goal is to trigger a positive response from your body and to trick it into directing all reconstructing agents to the affected areas.
These teas are well known for their curative properties, which spread from bringing relief in cases of stress, anxiety, headaches, migraines and even generalized pain.
Efficient Tea for Joints
In order to be efficient, a Tea for Joints needs to be one hundred percent safe (you may want to avoid other health complications) and to have a quick and positive effect on your body.
To be able to do that, a Tea for Joints has to contain an elevated level of nutrients, enzymes, volatile oils and minerals (iron, sodium, magnesium and manganese). If you don’t know which teas contain all the necessary constituents, here’s a list to choose from:
- Green Tea – can induce a state of calmness to both your articulations and bone system thanks to its substances. Scientists have shown that this Tea for Joints contains all the necessary ingredients that could sustain life, so you must have it in your medicine cabinet.
However, if you’re experiencing menstrual or menopausal symptoms, it’s best to avoid it at all costs: it may cause uterine contractions.
- Chamomile Tea – has soothing properties and it’s also good for a wide range of health complaints, from headaches to sore throats and even diabetes. It has a pleasant taste and a lovely smell. Not only that, but this tea is also one hundred percent safe, so you can drink as much as you want.
- Raspberry Leaf Tea – contains a high level of vitamin C, which will enhance your health and give you an energy boost. You can also use it for female reproductive problems, such as infertility or even menopause. Two cups of Raspberry Leaf Tea per day might work miracles on your health!
Tea for Joints Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups may lead to a number of affections, such as upset stomach, skin rash, diarrhea and nausea.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, ask for medical assistance immediately. Don’t take a Tea for Joints if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants.
The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery (some of the active constituents might interfere with your anesthetic).
But if you have the green light from your doctor, choose a Tea for Joints that fits best your needs and enjoy its great health benefits!... tea for joints
n. a type of worm that possesses suckers at both ends of its body. Leeches occur in tropical forests and grasslands and in water. Certain parasitic species suck blood from animals and humans, and their bites cause irritation and, in some cases, infection. A leech can be detached from its host by applying salt. Formerly widely used for letting blood, the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) may now be used following microsurgery (e.g. to replace a severed finger) to restore patency to blocked or collapsed blood vessels and thus encourage the growth of new capillaries. The anticoagulants in the saliva of this and other species are now used for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis (see hirudin).... leech
n. inflammation of the wall of a vein, which is most commonly seen in the legs as a complication of *varicose veins. A segment of vein becomes painful and tender and the surrounding skin feels hot and appears red. Thrombosis commonly develops (see thrombophlebitis). Treatment consists of elastic support together with drugs, such as NSAIDs, to relieve the inflammation and pain. Anticoagulants are not used (compare phlebothrombosis). Phlebitis may also complicate sepsis (see pylephlebitis) or cancer, especially of the stomach, bronchus, or pancreas. In pancreatic cancer the phlebitis may affect a variety of veins (thrombophlebitis migrans).... phlebitis
If you’re experiencing abdominal pain and you’re sure it’s not a digestive tract ailment, it’s very possible that you’re suffering from a kidney disorder.
The same if the pain is localized in the back or on one side of your body. Usually, kidney problems appear when there’s something wrong with your urinary tract and not only.
Overexposing your body to low temperatures may cause urinary infections, impurity accumulations lead to kidney stones. Also, kidney problems can be caused by other health complaints, such as pulmonary edema and cancers.
However, it’s best to schedule an appointment with your doctor in order to find out what’s actually going on with your body.
How a Tea for Kidney Problems Works
A Tea for Kidney Problems’ main goal is to purify your body by triggering a positive response from it.
Once the main substances of these teas reach the affected areas, your organism produces enough endorphins (which are cells specialized in making you feel a lot better by bringing relief to your wounds) and antibodies to reconstruct the damaged tissue.
Efficient Tea for Kidney Problems
In order to work properly, a Tea for Kidney Problems needs to be both efficient and one hundred percent safe. Also, it must contain the right amount of nutrients, natural enzymes, volatile oils, antioxidants and minerals (sodium, magnesium, iron and manganese).
This way, that tea will make your body eliminate the unwanted impurities and improve your kidney function. If you don’t know which teas would be appropriate for your condition, here’s a list to choose from:
- Dandelion Tea – can be prepared from dandelion roots and it’s also a great adjuvant in diarrhea and urinary infection cases. This Tea for Kidney Problems has a bitter taste, but you can add ginger, lemon, mint or honey in order to make it more adequate for you.
Avoid it at all costs if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding: due to its strong purgative and diuretic properties, Dandelion Tea can cause uterine contractions which may lead to miscarriages.
- Marshmallow Root Tea – this lovely tea with a hint of Christmas is useful for a large variety of problems, from infertility to gastrointestinal and digestive complaints. Take a sip at every 5 minutes for an hour and enjoy the wonderful health benefits!
- Buchu Tea – contains antioxidants and antibacterial agents, being a great help in cases of cystitis, urethritis and kidney failure. This Tea for Kidney acts like a natural diuretic and should not be taken by pregnant women.
- Green Tea – as the scientists have proved, this decoction contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life, so it’s useful for many problems, not just kidney disorders. However, don’t take it if you’re experiencing menstrual and menopausal symptoms (it can cause uterine contractions and stomach acidity).
Tea for Kidney Problems Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day might lead to a number of health problems such as miscarriages, hallucinations, headaches and skin rash.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas and something doesn’t feel quite right, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. Don’t take a Tea for Kidney Problems if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants. The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery.
If you have the medical approval and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a Tea for Kidney problems that fits best your needs and give it a try today!
... tea for kidney problems
Having a lucid dream means dreaming while being aware of the fact that you are dreaming.
However, many people become lucid in the middle of the dream or, on the contrary, fall lose reality contact after being lucid at first.
Although traditional medicine can’t be very helpful in these cases, alternative medicine has a few tricks up its sleeve.
How a Tea for Lucid Dreams Works
A Tea for Lucid Dreams’ main purpose is to make you recall what you have dreamed by calming your nervous system and improving your memory function.
These teas are good for a number of other diseases, such as memory loss, headaches or migraines. However, talk to an herbalist or to your doctor before starting any kind of herbal treatment in order to make sure everything will be alright.
Efficient Tea for Lucid Dreams
In order to work properly, a Tea for Lucid Dreams needs to be both very efficient and one hundred percent safe (since lucid dreams are not exactly a medical problem, you may want to avoid developing one).
A tea that is rich in antioxidants, nutrients, tannins, volatile oils and minerals (sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese) would be very adequate.
You may want to avoid teas with a large amount of acid agents (they could cause stomach pain). If you don’t know which teas could be useful for lucid dreams, here’s a list for guidance:
- Green Tea – contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life, so it’s useful for a wide range of ailments, not just lucid dreams. If you’re suffering from infertility, anemia, asthenia, loss of appetite, digestive tract complaints or nervous system failure, this decoction could also be useful.
However, you must avoid it at all costs if you’re experiencing some menstrual or menopausal symptoms. The same advice if you’re pregnant (it may cause uterine contractions and therefore miscarriage).
- Valerian Tea – was been used as a sleep aid since ancient times, when the Romans and the Greeks took it before going to bed. This Tea for Lucid Dreams, thanks to its active compounds, is a mild sedative and could also work miracles on your nervous system.
However, you need to make sure that you don’t exceed the number of cups recommended per day in order to avoid hallucinations, tiredness or even death.
- Chamomile Tea – of course, the world’s greatest panacea shouldn’t be left aside. If you’re having trouble remembering your dreams, try a cup of Chamomile Tea before you go to bed! This Tea has a great fragrance and a pleasant smell. Plus, it’s one hundred percent safe so you can drink as much as you want.
Tea for Lucid Dreams Side Effects
When taken according to specifications, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to a number of health problems, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach or even death!
If you’ve been taking one of these decoctions for a while and you’re experience a negative response from your body, ask for medical assistance right away!
Don’t take a Tea for Lucid Dreams if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants. The same advice in case you’re preparing for a surgery.
If your doctor says it’s ok to start an herbal treatment, choose a tea that fits best your requirements and enjoy its wonderful benefits!
... tea for lucid dreams
Meditation is not something that your doctor can induce since this is not a medical problem.
However, even if meditation has nothing to do with your physical status, there are a couple of remedies recommended by the alternative medicine.
Some teas have the ability to enhance your respiration, concentration and decrease your blood pressure, which will definitely help you meditate a lot better.
These teas could have a great effect on your entire health system by making your body release endorphins. However, you must keep in mind the fact that this is a medical treatment and it shouldn’t be used unsupervised.
How a Tea for Meditation Works
A Tea for Meditation’s main goal is to cleanse your respiratory system and improve your coronary system’s functions. In order to do that, a tea for Meditation needs to contain an important amount of volatile oils, nutrients, enzymes and minerals, such as manganese, magnesium and iron.
This way, you’ll be able to loosen up and concentrate on your mental exercises. These teas have the ability to induce a state of calmness and nourish your nervous system so no headaches or migraines would interfere with your meditation.
Efficient Tea for Meditation
In order to be efficient, a Tea for Meditation must be one hundred percent safe and show results quickly (it’s understandable, considering the fact that you will take the decoction within minutes before meditation). If you don’t know which teas to choose from, here’s a list to guide you on:
- Green Tea – contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life, according to specialists and it can treat a wide range of affections, from headaches, sore throats to infertility and even diabetes.
Also, you may want to give it a try if you suffer from hangovers. However, avoid this Tea for Meditation at all costs if you’re experiencing menstrual or menopausal symptoms (due to a high acids level, Green Tea may cause uterine contractions).
- Oolong Tea – has half the amount of caffeine that other teas have and it’s recommended for many affections, such as infertility and sore throats. And if you’re thinking about giving up on coffee, Oolong Tea could be e great replacer. Oolong Tea will treat your stress accumulations and calm the affected areas.
- Pu’er Tea – is not very popular among Europeans, but its wonderful benefits should not be left aside. If you find a provider specialized in Pu’er Tea, hold on to it because this decoction can treat nausea, stomach pain and even indigestion. Take a sip or two of Pu’er Tea before meditation and enjoy the great benefits that this tea has in store for you!
Tea for Meditation Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day might lead to a series of health problems, such as skin rash, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, ask for medical assistance immediately.
Don’t take a Tea for Meditation if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants.The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery (some of the active constituents in these teas could interfere with your anesthetic).
Once you have the green light from your doctor and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a Tea for Meditation that fits best your needs and enjoy its health benefits at home!... tea for meditation
The nervous system is responsible for almost any reaction that comes from your body.
From eyes to muscles and even hair, your body is a very complex electric system directed by your brain.
Most of the problems that a person has in a lifetime are related to a nervous system failure.
In order to treat this kind of problems or prevent them from happening, you may want to try a tea instead of all those traditional pills.
How a Tea for Nervous System Works
A Tea for Nervous System is indeed helpful if it contains an important amount of nutrients, enzymes, tannins, volatile oils and minerals (sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese).
You may want to avoid a tea that has an elevated acids level since it may cause you even more damages.
A Tea for Nervous System will make your body send all the active constituents to the affected areas and heal the damaged tissue.
Efficient Tea for Nervous System
In order to work properly, a Tea for Nervous System must show results in a short time period and be one hundred percent safe (you don’t want any more complications than you already have).
However, before starting any kind of herbal treatment, remember to take the indicated dose and never surpass it in order to avoid other health problems. If you don’t know which teas could be helpful for you, here’s a list for guidance:
- Oolong Tea – contains half the amount of caffeine that other teas have so it’s best for your health to give it a try every once in a while.
This Tea for Nervous System will also strengthen your entire organism and rejuvenate the aspect of your skin. However, don’t drink more than 2 cups per day.
- Green Tea – as the scientists have proved, this decoction contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life, so it’s good for a number of other health complaints, such as infertility, headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, anemia and asthenia.
Just make sure you avoid it at all costs in case you’re experiencing some menstrual or menopausal symptoms (it may cause uterine contractions and internal bleedings).
- Black Tea – some say that it does more damages than good for your nervous system and some others think that this tea is worth a try. Having an elevated level of caffeine, this tea is highly addictive.
In right amount, it can treat infertility, erectile dysfunctions, sore throats and colds. However, ask an herbalist before starting a treatment based on this Tea for Nervous System in order to find out which are the risks.
Tea for Nervous System Side Effects
When taken according to specifications, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to other health complaints, such as nausea, diarrhea, uterine contractions, internal bleedings and headaches.
If you’ve tried one of these teas and something doesn’t feel quite right, talk to your doctor as soon as possible! Don’t take a Tea for Nervous System if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants.
The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery (some of the active compounds in these teas may interfere with your anesthetic and cause death).
But if you have the green light from your doctor, choose a tea that fits best your requirements and enjoy its wonderful health benefits!... tea for nervous system
The decision to quit smoking if rarely strong enough to actually put a stop to this addiction.
However, if you are determined and feel that this would be a good day to stop smoking, you may want to try an herbal remedy before rushing off to the pharmacy.
Many people are concerned about the fact that quitting smoking will make them gain weight. That’s only partially true. Since smoking is more a social habit, some people feel the need to replace cigarettes with something else and they usually choose food.
That’s why you might gain a few pounds. However, there are a number of teas capable of inhibiting this reaction, so do not despair!
How a Tea for Quitting Smoking Works
A Tea for Quitting Smoking’s main goal is to make the need for nicotine gone once and for all. Usually, these teas contain an important amount of active constituents which resemble a lot to nicotine, but don’t cause you any harm.
They will trick your body into thinking that you’re still taking nicotine, while actually cleansing your body. Alternative medicine practitioners explain how, in time, you’ll no longer feel the need to smoke.
Some say that these teas have no effect whatsoever and that if they work it’s only thanks to your power of suggestion. If it’s true or not, you be the judge of that!
Efficient Tea for Quitting Smoking
When choosing a Tea for Quitting Smoking, you must keep in mind the fact that it must be both one hundred percent safe and very efficient. In order to be effective, a tea needs to contain the right amount of tannins, volatile oils, acids, minerals (iron, manganese, magnesium and sodium) and nutrients.
Also, a tea with an elevated level of antioxidants will help you cleanse your respiratory ways and restore your initial health. If you don’t know which teas to choose from, here’s a list to guide you on:
- Mimosa Tea – can induce a calming and relaxing state thanks to its great active ingredients which can also bring relief to stress, anxiety and depression (a smoker struggles with these symptoms during the quitting process).
Don’t take more than 2 cups per day in order to avoid nervous system problems, such as sleeplessness or hallucinations.
- Skullcap Tea – is well known for its ability to reduce stress and nervous tension. This Tea for Quitting Smoking could also be effective if you’re suffering from anxiety, asthenia or anemia.
- Chamomile Tea – the world’s greatest panacea has a few benefits in store for you in case you’re trying to quit smoking. It has a pleasant taste and a lovely smell and it’s one hundred percent safe, so you can drink as much as you want.
- Jasmine Tea – probably the most aromatic tea in the world, Jasmine Tea is well known for its curative actions which include general health improvement. Add a hint of ginger, mint, honey or lemon and you’ll have a delicious drink on the table. However, make sure you don’t take more than 2 cups per day in order to avoid any nervous system complications.
Tea for Quitting Smoking Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day might lead to diarrhea, nausea, upset stomach, skin rash and hallucinations.
Don’t take a Tea for Quitting Smoking if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants. The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery (some of the active constituents may interfere with your anesthetic).
But if you have your doctor’s approval and there’s nothing that could go wrong, choose a Tea for Quitting Smoking that fits best your problems and enjoy its great benefits!... tea for quitting smoking
There are over 50 million people suffering from arthritis in the world.
Many of them drink tea on a regular basis not knowing that there are some teas which could ease their problems while the rest of them are still reluctant to herbal remedies.
Rheumatoid Arthritis consists of localized joint pains and abnormal members growth.
Even if there are many empirical remedies described by the folklore, traditional medicine would recommend an expensive and painful surgery, while alternative medicine fans still think that there’s no reason to put your liver to hard work.
How a Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis Works
A Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis’ main purpose is to trigger a positive reaction from your body while making it produce enough active agents to reduce inflammations and restore your initial health.
In order to work properly, you need to make sure you pick a tea with enough nutrients, volatile oils, tannins, acids and minerals (sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese).
Efficient Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a very common disease, unfortunately. There are many people around the globe who would rather self medicate than ask for a medical consult. However, before starting any kind of herbal treatment, it’s best to be well informed of all the risks.
Better than that, schedule an appointment with your doctor in order to find out which disease you’re suffering from. If you don’t know which teas could have a positive effect on your condition, here’s a list for guidance:
- Green Tea – contains all the ingredients necessary to sustain life, so it’s useful for a wide range of health problems, from infertility to upset stomach, nausea, anemia and asthenia.
However, you must avoid it at all costs if you’re experiencing menopausal or menstrual symptoms (it may cause internal bleedings and uterine contractions).
- Chamomile Tea – is probably the most popular Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis thanks to its active compounds which have the ability to lower your cholesterol and improve your coronary system action.
This panacea has a pleasant taste and a lovely smell and it’s one hundred percent safe, so you can take as much as you want.
- Peppermint Tea – has anti inflammatory and antiseptic properties thanks to an active ingredient called menthol. This decoction is also good for a number of other disorders, such as digestive tract ailments, menstrual and menopausal pains, sore throats and kidney problems.
Peppermint Tea has a lovely smell and a pleasant taste and it’s also very safe. Plus, if you’ve decided you want to give up coffee, this Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis could be a great replacer.
Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are one hundred percent safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to nausea, vomiting, uterine contractions and skin rash.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, talk to a doctor as soon as possible. Don’t take a Tea for Rheumatoid Arthritis if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants.
If you have your doctor’s approval and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a tea that fits best your problems and enjoy its wonderful effects!... tea for rheumatoid arthritis
Stress is known as a general state of fatigue and exhaustion due to sleeplessness or other causes such as sitting in one position for too long or having a lot to deal with.
Stress is both a physical and a mental disorder, triggered by the body exhaustion due to hard working. The best way to deal with stress is to take some time off from school or work, but if you cannot afford that luxury, try a natural remedy.
Some say that stress implies having too little time to solve too many problems while already being exhausted. At times, stress accumulations may lead to faints, blackouts or severe mental problems, such as paranoia or schizophrenia.
How Tea for Stress Works
A Tea for Stress’ main purpose is to make your body release enough endorphins to create a state of relaxation. These teas contain nutrients, enzymes and volatile oils capable to induce joy and happiness.
Many of these teas can contain tannins, which is a substance whose main purpose is to calm the affected areas and nourish the nervous system. If you’re feeling down and stress is the main cause, try a Tea for Stress and enjoy its organic benefits!
Efficient Tea for Stress
When choosing a Tea for Stress, you need to make sure the one you’re picking is both safe and very effective, in order to avoid other unnecessary complications. If you’re thinking about taking a tea and you don’t know which one fits your needs best, here are some guidelines:
- Chamomile Tea – also used as an adjuvant in the pharmaceutical and the cosmetic industry, Chamomile Tea can treat a number of affections, such as sore throat, flu, colds, pleurisy and pulmonary edema. Also, Chamomile is one of the safest and the most popular stress treatments and it can be found in almost any teashop or grocery store!
- Mint Tea – contains an active ingredient called menthol which is responsible for this tea’s curative properties. This is a very important Tea for Stress, since its action doesn’t imply only the stress triggers, but also a large variety of affections, such as respiratory problems and ailments of the digestive tract (diarrhea, upset stomach, gastritis). This tea is also one hundred percent safe; just don’t take more than 6 cups per day!
- Ginseng Tea – probably the most effective Tea for Stress, Ginseng Tea is also the most dangerous one. Make sure you don’t drink more than a cup per day for a short amount of time and that in case you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, you’ll talk to a specialist right away!
- Lavender Tea – used for its fragrance and curative properties, lavender was used by the ancient Romans as a sleeping aid and a good relaxer. Modern medicine, however, found out that a cup of Lavender Tea per day will destroy both the stress and the tension in your body. Besides, you can find it almost anywhere!
Tea for Stress Side Effects
When taken properly, a Tea for Stress is generally safe. However, high dosages may lead to a number of health complications, such as diarrhea, constipation, upset stomach, vomiting and ulcers. Just make sure you follow the instructions.
To gather more information, talk to a specialist before making any move. If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants or if you’re preparing for a major surgery, it’s best to talk to your doctor before taking one of these teas.
Other than that, give any Tea for Stress a try and enjoy its wonderful benefits responsibly!... tea for stress
Colitis is an affection of your larger bowel.
When the problem gets worse, blood could appear, turning your problem into ulcerative colitis.
This affection causes poor water absorption and it makes it harder for the nutrients and enzymes in both food and drink to be processed.
Ulcerative Colitis is an autoimmune disease, but is usually linked to poor dieting and stress (an unbalanced nutrition and diet pills could trigger this disease faster).
How a Tea for Ulcerative Colitis Works
A Tea for Ulcerative Colitis’ main purpose is to make sure that your body increases the immunoglobulin level and directs all antibodies to the affected areas.
In order to function properly, a Tea for Ulcerative Colitis needs to contain an important quantity of nutrients, enzymes, volatile oils and minerals (such as sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese) and be very low on acids (since they could induce irritable bowel and upset stomach).
Efficient Tea for Ulcerative Colitis
If you don’t know which teas could be effective for your condition, here’s a list to choose from:
- Licorice Tea – has important health benefits, being able to treat not just Ulcerative Colitis, but many other disorders, such as upset stomach, irritable bowel syndrome and gastritis.
However, this tea is not very safe so you need to talk to your doctor before starting a treatment based on Licorice Tea. Drinking less than 3 cups per day will give you an energy boost and restore your general well-being.
- Wormwood Tea – is well known around the world thanks to its ability to treat infections and flush parasites out of your system. Other than ulcerative colitis, this decoction can be useful in case of Candida.
Take a sip of this Tea for Ulcerative Colitis at every 5 minutes for about an hour every day (for a short period of time: 3-7 days) and enjoy its great benefits!
- Chamomile Tea – has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic problems and it’s good for almost any health problem, from sore throats to colds and flu. Some specialists even say that Chamomile Tea has proven its efficiency in many cancer cases.
If that is the case or not, the important thing is that this Tea for Ulcerative Colitis will calm your pain and energize your body.
Tea for Ulcerative Colitis Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day can lead to a number of problems, from diarrhea, nausea, vomiting to gastritis and ulcers.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual symptoms, ask for medical assistance as soon as possible!Don’t take a Tea for Ulcerative Colitis if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners or anticoagulants.
The same advice if you’re preparing for a surgery. If you have your doctor’s approval and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a Tea for Ulcerative Colitis that fits best your needs and enjoy its great benefits!... tea for ulcerative colitis
Vertigo or dizziness is something everybody feels at some point, just rarely pays attention to.
Described as a balance, vision and nervous system problem, vertigo is probably the most common affection in the world.
The main causes for this affection are pregnancy, unbalanced diet, cancers, consisting with vomiting, nausea and even injurious falls.
Although vertigo is not a disease, but only a minor symptom, it’s best to treat it at the right moment.
Even if traditional medicine has developed many nausea inhibitors, alternative medicine practitioners will advice against them, saying that there’s no reason to take pills for such a minor condition.
How a Tea for Vertigo Works
Instead of all those traditional and expensive treatments sold in the drugstores, you may want to try a tea.
In order to work properly, a Tea for Vertigo needs to contain the right amount of nutrients, natural enzymes, tannins, volatile oils and minerals (such as sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese).
However, keep in mind the fact that, although you may not purchase herbal remedies from pharmacies, they’re still powerful, so you need to make sure you always follow the instructions.
Efficient Tea for Vertigo
In order to be efficient, a Tea for Vertigo needs to show results as soon as possible and be one hundred percent safe. If you don’t know which teas could do wonders for your health, here’s a list for guidance:
- Ginger Tea – is a flavored tea with many health benefits. It has the potential to increase your vitamin level and give you an energy boost. You can also take it to treat anemia, asthenia, loss of appetite, sore throats, colds and flu.
However, make sure you’re using the right amount of herbs when preparing this decoction in order to make sure you don’t develop an acid foods and drinks intolerance.
- Gingko Biloba Tea – this wonderful memory loss remedy will also improve your general health and treat all vertigo symptoms.
A cup of this Tea for Vertigo per day will strengthen your body and nourish your nervous system. However, in order to avoid complications, don’t take more than 1 or 2 cups per day.
- Basil Tea – basil is a plant used mostly as a great culinary ingredient in cuisines around the world. Few of you know, however, that a decoction made from this plant’s leaves could make dizziness go away in no time.
Basil tea is also good for loss of appetite, anemia, asthenia and other related problems. This Tea for Vertigo has an aromatic smell and it tastes a bit bitter, so feel free to add honey, lemon, mint or ginger to make it more adequate for your taste.
Tea for Vertigo Side Effects
When taken according to specifications, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day might lead to a number of health problems, such as diarrhea, upset stomach, skin rash or migraines.
If you’ve been taking a Tea for Vertigo for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions, ask for medical assistance immediately. Don’t take a Tea for Vertigo if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a surgery.
If you have the green light from your doctor and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a Tea for Vertigo that fits best your problems and enjoy its great benefits!
... tea for vertigo
Veins are the blood vessels that convey blood back from the tissues towards the heart. Two common conditions that affect them are THROMBOSIS and varicosities (see below).
Varicose veins are dilated tortuous veins occurring in about 15 per cent of adults – women more than men. They most commonly occur in the legs but may also occur in the anal canal (HAEMORRHOIDS) and in the oesophagus (due to liver disease).
Normally blood ?ows from the subcutaneous tissues to the super?cial veins which drain via perforating veins into the deep veins of the leg. This ?ow, back towards the heart, is aided by valves within the veins. When these valves fail, increased pressure is exerted on the blood vessels leading to dilatations known as varicose veins.
Treatment is needed to prevent complications such as ulceration and bleeding, or for
cosmetic purposes. Treatment alternatives include injection with sclerosing agents to obliterate the lumen of the veins (sclerotherapy), or surgery; in the elderly or un?t, an elastic stocking may su?ce. One operation is the Trendelenburg operation in which the saphenous vein is disconnected from the femoral vein and individual varicose veins are avulsed. (See also VASCULITIS.)
Thrombosis Thrombosis occurs when blood, which is normally a liquid, clots within the vein to form a semisolid thrombus (clot). This occurs through a combination of reduced blood ?ow and hypercoagulability (a reduced threshold for clotting). The most common site for this to occur is in the deep veins of the leg, where it is known as a deep-vein thrombosis (DVT).
Predisposing factors include immobility (leading to reduced blood ?ow), such as during long journeys (e.g. plane ?ights) where there is little opportunity to stretch one’s legs; surgery (leading to temporary post-operative immobility and hypercoagulability of blood); oestrogen administration (low-dose oestrogen oral contraceptives carry a very low relative risk); and several medical illnesses such as heart failure, stroke and malignancy.
Deep-vein thrombosis presents as a tender, warm, red swelling of the calf. Diagnosis may be con?rmed by venogram (an X-ray taken following injection of contrast medium into the foot veins) or by ultrasound scanning looking for ?ow within the veins.
Prevention is important. This is why patients are mobilised and/or given leg exercises very soon after an operation, even major surgery. People should avoid sitting for long periods, particularly if the edge of the seat is hard, thus impeding venous return from the legs. Car drivers should stop regularly on a long journey and walk around; airline travellers should, where possible, walk round the aisle(s) and also exercise and massage their leg muscles, as well as drinking ample non-alcoholic ?uids.
Diagnosis and treatment are important because there is a risk that the clotted blood within the vein becomes dislodged and travels up the venous system to become lodged in the pulmonary arteries. This is known as PULMONARY EMBOLISM.
Treatment is directed at thinning the blood with ANTICOAGULANTS, initially with heparin and subsequently with WARFARIN for a period of time while the clot resolves.
Blocked super?cial veins are described as super?cial thrombophlebitis, which produces in?ammation over the vein. It responds to antiin?ammatory analgesics. Occasionally heparin and ANTIBIOTICS are required to treat associated thrombosis and infection.... veins, diseases of
Yucca Tea has been known for a long time thanks to its ability to treat a wide range of aliments, such as skin sores, dandruff and hair loss.
Native Americans used a decoction of Yucca Tea applied topically oh the scalp in order to make the hair grow faster and look shinier. Yucca is a perennial shrub with ever green, stiffed leaves and white flowers.
The yuccas are widely known and cultivated as decorative plants, being used in many types of Native American wedding ceremonies. Yucca grows mainly in the North American regions and also in the West Indies, where it is used only for its medical purpose.
Yucca Tea Properties
Aside from decorating weddings in a delightful way, Yucca can be made into a decoction very useful in alternative medicine. Although it remains yet unknown to Asian and European public, Yucca Tea continues to be a great medical treatment in Indian and American regions thanks to its active ingredients.
The main chemical ingredient of Yucca Tea are saponins (mostly is soluble in hot and cold water and can be found in almost any Indian drug store as a chemical ingredient), a precursor of cortisone, which is a natural substance known for its ability to prevent intestine toxins from being released.
Yucca Tea Benefits
Aside from its use as a natural cosmetic treatment that can prevent affections of the scalp, Yucca Tea is also very useful in other medical areas. You may find Yucca Tea Helpful in case you’re suffering from one of the following conditions:
- Arthritis and osteoarthritis, by increasing bone cell and coronary walls action.
- Inflammations, by stopping bacteria and microbes eruption.
- Asthma, by clearing the respiratory ways and enhancing the system’s power to recover from asthma crisis.
- Headaches and blood clots, by nourishing both the nervous and the circulatory systems.
- Dandruff, when applied topically at room’s temperature.
How to make Yucca Tea Infusion
Preparing Yucca Tea Infusion couldn’t be any easier. Just use a teaspoon of dried leaves for every cup of tea you want to make, add boiling water and wait 15 minutes for the health benefits to be released. Strain and drink the tea hot or cold. However, you need to pay attention to your bowel movement. If you notice anything unusual, lower the amount of herbs you’re using.
Yucca Tea Side Effects
When taken properly, Yucca Tea is safe, just make sure you don’t take more than 3 cups per day. High dosages may lead to a number of complications, such as stomach upset, bitter taste, nausea and vomiting. If you’ve been taking this tea for a while and you’ve noticed some unusual changes in your general health, talk to a specialist as soon as possible.
Yucca Tea Contraindications
Don’t take Yucca Tea if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Also, if you’re on blood thinners, anticoagulants or preparing for a major surgery, avoid taking a treatment based on Yucca Tea at all costs.
If your general health is good, but you’re still unsure about this tea, talk to a herbalist in order to gather more information about the risks and benefits of Yucca Tea.... yucca tea benefits
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