EnviroLink Forum

10 herbs and spices to strengthen your immune system

http://www.naturalnews.com/035530_immun ... pices.html

_________________
It is our deeds, the accumulated acts of goodness and kindness, that define us and ultimately are the true measure of our worth. Service is the coin of the spirit.

http://holy-lance.blogspot.com

my problem with most herbs is the destruction of habitats and of many native plants in the efforts to produce a global demand for these herbs. This is especially bad for things from Chinese traditional medicine due to the rapidly rising population of enthusiasts of these things around the world. As for things on that list that I can grow myself... that is another matter altogether. I love bell peppers and garlic and my parents tried (successfully) to grow ginger here in Canada and it is the natural habitat for American Ginseng and Echinacea so I might be able to grow those myself too. Gingko Biloba is grown in cities around the world but it is a bit too cold for them here in Canada (I saw an attempt in Calgary... half the trees died the first winter and the rest were dead by 4 years later). Turmeric needs hot damp conditions but is a small plant I might be able to grow in a greenhouse. It was grown across Europe to replace the harder-to-grow Saffron so it might be easy. Note that turmeric is also good for digestive problems related to swelling of the intestinal cilia (such as irritable bowel syndrome and many people's inability to absorb nutrients).

Edit: this is one people are destroying rainforests for... saw a documentary on the exploited people who were displaced by industrial farming of this and other plants: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncaria_tomentosa

Of what I take every day(1), every other day(2), or often(3):
Garlic---yes(1) Black pepper---yes(1) Bell peppers---yes(3) Red Pepper---yes(3) Ginger---yes(2)
Gandoderma ---yes(1) Turmeric---yes(2) Ojibwe Tea---yes(1) Green Tea---yes(1) Red wine extract---yes (2) Grapeseed extract---yes(2) Bilberry---yes (2) Lutein and Taurine---yes (2) Flax and fish oil 3000 mg---yes(1) Acai---yes(1)

Then there are the regular multi-vitamin/minerals with trace minerals including indium(2), with a little extra selenium(2), more zinc(2), not more than 200 units/day vit. E, 500 to 1000 mgs Vit C with bioflavanoids, extra B 12, flush free niacin, and B 6 (1), chromium---yes(1). For me---saw palmetto(1). Low sugar, low fat, and low red meat diet.
Occasionally: Ginko Biloba, Ginseng, olive leaf extract, echinacea, Pau D'Arco

I do not remember the last time I was sick. In the last 6 years I have lost 5 friends to cancer (three more with prostate cancer in remission after surgery, and another getting chemo for throat cancer), and four friends from heart disease. Two more died from alcoholism. I also quit drinking 15 years 10 months ago(as of 4-15-12), and quit smoking 8 years ago (as of 4-4-12).
As far as environmental damage from growing and transporting herbs, they are relatively light weight and growing mainly in areas they are native to, except in some boutique gardens/greenhouses, and shelf pots. Eventually, as transportation gets more expensive with oil depletion, spices will go up in price similar to what they were in pre-industrial times. Total nutrition will be less available and diseases will increase rapidly.

_________________
"With every decision, think seven generations ahead of the consequences of your actions" Ute rule of life.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”
― Chief Seattle

Hebs and the spices derived from them are simply laden with goodness .... and in our fast food culture, we have forgotten them. Well, at least in the corporate-food world ..... not in our individual kitchens.

Herb. Did someone say...herb?

_________________
TANG SOO!

no, not specifically anyways. As Chinese people become wealthier (and they are), they have more disposable income to add any item to their purchases that claims to add years to their life. This also includes many Chinese people who have moved around the world too. Non-Chinese people hear about how long Chinese people live and look to copy their methods. Of course there are some strange things some people think will bring long life or healing and they are also a problem but the general overwhelming wave of popularity for anything "Chinese medicine" is the problem I was referring to.

I buy imported Japanese green tea. If I brew a mug with over 2 bags and cut the strings, it affects me like percocet did for my kidney stones--eliminates pain and induces a feeling as if I just stepped out of an accupressure massage or chiropractic adjustment. Amazing stuff. Only downside is that it really makes me have to urinate. Makes me hungry too. I think it has weed in it.

_________________
TANG SOO!

An associate just ran into some trouble regarding supplements, herbs, natural products, and the like. He had a bit of a niche carved out where he performed tests on the products looking for controlled substances. It seems some of the "natural" products that give the boost have the concern the boost will be connected to controlled substances. My associate had the proper DEA registration, it seems, but performed the tests for products and providers which were not also registered. That lack of registration is supposed to keep those products from the offical testing programs.

They had just locally made the components in the bath salts and fake pot products illegal and the products had been dropped form the convenience store shelves. For whatever reason, they had some change in the formula or whatever, they decided to reissue the products after having them tested for all of the controlled substances. The local media investigative reporters who had done articles on these products found out and did a follow up series. That caught the eye of the law enforcement who in turn checked with the DEA and got them involved. None of the providers had the proper registration, so the laboratory registration could not have been used on the reports to them regarding controlled substances. The lab had tons of records removed by the DEA, which may in effect shut them down for good.

The list of products and companies I found doing the testing with them was eye-opening. Either there is a lot of products with illegal additives, there was a lot of products with the illegal additives in the past, this is the most paranoid industry ever, or a combination of possiblities.

The scary part is looking at some of the reports showed some of the tests seemed to be tailored to report only certain substances being non-detected and not the list of possible additives. Tailored lists are generally generated by a regulatory requirement or an attempt to slip by in my experience.

_________________
With friends like Guido, you will not have enemies for long.

“Intellect is invisible to the man who has none”
Arthur Schopenhauer

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein