Ganoderma Lucidum June 23, 2011

Hello everybody. Have you ever heard of magic mushrooms? No, I’m not talking about the ones that get you high. I am talking about the many proven health benefits of several mushrooms. One of my favorites is the reishi mushroom, also referred to as ganoderma lucidum.

I call these the magic mushrooms because they have been used for many centuries by the Chinese for many health promoting purposes. And now, modern science is starting to account for these healing properties, and the science is amazing, just take a look.

Benefits of Ganoderma Lucidum

While most mushrooms have a long history of well known health benefits, there are some that really stand out. You may have head about some of these on the internet, from your doctor, or on the local news.

Ganoderma lucidum is in fact a superfood for many reasons. One of these reasons is that mushrooms naturally contain a lot of natural antioxidants. Mushrooms also contain a lot different minerals, and protein also. And this all comes without providing a whole lot of carbohydrates.

The list of ganoderma lucidum benefits are vast, but there are a few that are worth focusing on in this discussion. I will post the ones that are most basic. It is not important to get into every little thing that these mushrooms can do for us. If you can understand the basics, then that is awesome.

Ganoderma lucidum has been proven to lower cholesterol levels, this is importan at a time when people are spending a lot of money on drugs to lower their cholesterol.

Ganoderma lucidum has also been proven to relieve pain. Though the reason for this has not been proven, it is suspected that ganoderma lucidum acts at the basic level of the human nervous system. There is much science to back this up.

Increased Immunity- Ganoderma lucidum has also been proven too boost immunity. While the mechanism for this remains unknown, ganoderma appears to be a good supplement for those that are battling a disease like cancer.

Ganoderma lucidum has also been proven to be very good for the liver. This is important because liver health in general among Americans has been declining in recent years. And the reishi mushroom (ganoderma lucidum) may be a valid answer to this problem. There has been much research done on ganoderma lucidum and the liver an the results are promising.

Ganoderma Lucidum Side Effects

As always, you should be concerned about side effects. But with this mushroom, you should really combine the side effects with the benefits of ganoderma lucidum.

Ganoderma lucidum side effects are rare, but what you should pay attention to are the possible drug interactions.

Since ganoderma lucidum lowers cholesterol, you should pay attention to your cholesterol lowering drugs. Ganoderma lucidum also lowers blood pressure, so you should pay attention to your blood pressure medication.

Ganoderma lucidum also thins blood, so if you are also taking any blood thinning medication you should talk to a professional before taking ganoderma lucidum.

If you are taking any medication that affects autoimmune function, you should seek professional help, as the active ingredients in ganoderma lucidum will also have these effects.

Conclusion

Ganoderma lucidum is a safe and effective treatment for all kinds of problems. Just be sure to consult your doctor before starting any kind of supplement program.

Leaky Gut Syndrome and Intestinal Dysbiosis June 20, 2011

So you may be asking yourself, exactly what is leaky gut syndrome?  While I get into more detail in other posts,  what I will be discussing here are the possible correlations between leaky gut syndrome and intestinal dysbiosis.

 

Leaky Gut Syndrome

Leaky gut syndrome is a term that is met with some skepticism in the main stream medical community,  but is very well know to those in the holistic medical community.

Leaky gut syndrome means,  like it’s name implies,  that the gut leaks,  and lets harmful particles flow into the blood stream,  and then the whole body.  It is a condition of increased intestinal permeability.

We all know that food enters the body through the mouth.  It progresses through the esophagus to the stomach where stomach acids start to break down the food.  As the food progresses through the intestines,  it is slowly turned to feces before it is passed from the body as a waste product.

100% of this waste product should be expelled.  But in somebody with leaky gut syndrome,  this,  along with other toxins may be absorbed into the blood stream through the walls of the intestines.

 

Intestinal Dysbiosis

The term dysbiosis basically means that the bodies natural probiotic bacteria are out of balance.  This can have many causes,  the main 2 being bad diet,  and overuse of antibiotics.

It may very well be that intestinal dysbiosis and leaky gut syndrome are related.  Nobody knows for sure,  but some report that the same holistic measures taken to correct a state of dysbiosis will also help with leaky gut syndrome.

There is an ever growing list of reported dysbiosis symptoms that range from annoying to very dangerous.  But here I will explore a holistic approach to overall digestive health that is easy,  safe,  and usually effective.

 

The Holistic Connection

While there isn’t a large amount of research available regarding gut dysbiosis and leaky gut syndrome.  There are some well researched holistic measures that can be applied to improve digestive health as a whole.

While this plan,  by it’s nature is a sure cure for dysbiosis,  it has been reported to be beneficial to leaky gut syndrome as well.

 

Good Bacteria

By now most people are familiar with the benefits of probiotics,  the healthy bugs that live in all of our bowels.  So this step is very simple and straightforward.  Add the good bugs,  there are 2 ways to do this.

Take a probiotic supplement.  This is an easy and cost effective way to supply a constant source of these healthy bugs.  Be sure to take a quality probiotic supplement that provides many species of the bugs.

Take a soluble fiber supplement.  The many health benefits of fiber such as increased regularity,  lower cholesterol,  and weight management are just the tip of the iceberg.  Soluble fiber also acts as a natural food source for the probiotic bacteria that is already present in us.  This should be taken with your probiotic supplement.

 

Proper Diet

Everybody knows about the health benefits of eating your vegetables,  we’ve all heard it,  5-9 servings a day.  But not all vegetables are created equal.  And what you don’t eat is just as important as what you do eat.

Eat foods that promote the healthy probiotic bacteria like the supplements mentioned above.  Yogurt,  cottage cheese,  sour cream,  and raw apple cider vinegar are all important.  And high fiber,  low starch,  low sugar fruits and vegetables.

Along with these high fiber,  probiotic containing foods.  We should also eat foods that have an anti inflammatory effect.  These are the healthy fats,  mainly the fish based omega 3 oils such as EPA and DHA.  But also consume olive oil as well as nuts and seeds.  These oils calm the whole body including the intestines.

 

Foods to Avoid

Avoid starchy vegetables such as potatoes and yams.  Also avoid all refined grain as well as sugar,  and high sugar low fiber fruits such as melons.  These are known to feed candida which is a yeast.  Candida produces mycotoxins which are then absorbed into the blood stream.  This is the same process that occurs when brewing alcohol.

Avoid foods with any artificial ingredients such as sweeteners and preservatives.  If you can’t pronounce it,  don’t eat it.  These foods have an inflammatory effect on the gut.

 

Conclusion

While I don’t claim to have all the answers,  these are some simple steps one can take to improve digestive health the natural way.  Whether you are suffering from dysbacteriosis,  leaky gut syndrome,  or both,  the holistic approach is the best.  In this case,  it is the only option.

Glucomannan Fiber June 3, 2011

By now I’m sure that everybody has heard about the health benefits of soluble fiber.  And for many years,  the only real choice was psyllium husk.  But there is a new kind of fiber that is becoming very popular…glucomannan.

Glucomannan has several benefits over psyllium husk.  The first is that it has been shown to be better tolerated than psyllium.  The second is that glucomannan is not grain based,  so it has no gluten.  Glucomannan is actually derived from the root of the konjac plant.

Glucomannan Benefits

Glucomannan is most commonly used to help alleviate constipation.  But it has many other benefits as well.  It has been shown to aid in weight loss.  This is for obvious reasons,  It has bulk and is naturally filling.

It has been shown to help people with type 2 diabetes.  When soluble fiber is mixed with water,  it forms a gel.  This slows the absorption of carbohydrates.  It has also been shown to lower cholesterol for the same reasons listed above.

But there is one area that most people are not aware of.  Glucomannan is a prebiotic fiber.  This means that it acts as a natural food source for the naturally occurring probiotic fiber present in all of our digestive tracts.

This is excellent for preventing a condition known as dysbiosis.  Dysbiosis occurs when our healthy probiotic bacteria gets overtaken by other not so friendly organisms such as candida.

While some people will simply take a probiotic supplement,  glucomannan is an excellent way to go also.  And all of the other health benefits are just a bonus as far as I’m concerned.  A combination of probiotics and soluble fiber is a super power combo for natural digestive health.

Glucomannan Side Effects

There are some minor glucomannan side effects that can occur,  but they are minor and include gas and abdominal discomfort.  But there is one area for concern.  Glucomannan,  especially in the pill form will expand when mixed with water,  so it is very important that you chase it down with a large glass of water.

The reason for this is that there is a possibility the capsule could expand and get lodged in the esophagus.  I have never heard of this happening,  but it’s better to be safe.  But water is essential to proper digestion anyway,  so drink up.

Conclusion

I know we’ve all heard about different supplements that don’t live up to the hype,  but glucomannan is an exception.  Weight loss,  regularity,  diabetes,  cholesterol…Who knows what they’ll find next.