Issue 24 – June 2013

Cholesterol

The Low-Down On Cholesterol

It seems that everyone is talking about cholesterol these days, but do you really know what it is? What can you do to maintain healthy cholesterol levels?  Are high cholesterol levels really bad?  Or are they a sign of something underlying?

Cholesterol is a type of fat molecule that is carried around in the blood.  It is only present in animals.  It performs useful functions in the body and is a major building block for cells and many of your hormones, including oestrogen, testosterone and cortisol.  It is an essential component of cell membranes and it is synthesised in almost all human tissues.  The brain and central nervous system, connective tissue, muscle and skin account for about 75% of total body cholesterol.  We need cholesterol for these parts of our body to work properly.

Cholesterol is also important for the synthesis of vitamin D, as well as bile acids which aid in the digestion of fats.  Our bodies manufacture cholesterol but it can also be found in foods containing saturated fats.

Cholesterol is a healing agent.  When there are problems in the body such as inflammation, stress or hormone imbalances our liver will make more cholesterol to deal with this problem.  Keeping this in mind we can see that high cholesterol levels are not as much a problem in themselves, but rather an indicator or warning of something else going wrong in the body.  One of the main triggers for the body to make more cholesterol is inflammation, which in itself is a big cause of heart and vascular disease.  Simply lowering cholesterol levels ignores this underlying problem.

The Good vs. The Bad Cholesterol

HDL and LDL are letters that you may have seen before on a blood test, and it is important to review these to monitor your health.  But what do they mean?

Remember that cholesterol is actually a fat molecule and is only found in animals (so the labels on potato chip packets saying ‘No Cholesterol’ are kinda redundant) and when we consume it in a food from animal products we are consuming the cholesterol molecule as a whole, as ‘free cholesterol’.  When cholesterol is in our blood it has to be transported in particles called lipoproteins.  This is what we measure in blood tests.

In your blood test, your total cholesterol is made up of different types of cholesterol transport systems known as lipoproteins.  These lipoproteins have lots of different roles in the body.  While our understanding of these forms of lipoproteins is constantly evolving, the current view is that the two main types of cholesterol have different roles, and they are commonly known as the “good” and “bad” cholesterol.   These are the main types:

• High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is called the “good” form of cholesterol.  Its role is to carry cholesterol from the tissues to the liver to be broken down and excreted.  It is thought that higher levels of HDL compared to LDL helps to decrease cardiovascular risk because HDL helps to keep LDL ‘in check’.  We should aim to get our HDL as high as possible to support our heart health.
• Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) is often referred to as the “bad” form of cholesterol because it can “stick” to and narrow the arteries in the heart.  This increases the risk of the coronary artery disease known as atherosclerosis.  Most of the cholesterol in our plasma (blood) is carried on LDL where it transports cholesterol from the liver to body cells for use in cell membrane repair and the production of hormones and bile salts.  Higher levels of LDL are a warning sign of things going wrong in the body that can contribute to heart disease.

An interesting perspective on the thinking behind the terms ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol and the reason why cholesterol levels fluctuate in the body is well explained by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride:

Once again it seems that the conventional understanding of good and bad cholesterol is forgetting why cholesterol is being produced in the first place, and neglecting to address the underlying causes.  We need to find a happy medium behind the above interpreation and the conventional understanding of good and bad cholesterol.  LDL is not bad in itself but it can be made bad by other factors, and we should use it as a marker of other problems in the body.  We know that higher levels of HDL are associated with reduced levels of heart disease and it has a protective mechanism, preventing LDL oxidisation where it can be transformed by the immune system to a different type of cell which can cause problems – this is covered in more detail below.

Cholesterol and Diet

It is a common misconception that high levels of cholesterol are caused by a diet high in animal fats (meat, eggs and dairy).  Our diet has much less of an effect on your cholesterol levels than we have been led to believe.

Only 30% of people have increased blood cholesterol from increased cholesterol consumption.  The other 70% are protected by a regulating mechanism whereby the body produces less cholesterol when they eat more cholesterol, and produces more when they get less from food.

Cholesterol consumption has remained constant for the last 100 years while the incidence of cardiovascular disease has increased by 300%, indicating cholesterol intake cannot be the primary cause.  And if it was, why are doctors having little success in preventing cardiovascular disease based on this theory?

One of the ways we can understand the increased rates of heart disease is looking at the differences in society’s diet over time.  In the past fat and sugar consumption was lower, while vitamin, mineral, vegetable and unprocessed or ‘wholegrain’ intake was greater.  These changes are causing cholesterol to have a more damaging effect on our body.

Cholesterol is not increased from the intake of cholesterol through our diet.  Remember that we have a regulating mechanism, and the body will make more cholesterol if it feels it is necessary.  Some examples of increased need for cholesterol may be if we have a hormone deficiency (cholesterol is the building block for hormones) or cell membranes require repair (if they’ve been damaged through inflammation or oxidation).  Heart disease is increasing because we are more inflamed, have more oxidation, and have more hormonal imbalances.  If we are eating too much sugar or omega-6 fatty acids (instead of omega-3) this causes inflammation and imbalances in our body.  Stress (a potent but commonly ignored cause of high cholesterol) can cause cortisol imbalances.  Too much intake of sugar and refined grains can contribute towards insulin resistance, liver and pancreas problems and can cause oxidation of our LDL.  When this happens we have an environment where plaque will be more likely build up in our arteries.

As I’ve already mentioned, cholesterol causes problems when it is oxidised.   When there is a lot of oxidised LDL, vLDL (very low density lipoprotein) is created.  These cells have a receptor which causes the  immune system to activate.  A type of immune cell called macrophages are produced which interact with the altered cholesterol molecule and then the problematic ‘foam cells’ are created.  If these foam cells accumulate they will eventually form plaque in the artery walls, which causes narrowing of the arteries and can lead to thrombus formation (blood clots).   This process is also very inflammatory, which can cause further damage to artery walls.  This can result in conditions such as heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and dementia.

Factors that increase levels of oxidised LDL include a diet high in trans fats (pastries, deep fried foods, potato chips), excess Omega-6 oils compared to Omega-3, excessive sugar intake, smoking, poorly managed diabetes and metabolic syndrome.  Having higher levels of HDL also helps to prevent foam cell formation, which is likely due to the association increased HDL in those with higher omega-3 and anti-oxidant stores.

Another form of LDL has been discovered in recent years which has also shown to be dangerous and problematic: MG-min-low-density-lipoprotein (MGmin-LDL).  This type of lipoprotein (cholesterol transport) is formed when sugar compounds attach to LDL cholesterol, causing it to become smaller and denser.  This form can easily get stuck on artery walls, which is where the problem lies.  Balancing blood sugar through diet, good management of diabetes and herbs and nutrients that support blood sugar levels such as chromium and Gymnema sylvestre (Gymnema) can be helpful for supporting healthy blood sugar levels, which will reduce the production of MGmin-LDL.

This oxidation of LDL helps us to understand why high cholesterol is a problem in some people and not in others.  It makes sense then that treatment should focus on not just lowering LDLs, but on preventing oxidation, modification and transportation of LDLs and fats into the foam cells that form the plaque in arteries.

Raising HDL should also be a priority because this is what will help our body to mop up the damage from LDL gone wrong.  There is no conventional medication for this but diet and lifestyle changes can help here.  We should aim for our HDL to get as high as possible.

Avoid low fat diets because this will lower your HDL and foods such as margarine or those that are ‘low fat’ or ‘skim’ often contain products that are bad for us and increase other risk factors for heart disease.  Yes that’s right – you’ve probably been told to cut out all fats from your diet, swap butter to margarine, drink low fat milk and eat low fat yoghurt… but these recommendations are outdated, flawed and has been disproven.  While fats are high in calories and some fats are altered through heat and oxidation (e.g. trans fats) becoming dangeous, the general fear of fats which was instilled into people over the last few decades in unnecessary and wrong.  The right type of fats to eat are covered below and in a previous article about fats here also in this video.

Essentially, eating cholesterol won’t raise your cholesterol but your diet can affect the way cholesterol behaves in the body and increase other risk factors for heart disease.

Cholesterol and Genetics

There are some people who have a genetic tendency towards having high cholesterol levels.  These people (and their parents) have higher than normal levels of LDL.  This occurs in approximately 1 in 300 Australians and causes up to 10% of early onset coronary artery disease that occurs before 55 years of age.  For these people they may have high total blood cholesterol levels irrespective of what they eat, and will require treatment.  This treatment will require an approach to clear excess cholesterol from the body, but should also focus again on the underlying causes.

Cholesterol and Stroke

The great fear behind high cholesterol is that if it is too high you will have a heart attack or stroke.  The way that this is meant to happen is that cholesterol clogs up in the arteries, and then causes a clot which breaks away, restricting blood flow in the heart causing a heart attack or in the brain causing a stroke.  This is a simplistic explanation and does not take into account all factors associated with stroke.  I highly recommend reading Chris Masterjohn’s article here.  Essentially, high LDL cholesterol levels can be implicated in stroke because higher LDL levels may be oxidised (remember that oxidised LDL is taken up by the immune system, macrophage cells specifically which is what causes plaque) but are only associated with ischemic stroke.  As cholesterol levels increase, the risk of hemorrhagic stroke decreases and the risk of ischemic stroke increases.

Cholesterol Medications

Conventional medicines approach to support health and reduce high cholesterol levels are statin medications.  While these may be necessary in the small portion of people who are genetically prone to having very high cholesterol levels, in the majority of cases statins are over prescribed.  This class of drugs have a high level of side effects, and as the knowledge of this increases more and more people are turning to natural treatment for cholesterol and heart health.

One of the most well known side effects of statin medication is muscle pain.  The way this class of medications cause muscle pain is by the breakdown of the muscle tissues.  While this is still not fully understood, research has found several mechanisms that may explain how statins can cause muscle pain:

     1.  Depleting your body of CoQ10, a nutrient that supports muscle function and energy production.  The importance of taking a CoQ10 supplement is fortunately becoming more accepted.

     2.  Altering the ability of skeletal muscle to repair and regenerate due to the anti-proliferative effects of statins.  One study found that Simvastaton reduced the proliferative ability of muscle cells by 50 percent at a dose equivalent to 40 milligrams.  This could clearly have a negative effect on your skeletal muscles’ ability to heal and repair themselves, and could lead to eventually becoming more or less incapacitated (2).

     3.  Activating the atrogin-1 gene, which plays a key role in muscle atrophy. (3)

Researchers at The University of Copenhagen have found that the depletion of coenzyme Q10 can cause lower energy production and muscle pain in those taking statin drugs for high cholesterol.   Muscle pain is a common side effect of statin treatment as it seems to affect the energy production in muscles and may be the direct cause of muscle weakness and pain. Almost 75% of physically active patients taking statins experience pain. (4)

Some research has even shown that taking statins may actually INCREASE your risk of heart disease, as an association of increased rate of coronary plaques was found in those taking statins. (5)

With so many people taking statins, and the risks of heart disease still alarmingly high it seems that focusing on reducing cholesterol with medications is not the answer.  Rather than just lowering cholesterol, we need to look at WHY our cholesterol is increasing.

Natural Support For Cholesterol

Treatment Aims:

• Reduce insulin resistance and balance blood sugar levels, by consuming less refined carbohydrates and sugar.
• Reduce inflammation by avoiding foods which can contribute to inflammation and supplement with anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients.
• Reduce oxidation by eating foods rich in anti-oxidants, and taking anti-oxidant supplements.
• Support liver clearance of cholesterol.
• Support stress levels with lifestyle techniques and herbs and nutrients which support the adrenal glands, and nervous system.
• Address hormonal deficiencies such as Andropause and Thyroid dysfunction etc.

Natural therapies used in the arsenal against LDL oxidation, high blood cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease include:

Supplementation with:

Polymethoxyflavones: Also known as PMFs, these natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds found in citrus peel assist in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.

Research has shown that nobiletin and tangeretin, the phytochemicals found in PMFs, may assist in lowering LDL levels by reducing synthesis and increasing the clearance of LDL cholesterol.

Tocotrienols: Tocotrienols are members of the vitamin E family. These antioxidants also increase the clearance of LDL cholesterol and reduce the body’s production of LDL.

Krill oil: The oil from the crustacean, krill, has been shown to be beneficial for cholesterol balance, particularly by supporting HDL levels.

Fish oil: 2 g to 4 g of combined EPA/DHA has been shown to decrease triglyceride levels and is beneficial for heart health.

Depending on the individual further support may include: Coenzyme Q10, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3 (niacin/nicotinic acid), fibre, liver support (such as Cynara scolymus (Globe Artichoke), Silybum marianum (St Mary’s Thistle), Taraxacum officinale radix (Dandelion root)) Coleus forskohlii (Coleus) and Allium sativum (Garlic).

(Note that all of these remedies help to reduce cholesterol by addressing causes of high cholesterol such as with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties).

Six Tips For Optimal Cardiovascular Performance

Take on these tips for eating and living to support healthy cholesterol and cardiovascular health:

• Follow the Mediterranean diet. People eating this diet rich in essential nutrients and antioxidants have the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease in the world.
• Eat good fats and Eliminate detrimental trans fats found in many fast foods, fried foods and packaged baked goods.  Cut down on sugary refined carbohydrates and processed food. These foods often contain ‘hidden sugars’ that can be converted to fat when supply is high.
• Weight loss.  If you are overweight, losing extra weight will help to lose the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. Your Practitioner can recommend a clinically-proven weight loss program and targeted supplements to assist healthy weight management.
• Get moving towards a healthy lifestyle. Exercise improves cardiovascular and overall health and supports your “good” cholesterol levels.  Move away from unhealthy habits such as smoking and excessive alcohol intake as they increase your cardiovascular risk.
• Address inflammation.  If you have increased levels of cholesterol, it is at least in part because of increased inflammation in your body. The cholesterol is there to do a job: help your body to heal and repair.  Some basic ways to support inflammation is to reduce inflammation by avoiding foods which can contribute to inflammation and supplement with anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients.
• Balance hormones. Steroid hormones in the body are made from cholesterol: testosterone, progesterone, pregnenolone, androsterone, estrone, estradiol, corticosterone, aldosterone and others. These hormones accomplish a myriad of functions in the body, from regulation of our metabolism, energy production, mineral assimilation, brain, muscle and bone formation to behavior, emotions and reproduction. In our stressful modern lives we consume a lot of these hormones, leading to a condition called “adrenal exhaustion.”  Stress and hormone deficiency can cause the body to make more cholesterol.

With so many people taking statins, and the risks of heart disease still alarmingly high it seems that focusing on reducing cholesterol with medications is not the answer.  Rather than just lowering cholesterol, we need to look at WHY our cholesterol is increasing.

With the help of natural medicines and by following some key dietary and lifestyle recommendations, you can effectively manage your cholesterol levels. Call or email us today to get started on your journey towards improved cardiovascular health.

Further reading:

Cholesterol – Friends or Foe? : 

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/cholesterol-friend-or-foe

Cholesterol and Stroke :

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/cholesterol-and-stroke

Myths & Truths About Cholesterol

http://www.westonaprice.org/cardiovascular-disease/myths-a-truths-about-cholesterol

Dr Mercola articles on cholesterol:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/10/14/cholesterol-lowering-drugs-will-wreck-your-muscles.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/06/statins-cause-muscle-damage.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/06/12/unintended-statin-sideeffect-risks-uncovered.aspx

Cholesterol Explained (Video)

http://summertomato.com/cholesterol-explained/

The Truth about Fats

http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/the-truth-about-fats

Works cited

[1] Campbell-McBride, Natasha. Cholesterol: Friend Or Foe? Weston A Price Foundation. [Online] May 04, 2008. [Cited: June 21, 2013.] http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/cholesterol-friend-or-foe.
[2] Society, American Physiological. Cholesterol-lowering drugs and the effect on muscle repair and regeneration. [Online] September 25, 2008. [Cited: May 26, 2013.] http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/aps-cda092308.php.
[3] The muscle-specific ubiquitin ligase atrogin-1/MAFbx mediates statin-induced muscle toxicity. Hanai J, Cao P, Tanksale P, Imamura S, Koshimizu E, Zhao J, Kishi S, Yamashita M, Phillips PS, Sukhatme VP, Lecker SH. 12, 2007, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Vol. 117, pp. 3940-51.
[4] Simvastatin effects on skeletal muscle. Larsen S, Stride N, Hey-Mogensen M, et al. 1, s.l. : J Am Coll Cardiol, 2013, Vol. 61, pp. 44-53.
[5] Statins use and coronary artery plaque composition: results from the International Multicenter CONFIRM Registry. Nakazato R, Gransar H, Berman DS, Cheng VY, Lin FY, Achenbach S, Al-Mallah M, Budoff MJ, Cademartiri F, Callister TQ, Chang HJ, Cury RC, Chinnaiyan K, Chow BJ, Delago A, Hadamitzky M, Hausleiter J, Kaufmann P, Maffei E, Raff G, Shaw LJ, Villines TC, Dunni. 1, 2012, Atherosclerosis, Vol. 225, pp. 148-53.

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Vitamin D really is the wonder nutrient at the moment. A quick search of PubMed shows there to be almost 60 000 studies on vitamin D alone, and over 7000 of these are on vitamin D and cancer. Most of us already know about how Vitamin D is important for our bone health, but did you know it’s also important for our immune system and to protect us against cancer, particularly breast cancer (among many other things)?

Let’s take a quick look at the properties of vitamin D.

• It supports the assimilation of calcium into our bones
• It’s important for our immune system – it ‘switches on’ our immune cells to help us fight infections, but also helps us deal with auto-immune conditions and ‘foreign invaders’
• It regulates inflammation levels
• It is involved in some hormone metabolism pathways
• It is involved in our blood sugar level control and metabolism

Looking at the effects of vitamin D, it makes sense how it can also play a role in reducing our risk from cancer. But by how much does it reduce our risk? Well, the answer seems to be : a lot.

Let’s take a look at some of the research:

A 2012 study performed in Pakistan analysed the Vitamin D levels of 180 women, 90 of which had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. In the group who had been recently diagnosed 95.8% of them were deficient in Vitamin D, compared to 77% of the women with no cancer diagnosis. This not only shows the huge prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency, but also highlights an important association between low Vitamin D levels and increased breast cancer risk [1].

It was originally thought that Vitamin D was only able to be fully metabolised in the kidneys, however studies from 2001 and on have shown that breast tissue also has the ability to metabolise Vitamin D, which may be why Vitamin D has such as affinity for breast cancer. [2]

Vitamin D may be so protective against breast cancer for many reasons.  A sub-type of Vitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D) has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to reduce the production of a chemical called prostaglandins (many people know this chemical to be a cause of period pain) which have been implicated in breast cancer. [2]

A population study published this year analysed a group of women, 593 with breast cancer and 580 who were cancer-free (controls). They found that 96.1% of the women with breast cancer had severe vitamin D deficiency, compared to 80% of the women without cancer. Similarly to the first study there was a significant Vitamin D deficiency across the whole population, but what was most interesting was the data showing the inverse association between Vitamin D and breast cancer – essentially the higher the levels of vitamin D they had, the lower their risk of breast cancer [3].

The benefits of sun exposure may be due to more than just Vitamin D, particularly for some other types of cancers.  A systemic review of studies analysed the link between vitamin D levels, sun exposure and risk for various types of cancer.  It found that higher blood levels of Vitamin D reduced the risk of breast cancer as well as colorectal cancer, but not as much for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostate cancer (however longer sunlight exposure was more beneficial for these cancers).    Long-term or ‘chronic’ sun exposure compared to short-term or ‘intermittent’ sun exposure reduced the risk of all the cancers analysed.  This may be due to a variety of factors such as the suns effect on our circadian rhythms and melatonin production [4].

Interestingly melatonin, a hormone controlled by our exposure to light and dark (among other things) which manages our sleep cycles is also a potent anti-oxidant that is protective against breast cancer.  Some research has shown that people with disrupted melatonin such as shift workers have a significantly increased risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer [5] [6]. Melatonin is helpful as it repairs our DNA from oxidative damage and inhibits tumour cell formation, but it also reduces the tumour developing affect of excessive oestrogen, encourages the immune system to recognise the cancer calls as being foreign (cell differentiation) and then destroy them (apoptosis) [7], [8], [9].  Vitamin D has also been shown to have these properties [2]. So not only do we need to have plenty of Vitamin D, but we should also get plenty of decent sleep!

How much Vitamin D do we actually need to prevent breast cancer?  Aim to get your blood levels of 25(OH)D around 100 ng/mL, but not higher than 150 ng/mL [2].  Even though this is much higher than what is considered to be normal or not deficient by pathology reports, people with these levels had the lowest risk of breast cancer [3].  Keep in mind that Vitamin D levels vary according to season, so in Summer our levels should be even higher again (about 120 ng/mL).  How supplements are administered varies a lot between health professionals, from big weekly/monthly doses of 50 000IU to frequent daily doses of 600IU.  It doesn’t seem to matter, as long as the cumulative amount of Vitamin D is high enough to get your levels up.

Vitamin D supplementation is generally very well tolerated.   Most reports suggest that the toxicity threshold is 10,000–40,000 IU of vitamin D per day [10] however this is based on the fact that these are the upper limits of what have been studied and no toxicity has been found with these, so as yet an actual toxicity limit has still not been found.

From these studies it seems clear that having good Vitamin D levels is without doubt an important way to reduce breast cancer risk, however studies analysing the benefits of Vitamin D supplementation in women with later-stage breast cancer show inconclusive results, but the studies in this area are limited [2]. So far, it seems that Vitamin D is better at preventing breast cancer than treating it.

While there were some flaws in some of the studies, such as an insufficient pairing of the study groups and not analysing all the forms of vitamin D, we can see from this research that there is definately a connection between low levels of vitamin d and an increased risk of breast cancer. I cannot stress this enough – Do not take it for granted that you spend time in the sun and therefore should have enough Vitamin D. Get your Vitamin D tested (you may have to pay for the test, but surely knowing the importance of vitamin D it is worth it?) and if your vitamin D is not over 100 ng/mL then you should consider supplementing – consult a health care practitioner trained in nutrition such as a nutritionist, dietician or naturopath for advice on which supplement is right for you.

Previous posts on Vitamin D:

Vitamin D and Allergies

Vitamin D Newsletter

Vitamin D and Asthma

The post Vitamin D reduces breast cancer risk appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

A delicious eggplant recipe, you can use this on pizza, in salad, as an antipasto, in sandwiches or wraps or put in other dishes, or eat on it’s own. For those who don’t normally like eggplant this one for you to try.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant or 2-3 thin eggplants
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 1 teaspoon Smokey Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Flakes (optional)
• to taste Salt
• to taste Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Cut eggplants in half length-wise, leaving stem ends intact.

Mix garlic and olive oil in a small bowl. Combine oregano, basil, thyme, paprika and chilli flakes in separate bowl and stir to mix.

Lightly brush cut sides of eggplants with garlic-oil mixture and grill, cut side down, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Lightly brush skin sides with oil mixture. Invert eggplants and brush tops with remaining oil.

Sprinkle tops with dried herb mixture and salt and pepper to taste.

Continue cooking eggplants, cute side up until very tender, 6-8 minutes, or as needed.

Tips
Eggplants are actually berries, and are a member of the deadly nightshade family. They were originally named Solanum insanum as Europeans believed eating would cause instant insanity. The name was later changed in the thirteenth century by the Arabs in Catalonia to Solanum melongena. They were originally the size and shape of eggs.

Eggplant has cooling properties and reduces yang energy. Eggplants are thought to bring energy and blood to the uterus, which is why in Asia pregnant women are advised to eat eggplant sparingly.

Eggplants are mostly water and so are low in calories. They are high in fibre and are a good source of potassium, manganese, molybdenum and are also a source of the anti-oxidant Nasunin.

Being part of the deadly nightshade family, it is recommended that people with arthritis have eggplant in moderation, if at all.

The post BBQ Eggplant appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Herbal Tea – Not actually Tea!

I love a good cup of tea (and coffee too).  I also love herbal tea – it’s a great way of keeping hydrated and relaxing, while at the same time applying some of the healing properties of herbs.  Did you know that herbal tea isn’t actually tea?

Tea is made from the bush of Camellia sinensis, and all proper teas such as black, green and white teas come from this plant.  Herbal teas are actually infusions, and are properly called tisanes. Tisanes are made from mixtures of dried leaves, seeds, grasses, nuts, barks, fruits, flowers, or other botanical elements that give them their taste and provide the benefits of herbal teas.  They are usually all caffeine free and therefore will hydrate you, so they can be counted in your 2L of water each day.

There are a huge range of herbal teas available, some of which contain a blend of normal tea with other herbs/spices and some are completely free from tea.  It can be a bit overwhelming knowing which tea is best for you, so I’ll go through some varieties in this article.

TEA

Black Tea

Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas (green, white and yellow). Below are some common variations of the Black tea, all made from the Camellia sinensis bush, but produced in different ways.

–   Assam tea is found in most “breakfast” teas such as English breakfast and Irish breakfast. It is named Assam after its region of production in India.

–   Earl Grey has added Bergamot oil (Bergamot is extracted from the rind of the Bergamot Orange)

–   Lapsang souchong is from China, and is traditionally smoked.

–   Oolong tea is also from China, and it is produced by being withered under the sun, and then the leaves are curled and twisted.

White Tea
White tea is unfermented and is made from the very new and young leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. White tea contains a higher concentration of polyphenols (constituents responsible for the antioxidant activity of tea) and thus has greater free radical scavenging activity compared to Green and black tea. It is also the least processed tea available

Green Tea
Green tea is unfermented, and is made by heat treating the leaves soon after they are harvested. Green tea will usually only keep for a year. It is rich in polyphenols and so has many healthy properties. There is a lot of research on green tea, and some of its properties include an ability to help protect against heart disease, cancer and it also very slightly helps to boost metabolism.

Yellow Tea
Yellow tea is similar to green tea, however it has a less ‘grassy’ flavour. During the process that leads to the tea leaves becoming yellow tea, the chlorophyll is broken down and partly oxidized. The taste of the tea becomes milder, and is often described as being somewhere between white tea and green tea. The aroma is described as flowery, fresh and mild. There is little known about this properties of this tea, but it is possible that some of the benefits are lost in its processing.

TISANES

There are huge varieties of Tisanes available, so I’m going to go through some of the more popular options, what they’re good for and how to prepare them.
Note – we all know now that herbal teas are technically called tisanes, however I will still be using the term tea through this article.

YEP.

This is something everyone should have in their cupboard.   YEP tea is a classic tea formula which contains Yarrow, Elderflower and Peppermint.  The actions of these herbs are great for helping the body deal with fevers, which allow the body to burn out the bugs from our system.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 heaped teaspoonfuls of the dried herbs and infuse for 10 minutes. Drink 6-8 cups at the start of an infection.

Chamomile

One of my favourite herbs.  It has an excellent calming action, and can be drunk for anxiety and insomnia.  It also helps with digestive problems as it reduces inflammation in the intestines.  It can also be used as a wash for sore inflamed eyes.

2 tsp dried leaves in a cup of boiling water, infuse for 5-10 minutes.  For digestive problems, drink after each meal. 

Peppermint

Peppermint is a great herb for relaxing the stomach.  The essential oils contained in the herb can reduce colic, flatulence and nausea.  It is also great for fevers (it’s in the YEP tea).

Pour a cup of boiling water onto a heaped teaspoonful of the dried herb and infuse for 10 minutes.  Drink as often as desired.

Raspberry Leaf

Raspberry leaves have a long tradition of use in pregnancy to strengthen and tone the tissue of the womb.  Taking this tea regularly in pregnancy and during labour can help with contractions and reduces haemorrhages during labour.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and let infuse for 10-15 minutes.  This may be drunk freely.

Rose

Rose tea is made from the petals of the rose flower, and it is usually added for its scent and flavour.  It reportedly contains vitamin C, however this is usually due to the confusion between rose petals and rose hips.  It combines well with black tea.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and let infuse for 10 minutes.  Alternatively, simmer 1/3 cup fresh rose petals in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes or until the petals become discoloured.  Add honey to taste.

Rose Hip

Rose hip is made from the fruit and seeds of the Dog Rose (Rosa canina) which are collected in the autumn.  It is rich in vitamin C and so is great for warding off colds and infections.  It can also be drunk to improve energy and relieve constipation.

This must be made as a decoction.  Put 2½ teaspoonfuls of the cut hips in a cup of water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for ten minutes.

Ginger

This is another great herb for fevers and calming the stomach.  Ginger can promote perspiration making it good for fevers.  It also stimulates the peripheral circulation, making it a good herb for bad circulation and chilblains.  Nausea of morning sickness and motion sickness can be relieved by taking ginger.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 teaspoonful of roughly chopped fresh root and let it infuse for 10 minutes.  Drink whenever needed.

Fennel

Fennel is another great herb for the stomach and intestines.  It can be taken to relieve flatulence and colic if taken before meals.  It is also good for coughs as it calms the lungs and helps the expulsion of mucous.  It can also be taken by nursing mothers to increase the flow of breast milk.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 teaspoonfuls of slightly crushed seeds and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.  Drink three times daily.

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm is a great herb to drink to help you relax.  It can also settle the stomach, making it especially good for nervous indigestion.  Lemon Balm is lovely for kids and can be combined with chamomile for upset tummies, nerves and even teething.  The little hairs on the leaves contain an essential oil that is strongly anti-viral, but this evaporates if the leaves are roughly handled so it can only be relied on in fresh herbs.  Lemon Balm is part of the mint family so it tastes yummy, and it is also very easy to grow.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 teaspoonful of the dried herb or 1½ tablespoons of fresh herb and let infuse for 10 minutes.

Lemon Grass

Lemon grass tea is a very refreshing, citrus flavoured drink.  You can make the tea from the dried variety which is usually from the white ends.  If you grow lemon grass yourself (it’s easy to grow, but keep it in a pot as it grows rampant) then you can use the fresh green leaves as well.   One of the ingredients of lemongrass, citral, has been shown to have anti-cancer properties.  It is also considered to be of benefit for insomnia, and to relieve chest infections.

For the fresh tea use 10 leaves, cut up into 2 to 3 inches.   Avoid using the outer leaves as these may make the tea bitter.  Wash them well and boil them in a litre of water for 10-20 minutes.

Thyme

Sluggish digestion and upset tummies can be helped with thyme.  The essential oils in thyme are strongly antiseptic, so it’s good for respiratory and digestive infections.  It’s a fantastic cough remedy because of its antiseptic and expectorant properties.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and let infuse for 10 minutes.

Sage

Sage is a classic remedy for inflammation of the mouth and throat.  It can help with mouth ulcers, gingivitis, laryngitis and tonsillitis.  It can also help to reduce sweating.   It should be avoided during pregnancy.

Add ginger, thyme and Manuka honey to sage tea for an awesome sore throat tea.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 teaspoonfuls of the leaves and let it infuse for 10 minutes.  Drink three times daily.

Rooibos

Pronounced roy-boss, and also known as red tea, Rooibos has a sweet and nutty flavour.   It is believed that rooibos tea has 50% more antioxidants than green tea, and it also rich in vitamin c.  It is caffeine free and is great drink to help you relax.  This is readily available in teabags.

Pour a cup of boiling water onto a rooibos teabag and let it infuse for at least 10 minutes.  Drink freely.

Yerba mate

Yerba mate (pronounced sherba-mah-tay) is rich in nutrients, amino acids and fatty acids, and is often drunk as an ‘energy drink’.  It is traditionally drunk by South Americans in a hollowed out gourd, but due to its rise in popularity it is now becoming available in a few varieties such as mate latte or yerba cocoa.  Yerba mate contains caffeine, but is often better tolerated than coffee.

Yerba mate tea is available as tea bags, but the traditional method of brewing is to fill the mate cup to about ¾ of its capacity with yerba mate tea. The mate cup is then filled with hot water which the yerba mate tea leaves absorb. More water is added until the leaves are completely saturated.

There are many variations on this recipe. Sometimes milk and sugar are added. The tea can be replenished with hot water as many times as desired until there is no more flavour.

Tisanes vs. tinctures

Herbs have a complex array of different active constituents which determine their effects on the body.  The different structures of these constituents call for various methods of extraction.  Some constituents are best extracted with water and others with alcohol.  Active constituents which are potentially dangerous are usually those which are alcohol soluble, meaning that teas are usually safe to self-prescribe (pregnancy is an exception).  Herbal tinctures (such as the formulas I make) are usually extracted with a combination of water and alcohol, the ratio of which is carefully determined to obtain the greatest efficacy.  These should only be prescribed by a trained herbalist or naturopath.

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