The Immunity-Boosting Powers of Astragalus
Ever wondered how Traditional Chinese Medicine has withstood the test of time? The secret lies in natural powerhouses like Astragalus, a perennial herb renowned for its mighty immune-boosting capabilities. Just imagine a protective force field around your body, shielding you from the onslaught of harmful pathogens and stress. That's the role Astragalus plays!
This herb is like a robust defensive wall, teeming with antioxidants that fend off unwanted microbes trying to break in. But its prowess doesn't end there. It's also loaded with adaptogens, a unique set of compounds that, true to their name, help your body adapt better to physical and mental stressors.
Imagine this: you're navigating through a stressful day at work, with meetings lined up back-to-back, when you suddenly feel a cold coming on. This is when Astragalus springs into action, reinforcing your body's defenses and helping you cope with the dual stress of a taxing schedule and an impending illness.
It's as if Astragalus has your back, stepping in to bolster your body's resilience and keeping you from succumbing to common infections. You might think of it as an invisible guardian, offering a natural, efficient, and centuries-old formula to keep your immune system in tip-top shape. Now, who wouldn't want such a powerful ally in their health regimen?
Astragalus: A Natural Approach to Heart Health
Your heart, the tireless engine of your body, deserves the best protection, and Astragalus is just the ticket. This potent herb is brimming with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that act as a shield for your heart, defending it from oxidative stress and inflammation, both notorious culprits of heart diseases. Just picture Astragalus as a valiant knight, standing guard over your heart, ready to ward off any damaging forces that dare to approach.
Imagine Astragalus gently working in the background, subtly toning down the inflammation in your body, and boosting your heart's resistance to oxidative stress. It's akin to a friendly medic in the trenches, tending to the well-being of your heart, and ensuring it stays robust and healthy, one heartbeat at a time.
But the magic of Astragalus doesn't end there. It not only helps maintain a healthy heart but also supports overall cardiovascular health, making it a valuable addition to your wellness arsenal. It's like having a multi-talented personal trainer who knows exactly how to keep your heart in peak performance, all while playing a proactive role in maintaining your body's cardiovascular health.
Integrating Astragalus into your daily routine could be like taking a natural detour on the road to heart health, a path that not only bolsters your body's defenses but also contributes to a stronger, healthier heart. In the end, isn't that what we all want—a healthier heart for a healthier life? So why not take a step forward with Astragalus today?
The Anti-Aging Benefits of Astragalus
Ever wondered how some people manage to preserve their youthful glow? Your answer could be Astragalus, nature's very own fountain of youth. Rich in antioxidants, this wonder herb works wonders on your skin, neutralizing the free radicals that speed up the aging process. Picture Astragalus as an artist, gently erasing those fine lines and wrinkles, and gifting you a youthful radiance that defies your age.
But that's not all! Astragalus can also help with dark spots and uneven skin tone. Imagine a paintbrush softly sweeping over a canvas, turning a dark, patchy sky into a bright, clear day. That's Astragalus, gently working on your skin to clear dark spots and improve your complexion.
Additionally, it also supports liver health which indirectly contributes to maintaining a radiant complexion. Picture Astragalus as a thorough cleaner, meticulously ensuring your liver - your body's detox center - stays in top shape, further helping to enhance your natural glow.
However, the beauty of Astragalus isn't skin-deep. It goes beyond offering cosmetic benefits to actually fortify your body's defenses and support heart health. It's like having a beauty specialist, a fitness trainer, and a health advisor rolled into one.
So, if you're dreaming of looking good and feeling great, Astragalus might just be the missing piece in your health and beauty puzzle. Why not explore the benefits of this remarkable herb and let it reveal the ageless beauty within you?
Integrating Astragalus into Your Lifestyle
Ready to invite Astragalus into your daily routine? Let’s explore the multitude of ways this super herb can seamlessly fit into your lifestyle. Picture Astragalus as a chameleon, effortlessly morphing into various forms to suit your preference. Craving a warm, comforting brew? Try sipping on Astragalus tea, a cozy cup of health and beauty. If you're a soup enthusiast, tossing in some Astragalus root could give your hearty bowl an immunity-boosting twist.
But what if you prefer a quick, no-fuss approach? That’s where Astragalus supplements come in. Whether it's pill or capsule form, this natural powerhouse is ready to adapt to your fast-paced life. Just imagine Astragalus as a swift health capsule, diving right into your daily regimen without disrupting your schedule.
However, remember that every superhero has its limits. Even Astragalus! The dosage matters and it's crucial not to exceed the recommended amount. Think of it as setting the right pace for your health journey – you wouldn’t want to sprint too fast and lose stamina, right? Therefore, always adhere to the dosage instructions provided by the manufacturer, or better yet, seek advice from a healthcare provider.
There you have it! With Astragalus, embracing a healthier, more vibrant life could be as easy as sipping tea, savoring soup, or swallowing a supplement. So why not make room for Astragalus in your life and watch as it transforms your wellness from within? After all, who says you can't achieve ageless beauty naturally? Your journey towards a naturally youthful charm begins with Astragalus!
]]>Rockville, MD August 10, 2023 – NatureKue manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland was recently added to NSF’s NSF/ANSI 455-2 Dietary Supplements Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification. Earning GMP certification from NSF verifies that a manufacturing facility has the proper methods, equipment, facilities, and controls in place to produce dietary supplement products.
NatureKue is dedicated to developing and delivering herbal-based dietary supplements that make a positive impact on the health of individuals regardless of their age.
Patented, Clinically Researched. NatureKue dietary supplements are backed by both nature and science for long-term health.
The NSF/ANSI 455 GMP standards are designed to strengthen safety, quality and trust throughout the supply chain, combine regulatory requirements with retailer quality requirements and reduce the number of audits and financial costs associated with audits. Utilizing GMP guidelines assists companies in developing and maintaining proper controls in their manufacturing process so that products are processed, manufactured and labeled in a consistent manner, and meet quality standards.
“The NSF/ANSI 455 GMP mark indicates that an NSF auditor has audited a facility, checked documents and deemed the facility compliant with GMP regulations for production,” said David Trosin, Managing Director, Global Health Sciences Certification at NSF. “We’re very pleased to grant NSF/ANSI 455 GMP certification to this NatureKue manufacturing facility.”
Learn more about https://naturekue.com/.
About NSF
NSF is an independent, global organization that facilitates standards development to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment. With operations in 180 countries, NSF tests and certifies products for the food, water, health sciences, and consumer goods industries. Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide. NSF is a Pan American Health Organization and a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Water Quality, Food Safety, and Medical Device Safety.
]]>Understanding Yin and Yang
In TCM, it’s thought that Qi (气), or the body’s vital energy, flows along certain channels in the body to keep mind, body, and spirit in harmony. There are two opposing forces — yin and yang — that need to be kept in balance. When they are imbalanced, Qi (气) is blocked, to the detriment of our health.
Yin foods are cooling, while yang foods are warming.
In general, TCM favors warming foods because they are easier to break down. Cold foods use up qi to digest, and that can leave us depleted and lacking energy. That’s why in China, people drink warm water (not the ice water frequently served in American restaurants!), cold food is less common than warm food, and salads are not often seen on restaurant menus or kitchen tables.[i]
Think of the stomach as a pot that must “cook” (or digest) the food we eat in order to use the nutrients within. How well our stomachs cook is dependent on how strong the flame underneath the pot is, referred to in TCM as “digestive fire.” If the fire is too weak, it won’t be up to the job, and the food will fail to cook (or digest completely), which can lead to bloating, gas, and stomach upset. If the fire is too strong, the food will burn and be less nutritious. The key is finding the right balance.[ii],[iii]
In general, cooked foods are preferred to raw foods in TCM because some of the work of food breakdown has already been done. Less work for the stomach makes digestion easier.
Three Burners
TCM divides organs into three burners:
In the cooking pot metaphor, the stomach is the pot, and the spleen is the fire underneath it. When the middle burner is doing its job well, it sends qi (energy) from the digested food upward to the heart and lungs and sends waste products down to the intestines.
However, if the fire of the middle burner starts to burn low, it borrows energy from the lower burner, and the kidneys become depleted. This can throw the whole body out of balance.
When to Eat Warming Foods vs. Cooling Foods
In choosing when to eat warming or cooling foods, there are many factors to consider, including your individual constitution (tending toward yin or yang), the climate where you live (warmer or cooler), and the season of the year.
In addition to preparation, flavor also affects whether a food is warming, cooling, drying, or moistening. Spicy foods are warming, while bitter foods are cooling. Sweet foods are moistening; sour foods, drying. Salty foods help prevent stasis (stagnation).
You can alter the warming or cooling nature of a food through seasoning. For instance, a glass of freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juice on its own would be cooling, but if you add some spicy fresh ginger to your drink, you can bring it into neutral territory. Cinnamon, cloves, red pepper flakes, and turmeric are also warming spices.
Neutral foods than can be eaten by anyone any time of year include:
Eating Seasonally = Eating in Harmony
Eating local, in-season foods is one way to help you get the right balance of yin and yang foods. Summer, the hottest season, is the best season to eat raw foods, which are off-limits in the colder, wetter months. Think about what’s on offer at your local farmers’ market at the height of summer — tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, and melons, all foods that are cooling and delicious uncooked. If you went to the same market in winter, you might find acorn squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and other foods that are most often enjoyed cooked. TCM believes that’s not a coincidence.
Practitioners of TCM recommend eat cooling, dampening foods in summertime to keep the body from overheating and to build up its fluids. Good foods to eat in summer include:[v],[vi]
Just beware that even in summer, you can overdo it with cooling foods. Too many cold or raw foods can cause the body to work too hard at digestion and may cause digestive difficulties. This depletes the body of qi in the spleen and stomach.[vii] Try to find a balance between cooking seasonal foods and eating them raw. For instance, make marinara sauce with some of your garden tomatoes and gazpacho with the rest. Eat spinach in stir-fries as well as in salads. Or use warming spices on cooling foods.
Another thing to avoid in summer is heavy or greasy foods. They can clog up and overwork your digestive system. Simple preparation is best, and luckily, when so many fruits and vegetables are at their best, simplicity lets their delectable flavors take centerstage.
If you’d like to learn more about how to bring your diet into balance with your constitution and the seasons, make an appointment with a local TCM practitioner or acupuncturist. You may be surprised how eating with the seasons, in accordance with your unique body type, changes how you feel!
References
[i] Gutkin M. A TCM perspective on cooked vs raw foods. MarkGutkin.com. 2018 Jan 5. https://markgutkin.com/tcm-perspective-cooked-vs-raw-foods/
[ii] Tan A. Cooked vs raw foods—TCM perspective. The Hutong: Sharing Culture, Sharing Knowledge. 2010 February 1. https://thehutong.com/cooked-vs-raw-foods-tcm-perspective/
[iii] Gutkin, 2018.
[iv] The triple burner. Rising Moon Tai Chi School. 2008. https://www.risingmoontaichi.net/the-triple-burner
[v] Summer diet from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Perspective. Mornington Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture. 2018. https://morningtonchinesemedicine.com.au/summer-diet-traditional-chinese-medicine-tcm-perspective/
[vi] Kokin ML. Eat according to TCM: Five Foods for Summer. Kokin Healing Center. 2018 Jul 25. https://kokinhealingcenter.com/2018/07/eating-according-to-tcm-five-foods-for-summer/
[vii] Kokin, 2018.
Posted: July 7, 2020
Summer is a great time for getting outside in the sun, enjoying the warmth, and eating! Fresh vegetables plucked from the garden, prepped, and eaten hours (or minutes!) later is not only delicious, but also an excellent way to get essential nutrients and enzymes. Here’s a list of 8 great summer vegetables to add to your table.
(If any of these are not in your garden, check the local farmer’s market, take a road trip to a nearby farm, or simply visit your local grocery to enjoy these flavors of summer…)
Ok, you can argue it’s a type of fruit, but more importantly, it’s delicious. (let’s get this out of the way early, a lot of commonly thought of vegetables are really fruits. You know tomatoes and cucumbers are. But did you also know so are corn and red peppers? Moving on…) Avocado is a great source of good, plant-based protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins C, E, and K as well as B vitamins. It’s also a great source of iron, magnesium, and potassium. Use it as the base for your guacamole, or slice it for a quick, nutritious snack.
It makes a great side at a barbeque or simply to add a savory sweetness to a meal. With corn, you get protein, fatty acids along with B vitamins, especially folate, and minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. It’s also yellow, which means it has carotenoid antioxidants, specifically lutein and zeaxanthin which help protect your eyes from the sun.
With a glycemic load of 1 (you want to try to keep your total glycemic load under 100 daily), cucumbers make a refreshing and healthy snack. Sure, this member of the squash family may be mostly water, but it’s a great way to stay hydrated and get vitamin C and fiber. Cucumber is also a source of silica, a micronutrient needed for healthy joints and skin. Just make sure to eat cucumber with its skin to get the added benefits of minerals like potassium and phosphorus that reside there.
You can do a lot with eggplant. You can bake it or grill it or try it in Italian, Mediterranean or Asian cuisines and more. You’ll get B vitamins, vitamin K and a variety of essential minerals. And with its purple skin (though you can find varieties in just about every color), it offers an excellent source of antioxidants.
Here’s another vegetable that’s a strong source of amino acids in addition to vitamins and minerals. Green beans can be prepared in a lot of ways. Grill them lightly with oil. Blanche them and eat them crunchy. Chop them up, Sautee them and mix them in with eggs for a healthy breakfast. However, you enjoy them, you’ll also be eating a great source of folate, vitamins A, C and K and a wide range of minerals including iron, magnesium, and zinc.
One cup of red pepper supplies nearly a full RDA of vitamin A and more than 300% of vitamin C! It’s also a great source of the antioxidant vitamin E and B vitamins. Like tomatoes, red peppers contain lycopene, the plant chemical that gives it the red color and which has been shown to act as a powerful antioxidant. Research suggests red peppers even boost your metabolism.[i]
Could it possibly be summer without tomatoes? Well, if you don’t like tomatoes perhaps, but if you haven’t tried one in a while, maybe it’s worth another look! Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene and vitamins A and C. They also contain lutein and zeaxanthin which with vitamin A makes them an excellent way to protect your eyes. Plus, they can be prepared in so many ways (or eaten raw) there’s sure to be a recipe that will match every palate.
This summer squash is loaded with B vitamins and vitamin C, and minerals, plus amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and protein. Enjoy it grilled and lightly drizzled with olive oil or slice it thin and add to a salad. However, you prepare it, enjoy zucchini and every other vegetable on this list all summer long!
1. [Nutrition information from SELFNutritionData. Ludy M-J, Mattes RD. The effects of hedonically acceptable red pepper doses on thermogenesis and appetite.Physiology & behavior. 2011;102(3-4):251-258. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.11.018.
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