Herbal Blog

     The medicinal value of celery is quite important, it has been used as an aphrodisiac, anthelmintic, antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, emmenagogue, laxative, sedative, stimulant, and tonic. Likewise, is helpful against asthma, bronchitis, and rheumatism. In combination with parsley, it can be a very helpful natural remedy for uric acid elevation, hypertension and even prevent bladder stones. 

     Avocado is considered the most nutritious fruit in the world. Avocado provides more than 25 essential nutrients such as protein, potassium, vitamin E, C, B-vitamins, folic acid, iron, copper, phosphorus and magnesium. Avocado also provides calories for energy and beneficial phytochemicals such as beta-sitosterol, glutathione and lutein (necessary to protect us from the damage of ultraviolet radiation from many sources -computers and environment).

       Some believe that the fat content of avocado is damaging but  the fat in avocado is mostly monounsaturated. What should be avoided or reduced is saturated fat that is present in most dairy and animal products. In fact, avocado helps in the absorption of nutrients that are fat-soluble such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, when food containing these nutrients are eaten with avocado. Avocado is also high in fiber that is good for the digestive system and the heart.

          Overall, avocado is considered a complete food. With vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, calories and fiber with no cholesterol and is sodium free. Avocado is ideal for growing up children, adults and even for babies, especially when blended with other fruits. For athletes, avocado is a nutritious energy booster to rev up the body’s strength.

       Avocado (in slices) can be eaten as is or with a dash of salt. It can be  mixed with other fruits, as salad, a shake, baked in breads and even made into a dip. In the Philippines, ripe avocado is often eaten as a snack by scooping from flesh from the skin then mixed with a some sugar and milk or cream.

      A documentation of avocado’s cholesterol lowering effect was studied in in Brisbane, Australia. The researchers reported that eating avocados daily for three weeks improved blood cholesterol in middle-aged women better than a low-fat diet did. The avocado diet reduced total cholesterol by 8 percent compared with 5 percent for the low-fat diet. Another important observation was that it improved the good cholesterol (HDL or high density lipoprotein) by 15 percent. The daily amount of avocado ranged from 1/2 avocado for small women to 1 1/2 for large women. With this study we expect that the myth that avocados can worsen cholesterol can be dispelled. So by eating avocados, heart patients could cut their risk of heart attack 10-20 percent and death rates 4-8 percent in 3-5 years. Don’t hold your cravings for avocados, indulge, it is good for our heart!

Why avocado fat lowers cholesterol?’

      Avocado fat content is the reason to lower cholesterol since it is monounsaturated fat. Another reason is that avocado packs more of the cholesterol-smashing beta-sitosterol (a beneficial plant-based fat) than any other fruit. Beta-sitosterol reduces the amount of cholesterol absorbed from food. So the combination of beta-sitosterol and monounsaturated fat makes the avocado an excellent cholesterol buster.

      Beta-Sitosterol has an apparent ability to block the bad LDL cholesterol absorption from the intestine, resulting in lower blood cholesterol levels. The Australian study not only reported that eating either half or a whole avocado fruit per day for a month succeeded in lowering cholesterol levels, but at the same time most people in the study lost weight.

Sid Information on beta-sitosterol
     It is a phytosterol or plant alcohol that is literally in every vegetable we eat. We already eat this every day but we just don’t get enough of it. The typical American is estimated to eat only 200-400 mg a day while vegetarians probably eat about twice this much. This is surely one of the many reasons vegetarians are healthier and live longer.

Actually the term “beta-sitosterol” in commerce refers to the natural combination of beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol and brassicasterol as this is how they are made by nature in plants. There are no magic foods with high levels of phytosterols, but they can be inexpensively extracted from sugar cane pulp, soybeans and pine oil.

         Lychees are a rich source of Vitamin C, as well as calcium, potassium and phosphorus as well as thiamine. They are often used in cooking to flavor a meat dish, much like pineapple or raisins are used to flavor a ham. Lychees are also pressed for juice, and pulped to make a sherbet dish which is very popular in China. They are also used to flavor tea; eating lychee fruit is suggested as a cure for a cough, digestive complaints and even ulcers. So drinking lychee juice can help heal stomach ulcers. Lychees help the skin in other ways too; the vitamin C in lychees helps produce collagen. In 100 grams of fruit, over 60 mg of vitamin C can be obtained, about 25 mg of thiamine, 170 mg of potassium and about 10 grams of calcium. Potassium is important in cardiovascular health and it helps revitalize the skin’s moisture and give the skin a healthy glow. 

      Aside from the pulp of the fruit, the seeds of lychees can be used to relieve stomach and intestinal problems or pain. The peel of the fruit, when dried can be made into a tea drink for diarrhea. The root, flower and bark extracts are taken as a treatment for sore throat. There is also some anit-cancer property of the roots.

     Most of us believe in the nutritional value of soy beans although some
have suspected that phytoestrogens may not be beneficial for those who
are already suffering or has survived breast cancer.

      However, soya is still one of the best foods we can have for preventing
cardiovascular diseases. In a study by Welty et al in 60 post menopausal women, soy nuts were found to reduce blood pressure by 9.9% systolic and 6.8% diastolic. The women were assigned into two groups at random; 1 group with the standard Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) regimen, which is a program in United States to reduce LDL or low density lipoprotein (”bad cholesterol”) with changes in diet, exercise, weight loss and others (e.g., smoking and stress) and the other group of women assigned to TLC plus soy supplementation. After sometime the groups were reversed in order to see if the results will again be observed. This grouping assignment technically means “randomized with cross-over” and with such study design the results of the comparison were strong or the results consistent following whichever test regimen was given.

             

     Furthermore, soy nut supplementation had resulted in lowering of the
LDL and apolipoprotein B levels (this is the substance that carry
cholesterol to our tissues especially to our blood vessels creating plaques
which eventually lead to blood vessel blocks -heart attack and stroke).

     Basically we have, in the authors own words, that dietary soy “may be a
practical, safe and inexpensive modality to reduce BP.” They
characterize the effects as being “comparable with those seen with
antihypertensive drugs.” This study provides proof that food has a real healing
effect on the body, not just nourishment.
[Welty et al, Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:1060-1067]