DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

Spring-the season in which flowers bloom, soft breezes blow, and hay fever sufferers go insane. This time of year, with wild temperature fluctuations, it is not surprising that many people suffer sore throats, coughs, and runny noses. Here are some herbal remedies to help you enjoy the season.

DAAN’s Sinusitis pills and Pe Min Kan Tablet

In this allergy season, you might want to try two of our top selling herbal supplements to help alleviate your symptoms. The herbs in DAAN’s sinusitis pills are formulated for general allergy symptoms of watery/itchy eyes, sneezing, and running nose. For those who are constantly reaching for the tissue box, Pe Min Kan tablets are specifically formulated to tackle problems in the nasal passage.

Ban Lan Gen Instant herbal tea, Xia Sang Ju Chong Ji and Fe Yi Chin Pai Yi Kaw

During the spring season where the weather is so precarious, one is very susceptible to head colds and upper respiratory problems. Xia Sang Ju Chong Ji and Ban Lan Gen instant herbal tea are instant herbal drinks that relieve early cold symptoms such as dry and scratchy throat. They are also great beverages for those who eat a lot of fried and spicy food. Fe Yi Chin Pai Yi Kaw is a tasty herbal syrup formulated for early onset of dry cough.

DAAN’s Cleansing Tea and Weisen U

For many people, spring signifies the beginning of baseball season, or simply, the start of tailgate parties. Don’t spoil the fun of a great outing with indigestion or stomach ache discomfort. Fill your thermos with DAAN’s Cleansing tea, or simply bring a bottle of Weisen U with you to the ball park and enjoy the wonders of spring.

Tags: General by DAAN
No Comments »

Ginseng is a very popular herb in Asia, with many uses:

”
Asian ginseng is perhaps the most widely recognized of the plants used in traditional medicine and plays a major role in the herbal health market. It has been used for more than two thousand years. At least six species and varieties of Panax have been used in traditional medicine. It is a popular ingredient in herbal teas and cosmetics. It is promoted for its antistress effects.

Ginseng’s dried root is medicinal. It contains triterpenoid saponins called ginsenosides that appear to be the active ingredients responsible for the plant’s immunomodulatory effects. Ginsenosides seem to increase natural-killer cell activity, stimulate interferon production, accelerate nuclear RNA synthesis, and increase motor activity.

The ginsenosides have been found to protect against stress ulcers, to decrease blood glucose level, to increase high-density lipoprotein level, and to affect central nervous system activity by acting as a de pressant, anticonvulsant, analgesic, and antipsychotic.

Ginseng is available as powdered root, tablets, capsules, and tea. Common trade names include Centrum Ginseng, Chikusetsu Ginseng, Gin-Action, Ginsai, Ginsana, Ginseng Manchurian, Ginseng Power Max 004X G-Sana, Ginseng Up, Gin Zip, Herbal Sure Chinese Red Ginseng, Herbal Sure Korean Ginseng, Korean White Ginseng, Lynae Ginse-Cool, Power Herb Korean Ginseng, Premium Blend Korean Ginseng Extract, Sanchi Ginseng, The Ginseng Solution, Time Release Korean Ginseng Power, and Zhuzishen.”

Tags: Ginseng by DAAN
No Comments »

Bilberry and lycium, commonly used herbs in Chinese medicine for eyesight, could help your eyesight:

“ANTHOCYANIDINS found in bilberry fruits may be useful for people with vision problems. It is believed that British Royal Air Force pilots flying night missions during World War II ate bilberry jam to improve their vision and relieve tired eyes. The jam was made from ripe bilberries which are deep-blue red in colour.

Anthocyanidin, which belongs to the class of flavonoids, is a pigment commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is one of the richest sources. However, in recent years, hot and dry weather has reduced the harvest of bilberry. This makes the fruits even more precious.

Anthocyanidins help protect the retina, the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye and sends nerve impulses to the visual areas of the brain.

Studies conducted in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s suggest that the anthocyanidins in bilberry fruit preparations improve symptoms of a variety of visual disturbances including near-sightedness, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

Benefits of Bilberry:
- Improves capillary strength and flexibility

- Increases capillary blood flow in the eyes

- Increases the generation of enzymes responsible for energy production in the eyes

Eyebright is a European wild plant. It is traditionally used to treat eye irritation. The whole herb is used medicinally. Eyebright is used primarily as a topical compress of eye inflammation. It is beneficial for reducing redness and swelling. Nowadays, you can find eyebright as a supplement, normally in combination with bilberry for synergistic effects.

Other eye herbs worth mentioning are lycium (kei chi in Chinese) and lutein. Lycium is known to be a rich source of antioxidants, specifically zeaxanthin. Zeaxanthin is well-absorbed from lycium. Zeaxanthin absorbs blue light and therefore, like the pigment lutein, is thought to be beneficial to the human eye.”

DAAN carries a number of products for your eyes.

Tags: Herbs by DAAN
No Comments »

Chinese herbs may help with eczema:

“A traditional Chinese herbal medicine consisting of five herbs may ease eczema symptoms, a study suggests.

Researchers found the treatment reduced the need for conventional medicines, and improved the quality of life for young patients with atopic eczema.

The study of 85 patients by the Chinese University of Hong Kong is reported in the British Journal of Dermatology.

However, UK experts warned against using Chinese herbal medicine without first consulting a doctor.

Eczema is a group of inflammatory skin disorders that make the skin dry, itchy, flaky, red and sore. In more severe forms the skin can become broken and weep or bleed.

The Hong Kong team assessed the effects of the “pentaherbs formulation” on patients with atopic eczema - the most common type of the disease which affects at least one in ten children.

The capsules contained extracts of five raw herbs based on a widely used ancestral Chinese concoction. “

Tags: Herbs by DAAN
No Comments »

NBA Star Yao Ming turns to Chinese medicine for his care

“BEIJING — Chinese officials are hoping to speed NBA star Yao Ming’s recovery with a secret remedy — traditional Chinese medicine.

The Houston Rockets center underwent surgery on Monday to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Doctors in the United States said after the surgery that he was expected to recover in time to play for China at the Beijing Olympics in August.

However, back home they’re taking no chances with Yao’s health.”

Tags: General, Disease by DAAN
No Comments »

Study shows that acupuncture may increase the change for pregnancy

“It sounds far-fetched —- sticking needles in women to help them become pregnant —- but a scientific review suggests that

The surprising finding is far from proven, and there are only theories for how and why acupuncture might work. However, some fertility specialists say they are hopeful that this relatively inexpensive and simple treatment might ultimately prove to be a useful add-on to traditional methods.”

Tags: Acupuncture by DAAN
No Comments »

Scientists are studying whether traditional medicines for possible treatments for cancer:

“Curing cancer with natural products — a case for shamans and herbalists? Not at all, for many chemotherapies to fight cancer applied in modern medicine are natural products or were developed on the basis of natural substances. Thus, taxanes used in prostate and breast cancer treatment are made from yew trees. The popular periwinkle plant, which grows along the ground of many front yards, is the source of vinca alkaloids that are effective, for example, against malignant lymphomas. The modern anti-cancer drugs topotecan and irinotecan are derived from a constituent of the Chinese Happy Tree.

Looking for new compounds, doctors and scientists are increasingly focusing on substances from plants used in traditional medicine. About three quarters of the natural pharmaceutical compounds commonly used today are derived from plants of the traditional medicine of the people in various parts of the world. The chances of finding new substances with interesting working profiles in traditional medicinal plants are better than in common-or-garden botany.

Tags: East and West, Disease by DAAN
No Comments »

Two well known doctors debate the alternatives to western medicine:

“In separate interviews, the doctors gave a preview of what’s to come:

Weil: We spend more per-capita on health care than any people in the world, yet by every measure of health outcomes, we’re at or near the bottom compared to other developed countries. What we call health care is intervention and dependent on expensive technology … that’s why our health care system’s on the verge of collapse.

The integrative medicine I teach is really training doctors and other health professionals to focus on health maintenance, prevention of disease and low-tech intervention such as dietary adjustments.

Everybody should take 2 to 3 grams of fish oil a day – it’s a protection against depression, cancer, heart disease all the diseases of aging and optimizes mental function. I also recommend vitamin D-3 (to help prevent many cancers and multiple sclerosis).

Reduce consumption of refined, processed and manufactured foods. Practice stress management, exercise and breathing. Inhale through the nose for the count of four, hold the breath for the count of seven, exhale through your mouth for the count of eight, four cycles twice a day. You can do it sitting at a red light.

Breathing changes the tone of the involuntary nervous system and other imbalances at the root of disease, This affects cardiovascular function, blood circulation, digestion, mood and energy.

Wilkes: I’m skeptical. There may be a placebo effect, but if breathing actually resulted in people being healthier and living longer, we would have evolved in a way that allowed us to breathe that way. Let’s have an independent group study where half get taught to breathe the way Weil does it and see how they do after three months or six years.

And there’s no data that vitamin D does anything for most people. In the absence of data that show it would work, save your money. He’s gotten to be such a wealthy man, put some of that money into clinical trials and see if that stuff works or not.

Medical schools have done a systematically poor job acknowledging this whole field of complementary alternative medicine. Americans spend billions on this. Patients go to see complementary doctors for all of our failures – for needs we can’t meet with Western medicine, and if they don’t feel listened to.”

Tags: East and West by DAAN
No Comments »