Medicinal Herbs Minneapolis MN

Housecalls - Medicinal Foods, Exercise, Giving Therapies Time to Work

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Medicinal Foods
Q Can I benefit from eating foods with medicinal herbs added to them?

A No. “Foods are not a good way to get botanicals,” says Clare Hasler, founding director of the Functional Foods for Health Program at the University of Illinois. Processing food properly can be difficult enough, she says, without the extra layer of complexity that mixing in herbs requires. You’re better off getting your herbs through supplements, teas, or tinctures.

Most of the herbal additions to foods are in doses that are quite small, typically because makers don’t want to change the way the food tastes or increase the cost of the food by adding large quantities of herbs. The amounts are usually much less than what’s been used traditionally or has been found in studies to be effective, says Michael Rotblatt, a physician at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine. “On the whole,” he says, “I find most of these products to be marketing gimmicks.”

Exercising Enough
Q Do I really need to exercise for an hour a day? I thought half an hour was fine, but I read recently that’s not enough.

A If you, like most people, find it a struggle to squeeze the recommended daily 30 minutes of exercise into a busy schedule, you may have been daunted by the latest advice from the federal government’s Institute of Medicine: Its experts now say that American adults should—somehow—find time for an entire hour of exercise each day.

But before you throw a gym towel over your head and skulk away, here’s a bit of perspective. “The Institute of Medicine’s report was very narrow and focused solely on weight management,” says Andrea Dunn, a behavioral scientist at the Cooper Institute (part of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research) in Dallas. The report’s recommendations were based on studies of the typical exercise habits of people who successfully avoid putting on pounds as they get older.

But, says Dunn, “It ignored the enormous health benefits that you can get from exercising for just half an hour on most days.” That amount of exercise may not always stave off weight gain, but its payoffs include reducing the risk of major health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even some cancers.

Throw in the added benefits of boosting immunity, easing stress, and putting roses in your cheeks, and it’s clear that exercise is one of the best natural remedies around. What’s more, you can get many of its benefits even when your activity is sprinkled throughout your day in several short bursts. Whether you do it a little or a lot matters less than that you just do it.

Time for Alternatives
Q How much time should I give an alternative therapy before deciding whether or not it’s working?

A That depends on both you and the condition you’re being treated for. “Usually acute or mild conditions can be quickly influenced, while chronic and severe conditions take more time,” says Michael Arnold, a p...

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