Here is what is supposed to happen when you sleep: You cycle through a few 90-minute periods between deep and light sleep. The best sleep includes at least 5 of these cycles per night, for a total sleep time of about 8 hours. Anything less than 8 hours of good sleep (with the emphasis on good) will lead to sleep deprivation like our candidate for natural sleep remedies in the photo. All kinds of health problems arise from sleep deprivation, so let’s just agree that a lack of good sleep is bad news.
In light of that comment, how would you like to have an herbal supplement that could do the following?
- Relieve your night-time restlessness and sleep problems
- Boost your mood
- Lower your anxiety
- Calm you down
- Balance your nerves
Hang on to your hat, because a new wonder herb from a South American tree fits this description and more. The common name of this herb is mulungu, scientifically Erythrina mulungu, a member of the pea family.
The plant kingdom offers a wide variety of herbs that can help you relax, manage stress, and sleep better. I have always loved valerian, hops, and kava kava. Recently, however, I was hunting around to see what other herbs are used elsewhere in the world, and I was delighted to discover mulungu from the Amazon. As I delved into the background for mulungu, I found that it is more than a natural sleep aid. The many uses of this herb are derived from a long history in folk medicine as well as from current scientific research. This is an ideal combination of information that I require for verifying the use of any kind of herbal preparation, so I though I’d just pass it on to you.
Indeed, what I found is that herbal preparations of mulungu in its native land include all of the above, plus:
- Hepatotonic (tones, balances, strengthens the liver)
- Stress, anxiety, depression, hysteria, panic disorders, compulsive disorders
- Sedative for insomnia, restlessness, and sleep disorders
- Hepatitis, obstructions, high liver enzyme levels, sclerosis
- High blood pressure and heart palpitations
- Drug and nicotine withdrawal
Tribal and Herbal Medicine Uses
Mulungu has long been used in Brazil by Amazon natives as a natural sedative, to calm an overexcited nervous system and promote restful sleep. However, it is much more than natural sleep remedy. In both North and South American herbal medicine systems, mulungu is considered to be an excellent mild sedative. It is especially important in preparations for treating insomnia and anxiety. In both Peru and Brazil, mulungu is even used for epilepsy.
Although it is not yet well-known in the United States, some herbal practitioners are starting to use mulungu to quiet hysteria from trauma or shock, to calm the nervous system, and to treat insomnia and promote healthy sleeping patterns.
Biological Activities and Clinical Research
The folk medical uses of mulungu have been validated by scientific research in several recent studies in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, the Journal of Natural Products, and the Brazilian Journal of Biological and Medicinal Research. For example, one study using an animal model (correlating to human generalized anxiety disorder, as well as panic disorder) was undertaken on an extract of mulungu. The researchers reported that the mulungu extract had an effect similar to the commonly-prescribed anti-anxiety drug diazepam (former brand name, Valium). It was suggested in this study that the phytochemicals in mulungu may alter certain kinds of neurotransmission similar to that of GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid). GABA is widely used as a supplement for its calming action.
Further research also validated the traditional use of mulungu as an antimicrobial agent for throat and urinary infections. Mulungu demonstrated antibacterial activity in studies on the disease-causing bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium fortuitum and Mycobacterium smegmatis.
Current Practical Uses
Mulungu is not yet widely known in North America as a natural sleep remedy. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful rainforest herb with well-established uses in Brazil and surrounding countries. It deserves and will undoubtedly achieve much more attention as more herbalists and their clients discover the power of this herb for helping people attain optimal wellness through natural stress management. Indeed, mulungu provides the same calming effect of kava kava, whose reputation has been undermined by negative press propaganda about supposed liver damage that has led to unwarranted fears. Moreover, since mulungu has an additional positive effect on the liver, this herb is poised as the new replacement for kava kava.
I am always looking for ways for people to get better sleep with a natural sleep remedy. Fortunately, regarding the use of mulungu, I didn’t have to call up any of my colleagues in Rio de Janeiro to get some material for me. An herbal importer had also discovered this herb and made it available in the U.S. This is when I got my research team together and created a formula that incorporates mulungu and a couple of other ingredients that are well known to boost good sleep. We came up with what we call, “Mulungu Sleep Formula.” (By the way, in case you ever have the opportunity to create a supplement formula yourself, one of your perks is being able to hold the cost WAY down. You’ll see what I mean when you hit that link above that takes you to my nutrition store.)
Mulungu and Stress Management
This herb is much more than a natural sleep remedy. People who use mulungu or any other herbs for natural sleep also seem to manage daily stress better. And this leads to more good sleep, and even better stress management. What a great way to get live!
All the best in natural health,
Dr. D
Today I feel inspired to get into teaching mode, plus throw in a little biochemistry just because I can. It is the Mad Professor that is still in me.
Think for a moment about the silliness of the longtime favorite label, “all natural.” This pops up so often on foods, beverages, supplements, talk shows, infomercials, ads of all kinds, etc., that it is enough to make me gag. Even my university students, bless their naïve little hearts, used this phrase so often that I finally had to include a special lecture on it every semester in my integrative medicine class. “All natural” should mean something, although this meaning has been corrupted by two forces: 1) the mindless belief that if something is all natural, it is somehow automatically good for you; and, 2) government regulations. This subject has become such a gigantic mess that I am challenged by where to start.
Role of the Fraudulent Drug Administration (aka, FDA)
This rogue government agency is owned by Big Pharma and Big Fooda (OK, I made up that term, you get the picture) and is way too understaffed. It is not the guardian of human health that American mythology tells us it is. It acts more like a puppet that is controlled by the biggest and baddest puppeteer. According to Global New Products Database, “All Natural,” was the third most frequent claim made on food products launched in the US in 2007, appearing on 2,617 products. It ranked fourth most popular claim for beverages, used on 542 items.
Now take a look at one of the most common sweeteners that is added to products that claim to be all natural – high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The FDA has to contend with a back and forth battle between the Corn Refiners Association, which says HFCS is all natural, and the Sugar Association, which says it isn’t. The issue is that HFCS is extracted, hydrolyzed, separated, traumatized, folded, spindled, and mutilated in ways that make a chemist’s heart flutter, then added to foods and beverages.
This just means that HFCS is no longer raw material. It goes through several chemical steps to become the final product. Does that mean it is no longer all natural? FDA’s ruling, which fluctuates, depends on which of the two opposing special-interest groups greases the most palms with the most money. The bottom line is that, as always, don’t count on your government to give you good advice. In my opinion, HFCS is to be avoided regardless of what any agency decides.
Natural Health Therapies – Not Always Warm and Fuzzy
Now if we just focus on natural natural ingredients from herbs and other organisms, a short list would include the following:
- MSG
- Strychnine
- Morphine
- Cocaine
- Botox
- Ricin
These are just a few that pop into my head. Ricin, which is a all natural product of castor beans, is such a powerful toxin that possession of it is illegal. You already know about botox (botulism toxin!), morphine, cocaine, and strychnine. MSG is so nasty that food manufacturers have come up with 17 ways to hide it from being obvious on a food label. All of these are “all natural.”
Natural Health Alternative No. 1 – The Easy Case of Vitamin E
The chemical gobbledygook, “alpha-d-tocopherol,” indicates one of several forms of naturally occurring vitamin E. The chemical structure is a tocopherol molecule that comes in “D” form and an “L” form, which are kind of like the mirror images of your left and right hands. They are not identical, although one looks like the other in a mirror. When a living organism makes tocopherol, enzymes guide the formation of the “D” form. Likewise, enzymes use the same form in biological reactions. The “L” form is inert.
It you look at a few example vitamin supplements that contain vitamin E, you will find some that contain “DL” tocopherol. This means that vitamin E was transformed from some other molecule in a flask, without enzymes. The resulting mix is only half as active biologically as the natural “D” form because half of the mix is the “L” form. Okay, that is an easy one to evaluate.
Natural Health Alternative No. 2 – The Not So Easy Case of Bioidentical Hormones
This is a huge issue for millions of women who undergo hormone therapy for menopause. I have enough information to write book on this, so I’ll really keep it short for now and promise more on the topic soon. Supplement manufacturers have perpetrated the “bioidentical hormone” terminology to imply that hormone supplements are all natural. Hmpf!
Take a look at the chemical structure of progesterone below. Chemists discovered it and determined its structure in the first half of the twentieth century. This structure is the only molecule that is called progesterone. By looking at the structure, you would not be able to tell whether it came from a natural source or was made in a laboratory from fire, air, earth and water (i.e., the favorite starting materials for chemists).
Now take a look at the structure of diosgenin, which comes from plants (most notably certain species of yams). Diosgenin is very similar to progesterone in many respects. Indeed, commercial progesterone is made by chemically modifying diosgenin. That is the progesterone that is in supplements such as progesterone creams.
Progesterone is progesterone is progesterone. Your body (men AND women need it) doesn’t distinguish the all-natural form from the form that chemists make from diosgenin. Progesterone supplements are just fine. They just aren’t all natural.
Thanks for reading my semi-rant. I feel better now.
All the best in natural health,
Dr. D
Posted under Uncategorized |
Acai Science or Acai Scam?
Calling acai scams such a nasty name is pretty harsh. I’ll just say that most of the information on the Internet is simply repeated, out of ignorance, from a few original sources. The original sources are the scams. Just for fun I’m going to show you how a scientist (me) evaluates the marketing hype behind the big acai scam.
What I did was to go to one of my favorite medical databases and simply look up all of the references to published research on the scientific name, Euterpe oleracea, which is the name that scientists use for the species of palm tree that produces acai berries (which are not really berries, by the way). I’m going to give you the Cliff Notes version of the results first, then I’ll append the complete list with summaries of results.
Research Behind Acai Berry Scam
A total of 9 publications came up in my search. The earliest was published in 2004 and the most recent one in 2008. The main results are listed below:
- 2004 Anthocyanins and similar phytochemicals were isolated and evaluated for antioxidant activity and pigment stability.
- 2005 Several commercial and non-commercial samples of acai fruit pulp were found to have antioxidant activity; very little of this activity was due to the anthocyanins
- 2006 Anthocyanins from fruits were found to be potent inhibitors of nitric oxide
- 2006 Seed extracts show potent antioxidant activity, mostly from as yet unknown ingredients
- 2007 Extracts of acai pits show vasodilator effect on rat tissue
- 2007 Acai fruits have good nutritional value
- 2008 Acai fruit pulp and oil inhibit growth of colon cancer cells in culture; effect is not due to anthocyanins
- 2008 Class of phytochemicals called lignans discovered; showed protective effect on breast cancer cell cultures that were stressed by hydrogen peroxide
- 2008 Showed acai pulp to be equivalent to applesauce in increasing plasma antioxidant capacity
Do Research Articles Support Acai Scams?
In a word, no. The research has nothing to do with the marketing of any acai scam. Now go look up what you can find on acai for weight loss, then compare what you find with the list of research results below.
You may also run into a handful of articles at EzineArticles.com that advise you to drink acai juice to prevent cancer. After doing many years of research on cancer cell cultures myself (in my case, brain cancer cells), I can tell you that research on cell cultures rarely has anything to do with cells in a whole person. The reference above from 2008 regarding colon cancer is very, very, very preliminary. Did I say VERY preliminary? No advice whatsoever can be taken from this lone article.
Acai Scams are Here to Stay
Many supplement manufacturers have jumped onto this bandwagon. Customers in my store come in regularly to ask about acai for weight loss and other health benefits. My recommendation is always that acai berry contains some antioxidants that are probably beneficial. It is the new berry on the block. Another one will come along soon. Fruits juices litter the supplement landscape. They are all good to some extent. However, the information about acai has reached a level of silliness that I regard as a scam. The big Acai Scam.
What About Folk Medicine?
We don’t always have to rely on scientific research to guide us. It is too slow to find out most the answers we want. This is where old knowledge can be helpful, especially when herbs have a folk medical history. Unfortunately, the acai berry is more well known as a poor man’s fruit juice than as a medicinal herb. People in Brazil, where acai palms are cultivated, are probably laughing in their beer about all the hullabaloo regarding acai. You can read about this plant from the point of view of a naturopathic doctor at RainTree Nutrition to see what I mean.
Now for the Gory Scientific Details
I welcome you to scan the references that I dug up. This is a lot of detailed information that only scientists like me get excited about. Enjoy! You can get even more information by looking up the PubMed ID numbers for the complete abstracts of these articles. Titles of the articles are in boldface. Don’t scientists have a way with words? A typical full reference, as those below, includes title, journal citation, author names, and address of the lead institution.
1: Pharmacokinetics of anthocyanins and antioxidant effects after the consumption of anthocyanin-rich acai juice and pulp (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) in human healthy volunteers.
Mertens-Talcott SU, Rios J, Jilma-Stohlawetz P, Pacheco-Palencia LA, Meibohm B, Talcott ST, Derendorf H.
Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA. smtalcott@tamu.edu
J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 10;56(17):7796-802.
PubMed ID: 18693743
SUMMARY: Compared acai pulp, clarified acai juice, applesauce, and a non-antioxidant beverage. Plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly increased by the acai pulp and applesauce. Individual increases in plasma antioxidant capacity of up to 2.3- and 3-fold for acai juice and pulp, respectively were observed. The antioxidant capacity in urine, generation of reactive oxygen species, and uric acid concentrations in plasma were not significantly altered by the treatments.
2: Lignans and other constituents of the fruits of Euterpe oleracea (Acai) with antioxidant and cytoprotective activities.
Chin YW, Chai HB, Keller WJ, Kinghorn AD.
Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, 500 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 10;56(17):7759-64.
PubMed ID: 18656934
SUMMARY: Identified examples of a class of phytochemicals called lignans. Showed that a handful of these can protect certain type of breast cancer cells in culture against stress caused by hydrogen peroxide.
3: Absorption and biological activity of phytochemical-rich extracts from açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) pulp and oil in vitro.
Pacheco-Palencia LA, Talcott ST, Safe S, Mertens-Talcott S.
Department of Nutrition and Food Science and Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 28;56(10):3593-600.
PubMed ID: 18442253
SUMMARY: Polyphenolic mixtures from both acai pulp and acai oil extracts inhibited proliferation of human colon cancer cells by up to 90.7%. None of the polyphenolics included anthocyanins. No comparison was made on potential inhibition of normal cells.
4: Characterization of the acai or manaca (Euterpe oleracea Mart.): a fruit of the Amazon. [Article in Spanish]
Neida S, Elba S.
Laboratorio de Análisis de Alimentos, Departamento de Procesos Biológicos y Bioquímicos, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela.
Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2007 Mar;57(1):94-8.
PubMed ID: 17824205
SUMMARY: Results of dry-weight analysis of two harvests at different times in 2005 indicated that acai has a general content of lipids (49.4% and 33.1%), proteins (13.8% and 9.3%), ash (5.2% and 2.2%) and total dietary fiber (27.3% and 18.0%). Polyphenols were 5.02 and 2.20 g/100 g; tannins 0.70 and 1.37 g/100g; anthocyanins 0.73 and 1.60 g/100g and the antioxidant capacity 88.03 and 87.87%, respectively. It is concluded that the acai or manaca Collected in the Venezuelan Amazon has a high nutritional value.
5: Endothelium-dependent vasodilator effect of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Açaí) extracts in mesenteric vascular bed of the rat.
Rocha AP, Carvalho LC, Sousa MA, Madeira SV, Sousa PJ, Tano T, Schini-Kerth VB, Resende AC, Soares de Moura R.
Department of Pharmacology and Psychobiology, IBRAG, UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Vascul Pharmacol. 2007 Feb;46(2):97-104.
PubMed ID: 17049314
SUMMARY: Extracts of açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) stones (i.e., fruit pit) induce a vasodilator effect in isolated rat tissue. The vasodilator effect suggest a possibility to use such extracts in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
6: Total oxidant scavenging capacity of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) seeds and identification of their polyphenolic compounds.
Rodrigues RB, Lichtenthäler R, Zimmermann BF, Papagiannopoulos M, Fabricius H, Marx F, Maia JG, Almeida O.
Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Department of Food Chemistry I, University of Bonn, Endenicher Allee 11-13, D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Jun 14;54(12):4162-7.
PubMed ID: 16756342
SUMMARY: The antioxidant capacity of methanol and ethanol seed extracts from Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) exhibited good antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals, similar to the capacity of the pulp. The antioxidant capacity against of the seed extract fractions indicates that the procyanidins contribute substantially to the overall effect. In addition, however, other compounds that have not yet been identified are responsible for a large part of the observed antioxidant capacity.
7: Inhibitory effects of Euterpe oleracea Mart. on nitric oxide production and iNOS expression.
Matheus ME, de Oliveira Fernandes SB, Silveira CS, Rodrigues VP, de Sousa Menezes F, Fernandes PD.
Departamento de Farmacologia Básica e Clínica, ICB, Caixa Postal: 68016, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Sep 19;107(2):291-6.
PubMed ID: 16635558
SUMMARY: Results showed that the fractions obtained from fruits were the most potent in inhibiting NO production, followed by those from flowers and spikes. The more pronounced effect was observed in the fractions in which the concentration of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and cyanidin-3-O-rhamnoside were higher. This shows potential cardiovascular benefits.
8: Total oxidant scavenging capacities of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Açaí) fruits.
Lichtenthäler R, Rodrigues RB, Maia JG, Papagiannopoulos M, Fabricius H, Marx F.
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2005 Feb;56(1):53-64.
PubMed ID: 16019315
SUMMARY: The antioxidant capacities of 11 commercial and non-commercial samples of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí) fruit pulp were studied with the total oxidant scavenging capacity. The antioxidant capacities of all purple açaí samples were found to be excellent against peroxyl radicals, good against peroxynitrite and poor against hydroxyl radicals compared with common European fruit and vegetable juices. The contributions of the anthocyanins to the overall antioxidant capacities of the fruit were estimated to be only approximately 10%. Obviously, compounds not yet identified are responsible for the major part of the antioxidant capacities of the açaí fruit pulp.
9: Phytochemical composition and pigment stability of Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.).
Del Pozo-Insfran D, Brenes CH, Talcott ST.
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, P.O. Box
110370, Gainesville, Florida 32611-0370, USA.
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Mar 24;52(6):1539-45.
PubMed ID: 15030208
SUMMARY: Anthocyanin and polyphenolic compounds present in açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) were determined and their respective contribution to the overall antioxidant capacity established. Cyanidin 3-glucoside (1040 mg/L) was the predominant anthocyanin in açai and correlated to antioxidant content, while 16 other polyphenolics were detected from 4 to 212 mg/L.
All the best in natural health,
Dr. D
