Overcoming Sugar Cravings with Herbs

Continuing with the topic of losing weight, one of the primary changes that would be helpful for most people in my experience is eating fewer carbohydrates. In general eating whole grains and less processed complex carbohydrates is better than eating refined carbohydrates.

Of course, eating fewer desserts and sweets is very helpful as well. If one has a sweet tooth, there is an interesting Ayurvedic herb that can help with this.

It is called Gymnema Sylvestre or gurmar (which means "sugar destroyer") in Ayurvedic medicine. When taken as a liquid extract, this herb has the property of anesthetizing the tastebuds responsible for detecting the sweet taste. After swishing it around the mouth for about 30 seconds, one is actually not able to really experienced the "sweet" taste temporarily -- any chocolate candies such as Hershey's kisses or Kit Kat would actually not be sweet. You don't even have to swallow the extract, you can just spit it out.

If you feel like you really have a bad sweet tooth, keep a liquid extract of Gymnema around. When you have a craving for dessert, just swish and spit this extract and then have the dessert -- you'll find that it probably won't taste very good, and over time perhaps your cravings will decrease. I know it's hard to believe but it actually works!

Ayurvedic weight loss tips

Thinking about losing weight?!

One of the most common New Year's resolutions each year is to lose weight. In the next several posts we will discuss various tips for weight loss from Ayurvedic medicine. We will discuss issues of diet, how to eat, lifestyle, stress, and other areas, because all of these actually impact one's weight.

To begin with, let's start with the subject of water. To maintain a healthy weight each person needs to maintain a healthy Agni, or digestive fire. There are different types of Agni but the most important one is centered in the stomach, and responsible for digesting our food and controlling the pace of metabolism.

How does this relate to water? The first way is actually related to water temperature. Ayurveda always recommends having warm water, and suggests avoiding ice or chilled water. The reason is that cold water dampens and weakens the Agni while warm water supports it.

When one is trying to lose weight, the Agni should be strengthened and supported in order to boost metabolism and improve digestion of food. In fact some Ayurvedic practitioners start with just having warm water as part of a weight-loss program for new patients.

The water does not necessarily have to be boiled, just heated until it's warm. If the water is heated and then cooled it is still better to drink from the Agni perspective than water that is cold or has never been heated.

We'll continue our exploration in the next post...

Incorporating fenugreek into your diet

In our last post we talked about the health benefits of fenugreek. Fenugreek has a strong taste, which takes some getting used to. However, it has numerous health benefits which make it worthwhile.

Here are some ideas for using fenugreek seeds:

Add one teaspoon of roasted, whole seeds into breads or puddings to take advantage of the sweet flavor and increase the fiber content of your dish.

The seeds can also be steeped and made into a tea (our Ayurvedic drinks incorporate fenugreek).

Make a simple marinade with turmeric, curry powder, and garam masala in olive oil and add fenugreek seeds for seasoning meats or vegetables.

Grind the roasted seeds into a fine powder. This can be done in an herb grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Having the powder will carry the flavor further through the dish in a way that seeds can't, and is recommended if using in sauces.

Use the powder to create Indian-themed spice blends or add straight into a curry sauce. Fenugreek is a strong herb and when combined with other spices, half of a teaspoon will be plenty. If it is used as the sole spice, go up to one teaspoon, but add the extra half teaspoon slowly and taste often so you don't overpower the dish.

Try it out in different ways. The bottom line is, it is quite versatile and can be incorporated into your diet in a variety of ways -- as long as it gets into your body, that is all that matters!

Fenugreek Health Benefits

Ever heard about fenugreek?

Fenugreek seeds are small, slightly irregular shaped, yellow-beige in color, and have a strong, bitter taste. The pungent taste makes fenugreek well suited to its traditional in curries and other spice mixes. Fenugreek has a long history of use in Ayurvedic medicine.

Fenugreek traditionally has been used to treat arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, improve digestion, maintain a healthy metabolism, and to reduce menstrual pain. Recent studies have shown that Fenugreek may help lower blood glucose and cholestrol levels, and may be an effective treatment for both type 1 and 2 diabetes. Fenugreek is also being studied for its cardiovascular benefits.

Fenugreek seeds have been found to contain protein, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, and diosgenin (which is a compound that has properties similar to estrogen). Other active constituents in fenugreek are alkaloids, lysine and L-tryptophan, as well as steroidal saponins.

Fenugreek is often available in health food stores, and in Indian/Pakistani grocery stores.

It is one of the herbs incorporated in our Ayurvedic beverages. Next week -- how to use fenugreek at home.

The Benefits of Ghee

In Ayurvedic medicine, Ghee (clarified butter) has a special place. It is considered a grounding, calming food that is good for people from all 3 doshas. It is also beneficial and gradually stimulating Agni, the digestive fire that is essential for good health.

With that said, Ayurveda also emphasizes moderation. So I would not say that Ghee is a panacea and that more is always better. For example people with Kapha body types are recommended to use Ghee in moderation only, and in a meal which also has heating spices. It is best for people with Vata Constitution(body type).

A half teaspoon of Ghee added to warm basmati rice gives it a really tasty flavor and also helps with digestion of the rice. You can also use Ghee for cooking, as it is good for sautéing and even cooking at high temperatures because it has a high smoke point (in this instance it's better than olive oil as I described in my previous post).

One reader asked about where to order ghee online. I recommend Ancient Organics which makes an excellent Ghee from organic butter. It is one of the freshest and best tasting ghees I have tried. Plus they are aware of the spiritual properties of Ghee as well. You can order online at:

http://www.ancientorganics.com/products.htm

Have a wonderful day and remember, everything in moderation including Ghee!

More Research on Ashwagandha

You may know that I am developing a line of Ayurvedic healing beverages called Ayu Drinks. The formulas are based on Ayurvedic clinical practice but one thing we are short on is basic science research. It looks like this is starting to change:

One of the primary herbs used in our formulas is Ashwagandha. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center have found that extracts of the shrub had activity that was similar to the neurotransmitter GABA, which could explain why the plant is effective in reducing anxiety.

Scholars at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, conducted research which demonstrates that many of the elements of Ashwagandha are antioxidants. The researchers found that Ashwagandha led to larger amounts of three different natural antioxidants: superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. The antioxidant effects of Ashwagandha may explain the stress-relieving and anti-aging effects of the herb.

Ashwagandha may be taken as an herbal powder, dissolved in either warm water or milk. It is also available in capsule and liquid extract form. Ashwagandha is the basis for our Ayurvedic healing drink, "Warrior". For more information visit ayudrinks.com

Is It Safe to Cook with Olive Oil?

Today I'll be answering a question from one of our readers: Is it safe to cook with olive oil, or can that create harmful trans fats?

From the perspective of integrative medicine, extra virgin olive oil (preferably organic 1st coldpressed) is one of the healthiest fats. It is a key element of the Mediterranean diet, one of the most healthful ways of eating that has been shown to reduce risk of heart disease and stroke. I use extra virgin olive oil every day in my food and cooking.

A key question is the smoke point of the oil, the temperature at which it starts to smoke and breakdown, creating free radicals. The smoke point of olive oil varies, between 300°F to 400°F. But in order to actually create trans fats, repeated heating above 400°F and cooling is required, like in a commercial fryer. If you're cooking at home you're not going to create trans fats from the olive oil.

However, you don't want to heat it to its smoke point because of the creation of free radicals. In general I use extra virgin olive oil for salads, sautéing, and similar lower temperature uses. I do not recommended for deep frying. I don't recommend deep frying anyway. For high temperature cooking applications I recommend coconut oil which has a very high smoke point, or ghee.

Please post your comments and responses!