Health Food: Wonders of legumes and herbs

Legumes are a fundamental element of diets in Central America and Asia where in some countries they constitute a true main dish of a meal.

Even though for quite some time, legumes were considered a rather lowly food, their use is increasing with recent discoveries concerning their many nutritional and therapeutic properties.

Legumes provide abundant protein and fibre while containing very little fat and no cholesterol.

Their medicinal benefits include the fact that they reduce cholesterol, promote proper bowel function due to their high fibre content and thereby help avoiding constipation.

They help avoid arterial hypertension given their high levels of potassium and low sodium levels and combat iron deficiency anaemia given their richness in this mineral in addition to copper, zinc and other trace elements.

Constituting a bona fide diabetes preventive regime, legumes have a low glycemic index which means that they raise blood sugar levels very little. Due to their fibre content they reduce the risk of colon cancer and they reduce the risk of gallstones (cholelithiasis) since they promote elimination of bile salts through the faeces.

Soybean, the so called “super legume” is processed by some herbal companies to extract among other components, isoflavones which are then mixed with a herb called Ganoderma and Radix Paeoniae alba to form Soy Power Capsules.

These herbal supplements are very useful in women to regulate the menstrual cycle, treat menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, retarding ageing and nourishing the skin. In combination with Ganoderma and other herbs, Soy Power Capsule can prevent breast cancer.

Numerous studies confirm that soy specifically, which many Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans eat daily, is responsible for their better reproductive health and lower levels of breast and prostate cancer. This fact coincides with one of modern epidemiology’s great truths: good health depends more on habits, particularly dietary habits and exercise more than any other factors.

Plants have been used as medicine for millennia. Out of estimated 250 000 to 350 000 plant species identified so far, about 35 000 are used worldwide for medicinal purposes.

It has been confirmed by WHO that herbal medicines serve the health needs of about 80 percent of the world’s population; especially for millions of people in the vast rural areas of developing countries.

Meanwhile, consumers in developed countries are becoming disillusioned with modern healthcare and are seeking alternatives.

The recent resurgence of plant remedies results from several factors: (1) the effectiveness of plant medicines; (2) the side effect of most modern drugs; and (3) the development of science and technology.

It has been estimated that in the mid-1990s over 200 companies and research organisations worldwide are screening plant and animal compounds for medicinal properties.

Nowadays the linking of the indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants to modern research activities provides a new approach, which makes the rate of discovery of drugs much more effective than with random collection.

I will highlight just a few interesting examples.

Some notable traditional medicinal plants include aloe vera, ginseng, Camellia sinsesi (Green tea), garlic and ginger.

Aloe vera species are frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine since the beginning of the first century AD. Extracts from aloe vera are widely used in the cosmetics and alternative medicine industries, being marketed as variously having rejuvenating, healing, or soothing properties.

There is some preliminary evidence to suggest that oral administration of aloe vera might be effective in reducing blood glucose in diabetic patients and in lowering blood lipid levels in hyperlipidaemia.

The beneficial properties of ginseng were first recognised by the ancient Chinese nearly 5 000 years ago and became revered for its therapeutic properties.

By the third century AD China’s demand for ginseng created international trade in the root.

And science today is proving what the Chinese and other healers have known for millenniums that ginseng can help boost energy, improve immunity and rebuild the damaged immune system, improve sexual performance, reduce stress, relieve coughs and to generally increase stamina.

Green tea (Camellia sinsesi) originated in China, but it has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia.

Over the last few decades, green tea has been subjected to numerous scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting that regular green tea drinkers may have a lower risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer and prevent and delay Parkinson’s disease.

The mean content of flavonoids in a cup of green tea is higher than that in the same volume of other food and drink items that are traditionally considered to be of health contributing nature, including fresh fruits, vegetable juices or wine.

Flavonoids are a group of phytochemicals present in most plant products that are responsible for health benefits such as anti-oxidative and anti-carcinogenic functions (anti-cancer).

The medicinal benefits of garlic are many due to the broad range of substances it contains, such as alliin, alliinase, allicin and S-allycysteine. It is also a dietary source of selenium.

Garlic can be found in form of Garlic oil softgels with anti-microbial activity killing many kinds of micro organisms such as bacteria, pathogenic fungus, virus and parasites. Its role as an anti-oxidant enables human body to get rid of the free radicals which can cause cancer.

Garlic oil decreases levels of low density lipids (bad cholesterol) and is thus helpful for heart disease caused by atherosclerosis.

Ginger or ginger root is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It is effective in the treatment of nausea caused by seasickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy. Ginger has been shown to affect arthritic pain, and also protects the liver.

Ginger has long been used as a natural heartburn remedy. It is most often taken in the form of tea for this purpose.

A study on diabetic rats found that those given ginger had a reduced incidence of diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage) and research has shown that ginger may provide migraine relief due to its ability to stop prostaglandins from causing pain and inflammation in blood vessels.