If you want to trim down and remove excess pounds in your body, then you have a lot of options to choose from considering that there are numerous weight loss methods in the market today. One of the best among them is to use the natural way by feasting on foods that make you lose weight. These are generally fruits and green leafy vegetables which contain sufficient nutritional amount that promotes increased burning of calories and fats especially during strenuous physical activities.

There are many techniques you can use that will help solve your problem on how to get rid of fat thighs. One method is to use slimming pills and other weight loss products. In some cases, people prefer the use of various equipments and surgical operations to achieve this; however, considering that there is some degree of risks involved in this process, many people shy away from using this procedure. Instead, a lot of individuals are looking for better ways that are more safe and convenient for them.

One of the most popular methods on how to get rid of fat thighs is using the natural technique without the use of artificial procedures like intake of pills and use of equipments. This is widely preferred among many users considering that it is safer and also effective in achieving their desired outcome. You have many options to choose from using this process; one of the many ways is to change your diet into healthier ones without starving yourself. Consumption of fruits and vegetables containing nutrients that can induce and increase the burning of more fats and calories is one of the best options; however, it should also come along with regular exercises in order to maximize its effects.

Aside from regular consumption of foods that make you lose weight, this should be along with daily exercise in order to maximize the effects of your weight loss program. This is very essential because your body needs to burn more fats and calories in order to shred off those unwanted pounds; this can efficiently be accomplished when your metabolism is also increased during strenuous activities like exercise. You will also observe that the most effective weight loss products are generally promoted by taking them along with regular exercise in order to achieve your desired results in due time.

One of the best ways to solve this issue is to change in diet from regular consumption of unhealthy foods such as junk foods and high-calorie foods to healthier ones like fruits and vegetables; this is due to the fact that most fruits and vegetables have low-calorie content. In any case, one of the best ways to answer your question on how many calories should I eat to lose weight is to visit your physician because this is mostly on case to case basis depending on your current condition.

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Since Viagra became available on the market in 1998, the interest in natural alternatives has also peaked in terms of sexual potentiators. And maybe we don’t have to look very far. Traditional Chinese Medicine has an herbal product they’ve been using for that purpose for 2000 years called Cordyceps sinensis.

The mushroom Cordyceps sinensis does have a common name in English, Caterpillar fungus, although many more people know it by its Latin name as just “Cordyceps.” In its natural environment, it can be found only at high altitudes in the mountains of China and Tibet. Considering its minute size, it is a ‘small’ (pun intended) miracle that anyone ever discovered it and thought to use it as a medicinal mushroom.

Since around the dawn of our age, Chinese physicians have prescribed Cordyceps as an aphrodisiac and general vitalizing tonic. The first reference to Cordyceps as a medicinal fungus occurred around 200 A.D. in a book titled, The Classic Herbal of the Divine Plowman.

In its natural environment, Cordyceps sinensis infects caterpillars and then sprouts out of their dead carcasses. While that certainly doesn’t sound very appetizing, modern advances allow potent strains of Cordyceps sinensis to be grown on a rice medium. Cordyceps extract produced in this way has been shown to contain the same medicinal compounds as the wild harvested fungi, with the added advantage of being free from contamination by other species of fungi or bacteria.

A Chinese paper published in 1985, thirteen years before the release of Viagra, found a statistically significant improvement in erectile dysfunction (64%) when the subjects were administered 1,000 mg of Cordyceps sinensis per day. [1]

Three possible factors may help explain why Cordyceps could have an effect on erectile dysfunction:

- At least three studies have demonstrated that Cordyceps sinensis helps improve physical stamina and prowess in general. [2,3,4] In the early 1990′s, nine Chinese women broke world records when the Chinese National Games were held. When interviewed about their success, they unanimously gave credit to their use of Cordyceps extract. [5,6]

- Increasing blood flow appears to be another function of Cordyceps sinensis, which could help explain its effect on erectile dysfunction. Two studies have indicated that it does so by diluting blood vessels, thus increasing blood perfusion. [7,8]

- Thirdly and perhaps most important of all is that two studies have shown Cordyceps sinensis to “significantly increase” the production of testosterone in males. [9,10]

Note: Always consult a licensed health care provider before using any herb for medicinal purposes. This article is solely intended as a source of information and does not prescribe or advice the use of any substance mentioned herein.

Cultivation of the medicinal mushroom Agaricus blazei began in Japan in 1993, even though the strains used were collected from fields northwest of Sao Paolo, Brazil.

As with most medicinal mushrooms, the primary focus of research on Agaricus extract has been on its anti-tumoral properties. Results are promising, particularly in regard to uterocervical cancers. [25]

According to one Japanese research paper, Agaricus blazei has more beta glucans than any other medicinal fungus. Research on beta glucans as isolated compounds is not included in this article but would be worthwhile investigating. [25]

Testing on cancer cells in laboratories (in vitro) have yielded mostly negative results, while testing on live subjects (in vivo) has been very positive. This indicates that the medicinal compounds in Agaricus extract work by stimulating the immune system of the patient rather than directly attacking mutated cancer cells. [135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140]

A Japanese study from 2002 reported that Agaricus extract appeared to stimulate macrophages (white blood cells) to perform a two-phased assault on cancer cells. The first phase began eight hours after the intake of Agaricus extract, when the patient’s macrophages began excreting a cancer killing agent known as “alpha tumor necrosis factor.” The second phase started another four hours later, when the same macrophages began excreting a different agent designed to finish off the cancer cells weakened by the first assault. [141]

Another specific cancer related effect of Agaricus extract is that it inhibits the enzyme aromatase, which is associated with the development of breast cancer. [142]

Both alcohol and water extracts of Agaricus blazei have been shown to contain important medicinal compounds, [143] particularly extracts of the mycelium (“roots”). [25]

Some non-cancer related research has also been conducted on Agaricus extract. One study reported significant results against salmonella. [144]

Some words of caution: A 2003 comparison between different sources of Agaricus blazei reported that samples from China contained significantly higher levels of the heavy metal cadmium than samples from the U.S. [145]

It should also be pointed out that while research shows great promise for the use of Agaricus extract in the battle against cancer, ironically, Agaricus blazei mushrooms also contain cancer causing compounds known as agaritines. (Agaritines are also found in Button Mushrooms, Portobellos and Crimini Mushrooms.)

A 2003 study by Stijve et al. found that the Agaricus blazei extract produced in the U.S. by medicinal mushroom expert Paul Stamets contained significantly less agaritines compared with Agaricus blazei from California or China by a factor of 2000% and 8000% respectively. [145]

“Years ago, Paul Stamets … developed methods that precluded agaritines, and Stijve et al. (2003) published a comparison of commercial products from the US, China, and Japan. All but [Paul Stamets] products contained significant amounts of agaritine.” [145]

A few additional areas of promising research on Agaricus extract are listed by Paul Stamets in his book Mycelium Running: Colorectal cancer; sarcoma; viruses; blood sugar; cholesterol. [134]

Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult a licensed medical practitioner before using any herb (or mushroom) for medicinal purposes.

A culinary delicacy as well as an important medicinal mushroom in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Maitake currently receives much attention from scientific circles. Specific focus is awarded to Maitake beta-glucans, which are major components in all Maitake extracts. [71, 72]

American mushroom hunters will know Maitake by its common English name as Hen-of-the-woods, so named because it resembles the fluffed up tail feathers of a hen that grows in the woods. As one of the most easily identified food mushrooms of North America, Hen-of-the-woods can be found in the eastern U.S. down to the Mid-Atlantic States, as well as eastern Canada.

Maitake extract has been found to increase the so called tumor-necrosis-factor [73, 74, 75] as well as other cancer fighting mechanisms. [76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81] Specific cancer types studied include colorectal, prostate, liver, lung and breast. [82] FDA has approved a Phase II study of Maitake extract on breast and prostate cancer. [83]

Other studies on Maitake extract have focused on its immune enhancing properties in general, [84, 85, 86] or on immune-enhancement on cancer patients in specific. [87] Maitake’s anti-viral properties have received particularly intense scrutiny by the scientific community [88] and research on Maitake in the treatment of HIV is ongoing. [89]

Another area of potential interest for Maitake extract may be diabetes type II. One study reported blood glucose decrease of 25% in insulin-resistant individuals. [90, 91, 92]

Apart from research conducted specifically on Maitake extract, there’s also a sea of research done on the active compounds themselves, most importantly the beta-glucans. For example, there is a patent application on “Methods of using beta glucan as a radio-protective agent.” More specifically, the patent “relates to methods for treating and preventing radiation and/or chemotherapy related injury and/or afflictions, such as myelosuppression and decreased macrophage activity,” [93] which is probably why NASA gives beta glucans to astronauts, for the prevention of radiation poisoning and the degradation of the immune system.

Many other effects of Maitake extract have been researched with promising results, including: blood pressure regulation, respiratory conditions, stress and nerve tonic, anti-bacterial and anti-Candida. [25]

Paul Stamets, in the book “Mycelium Running,” also refers to research on leukemia in which Maitake has demonstrated some positive effect. [134]

Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never use any herb (or mushroom) except as advised by a licensed medical practitioner.

Credit to Paul Stamets for research and source material.

Cordyceps sinensis is a minute fungus that sprouts out of caterpillar carcasses at high altitudes of the Tibetan plateau. [1] Considering that 95% of all fungi species still remain undiscovered, it’s a wonder a small fungus from such a remote area is even described, let alone that it’s managed to become one of the world’s most popular medicinal fungi.

The unlikely origins of Cordyceps sinensis as a medicinal mushroom is enough to stand up and take notice.

Cordyceps sinensis has been used in China for two millennia to increase strength, stamina and vitality, and more specifically as an aphrodisiac. The earliest record is from 200 AD in the form of a Chinese book titled The Classic Herbal of the Divine Plowman. Modern science appears to confirm what Traditional Chinese Medicine tells us about this mushroom.

Contemporary researchers in Asia have discovered that Cordyceps sinensis demonstrates anti-tumor and immune-enhancing qualities. [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]

Four studies have indicated that Cordyceps may be useful in treating leukemia. [13, 14, 15, 16] The U.S. National Institute of Health began Phase I screening of the compound cordycepin in the treatment of leukemia in 2002.

In keeping with the use of Cordyceps as an aphrodisiac, a recent study reported a 64% improvement of erectile dysfunction. [17] Underlying these results may be the effect Cordyceps appears to have on blood vessel dilation and blood-flow. [18, 19]

Additional benefits of Cordyceps sinensis indicated by modern research include cholesterol regulation [20], kidney [21] and liver support (post-hepatitic cirrhosis). [22]

But Cordyceps’ main claim to fame lies in its enhancement of physical stamina. [23, 24, 25] As mentioned earlier, a contributing factor may be the dilation of blood vessels and increased blood-flow, but also the dilation of respiratory passageways, as demonstrated in two studies on asthma and bronchitis. [3, 26]

In 1993, Cordyceps made headlines when nine Chinese athletes gave it credit for the world records they set at that year’s Chinese National Games. [27, 28]

Cordyceps sinensis is also rich in anti-oxidants, [29] polysaccharides and many other newly discovered compounds, [8, 30, 31] plus many more that are yet to be isolated.

In his book Mycelium Running, medicinal mushroom expert Paul Stamets also lists the following areas where research has shown Cordyceps extract to have a beneficial effect: Bacteria; viruses; blood pressure; nerve tonic (stress); lung cancer; lymphoma. [134]

Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never use any medicinal mushroom or herb without prior approval by medical doctor.

Credits: Thank you, Paul Stamets, for research references.

Homeopathy is the most popular form of alternative medicine. However, consumers know very little about homopathy. This article will help solve some misunderstandings with homeopathy.

1) Homeopathic medicines are nothing more than sugar pill that contain no measurable substance.

Homeopathic medicines do have substance to them. Remedies such as 6X, 6X or 12X contain measurable amounts of the original elements. High potency homeopathic medicines such as 12C or 24X contain no traceable amount of the original element. High potency medicines are believe to have a memory of the original substance.

2) Homeopathy has never been successful in large scale well designed trials. Trials have only worked when homeopaths were doing the trials or poorly designed trials with quite a bit of author’s bias.

Homeopathy has had many trials. Some trials show positive results and others do not. People point out on successful homeopathic trials that bigger studies suggest homeopathy does not work. However, researchers observe the entire trial. Many of them concluded that some studies suggest homeopathy yields a more positive result than a placebo.

Some homepathic studies that showed a positive result were pretty big. Oscillococcinum studies showed a positive result by lessening the recovery time of the flu. This study was reproduced by other researchers as well although the reproduced studies were not as large as the first initial study. The notion of homeopathic remedies have not showed a positive outcome in a properly designed study is false.

3) Homeopathy should not be used to treat life threatening diseases.

Homeopathic doctors can be helpful in treating life threatening diseases. Your primary care physician and disease specialists should be consulted of your homeopathic treatment plan. You may be advised to continue your current medical treatment along with homeopathy. Homeopathy can be complimentary to your regular homeopathic treatment.

Homoepathy has help people with life threatening diseases. Homeopathy malaria trials suggest homeopathy remedies work as well as allopathic medicine in treating patients with malaria.

4) Allopathy and homeopathy can not be complimentary.

Homeopathy and allopathic medicines can be used together. Some trials were done to test how homeoapthy and allopathy can work together. Homeopathy may reduce the side effects of chemotherapy in some small initial trials. These results are encouraging but more research needs to be done.

5) Homeopathy, Herbal, and Ayurvedic medicine are similar.

Homeopathy, Herbal and Ayurvedics are totally different. Homeopathy dilutes substances to a certain level to create medicines. All homeopathic remedies have been diluted to a certain extent.

Herbal medicine is based on a plant life. Ayurvedic is a system of medicine that dates back to ancient India. This system of medicine theorizes that all materials of vegetable, animal and mineral origin has some medical purpose.

Ayurvedic uses all substances to treat people. Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicine are used by many people in India. Many people confuse these two forms of alternative types of remedies.

6) Homeopathy does not work for acute illness

Flu, colds, motion sickness and pain relief can provide fast relief using homeopathic remedies. Chronic conditions such as acne, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome and other conditions will take longer to treat because they are completed.

7) Homeopathy is only for human use.

Homeopathic pet medicine is being extremely popular in homeopathy. Homeopathy offers a cost effective and safe way to help you pet with acute conditions such as allergies, anxiety and joint relief.
Homeopathy can be learned via a book.

This may be the case in acute conditions such as cold and flu. However, more complicated and chronic cases will require you to see a homeopathic doctor. Chronic cases involve generally taking quite a few remedies in the course of a treatment. A book can not tell you which homeopathic remedies to take and how much to take when your condition starts to improve or worsen.

9) It is difficult to find homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathic rmedies are readily available. They can found in many health food stores such as Whole Foods. Retail giants such as Walmart, Target and CVS carry homeopathic combinations for acute conditions such as cold and flu and insomnia.

Homeopathic single remedies are not as commonly available as homeopathic combinations. These remedies can be located at speciality health food stores, natural pharmacies or on the Internet. Single remedies users generally have some knowlege of homeoapthy or a doctor as prescribe this medicine for them to use.

10) Homeopathic remedies will have a similar effect on which ever person takes them.

Homeopathy rarely works the same on people. Homeopathy individualizes remedies according to ones personality types and traits. One person may use a single remedy to treat an allergy, while another person would use a totally different remedy to treat the same allergy.

Homeopathy assumes everyone is different so using the same remedy to treat everyone will not work according to Classical Homeopathy principals. Modern medicine generally gives everyone the same medicine for general conditions.

There’s a new star on the medicinal mushroom sky. It goes by Phellinus linteus in Latin. The little known English common name is Black Hoof Fungus. It’s far more common, even in America, to hear it referred to by its Japanese name as Mesima.

Phellinus linteus grows on hardwood trees such as oak, poplar and mulberry. The species is common in Southeast Asia and southern parts of the United States. [1]

Unlike most medicinal mushroom species, which were originally used in China or Japan, Phellinus linteus first became popular in Korea as a complement to traditional cancer therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy.

From there, the fame of Phellinus linteus has spread across the globe. Doctors all over the world now use it as an immune enhancer [2-11], particularly to prevent cancer metastasis. [5,10,12-17] In addition to Korea, Phellinus linteus is today also increasingly popular in the U.S., Japan, and the Middle East from Turkey to Israel.

Word of Phellinus linteus caught on in 1996 when a Korean paper got published, which credited it with the widest range of anti-tumor and immune-enhancing properties of any medicinal mushroom extract. [4]

Years later, American world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets helped deepen our understanding of Phellinus linteus when he published a comparative analysis with the most common medicinal mushroom species: Agaricus blazei, Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Reishi, Maitake and Cordyceps. [18]

Among the seven species of medicinal mushrooms compared in this study, Phellinus linteus had the most powerful effect on enhancing macrophage activity, by 5,700%. Macrophages are an important part of the immune system’s cancer fighting arsenal. The amount of Phellinus linteus extract used was equal to 3,750 mg for an adult of average weight (165 lbs). [18]

Macrophages as part of the human immune system can be a two-edged sword. They may devour cancer cells, but can also stimulate cancer growth. The published research on Phellinus linteus indicates that it activates the cancer-fighting properties of macrophages, not the cancer-stimulating properties. [8,14,19,20]

Additional reports have been published on cases of “spontaneously” regressed cancers, where the patients reported having used Phellinus linteus by their own choice:

1. A Japanese article from 2004 reported a “dramatic remission of hormone refractory prostate cancer achieved with extract of the mushroom, Phellinus linteus.” [15]

2. Next out was a Korean article published in 2005, which reported on a patient who “ingested mushroom called Phellinus linteus for one and a half years” before exhibiting “spontaneous regression” of liver cancer and skull metastasis. [17]

3. Finally, an article published 2006 in the Japanese journal Radiation Medicine told of a “patient with hepatocellular carcinoma with multiple lung metastases in whom malignancy spontaneously regressed after taking Phellinus linteus Mycelium.” The 79-year old patient reportedly “took extract from Phellinus linteus Mycelium for one month, and 6 months later the tumors appeared to be in complete regression.” [16]

Note: This article is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose any disease. It is intended for informational purposes only. Phellinus linteus is not approved by the FDA. Never use any herb or mushroom for medicinal purposes without first consulting a licensed medical professional.

For at least 7,000 years, humans have used mushrooms for spiritual rituals. Pre-historic cave paintings in Tassili, Algeria, from 5,000 B.C. depict masked, dancing, mushroom-wielding medicine men. It is believed the people in the area, known as the “San Peoples,” used consciousness-altering mushrooms in their spiritual practices.

Tassili is today part of the Saharan desert, mountainous and uninhabited. But in the days of the San Peoples, the environment was savannah-like and inhabited by cattle, lions and even crocodiles. There’s archeological evidence of contact between the San Peoples of Tassili and other tribes across the Sahara, from Chad to Egypt, perhaps even Greece.

Because ancient Greeks, too, may have used mushrooms in their spiritual practices. The “Eleusinian Mysteries,” continuous for an astounding two millennia, was the most important spiritual initiation ceremony in ancient Europe. Scholars believe it involved use of consciousness-altering mushrooms. With participants such as Plato and Aristotle, spiritual mushrooms may be an important part of the legacy of western civilization.

Further north and a thousand years later, the Vikings used Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) to overcome fear before going into battle. In pre-battle spiritual ceremonies, they ate mushrooms and danced through the woods with wild abandon.

It may not have been an admirable type of spirituality practiced by this warrior culture but it was none-the-less part of their religious practices whatever we may think of them. Siberian shamans are also said to have used Fly agaric in their spiritual practices to help them talk to their gods.

In a controversial book titled Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality by R. Gordon Wasser, Fly agaric is even attributed as the source of the Vedic juice called “soma” – a liquid described to have been used in ancient Hindu religious practices, and said to be bestow divine qualities to the soul of the consumer, even immortality.

(Please note: Fly agaric is poisonous. It can also be easily confused with other more deadly species. Consumption is strongly discouraged.)

On the other side of the ocean from Europe, the Mixtec culture likewise employed mind-altering mushrooms in their spiritual ceremonies, as recorded in the Mixtec Codex (13th-15th century). Their Gods were frequently engraved with mushrooms in hand.

In spite of the fact that the Mixtec people of central Mexico self-professed to use spiritual mushrooms in their religious ceremonies, western scholars still questioned it in a characteristically condescending fashion.

William Safford, an American botanist, believed the supposed mushrooms were actually nothing but peyote buttons. Other western scholars, meanwhile, insisted that the “spiritual mushrooms” of the Mixtec people really were mind-altering mushrooms.

The debate raged on until the early 1930s, when amateur anthropologist Robert Weitlaner got invited to witness an original spiritual ceremony that included the use of consciousness-altering mushrooms.

Then in 1953, mycologist R. Gordon Wasson and his wife Valentina Povlovna as the first westerners became honored participants in a mushroom ceremony – Velada – performed by shaman Don Aurelio. Wasson published his account of the Velada in Life Magazine, 1957. His article initiated the broader public awareness of spiritual mushrooms.

Although the (in-)famous genus of mind-altering mushrooms, Psilocybe, contains 60 species, most do not contain the psychoactive compounds psilocin (fresh mushrooms) and psilocybin (fresh and dried). The Mixtecs are believed to originally have used Psilocybin mexicana and Psilocybin caerulescens. The today more common Psilocybin cubensis is believed to have arrived from Europe.

Viewed as recreational drugs, mind-altering mushrooms have been prohibited in most countries since the early 1970′s. The exception, which will come as no surprise, was The Netherlands, where fresh Psilocybe mushrooms were legal until very recently.

But after a 17-year old French tourist killed herself by jumping off a bridge after consuming Psilocybe mushrooms, the Dutch parliament voted to ban all sale of so called “magic mushrooms.” The ban took effect on December 1, 2008. The use of consciousness-altering mushrooms in spiritual practices is now officially history.