Mushrooms, oxymels and herbal cough drops

I have a couple of articles floating out in the ethers that might interest you. The first two articles are free to view, the last one is part of a larger publication that is well worth the price! 

Bee Balm Oxymel 
a spicy native plant for your winter medicine chest. 

This was an article I wrote for HerbMentor News. I generally write about one newsletter a month for HerbMentor News and several more for the holidays. Sign up on their newsletter to get them all. 

Home grown shitake mushrooms - delicious!

Medicinal Mushrooms 
support your immune system with fungi

Written for Kamana.org, this introductory article lists some of my favorite fungi and how I like to use them. 

Medicine Chest for the Cold and Flu Season 
Including my herbal cough drop recipe! 

My latest article in the Plant Healer Magazine is one tiny reason to consider subscribing to this incredible publication. With the mission of enlivening the practice, culture and art of folk herbalism each quarterly issue continues to astound me. Having over 200 pages of some of our best contemporary herbalists sharing their plant experiences is truly a treasure. 

Herbal remedies for the first sign of a cold or flu... (part II)

Of course the best course of action when dealing with a cold or flu is to prevent it from happening in the first place. (See part one). When this fails our second course of action is to use herbs aggressively as the very first symptoms develop. 

But in all honesty, our best defense against a cold or flu running its full course is not an herbal magic bullet pill, but instead rest. Go to bed. Sleep. Read. Stay in bed as much as possible. I know some of you out there are saying, "But I have to go to work/school/party." Truly, this is the best medicine I know of. Going to bed and resting can keep your symptoms at bay. Toughing it out can lead to more severe and prolonged symptoms. 

Another highly effective approach is sweating therapy. If you don't have easy access to a sauna, this can be done by putting your feet in a tub of water while sitting in a chair. The water should be as hot as possible without causing discomfort. Then, wrap a sheet and then a thick blanket around yourself, covering your body, the steaming water and chair. Leave your head poking out. The steam will heat up your tent giving you a DIY sauna. Keep up the sauna, changing out the water as necessary, for as long as it feels good to you. 

And of course herbs can also be a powerful tool in preventing the onset of illness. I generally dose to maximum tolerance, so frequent small doses, backing off if nausea or other mild unwanted effects occur. 

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger is a fabulous warming herb that is a medicine chest in itself. It is a stimulating diaphoretic that warms the core and drives heat out of the body and a stimulating expectorant helping to promote and move mucous from the sinuses and lungs. 

As an anti-microbial herbs it has been shown to be effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus spp., and Salmonella spp. If that’s not impressive enough it also aids upper respiratory infections and abates nausea. The list of medicinal benefits goes on and on, including it being a circulatory stimulant and an anti-inflammatory – whole books can be written about ginger. 

I love ginger tea and drink it often whether sick or not. To make ginger tea I grate fresh ginger root with a cheese grater and then simmer gently (covered) for at least twenty minutes. How much ginger to water? Depends on how strong you want it, when using it to abate a cold or flu use as much as you can stomach. When it is through simmering I leave the ginger in the tea and drink it as well. Some people add lemon and honey to this mixture. You can also use dried ginger in the same way. Dried ginger is much hotter than fresh, great for when the person feels cold.

Lately, for that extra kick, I've been adding cayenne powder to the tea as well. Spicy and very effective for helping the body overcome a viral infection. 

Ginger is a great spice to be regularly added to meats and vegetables. I’ve used the tincture with success when traveling, but since this root is easily found year round in grocery stores I like to make it as a decoction as described above. You can store your ginger in the freezer for longer keeping and there’s no need to peel the root when making the tea. 

You can also make a delicious ginger honey simply by filling a jar with grated ginger and then covering the ginger with honey. Stir well. I set my honey on the counter for a few days and turn it upside down every couple of days. You can immediately eat ginger honey, but after a few days it will transform into a syrupy consistency that is oh so good and wonderfully soothing to sore throats. Store in the fridge for long-term use. 

Garlic (Allium sativum)

For thousands of years, garlic has been used to maintain and restore health. This is due to a plethora of constituents that are antiviral, antibiotic, and antiseptic. According to herbalist Stephen Buhner it is effective against: 

• Escherichia coli
• Salmonella 
• Shigella dysenteriae, which causes bacillus dysentery
• Staphylococcus and streptococcus
• Diverse types of fungi, yeasts, and many viruses, such as herpes and influenza

In order to enjoy the anti-viral activities of garlic many recommend that you eat it raw and a lot of it. Please be warned that large amounts of raw garlic can be a great way to induce vomiting. Some people effectively work up a tolerance to garlic over time in order to take larger quantities. When using raw garlic as an anti-viral just take it slowly and listen to your stomach. 

Garlic is not only anti-viral but is also immune stimulating. In my mind garlic is a fabulous medicine to take as a preventive as well as during a cold or flu. 

One important consideration when ingesting garlic (besides its ability to make you nauseous) is the heating and drying properties inherent to garlic. Take one bit of raw garlic and you know that this is hot stuff. This spicy hot quality of garlic can exacerbate already hot conditions. If you find that you are always warmer than those around you, have a red face and perhaps a faster pulse, you may not be able to tolerate large amounts of garlic.

One way to enjoy fresh garlic is by infusing it in vinegar.

Garlic Vinegar 

Fill a jar ¾ full of minced garlic, and continue to fill the jar to the top with organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar, cover with a plastic lid and let sit for a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks. 

You can eat the garlic right along with the vinegar. I like to take this when I feel a cold coming on by taking 1 tablespoon every half hour or as tolerated.

Garlic with Olive Oil

To utilize garlic at its strongest simply mince some cloves and then let stand for three minutes. Allowing oxygen to come in contact with the garlic activates this powerful medicine. You can then combine it with olive oil. The olive oil can help to counteract the spiciness of the garlic, which can be irritating. When I make this I consume it within the same day to avoid possible bacterial growth within the olive oil. Longterm storage of fresh garlic with olive oil has been implicated in botchulism poisonings. 

Garlic Honey

To make this sweet and spicy treat, fill a jar with freshly minced garlic, add honey to fill the jar and stir well. To ensure the honey and garlic are mixed well you can turn the jar upside down a couple times a day. You can consume garlic and honey immediately and after a couple of days the mixture will transform into a more syrupy consistency. Honey also helps to relieve some of the hot and drying tendencies of garlic. A similar honey can be made with white onions and is especially nice for wet coughs. 

Again, too much garlic can make you nauseous (or even puke!), so be sure to listen to your stomach and don’t over do it. 

Besides being a powerful herb of choice for the cold and flu season garlic is also an effective blood thinner. If you are already on blood thinning medications or are scheduled for surgery garlic is probably not a good choice for you. 

Fire Cider Vinegar

This is a great herbal kick for keeping bugs at bay or for lessening symptoms once ill. I especially like fire cider for nasal congestion. You’ve probably heard the saying that wood can warm you twice, once when you gather and chop it and then again when you burn it. Well, the same stands true for fire cider. It’ll clear congestion once when you chop it and again when you drink it. You may find that you want to make this potent sinus clearing vinegar outdoors or where there is good ventilation  – the horseradish can be especially powerful. 

Fill a mason jar with 

1 part minced garlic

1 part grated horseradish (let it sit for three minutes in a bowl before     adding it to the mix.) 

1 part grated ginger (no need to peel)

1 part minced onion 

1 dried cayenne pepper

Cover with organic apple cider vinegar and let sit for 4-6 weeks. Strain off and take by the tablespoon full as a daily tonic or when you feel a cold coming on. Some people take more of this at one time but take it slowly, as it can be quite potent. 

Potent Bone Broth Soup

Lastly, one of my favorite things to do at the beginning of a cold or flu is to drink bone broth soup laden with garlic, onions, ginger and cayenne. This can certainly taste yummy, but there should be enough spices in there to bring circulation to the periphery (ie make you sweat!) Drink it up, then crawl into bed for a good long rest. 

Elder Berries and Flowers 

(Sambucas nigra, S. canadensis) 

This can be one of the tastiest remedies for colds and the flu as well as one of the most effective. 

Paul Bergner reports: 

“Recent research from Israel and Panama has demonstrated that elderberry juice (Sambucus nigra) not only stimulates the immune system, but also directly inhibits the influenza virus (Zakay-Rones et al 1995; Mumcuoglu 1995). 

In clinical trials, patients who took the elderberry juice syrup reported fast termination of symptoms. Twenty percent reported significant improvement within 24 hours, 70% by 48 hours, and 90% claimed a complete cure after three days. Patients receiving the placebo required six days for recovery. As proof that elder has more to it than the enzyme neutralizing constituents, researchers found that the patients who took it also had higher levels of antibodies against the flu virus. 

Elderberry has been proven effective against eight different influenza viruses."

Herbalist Kiva Rose first taught me the following delicious elderberry elixir. 

Elderberry Elixir

Fill a mason jar half way with dried elderberries, cover the elderberries with honey, and stir well. After it is well mixed fill the remainder of the jar with brandy. Stir well and let sit for six weeks. After six weeks, strain off the berries. 

I take this frequently by the tablespoon full at the onset of illness and continue this regiment until I feel better. Don't wait to try this while you are sick however, use it all year round to prevent illness as well. 

Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry syrup may not have as long a shelf life as the elderberry elixir given above but it is delicious and can be enjoyed copiously by the whole family. 

To make elderberry syrup I gently heat fresh elderberries on the stove and mash them to help extract the juice. Once it seems that the berries are sufficiently mashed I strain off the seeds and add an equal amount of honey. I often like to add ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamom to this mix as well. The syrup will keep well in the fridge. 

The seeds of elderberries are slightly toxic when eaten raw in large amounts. Drying elderberries or preparing mixtures with heat helps if you are planning on eating large amounts of your concoctions at a time. 

Elderberry and elder flower can be taken as a preventive as well. The following is a great way to use elder flowers. 

Cold and Flu Tea

This recipe goes back centuries.  Drink as necessary at the first sign of a cold/flu and continuing throughout the sickness. I like to let my brew infuse for at least a half hour before drinking. 

1 part elder flower

1 part yarrow leaf and flower

½ part peppermint

½ part rose hips

Rose Hips (Rosa spp.)

Another very tasty way to maintain health by supplying your body with vitamin C and bio-flavonoids is to eat rose hips. Rose hips are the red fruit found in rose bushes in the fall after rose petals have fallen off. The vitamin C content varies with each bush, but rose hips have been repeatedly proven to contain more vitamin C than oranges. Any rose hips can be used, just be sure to harvest them in an area that has not been sprayed. Also be wary of commercially grown roses because these are often sprayed with pesticides. 

We gather rose hips after a couple of frosts but when they are still red and plump. I recommend initially storing these harvested hips in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen we remove the inner hairs and seeds from the hips and either eat them fresh or dry or freeze them for later use. 

Rose hips on their own probably won't stop a cold or flu from developing, but it can be an important part of the regimen. 

Rose Hip Syrup

To make rose hip syrup you can simmer two cups of whole hips (no need to de-seed) in 6 cups of water for twenty minutes, strain and then add raw honey to taste. This syrup can be preserved in the fridge for about a month – if by some miracle it lasts that long. This is a traditional preparation of rose hips, but keep in mind that the simmering of the rose hips can decrease the vitamin C content and the bio-flavonoids. For the highest amounts of these nutrients try making the honey or alcohol extract. You can even combine the two preparations to make a yummy elixir. 

Rose Hip Honey

Rose hip honey takes some time to prepare, but it is well worth the effort. To make this delicious treat fill a jar with fresh deseeded rose hips. Be sure to remove as many of the hairs that cover the seeds as possible. Once your jar is packed lightly with rose hips continue to fill the jar with local raw honey. You will need to stir the rose hip honey to get all the air pockets out and then add more honey to ensure the rose hips are covered. I leave mine on the counter, turning it upside down a couple times a day. After three days you’ll be enjoying a delicious treat high in vitamin C along with the many health benefits of honey. This is a fabulous remedy for sore throats.

Rose Hip Conserve

Another tasty way to prepare rose hips is by making a dried rose hip conserve. To do this fill a jar most of the way with a desired amount of dried rose hips. Then cover the hips with apple cider – about an inch above the hips. I also like to throw in a cinnamon stick or a couple of cloves with this mixture. Let this sit overnight and the next morning enjoy wonderfully re-hydrated rose hips. These can be eaten by the spoonful, spread on toast and added to oatmeal. 

Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) 

Echinacea is a powerful ally at the first sign of a cold. Echinacea works by boosting the white blood cell count and thereby supporting the immune system to better fight off an infection. It’s been scientifically proven to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp.. 

Many people know echinacea’s affinity for combating sickness, but seldom is it taken appropriately. You can take Echinacea as a tincture or a tea frequently at the onset of a cold or flu. I'll take a dropperful of tincture every half hour. 

Echinacea can combat strep throat by applying the tincture directly to the throat. You can do this by letting it drizzle down the back of the throat or applying it a spray bottle. Strep throat is a potentially serious infection and should be monitored by a doctor so that it doesn't progress into rheumatic fever.

When I take Echinacea tincture for a cold or flu I like to mix it with a warming herb like ginger. 

 This plant has received such high publicity lately that it is disappearing from the wild, so when buying the dried plant for tea or tincture be sure that it was organically and sustainably grown on a farm rather than taken from the wild. There are two species of Echinacea that are commonly used, Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia. It seems that each herbalist has their favorite. I suggest trying the Echinacea purpurea first as it is easier to find and significantly cheaper. The root and aerial portions can all be used. 

Although Echinacea is one of the most popular cold and flu remedies on the market, there are some cautions often not considered when using this herb. Since it is an immune stimulant it should not be used with those who have a compromised immune system (rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme’s, Lupus, etc.). It’s also inappropriate to use Echinacea as a desperate means of not getting sick while foregoing other common sense such as rest and nourishment through food. It is possible to stimulate your immune system too much, creating even more problems in the long run. Imagine your immune system is like a bank account: if you are continually withdrawing funds, but are never depositing any, you will eventually run into problems. 

So many options... 

This is just a small smattering of herbal options for the onset of a cold or flu. 

This summer I was traveling in France when I came down with cold symptoms. Being in France I didn't have access to my own extensive apothecary and I wasn't able to find what I wanted at local stores. We were staying with my husband's uncle who took us on a tour of his garden. There I found sage, rosemary, peppermint and thyme growing in profusion. I gathered up a little of all of these and made a tea with them throughout the day. All of my cold symptoms were gone within 24 hours and my relatives were amazed at the power of the herbs growing in their garden. 

Thanks for helping support my blog! 

Many of the herbs listed in this article can be found at your local herb store or grocery store. If you don't have access to local sources you can also find them at Mountain Rose Herbs. 

By using this link to make your purchases you can help to support my herbal offerings. Thanks! 

Strength Training May REDUCE Protein Requirements

Conventional wisdom maintains that people engaged in intense strength training have increased protein requirements making it necessary for them to consume more protein than untrained individuals.   I have believed this myself.

I just came across an elegant study by Moore et al [1] which produced evidence that a resistance training program may reduce protein requirements.

The Study Methods

Moore et al put 12 healthy untrained young males (20-24 years old) on a 12 week strength training program described thus:

“The 12-wk whole body resistance training program involved 13 guided-motion resistance exercises divided over 3 different training days, as previously described (8). Briefly, training days were divided into legs (leg press, leg curl, leg extensions, and standing calf raises), pushing exercises (seated military press, bench press, vertical bench press, chest fly, and seated machine triceps extensions), and pulling (latissimus pull-down, seated wide-grip row, seated narrow low row, and seated biceps curl) exercises. One repetition maximum (1 RM) was measured for each exercise before training and 2–4 d after the last training session to evaluate strength changes. Participants trained 5 d/wk at an initial intensity of ∼70% of the pretraining 1 RM with a goal of 2 sets of 10–12 repetitions during the first 2 wk. In wk 3–12, exercise intensity was adjusted to ∼80–85% 1 RM so that 3 sets of 6–10 repetitions were performed. All training sessions were supervised by a study investigator to ensure proper technique and exercise intensity adherence. Compliance with the training program in terms of attendance was >95% for all participants.”

Moore et al monitored the results of the training on body composition and protein metabolism using muscle biopsies, nitrogen balance markers (urinary, fecal, sweat and miscellaneous nitrogen losses), and blood assays.  They estimated dietary protein intake using diet records, except for 5 days before and during the final week of training, when the subjects received prepackaged meals of measured protein, fat, and carbohydrate content.  They maintained protein intake constant at ~1.4 g/kg/d for each subject.  Protein intake averaged 109-125 g per day throughout the duration of the study.

Unlike other studies of this type, Moore et al measured protein metabolism in both the fed and the fasting state.

Results

Over the course of the study, the subjects increased strength by 30-90% and gained an average of 2.1 kg bodyweight.  Lean body mass increased by ~2.8 kg (6 pounds) while fat mass decreased by ~0.9 kg (2 pounds). lean mass accrued at a rate of 233 g (~0.5 pound) per week, or 33 g (slightly over an ounce) per day, an amount undetectable on a day to day basis.  Muscle fiber cross-sectional area increased by about 50%.

Moore et al found that this 12-wk training program reduced whole body protein turnover, meaning, the training reduced whole body protein breakdown and synthesis.  Although this might surpise some people, they refer to five studies showing that “resistance exercise is a potent anabolic stimulus that increases the intracellular reutilization of amino acids from protein breakdown in both the fasted and fed states (1,2,28–30). The net result would be that amino acid release from the intramuscular free pool would be reduced with resistance exercise.”

Since protein intake did not change from habitual intakes, they concluded that novice trainees adding significant lean mass do not require additional protein beyond habitual intakes.  They also surmised that since advanced trainees gain lean mass at a much slower rate, or not at all, the protein requirement of an advanced trainee is probably even lower than that of a novice.

In their words:

“Although our data do not directly address the level of protein intake at which zero nitrogen balance would occur, the significantly more positive nitrogen balance after training demonstrates a more efficient utilization of dietary protein in the trained state.”

Commentary

Moore et al report a very rapid rate of lean mass accrual.  If maintained for 50 weeks in a row, an individual would gain 25 pounds of lean mass.  A subject starting at 150 pounds would end the year weighing 175 pounds, a huge transformation. 

These results suggest that the actual protein requirement for a novice trainee adding 0.25 kg (0.5 pound) lean mass per week lies somewhere below 1.4 g/kg/d.  

How far below? 

Castaneda et al investigated the effect of 12 weeks of resistance training on muscle mass accrual in older adults (average age of 65 years) with chronic kidney disease. [2]   These people consumed a diet providing only 0.6 g protein/kg bodyweight/d, less than half the amount consumed by the subjects of the Moore et al study.  

After 12 weeks of strength training, the subjects showed substantial decreases in markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6) and substantial increases in strength (about 28%) and muscle hypertrophy (about 23% increase in muscle fiber cross-sectional area).  Considering that these subjects were about 3 times the age of the subjects in the Moore et al study (65 vs. 22 years) and suffering from chronic kidney disease, this 23% increase in muscle cross-sectional area compares very well with the 50% increase found in the Moore et al study.

This study indicates that humans can gain muscle mass on protein intakes as low as 0.6 g/kg/d, which interestingly roughly corresponds to the estimated median protein requirement of 0.65 g/kg/d. [3] 

Human muscle consists of ~70% water, ~30% protein by weight.  The Moore et al subjects added ~33 g of lean mass daily, equating to adding ~10 g of protein to their musculature daily. 

The Moore et al subjects averaged 62 kg of lean mass at the start of the study and 65 kg at the end. [4] 

Using the estimated protein requirement of 0.83 g/kg/d [3], ninety-eight percent of individuals starting this program at 62 kg (136 lb) of lean mass would require not more than 50 g of protein per day.  After gaining 2.8 kg (6 pounds) of lean mass, the individual would have 65 kg (143 lb) of lean mass and a protein requirement of not more than 52 g per day.  During the training period, he would require an additional 10 g of protein per day (to accrue 33 g of lean mass daily).  Thus, from start to end, I would estimate his protein requirement as no higher than 60-62 g per day. 

Using the median protein requirement of 0.65 g/kg/d, possibly fifty percent of individuals in the Moore study would require no more than 50 g of protein per day to achieve the results reported.

Since Moore et al report the habitual and controlled protein intake of these subjects as falling between 109 and 125 g per day, by my calculations, the people in this study may have consumed 40 to 60 g excess protein every day, beyond the requirement for building 6 pounds of lean mass in 12 weeks.

According to Moore et al, their 12 subjects required and consumed about 3000 kcal per day. Sixty-two grams of protein provides 248 kcal, which constitutes eight percent of total energy intake.  It would seem possible then that adult physically active humans are adapted to food sources that provide about 8 percent of calories as protein, assuming carbohydrate requirements are met directly rather than through gluconeogenesis.

The following table provides the percent of calories supplied as protein in various foods:

 

From this it appears that many plant foods, like potatoes, could provide plenty of protein for supporting health and muscle growth if eaten in quantities adequate to cover caloric requirements.

From an evolutionary standpoint, the Moore et al findings make more sense than the idea that strength training increases protein requirements.   

As a general rule,  organisms adapt to demands by resisting the damage those demands inflict.  For example, using your hands for labor will result in callus formation.  Calluses are more resistant to damage than soft skin.  Tanned skin is more resistant to sun damage than pale skin.  Thus, we should expect that the body would respond to heavy physical activity by becoming more resistant to muscle protein degradation and reducing the protein requirements of muscle tissue.

Natural selection would have favored those humans that were most efficient at using available resources. Those who had tremendously increased protein requirements as a result of physical activity would have had to expend more energy on the food quest than those who became more efficient at using protein and deriving protein from less energy expensive resources (i.e. plants vs. animals). Those forced to spend more energy on the food quest would have had less energy left for reproduction; hence they would have left fewer descendants.    

Survival of the most efficient.

Photo Friday - Solomon's Plume and Honey Delights

Photo Friday - where I get to share my love of photography alongside herbal tidbits

Today we are prowling through the forest floor to explore Solomon's Plume. Also commonly called False Solomon's Seal or False Lily of the Valley. 

I've probably already ranted about the inequities of calling a plant false (not to mention the confusion it creates), so I won't go into this here. 

And this plant has had it's share of name confusion. Its botanical name was recently changed from 

Smilacina racemosa to Maianthemum racemosa.

It grows in most of North America in varying abundance. 

Here's a photo of it growing in a redwood forest in northern California. 

Solomon's Plume is in the lily family and when not in flower can be easily confused with similar lily plants. (We'll look at a few below.) The white cluster of flowers at the end of the stalk with their sweet scent, enables us to easily identify Solomon's Plume from the rest. 

At the end of summer berries develop. At first they are speckled. 

Then develop into a brilliant red color. These berries are super sweet and delicious! 

They do have a pretty large pit. 

Solomon's Plume grows from a rhizome which is a horizontal stem of a plant. The rhizome has a bunch of thin little roots coming off of it. 

This plant is a slow grower and could easily be over-harvested. Samuel Thayer suggests a formula to avoid over-harvest. Count the Solomon's Plume plants in an area and then multiplying that by two to find the amount of inches that can be harvested. So, if there are ten plants in an area, 20 inches of rhizomes can be harvested. 

Here you can see next year's sprout on the far left, this year's growth in the middle and then last year's growth towards the right. So definitely a slow grower.

I've heard that if you harvest only a small section of a rhizome it will continue to grow in the next year. This year we harvested small sections of rhizomes and marked the plants to check on in the spring. 

The green sprout was commonly eaten in the spring by various tribes. It is sweet and slightly mucilaginous. Definitely pleasant! 

The rhizome is what is used for medicine. Samuel Thayer says it can be cooked into palatability, but we haven't experimented with Solomon's Plume in the kitchen yet. 

The raw rhizome has a potent acrid taste alongside some slight demulcent qualities. If you know your tastes, you'll know this points directly to lung medicine! 

The acrid taste alongside mucilaginous qualities is rare in the plant world. 

Michael Moore recommends infusing the rhizome in honey to make a cough syrup. So I chopped up this rhizome. 

And poured some local raw honey over the minced rhizomes. 

Now I just need to find someone who needs a stimulating expectorant demulcent herb for their lung woes! 

Here's a photo of Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum genus). You can see the leaves are quite similar to Solomon's Plume, but the green berries (therefore the previous flowers) are in pairs through the entire stem. This plant was growing on a volcano in central France. Xavier tells me that Solomon's Seal plant cuttings are traditionally given on May Day. 

Another look alike, this lily is rosy twisted stalk
(Streptopus roseus). Can you tell this plant is in flower? 

This cutie-patootie has bell shaped flowers at the leaf nodes. The flowers hang below the leaves, hiding them from all but the curious plant lovers. 

Do you have Solomon's Plume growing near you? Have you used it for food or medicine? I'd love to hear about your experiences. 

Dietary Protein, IGF-1, and Hyperinsulinemic Diseases of Civilization

In their paper, “Hyperinsulinemic diseases of civilization: more than just Syndrome X,” Loren Cordain, Michael Eades, and Mary Dan Eades argue that dietary carbohydrate intake, particularly of  refined sugars, promotes hyperinsulinemia, which in turn raises levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and androgens, while reducing levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).[1]

These endocrine system changes create an environment that promotess cell proliferation and growth, acne, early menarche, epithelial cell cancers (breast, prostate, and colon), increased stature, myopia, cutaneous papillomas (skin tags), acanthosis nigricans, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and male vertex balding.

Effect of Protein Intake on IGF-1: Experimental Results

In “Long-term effects of calorie or protein restriction on serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentration in humans,” Fontana et al report on their studies of the effect of either caloric restriction or protein restriction on these endocrine markers in humans. [2]

In one study, they compared the effects of three interventions:

1) 20% caloric restriction with no change in energy expenditure (CR)

2) 20% increase in energy expenditure with no change in caloric intake (EX)

3)  healthy lifestyle control group with no specific manipulation of energy balance (HL)

All three groups consumed diets supplying about 16% of energy as protein. 

After one year, although both the CR and the EX interventions produced substantial and similar changes in body mass (~ 6 kg lost) and body fat percentage (~ 23% decrease), neither intervention reduced levels of IGF-1 or increased IGFBP-3.  This contrasts with rodent studies, wherein caloric restriction does reduce IGF-1 and increase IGFBP-3.

In the second study, they compared the IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels in members of the Caloric Restriction Society (CR) who had been practicing caloric restriction for an average of 6 years, with those of age-matched controls consuming a typical Western diet (WD).  The CR group averaged only 1800 kcal per day with 24% of energy from protein and 28% from fat, while the WD group averaged 2500 kcal per day with 16% from protein and 34% from fat. 

Thus, the CR group averaged 108 g of protein daily, and the WD group 100 g of protein daily, both at least twice the required amount for a 150 pound male.

They reported: 

“As in our 1-year CR study, we found that there were no differences in serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations, and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3 ratio between the CR and Western diet groups.... These data provide evidence that, in contrast to the decrease in IGF-1 in rodents, a reduction of IGF-1 expression is not a component of the adaptive response to long-term CR in humans.”

In contrast to these findings, Fontana et al note that fasting for 10 days markedly reduces IGF-1 into the range found in growth hormone deficient patients, and this correlates closely with the excretion rate for urea, a marker for nitrogen balance and thus protein intake.

Consequently, Fontana et al did a third study “comparing the serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations, and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3 ratio in 28 vegans who had been consuming a moderately protein-restricted (PR) diet (0.76 g kg−1 per day; ~10% of intake from protein) for ~5 years age-matched with 28 members of the Calorie Restriction Society who consume a high-protein diet (1.73 g kg−1 per day; ~24% of energy intake from protein).” 

The vegan/PR group had an average protein intake of 50 g per day, while the CR group averaged twice as much, 106 g per day.

Fontana et al found that “Both serum IGF-1 concentration and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3 ratio were significantly lower in the moderately PR diet group than in the severe CR diet group, whereas fasting insulin and C-reactive protein were similarly low in the moderately low-protein vegan and CR groups.’

In other words, the vegan/PR group had the most favorable IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels, while also having low serum insulin and C-reactive protein comparable to the CR group, without enduring caloric restriction.

This table compares the values of the PR group to the CR group:

The low protein group had an IGF-1 level 21% lower than the low calorie group

Of interest, the “serum total and free IGF-1 concentrations were lower in the moderately PR group than in the severe CR high-protein diet group, despite the PR groups’ higher body weight, BMI and body fat content.”

This raised the possibility that the higher protein intake of the CR group prevented desired declines in IGF-1, so Fontana et al performed a fourth study.  They had 6 CR volunteers to reduce their protein intake from 1.67 g/kg per day to 0.95 g/kg per day, a 43% reduction, while maintaining caloric intake constant.  The 0.95 g/kg/d level of intake still exceeds the reference daily intake of 0.83 g/kg/d, which covers the needs of 98% of the population.

As a result of this reduction of protein intake, the CR volunteers had an average 25% reduction in IGF-1 levels, confirming the hypothesis that high protein intake prevents reduction of IGF-1 levels even in the context of caloric restriction.

This then suggests that high protein intake may raise IGF-1 levels and thus promote all the diseases that Cordain, Eades, and Eade linked to elevated IGF-1 and androgens and reduced IGFBP-3 and SHBG: acne, early menarche, epithelial cell cancers (breast, prostate, and colon), increased stature, myopia, cutaneous papillomas (skin tags), acanthosis nigricans, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and male vertex balding.

Another question arises from this research:  Since the vegans had lower IGF-1 levels than the omnivorous CR group, and plant proteins have different amino acid profiles than animal proteins, I wonder if plant protein has a different effect on IGF-1 than animal protein?

Who eats a high protein diet?

Most people do not understand that the reference daily intake (RDI) is not a minimum requirement.  In fact, the RDI for protein, 0.83 g/ kg of body weight per day, is calculated to cover the needs of the people in the 98th percentile of requirements.

Many people require substantially less protein than the RDI.  The median requirement for the general population  actually only amounts to  0.65 g/kg per day, about 20% less than the RDI.  [ 4 ]

For a 150 pound (68 kg) male with 10% body fat, this translates to a requirement of 40 to 50 g of protein daily.  NHANES data suggests that half of U.S. males consume 40% more than the RDI level of protein, which means that many consume more than twice as much protein as they actually require.[5] 

When I ate a meat-based paleo diet, my protein intake ranged from 130 -190 g per day, two to four times the maximum requirement of someone with my bodyweight; which according to human protein requirements research [6] amounts to an excessive protein intake. 

According to this research, I probably had an elevated IGF-1 level and ratio to IGFBP-3.