A little fact about Fenugreek, "Tutankhamen was entombed with seeds from this ancient herb, which has nourished and healed people since the beginning of time."(James A. Duke, Green Pharmacy p101). 

Fenugreek similarly to Saw Palmetto, Fennel herb and Soy are all good examples of phytonutrients and are often suggested to help reduce the symptoms associated with "the change of life" for women. Fenugreek in particular has an age-old reputation as a breast enlarger and contains diosgenin, which has been shown to promote the growth of breast cells. Fenugreek has been further recommended to reduce arthritic pain and to promote lactation although we are not recommending it for pregnant or lactating women. There have also been some interesting findings in areas such as type I and II diabetes. Fenugreek has been known to lower blood sugar levels due to its phytochemical compounds. We encourage you to do some research and consult your health care practitioner. 

This herb and its seeds have long since been used in Egypt, India and the Middle East as both a drug and food or spice. Medicinal uses include reducing fevers, bronchitis, digestive aid and some even say topically as a hair tonic for baldness. It is believed that Fenugreek was first introduced into Chinese medicine during the Sung Dynasty and has been used there for a variety of purposes such as treating kidney ailments, hernia, impotence and other male problems. Fenugreek contains choline that may aid the thinking process, and antioxidants that slow aging and help prevent disease. It may also aid in increasing sexual desire in women. 

Kari-Ann Harrison, BBA 
Product Specialist 
 

References: 

Netzer, Big Book of Miracle Cures, 1999 
Duke, The Green Pharmacy Hebal Handbook, 2000 
Griffith, Healing Herbs, 2000 
Kirschmann and Kirschmann, Nutrition Almanac fourth edition, 1996 
Balch, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 1997 
Leung and Foster, Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients second edition,1996 

Saw Palmetto 

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Humans have eaten saw palmetto or sabal fruit, the fruit of the palm tree for centuries. Both the seeds and red-blackberries are used for medicinal purposes. Its medicinal value has been described in scientific literature since the 1800's. The biggest producer of Saw Palmetto is South Florida, though it can be found in limited amounts along the coastline of South Carolina, Southeastern Georgia and Southern Mississippi. 
Saw palmetto is most commonly known for its treatment of prostate enlargement (benign), numerous scientific articles attest to this fact; it's considered a prostate-shrinking herb. Prostate enlargement strikes at least half of all men 50 years + and as many as 90% of all men 70 years +. More than a dozen clinical studies involving almost 3000 men have verified saw palmetto's ability to alleviate the symptoms. 

Plant (phyto) sterols are plant "fats" present in all fruits and vegetables, saw palmetto is another great source. Plant fats have been found to be effective in balancing immune response. Phytosterols accentuate the function of T-cells. T-cells are white blood cells produced by the Thymus gland that specialize in fighting viruses and certain bacteria living inside the cells. 

The berry extracts are further said to stimulate blood flow to the genitals thus earning it's reputation as an aphrodisiac. Phytosterols are hormonally active plants. The extracts support thyroid's regulation of sexual development, and help escalate the growth of new muscle actively supporting the toning, firming, and shaping of the breast's surrounding muscle tissue thus increasing both lactation and breast size. The phytonutrients found in this herb act like weak estrogens thus balancing estrogen levels and reducing discomfort associated with breast tenderness during a woman's cycle. 

Dr. James A. Duke, Ph.D. considers saw palmetto one of the 13 vital herbs you need to disease-proof, boost your energy and lengthen your life. Saw palmetto extract has become the sixth best-selling herbal dietary supplement in the United States. 

The berries have been used for treating stomachaches, bronchitis, diabetes, and cystitis; they have also been used as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, and for breast enlargement as previously discussed. Saw palmetto berries are claimed to relieve irritated throat and symptoms of the common cold. The fruit has a probable oestrogenic action, this is why it is prescribed in the treatment of impotence, reduced or absent sex drive and testicular atrophy in men and to stimulate breast enlargement in women. 

Kari-Ann Harrison, BBA 
Product Specialist 
 

References: 
Gottlieb, Alternative cures, 2000 
Mindell, Earl Mindell's herb bible, 1992 
Duke, Dr. Duke's Essential herbs, 1999 
Rona, Encyclopedia of Natural healing,1997 
 

Fenugreek 

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Trigonella foenum-graecum 
Since the early 1960's there has been a growing controversy concerning the "unvalidated values of herbal medicine". This is a controversy difficult to understand in view of the historical facts. 

From the very dawn of human existence, the generations of mankind have experimented with and utilized the healing capacity of plants as their only medicine. Between 460 – 370 BC, the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, wrote numerous and important document on the value and use of herbal medicine. Today, the physician uses pharmaceutical preparations from an industry created from extracts of herbal medicinal plants. Once the active components of the herbal extracts are identified, the industry then attempts to synthesize them, generally from coal tar. 

Until the seventeenth century, botany and medicine came down through history side by side, hand in hand. Then both arts became scientific and parted ways. Botanical books ignored the medicinal qualities of plants and medical books contained no information on traditional medicinal uses of plants. 

An Herbal was the combination of traditional plant lore plus the medicinal properties of the particular herb and its botanical classification. From the time of the Greek physician, Dioscorides (40 – 90 AD), to Parkinson in 1629, the herbal tradition was unbroken. 

Pedanius Dioscorides became a military surgeon under the Roman emperor Nero, and was a contemporary of Pliny. He compiled an extensive listing of medicinal herbs and was the first one to present illustrations of these herbs. The work was originally written in Greek, but became best known in the Latin translation entitled De materia medica . The work provided a cornerstone of western pharmaceutical and herbal writing for the next 1500 years and was, early on, translated into Syric, Arabic, and Persian. In the face of such sustained history, one can only wonder if chemotherapy will last 1500 years. 

Today is an auspicious era for the herbalist because modern scientific and medical analysis of ancient herbs is beginning to explain and justify the teaching of the ancients. Fenugreek is an excellent example of an herb that has been used throughout the ages and was held in high regard among the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans for medicinal and culinary purposes. 

The name stems from foenum-graecum, meaning "Greek Hay", as it is used to scent inferior hay. The name of the genus (family), Trigonella, is derived from old Greek denoting "three angled", referring to the shape of its corolla, the inner most leaves next to the bud. 

In Cairo, Fenugreek is used under the name Helba. This Egyptian preparation is made by soaking the seeds in water until they swell into a thick paste. The paste is said to be equal to quinine in preventing fevers and is comforting to the stomach. In May of this year, scientists at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Karachi, Pakistan, published a study on the positive effects of curative doses of Trigonella foenum-graecum for anti-cancer activity. In this study, scientists administered 1 gm/kg of body weight of aqueous extract of the seeds of Trigonella in normal mice orally and a hypoglycemic effect was observed. The study went on to investigate the effects in diabetes. The result was that Fenugreek was found to have a significant effect in reducing the blood sugar of diabetic mice. 

The old herbals tell us that Fenugreek was known for its carminative (expels gas), tonic (invigorating) and anti-diabetic qualities. By the 1930's, herbalists knew that Fenugreek contained about 28% mucilage (gelatinous), 5% of a stronger smelling bitter fixed oil, two alkaloids (trigonelline and choline) and a yellow coloring substance. They knew that the chemical composition resembled cod liver oil, both rich in phosphates, lecithin and nucleoalbumin and, also, containing considerable quantities of iron (in an organic form). Also noted by Reutter, was the presence of trimethylamine, neurin and betaine. 

The modern researchers of today have found the presence of kaempferol glycosides, beta carotene, ascorbic acid, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, phenols, steroidal glycosides (saponins), gamma schzandrin, scopoletin and six new furostanol-type steroidal saponins called trigoneosides. Now, in everyday language, what does that mean to you? 

In the old traditions of Folk Medicine, Fenugreek was used to dissolve hardened masses of accumulated mucous and phlegm from the bronchial tube and lymphatic system. Today, modern medical double-blind studies have found that the herb contains two alkaloids, trigonelline and choline, that work as an antiseptic agent. This antiseptic quality, coupled with the high mucilage content, which is an emollient (softening, soothing effect), explains the breakdown and elimination of mucous from the system. 

The traditional herbal of the past claims Fenugreek to be a nervine (soothing the nerves) for neurasthenia (nerve pain). A very modern study done at the Department of Pharmacology, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, found that Fenugreek was more effective in treating pain in the central and peripheral nervous mechanism that 300mg/Kg of Sodium salicylate (aspirin). 

Culpepper and Geraurd taught that Fenugreek could be employed as a replacement for Cod Liver Oil in scrofula, rickets, anemia, and debility following infectious diseases. French medical research has proven, today, that Fenugreek steroidal saponins significantly increase food intake in underweight, unmotivated diabetic rats while reducing blood cholesterol. 

A study done in the U.S. at the Department of Human Nutrition and Food, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Fenugreek was demonstrated to have a significant amount of bio-available iron and, thereby, significant effect on anemia. 

But, here is one the traditional herbals did not know – studies done in Germany, Arabia and India, revealed anti-tumor qualities of the extract of Fenugreek. In laboratory animal studies, Fenugreek extract exhibited more than 70% inhibition of tumor cell growth compared to controls. These studies also found that Fenugreek increased macrophage and other immune functions. 

As science investigates traditional herbal medicine, more of what was taught by the ancients has been verified and enhanced than discredited. 

Fenugreek seeds keep well, can be used as a flavoring, a preservative, and medicinally. A tea, made of the crushed seeds, is an excellent remedy for stomach upsets of all types. A poultice, made from soaking the crushed seeds, is an expedient relief for boils and carbuncles. The new studies prove the herb's ability to serve many systems of the body from digestion to immunity and blood quality. All in all, Fenugreek is an excellent addition to the home for it's culinary and medicinal qualities. 

Rena Davis, MSc 
Clinical Nutritionist 
Biochemist 
 

Rena Davis, MSc is a Clinical Nutritionist and Biochemist and one of EYI's most popular product consultants and trainers. She operates her own wellness clinic in St. Helens, Oregon, where she has recommended the full range of powerful EYI products to her patients for years. Total Healing is an alternative health care center where Rena, owner/practitioner for over 20 years, provides individualized health care for her clients. Rena is a firm believer in holistic health care and is an ardent student and teacher of the principles of wellness. 

Fennel 

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Foeniculum vulgare 
Fennel is an ancient herb dating back to well before medieval times when it was believed to prevent witchcraft and other evil influences when combined with St. John's Wort and hung over doorways on Midsummer's Eve. Fennel was also eaten as a condiment to the salt fish eaten by our ancestors during Lent. 

The Romans cultivated the herb for its aromatic fruit (seeds), as well as for the succulent, edible shoots which are used in salads, chutney's, and cooked in a variety of dishes. Pliny held great value to the medical properties and used it in no less than twenty-two remedies. Pliny also reported that serpents (snakes) eat it when they shed their skin and they sharpen their eyes with the juice by rubbing against the plant. A very old English rhyming herbal, preserved at Stockholm, extols the virtue of the plant for its strengthening effect on the sight. Longfellow alluded to Fennel's virtues; 

Above the lower plants it towers The Fennel with its yellow flowers And in an earlier age than ours Was gifted with wondrous powers Lost vision to restore 
It is unknown whether it was cultivated in Northern Europe in medieval times, but Fennel was frequently mentioned in Anglo-Saxon cookery and medical recipes prior to the Norman Conquest. Fennel is mentioned as early as A.D. 961 in Spanish agriculture. The cultivation of the plant in Central Europe was accomplished through efforts of Charlemagne, who cultivated Fennel on the imperial farms. Fennel was noted by Guerard in 1597 and Parkinson in 1640 in the Theatricum Botanicum which tells us that culinary use was derived from Italy: "The leaves, seeds, and roots are both for meate and medicine: the Italians especially doe muche delight in the use thereof, and therefore transplant and whiten it, to make it more tender to please the taste, which being sweete and somewhat hot helpeth to digest the crude qualitie of fish and other viscous meats. We use it to lay upon fish or to boyle it therewith and with divers other things, as also the seeds in bread and other things". 

An interesting passage from William Coles, in Nature's Paradise (1650), affirms its use in obesity: "…both the seeds, leaves and root of our Garden Fennel are much used in drinks and broth for those that are grown fat, to abate their unwieldiness and cause them to grow more gaunt and lank". 

The ancient Greek name of the plant was Marathrom, from maraino, which means to grow thin and is believed to refer to this property of weight reduction. 

The worldwide ethnobotany list is extensive. In almost every culture, Fennel has been used to release gas from the stomach and bowels and to relieve associated pain and cramping. It has been shown to be proficient in the clearing of phlegm from the lungs, as a stimulant and diuretic which calms the nerves, to balance the appetite and digestion, and as an antispasmodic. The Chinese used Fennel to regulate energy of the spleen, stomach, liver, and kidneys, and applied it topically for joint inflammation. A number of countries use the dried, powdered herb in kennels and stables to prevent flea infestation. 

Modern analysis of Fennel revealed a complex herb made up of over 150 chemical constituents. Fennel is a rich source of potassium, sodium, sulfur, ascorbic acid, beta carotene, beta-sisterol, calcium, choline, chromium, Vitamin E, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus, quercetin, riboflavin, rutin, selenium, silica, thiamine, and zinc. Fennel also contains several amino acids and a number of phytochemicals. Anethol has been shown to have inhibitory effects on streptomycin and tuberculosis. Fennel also contains phenolic ether which has antispasmodic properties, and Fenchone which acts as an internal anesthetic. 

Beginning in the mid 1980's, a number of researches have been conducted on the medical actions of Fennel. In Italy, there is continuing investigation on the essential oil of Fennel. It has been shown to be antioxidant and antimicrobial against 25 generic bacteria (including plant and animal pathogens). 

In 1988 in Israel, the lyophilized boiling water extract of the leaves was shown to have good benefit in reducing blood pressure in laboratory animals. 

The essential oil of Fennel seems to be capturing the greatest interest in the most recent research, and more research dollars are likely to be appropriated to understanding its complex chemical base. To date, the essential oil has been found to inhibit Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enteritidis. It has also been shown to stimulate estrogen production, facilitate birthing, increase lactation, expel worms, and to stimulate the circulatory and respiratory system. The essential oil contains monoterpenes: alpha-pinene, limonene, monoterpenols: fenchol, phenols:, methyl chavicol:, aldehydes:, ketones:, camphor oxides:, 1.9 cineol:, courmarines, and furocourmarins. Most of these components are currently being researched for potential cancer therapies, especially of prostate and uterine cancer, and as a supportive therapy in PMS, menopause, and other forms of hormone balancing. 

The everyday use of a cup of Fennel seed tea, before meals, improves digestion, reduces appetite, and decreases transit time of the bowels. Chewing a few fennel seeds can eliminate fish or garlic breath. 

Rena Davis, MSc 
Clinical Nutritionist 
Biochemist 
 

Rena Davis, MSc is a Clinical Nutritionist and Biochemist and one of EYI's most popular product consultants and trainers. She operates her own wellness clinic in St. Helens, Oregon, where she has recommended the full range of powerful EYI products to her patients for years. Total Healing is an alternative health care center where Rena, owner/practitioner for over 20 years, provides individualized health care for her clients. Rena is a firm believer in holistic health care and is an ardent student and teacher of the principles of wellness. 

The Research is In! 

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Dear Mr. Grisé, 

In response to the comment made yesterday on the potential harmful estrogenic effects of your compound "definition™," I would like to make several crucial points that will help dissipate this issue. 
First, "definition™" contains phytoestrogens, these are a group of substances found in plants that are weak estrogens. They have only 1/1000 the estrogenic activity of human estrogens such as estradiol. The relatively weak phytoestrogens compete with human estrogens in the body. They can reduce overall estrogen activity through inter-fering with the activity of the stronger human estrogens in the body. 

Second, dozens of scientific studies point to the health benefits of phytoestrogens. The most promising research on phystoestrogens is pointing to their effect on reducing heart disease, breast cancer, and the symptoms of menopause. In November 1998, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine issued a press release entitled "Physicians support diet as breast cancer weapon in midst of controversy" in this press release Dr. Barnard stated that "plant based diets offer a measure of protection. They are low in fat and are rich in phytoestrogens, both of which have been shown to help prevent breast cancer." 

Third, Japanese women that eat a traditional diet high in soy foods and Western women who eat only plant foods excrete more estrogens in their urine and have lower estrogen levels than women eating Western diets (Hirohat et al. NCI Monograms 69: 187-190, 1985). When Asian women migrate to Western countries, their breast cancer rates become more like those of Western women. 

Fourth, many (but not all) studies show reduced breast cancer rates among women who eat diets high in phytoestrogens. For example, a study of pre-menopausal Chinese women showed a 50% decrease in breast cancer risk with high soy intake. There was no effect of high soy intake among post-menopausal women in this study (Yaun et al. British J Cancer 711: 1353-1358, 1995). Very recently, a case-control study on women with newly diagnosed early breast cancer showed that high urinary excretion of phytoestrogen was associated with a substantial reduction in breast cancer risk (Ingram et al. Lancet 350:990-994, 1997) In animal studies, phytoestrogens present in soy protein reduces breast tumor growth (Lamartiniere Carcinogenesis 16: 2833-2840, 1995). 

Fifth, at BioPhange Inc. and in close collaboration with Nutri-diem Inc., a large research project is underway in order to identify the biological effects of Definition on cancer. Using a large panel of normal, fibrocystic and neoplastic cell lines we have studied the effect of Definition on cell proliferation. Preliminary results are very encouraging and point to the beneficial effects of "Definition". This compound can turn off the proliferative process of breast cancer. 

I can assure you that during my twenty years of research in the field of breast cancer,I have never seen a compound that can block cell proliferation as drastically as Definition. We are starting animal studies to identify the effects of this compound on breast cancer growth. 

Hoping these few lines will help you. 

Best Regards, 
Rosemonde Mandeville MD, Ph.D 
President and CEO