Aihab International

Sutherlandia

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:07:30 +0000

SUTHERLANDIA FRUTESCENS

Sutherlandia Frutescens is regarded as the most profound and multi-purpose of all medicinal plants in Southern Africa.Because of its efficacy as a safe tonic for diverse health conditions it has enjoyed a long history of use by all cultures in Southern Africa.
Sutherlandia powerfully assists the body to mobilize its own resources to cope with diverse physical and mental stresses and it should therefore be more correctly known as an adaptogenic tonic.

The traditional Tswana name of ‘Phetola’ alludes to this:
‘Phetola’ means it changes, meaning that the plant changes the course of many illnesses into a favorable outcome. (Similar to the European concept of an alterative).

The North Sotho name of ‘Lerumo-lamadi’ means the spear for the blood symbolising that Sutherlandia is a powerful blood-purifier or all-purpose tonic.

The indigenous, folk and contemporary uses of Sutherlandia includes its use as a tonic for:

Enhancing well-being
Immune support
Longevity
Stress, depression and anxiety
Wasting from cancer, TB, and AIDS
Quality-of-life tonic for cancers,
HIV/AIDS and TB
Appetite stimulant in wasted
patients, but not in healthy people
Influenza

Chronic Fatigues Syndrome, ME Syndrome and
Yuppie Flu
Viral hepatitis
Asthma and bronchitis
Type 2 diabetes
Mild to moderate hypertension
Rheumatoid arthritis
Peptic ulcer, gastritis, and reflux oesophagitis
Hot flashes and irritability in menopause

Sceletium

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:06:11 +0000

NATURE’S PROZAC – SCELECTIUM

Sceletium elevates mood and decreases anxiety, stress and tension. It also helps with post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, and irritability and boosts women’s libido.

Sceletium Tortuosum has been used by hunter-gatherers and shepherds as a mood-enhancing substance for hundreds of years and is far more effective and rapidly acting than the well-known St John’s Wort.

It lessens anxiety, stress and tension, raises spirits and enhances the sense of connection. If you take a very large dose you may even feel euphoric, then taken over by a sense of drowsiness. It does not cause hallucinations.

Your mood and mental performance depend on a variety of nutrients that feed the brain, nervous system and neurotransmitters. These include vitamins B3, B6, folic acid (foliate), B12 and C, zinc, magnesium, essential fatty acids, and the amino acids, tryptophan and tyrosine.

Research has found that a lot of people with psychiatric disorders, including depression, were deficient in the B vitamin folate.
Government dietary surveys also show that a large portion of the population doesn’t receive the bare minimum amount recommended of these vitamins and minerals in their daily diet and that this is one of the reasons why depression is on the increase.

A link between depression, insomnia, anxiety, suicide, migraines, PMS, obsessive/compulsive behavior, stress, obesity and addiction is a low level of serotonin

What Is Serotonin and How Does It Work

Serotonin is a chemical neurotransmitter, a chemical in the nervous system that helps transmit messages along the nervous system.

Serotonin is considered the ‘mood neurotransmitter’, which keeps us emotionally, and socially stable. Our body naturally produces serotonin from the essential amino acid tryptophan, which is found in protein-containing foods.

Researchers have found that when they take recovered depressed patients and deprive them of tryptophan, their depression returns. In general, giving tryptophan to depressed people has been beneficial. Some types of depression are called Serotonin Depression because people affected by imbalances in serotonin levels.

Serotonin depression symptoms can affect depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, anxiety and eating disorders. Women seem to have more problems than men in maintaining their serotonin levels. Women who are low in serotonin are likelier to express their anger inwardly, with depression and even suicidal behavior.

Men who are low in serotonin are often violent and can even engage in dangerous criminal acts. Alcohol and drug abusers also turn out to be low in serotonin. The good news is that you can successfully correct these imbalances with supplements that raise serotonin.

Supplementing an amino acid called 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-htp), which is one step closer than trytophan to serotonin, has been shown to produce even better mood-enhancing results.

How does Sceletium Work?
The mood-elevating action of sceletium is caused by a number of alkaloids including mesembrine, mesembrenol and tortuosamine which interact with the brain’s dopamine and serotonin receptors. Sceletium also contains many nutrients, including minerals and amino acids.

According to laboratory studies sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health near Washington DC, its major alkaloid, mesembrine, promotes serotonin levels.

It also appears to have a harmonising and balancing effect on the other feel-good neurotransmitters, dopamine and noradrenalin, as well as on adrenalin.

An effective dose is 50mg a day, although some doctors report needing to use 100 to 200mg a day for those with chronic depression or anxiety.

More Information on the Selectium plant:
Sceletium Tortuosum is a small groundcover plant native to Southern Africa. For hundreds of years the Hottentots of Southern Africa used Sceletium Tortuosum as a mood enhancer, relaxant and empathogen. It is also known as Kanna/Canna and the south African name is Kauwgoed or Kougoed.

Historically Sceletium Tortuosum was eaten/ chewed, smoked or used as snuff producing euphoria and alertness which gently fades into relaxation. If chewed in sufficient quantity, Sceletium has a mild anaesthetic effect in the mouth, much like kava. A tea made from Sceletium is sometimes used to wean alcoholics off alcohol.

Although the plant has been used for thousands of years in Africa, it is only now being sought by the Western world for its remarkable capacities to uplift the mood, increase energy levels and concentration spans. Sceletium is also being used as a natural anti-depressant that is safer than the pharmaceutical alternatives.

Sceletium (Kanna) is used to re-balance the brain and nervous system and thereby relieve symptoms of depression. Combined with other well known herbs, sceletium has been proven to be extremely effective and safe.

Contra-Indications:
There have been no confirmed reports of drug interactions, however, because of the nero-receptor activities of Sceletium there may be interactions with other pharmacokinetic drugs.

People taking any psychiatric drug (including all anti-anxiety drugs, sedatives, hypnotics, antidepressants and anti-psychotics and so-called designer or recreational drugs) or any cardiac medications, should not to take Sceletium-containing products.

As with most supplements and modern drugs, safety in pregnancy has not been established.

Irvingia

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:12:59 +0000

IRVINGIA GABONENSIS

Irvingia Gabonensis is a tree of the family Irvingiaceae,
and is also known as wild mango,African mango, or bush mango.Recent studies have shown that obese people who take Irvingia gabonensis
extract lost significantly more weight than those who did not,
and benefited in other ways as well.
The extract has properties that result in weight loss and also
reduce some common risk factors for atherosclerosis and type II
diabetes. Studies in both animals and humans are showing how effective
this new supplement may be.

HOW IRVINGIA GABONENSIS WORKS
Irvingia gabonensis promotes weight loss in several ways.
One is through the inhibition of an enzyme called Amylase,
which reduces the amount of consumed starches that the body
will absorb as sugar.

Another is by increasing the levels of beneficial Adiponectin,
a hormone that plays an essential role in metabolic abnormalities
associated with obesity, type II diabetes, and atherosclerosis.
Yet another way Irvingia gabonensis can cause fat loss is by inhibiting
glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, which helps block the amount of
blood sugar that converts to fat. Irvingia gabonensis also is associated
with lower levels of C-reactive protein and helps restore the benefits of
leptin, a hormone that turns off appetite.

When it comes to diabetes, the seeds of Irvingia gabonensis contain a
soluble fiber which acts like a bulk-forming laxative. Thus these seeds
and their extract can delay stomach emptying, which results in a more
gradual absorption of glucose (sugar) and a reduction in blood sugar levels.

Although no studies have been done with Irvingia gabonensis in people
with diabetes, controlled studies of other soluble fibers such as glucomannan
have shown that they stabilize blood sugar levels.

In a similar way, Irvingia gabonensis seed fibers can bind to bile acids
and transport them out of the body in the feces.
This forces the body to convert more cholesterol into bile acids,
which then causes a reduction of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Hoodia

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:04:50 +0000

Hoodia Gordonii

Aihab International’s Hoodia Gordonii is harvested under license on our farm in South Africa. Hoodia supplied by Aihab International is Wild-Crafted. Unlike other companies we do not use cultivated Hoodia which has been pre-maturely harvested resulting in lower active ingredients to lower our price or make more profit.

Hoodia Gordonii is a leafless, spiky succulent. It grows naturally in the Northern Cape, a province of South Africa, where Nature Conservation registers it as a protected species in the wild.

Hoodia Gordonii is famous for its effects as an appetite suppressant and mood enhancer.

For more info contact our South African Office:
Tel: 0027 21 979 0886
Contact Form

Recent research has shown that the Hoodia Gordonii species contains a molecule that is similar to glucose, only much stronger. Scientists believe that this molecule in Hoodia fools the body into believing that it has just eaten.

Hoodia is the most effective natural appetite suppressant on the market. Many people also experience uplift in their mood immediately, followed by a complete satiation of the appetite. After eating Hoodia one simply doesn’t feel like eating a meal.

Please note that people do report different reaction times to Hoodia – this appears to be dose specific. Some individuals may need to take more than others in order to experience the same effects and get an successful result

As far as scientists know, there are no negative side-effects. Hoodia is currently not classified as a medicine in South Africa, but as a foodstuff, which is testimony to how safe it is.

Hoodia Gordonii is eaten fresh as a food and is also used medicinally for abdominal pain suggestive of peptic ulceration.

There is more than one species of Hoodia each with its own function. Most Hoodia species are eaten as a foodstuff, thorns peeled off and eaten like a cucumber.

Amongst the native desert tribes, they formed a much-needed emergency supply of food in harsh desert conditions when food was not available.

Farmers who are licensed by Nature Conservation grow Bushman Hoodia’s Hoodia Gordonii, and the plant is been exported with all the legal paperwork that should accompany a protected species.

Licensed growers are the only people who may cultivate and export the plant: this ensures the survival of the plant.