Garam Tea Chat

By Shane Ellison 

As a medicinal chemist, I’m often asked, “How can I live to be a 100 years old?” My answer is simple, “Learn to control blood sugar and insulin.” 

The biggest threat to longevity is high blood sugar and insulin. Known as type II diabetes - or more accurately insulin resistance - it has become a nationwide epidemic that steals 11 to 20 years from a person’s lifespan. It is one of the main culprits behind depression, obesity, heart disease and even cancer. Understanding two simple facts about the pandemic killer may help you avoid it - and live to be 100 years old rather than 65 or 70! 

Fact #1: Anti-Diabetic Drugs like Avandia and Actos are Deadly

To curb the threat, family physicians are madly prescribing Avandia and Actos in hopes of reversing type II diabetes - total sales have reached over $4 billion annually. Unknown to most, Avandia users have a whopping 30-40% increased risk of heart attack and other heart-related adverse events (heart failure) compared to patients treated with placebo. (1) This side-effect is partly due to the drugs ability to lower “hemoglobin.” 

Hemoglobin is used by the body to transport oxygen throughout the entire 100,000 miles of adult veins, arteries, and capillaries. Without it, a condition known as “ischemia” sets in. This is a fancy term for “suffocation.” Clinically, heart attack or heart failure can result from the lack of oxygen.

Actos belongs to the same class of medicine as Avandia - glitazones. Not surprisingly, it carries the same risks. Health Canada sounded the alarm as early as 2001! But the danger is being hidden from the American public. 

Commenting on the unannounced danger, the U.S. Congress stated that the, “FDA’s apparently callous disregard for the safety of diabetics taking Avandia is very reminiscent of the Agency’s failure to move on Vioxx when substantial safety signals first became known. Like Vioxx, Avandia may have unnecessarily risked the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.” (2) 

Fact #2: Natural Medicine Can Safely Reverse Insulin Resistance

In the process of designing anti-diabetic drugs, Big Pharma surveyed a myriad of natural products to find a “lead compound” that would show them how best to design a synthetic drug. Corosolic acid from the banaba leaf was among the most potent. (3)   Corosolic acid successfully reverses insulin resistance as seen by lowered blood levels of insulin and glucose among users. Rather than promote the natural medicine to the millions who suffer from insulin resistance, Big Pharma has been working rigorously to make a synthetic copycat - so they can monopolize it. They have failed miserably. Fortunately, the natural source is readily available as “banaba leaf” at local health food stores. Banaba leaf works at the molecular level by fine-tuning the damaged insulin receptor - the cause of insulin resistance. This benefit rests in its ability to selectively initiate a chemical reaction known as “phosphorylation” at the receptor site. In effect, what is “jammed,” becomes un-jammed thanks to the banaba leaf. Akin to a key being inserted into a lock, insulin is free to interact with the receptor, thereby triggering the cell to open the doors for blood sugar.

Users of Banaba leaf not only avoid dangerous prescriptions while increasing insulin sensitivity, but they also melt fat and build muscle in the process. This beneficial effect comes from the subsequent balancing of hormones that occurs once blood levels of insulin and glucose are normalized. Men rid their body of excess estrogen and boost testosterone and vice-versa for women. Of course, lifestyle habits such as exercise and minimizing sugar while increasing healthy fat and protein consumption are pre-requisites to the success of banaba leaf.

Closing

Among those populations who live the longest, they thrive courtesy of being ultra sensitive to insulin - naturally. And conversely, those who die the youngest from obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are grossly insensitive to it courtesy of type II diabetes. Or they are “following doctor’s orders” and swallowing prescription drug like Avandia or Actos.

—————————————————————————————————————— References:

1. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01636.html
2. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-05-21-avandia-diabetes_N.htm
3. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/05/21/congress-steps-up-scrutiny-of-fda/
4. Katsuji Hattori, et al. Activation of Insulin Receptors by Lagerstroemin. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. Vol. 93 (2003) , No. 1 pp.69-73  Author Resource:- Ellison’s entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules; how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master’s degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand experience in drug design. His combined experience taught him real answers to the biggest health problems. Learn to Live Young naturally at http://www.thepeopleschemist.com.  Don’t miss his Stinky Sulfur Awards!  Reprinted with permission from http://www.articlehealthandfitness.com/

By Padma Shandas

They don’t travel the dozens or hundreds of miles for any material gain; they may never imagine their pictures would travel around the world and appear on television, Internet sites, and newspapers; they don’t care if their gathering would be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

But they come – year after year. They perform their annual ritual. What each of the women asks for herself is not known; but they dedicate the day for the memory of an extra-ordinary woman. Perhaps they pray for strength; may be they hope for self-affirmation; after all, the day transforms their daily duty into a sacred ritual; this day, they cook for a Goddess.

It is undoubtedly the most amazing spectacle one can witness; the sheer presence of about 2.5 million women who gather in the city streets of Thiruvanantha Puram, formerly known as Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala, is nothing short of breathtaking. To the casual eye, it may appear as though they are getting ready for a mass picnic. Or, is it some sort of demonstration of female power? But soon, the reality strikes: it is the largest gathering of women who come in pursuit of spiritual fulfillment at a Goddess temple.

Women congregate in the city from the neighborhoods as well as far away places, even foreign countries; they carry mud pots and other cooking paraphernalia with them. As far as the eyes can reach, one sees only women, except for a sprinkling of men, who are either the police or photographers.

The event, known as Attukal Pongala, happens once a year in February or March. The preparations begin days ahead. People talk excitedly about the upcoming gathering. City police gets ready for any eventuality, medical teams arrive, and bus services shape up for running all-women free shuttles from across town and neighboring villages. Private taxis and auto-rickshaws do their share to manage the inflow. Women-only trains run to the city, jammed with the festival-goers.

City streets divert traffic for the day and offer maximum space for the women. Local citizens open their homes, their kitchens, and bathrooms for the out-of-towners. Restaurants offer free lunches.

The women’s needs are simple: a few bricks to create a stove, a bundle of dry kindling, a cooking pot, a ladle, rice, water, ghee, and jaggery (brown molasses). Some use a few cashew nuts and a handful of grated coconut for garnishing. They sit by the side of the roads, as close to the Goddess temple as possible, or in empty lots, or wherever they can find space, and set up the stoves. The ritual cooking begins at the precise time indicated by the temple priest, who brings a sacred flame to light the stoves. The ritual is so well organized that within minutes, the flames catch on and the rice begins to cook. Smoke rises up, engulfing the city.

The millions of pots sizzle with the sweet pongal, or rice pudding, which they offer to the Goddess.

Like all rituals in India, there is a legend behind the event. It commemorates the ordeal of a poor woman named Kannagi, whose burning anger caused the destruction of the city of Madurai.

The story is mesmerizing: Kannagi was a patient, loving, and devoted wife. Once, overcome by poverty, she sends her husband, Kovalan, to pawn one of her gold anklets at the market. But mistaking the jewelry to be the stolen anklet of the queen, he is arrested and put to death without a trial.

Kannagi, angered by the injustice, throws her other anklet to smithereens, exposing the precious gems inside, and proves the authorities wrong. The queen’s anklet has pearls in them. She curses the city and its rulers to burn in a fire. As the fire roars through Madurai, Kannagi, still seething, goes away to neighboring Thiruvanantha Puram. The women of Thiruvanantha Puram pacify her with pots of sweet pongal, and worship her as their Goddess.

Each year, the temple festival attracts more and more women to the spot. As the largest gathering of women, Attukal Pongala has earned mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Many women join outside their own homes, away from the crowd; and yet, follow the exact same ritual at the precise time. Participating in this year’s event, I joined my sisters-in-law, who cooked the pongal in their front yards.

“Are the women of India powerful in the society?” asked a white American friend, when I described the festival to her, after my return to the U.S.

Did she mean if they felt powerful doing the ritual? Or if the women are generally powerful?

How would I describe my own experience? The ritual was certainly exciting; from the beginning to the end. It was also empowering to see the smoke and steam from two-and-a-half million stoves mingle and rise to the sky, like a community’s prayer. But it was the quietness of mind that I remember the most – a peaceful feeling of harmony; a genuine joy of togetherness.

“The ritual itself was empowering,” I said. “For the women… Well, they are powerful inside the homes, generally speaking.”

Then I thought to myself: what if the gathering had been a demonstration of power? A protest? If so, would it be supported or celebrated as much?

Suddenly, an uneasiness began to fill inside me. For all its glory and camaraderie, the Pongala festival is a very humble, personal achievement for the woman. Her role in it is still traditional; her duty, a quiet service. 

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Padma Shandas is the author of Spices in the Melting Pot: Life Stories of Exceptional South Asian Immigrant Women.