Hi everyone Mike Stuchiner, master herbalist here with z natural foods. That's z as in zebra, okay um, and you also may know me from my youtube channel, a master herbalist's perspective. But before we even get started with any of the information I'm about to provide you today in this video, I must do the medical disclaimer so don't change that channel. The information you're about to hear is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, prescribe or diagnose any specific medical condition. It is also not intended to replace your doctor, your primary health care provider's diagnosis, or information Okay, so with that out of the way now. Today's video will be about Z Natural Foods' newest product. It is called IMMU, and then the letter c, so a mu c okay and From a master herbalist perspective, I would consider this product to be more of what you would call a daily wellness optimizer versus, let's say, a tonic formula or an adaptogen formula or a mushroom formula, or even a superfood formula, okay, and the reason is that it kind of combines all of the best of all those worlds okay z natural foods has specifically picked what I consider to be some really great traditional Chinese medicine tonics with adaptogen like qualities and that have been traditionally used very well together in formulations and to that added superfoods with some very specific targeted approaches um and really powerful actions so what I'm going to do is I'm going to begin by going through each one of the ingredients telling you a little bit about the ingredient, and then I'll kind of pull this whole video together to Summarize my thoughts and ideas about the best way to use it, and so on. Okay, so the first item is organic orange juice powder, so oranges are much more than your grandma's quick fix for a dose of vitamin C oranges, and just citrus fruits, in general, are quite well studied for their essential oils in the skin bioflavonoids found in the bitter white flesh, and pectin in the peel okay on average citrus fruits have I'd say between about a half a percent to three and a half percent pectin in the skin alone so that's a pretty decent amount for such a small piece of fruit okay but don't let this innocent fruit um fool you because the compounds found in oranges may have some pretty compelling evidence when it comes to nourishing a healthy immune system due to the antioxidants and phytochemicals found in there as well as uh supporting glycogen health in the liver okay or glycogen restoring in the liver. The next item is sea buckthorn uh juice powder. So sea buckthorn is known and revered for having more than 120 active phytocompounds in this tiny tartan tangy powerhouse fruit. I can assure you this fruit is not shy to flex its muscles in the wild west of superfoods, okay, um. While it is true that sea buckthorn contains many powerful antioxidants, a fairly decent level can be considered considering the size of the fruit of vitamin C and a variety of carotenoids. Highly concentrated powders of sea buckthorn have actually been shown in orac testing to have an orac score of over or around 800 000 per 100 grams that's a pretty powerful little uh you know tartan tangy uh berry i would say um but all that information i just gave you actually doesn't even begin to hold a candle to what um makes this berry a truly unique food okay it's the only plant known to contain a full spectrum of essential fatty acids but specifically with the superstar omega-7 okay and amongst some of omega seven's potential benefits is that it actually supports the stimulation of mucous membrane restoration in oral ocular respiratory intestinal and skin tissue so my particular thoughts on this berry is i would never rule this berry out as being a real true powerhouse because just from the omega fatty acid end of it and uh aspect of it it absolutely has the capability of potentially supporting a healthy inflammation response in the body okay next is organic turmeric root powder now this is of course an interesting food that's been all over the news for a really really long time because as we all know and we hear the buzz words curcumin which is a compound found in turmeric is touted to be One of the greatest plants known to man for supporting a healthy inflammation response and it's specifically touted that way because of its unique mechanism of action which is it may support the modulation of what's known as nuclear factor kappa b and that is basically when you look at an inflammation cascade that is the top portion of that cascade and if it modulates that what happens is everything underneath the rest of that cascade is actually um controlled through the triggering of nuclear factor cap nuclear factor kappa b so by modulating that you're actually supporting an overall healthy inflammation response versus this crazy inflammation response that we often see in people let's say with autoimmune conditions and so on and so forth okay um but curcumin is not turmeric just for some clarity on that okay turmeric has actually been shown to potentially support more of a powerful and broad spectrum benefit versus just what you would consider to be a standardized version of a standardized extract where they isolate Just the curcuminoids okay and research has actually shown that curcumin-free turmeric extracts where where they removed the curcumin have been shown to be as capable of supporting a healthy inflammation response furthermore specific essential oils found in turmeric are necessary for the proper utilization of curcumin fallacy that turmeric i i what i really actually should say is is that as from my perspective as a master herbalist i think that it's actually a fallacy when people talk about turmeric working to support specifically a healthy inflammation response or i should say it's a fallacy that turmeric is considered an anti-inflammatory okay in fact the results of many human studies and the experience of many top herbalists um is is that turmeric has many modes of action actually it has upwards of 300 um activities that have been ascribed to it and it's shown and shows its ability to possibly be what's called an amphoteric which is a substance that helps to support the normalization and function of organs and systems okay so that's why they have chosen to use whole organic turmeric turmeric root powder because it has what you consider to be a much broader range and works very well when it comes to combining with other substances that have a broad range of facts. The next item in there is organic red reishi extract powder. Now this is you've heard of the king of beers Budweiser. This is the king of, or I should say, one of the kings of Chinese medicine tonics. Okay, it is known as the mushroom of immortality, and red Richie has a long and well-documented history in traditional Chinese medicine because of its ability to potentially support a healthy aging process through nourishing what is known in Chinese mass and as the three treasures and for building wisdom. And to be honest with you, it can easily be argued that red rishi is one of the greatest tonics on earth. Now let me digress just a little bit by telling you what or defining what a tonic is, specifically okay. So tonic is a food or herb that supports a non-specific response in maintaining balance and adaptability within the human systems they're. They can very much support the body's ability to re-establish youth and vigor, and tonics, for thousands of years, have been the first line of defense in traditional Chinese medicine. Next is Chaga extract powder organic Chaga extract powder so from Maine all the way to Siberia, ladies and gentlemen, this fantastically prized fungus only found growing on the birch tree has been traditionally hunted by mushroom enthusiasts in the dead of winter chocolate needs conditions when temperatures have been at a minimum of a minimum at a minimum below 40 degrees for several weeks but chaga truly thrives in brutal arctic temperatures okay much like other adaptogens the more severe the growing conditions, the more powerful the end product. Now while 20 years old chaga is considered to be a fully developed uh and mature chaga with the greatest concentration of what are considered potential healing compounds, it can live for as long as 80 years before it dies off and repeats the growth cycle, so chaga I don't know if any of you all have seen chaga. Still, Chaga looks like this giant black lump of coal attached to the birch tree, okay, and when you see it. You see how hard and dense it is. You can understand why it would take, uh, 80 years and why it can go through such a long life cycle because it is so dense and tough, okay? Still, z natural foods offer this product with their chaga extract with a 30% concentration of polysaccharides to ensure that you're getting what you need for a healthy immune system response and for healthy liver and gut restorative effects. next organic mangosteen fruit juice powder Now mangosteen is a traditional food medicine of the people of southeast asia and it has been traditionally used both internally and topically because it is chock-full of phytocompounds studied to potentially support a healthy inflammation response the outer rhine or the pericarp is where the where a very powerful natural compound uh poly phenolic compound known as xanthones are in their highest concentration and this food has also been traditionally used to make ointments to potentially support the healing of infections and supporting skin health so i can assure you that this is a food that the people of southeast asia do not waste any parts of because of all of the tremendous potential healing benefits that you can get from this food okay next is organic astragalus root powder now astragalus is revered as one of the greatest tonics in herbal medicine in traditional chinese medicine for over 2 000 years it is known as the great protector of chi and this is due to its ability to potentially fortify what is known as protective chi which flows just under the skin and in the muscles okay this surface energy supports the potential opening and closing of pores which is our first line of defense against external environmental changes but astragalus is actually known for so much more okay. The term dampness is used in Chinese medicine to describe conditions for which an individual is unable to metabolize fluids properly. Astragalus is a slightly warming uh chi and blood tonic with strong supportive qualities for both the spleen and the lungs, which are the two organs in Chinese medicine that are known specifically to control uh fluid metabolism. It's known, um, it's also known as what is known as what Chinese medicine calls a double direction adaptogen. Now let's back up a little bit so I can talk a little bit and give you a more specific definition of what an adaptogen is okay. So adaptogens are defined as non-toxic herbs that may support the resistance of the hormonal and immune systems to all kinds of stressors through a non-specific physiological response. In simple terms, they support a healthy stress response. In the description on their website of z natural foods, there is a link to an article that goes much more in-depth I wrote about adaptogens, so for more in-depth information, click on that link, and you will find the final ingredient, ladies, and gentlemen, is organic ginger root powder now the organic ginger root is known as a warming tom tonic remedy and it's ideal for supporting healthy blood flow and circulation and that that is not just an uh Chinese medicine perspective that is also a western herbalist's perspective and the reason for that is because if you look at how some. Traditional herbalists, let's say like Dr. Christopher, used to make their formulations or do make their formulations. I should say you have what is known as the lead herbs, the supporting herbs. Then you have what's known as the stimulating herbs because those are the herbs that are used to help to support and stimulate blood flow and circulation to get the other herbs where they need to go. They're like the choo-choo training of the herbal system. Umit's important to understand that there are two of them ginger, actually three. Ginger, prickly ash, and cayenne are the three most common herbs used to support blood flow and circulation and stimulate that blood flow and circulation. In Chinese medicine, ginger is used to dispel cold dispositions and support healthy energy levels because of its warming capabilities and its specific uh ability to be able to increase blood flow. It helps to reinvigorate the body. It helps to support um blood circulation and blood flow so you can feel more energized as well, okay, whereas, in Ayurveda, ginger is used to support healthy digestion or raise digestive fires. According to Stephen Burner, the author of the book, it may also be known as herbal antivirals. Uh, which takes more of a Western approach to herb to herbal medicines. Ginger may also possess potential antiviral effects supporting a healthy immune system response okay and finally, according to modern research, ginger is rich in specific compounds called gingerols, which are believed to be the primary reason for its ability to support a healthy inflammation response, immune response, and blood flow but as we've spoken about in some in many of my other videos. An herb is not made up of just one phytochemical or one family of phytochemicals, which is why we have to look at the bigger picture. Gingerols are important, and they're a major part of it, but it's not potentially the only reason why an herb does what it does okay. So those are all the ingredients in this specific product and It's important to understand that z natural foods takes the approach that they handpick specific ingredients based on three concepts when they create a in order to create a what i guess you would say a formula that will create a well-balanced internal environment for supporting optimal well-being one is taking the synergy of these plants uh whether it's adaptogens tonics mushrooms superfoods it doesn't matter um is taking into account how they work together okay and as i've just explained earlier you can see how they how they've picked some really big players in this field the rishi the astragalus the chaga all of which uh excuse me the astragalus specifically and the rishi are two of the greatest chinese medicine tonics and you know turmeric and sea buckthorn and the nutrient density orange juice powder all of these work very well together to uh put together a beautiful synergy in the body to basically support optimal well-being okay the second is looking at their mechanisms of action okay remember no ur herb or food has just one mechanism of action as i had spoken about earlier uh turmeric has been attributed to as many as 300 different specific actions in in the human body and the healing process okay and number three is well-studied traditional uses and that's where we also go back to chinese medicine where we talk about the rishi and the astragalus and the profound effects that these substances have been researched and what they specifically do not just as individual entities but together in formulation okay so To conclude this wonderful video let's talk a little bit about my perspective of how you would potentially use this okay so is th this to me would be something that you could use on a daily basis um the according to z natural foods they give what they consider to be their tonic dose to be four tablespoons at a time what you can do is you can um use two tablespoons daily you can separate the dose or put it together or you can do one tablespoon four times day or you if you really wanted to you can do 4 tablespoons all together at once any one of these will work perfectly fine um as long as you remember that the key to using a product of this nature like any other long-term usage product is the two cs consistency and compliancy okay you must be consistent with what you do and you must comply by using the the tonic amount on a daily basis now do you have to use four tablespoons a day absolutely not if you find for you that one tables one heaping tablespoon is giving you the the the overall effect of well-being then stay with one tablespoon but when we look at the formula and how the formula was created and the synergy of all these different things. Two to four tablespoons a day is probably the range you'll want to attempt to stay within, okay, so I hope this was a helpful video to everybody. I hope that it was educational to you. I hope that you were able to learn how z natural foods put its uh formulations together, what they have in mind, what its key principles are, and what its belief system is when it comes to creating something as a general tonic formula or in this particular case as I stated at the beginning of the video what I would actually call a general wellness optimizing formula okay um how they choose to put something like this together. Hence, I'm Mike Stuchiner, master herbalist with z natural foods. You can also go to my youtube channel if you'd like to check out more information on a variety of different things regarding herbal medicine. From a master herbalist's perspective, Mike Stuchiner master herbalist signing out. I'll see you next time.