1. How your diet can benefit you.
A look at 3 well known herbs;
Cinnamon, Garlic and Green Tea
Presentation by: Jennifer Booth
Hello and welcome, My name is Jennifer Booth and I am a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant. I am also completing a Health and Wellness Bachelor’s program through Kaplan University. This program has sparked my interest of many other aspects of health and wellness and I want to share this with you. Today we will look at Cinnamon, Garlic, and Green Tea and the benefits of those three well known herbs.

2. Traditional uses of Cinnamon
GI Problems
Lack of appetite
Treat bronchitis
*Evidence based research is needed
While these uses of cinnamon have been used over many years, there is a lack of evidence based research to support these claims and studies found that use of cinnamon did not appear to help with treating diabetes or heart disease. Keep in mind, some individuals may have allergic reactions to cinnamon and large amounts of cinnamon could interfere with other medications (Cinnamon, 2012).

3. Benefits of Garlic Lower blood pressure Lower blood cholesterol levels
Fight heart disease or stroke
Reduce the risk of certain cancers
The benefits of garlic have been discussed for many years. I can be consumed raw or cooked, dried, powdered or in capsule form (Garlic, 2012). According to the NCCIH website; some studies have shown short term use of garlic (1-3 months) can slightly lower blood cholesterol levels, slow the development of build up on the arteries, slightly lower blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure, and some studies suggest consuming garlic regularly can reduce the risk of certain types of cancers but more research needs to be conducted in the subject (Garlic, 2012). Special considerations and side effects include bad breath and odor associated with consuming raw garlic, blood thinning properties of garlic should be considered when consuming garlic because this could interfere with the blood’s ability to clot, also garlic could interfere with other medications (Garlic, 2012).

4. Benefits of Green Tea Mental Alertness Weight Loss
Also known as Chinese Tea or Japanese Tea
Mental Alertness
Weight Loss
Protect from and treat breast cancer, stomach cancer and skin cancers
Lower cholesterol levels
Protect skin from sun damage
According to the NCCIH website studies suggest that green tea may help protect against or slow the growth of certain cancers, increase mental alertness (related to the caffeine in the tea). More research is needed to conclude the effectiveness of green tea for weight loss and lowering cholesterol. Use caution with use of green tea extracts as liver problems may occur. Also consider caffeine in green tea may cause difficulty sleeping or other caffeine related problems. Finally, green tea may interfere with other medications, blood thinners such as Warfarin (Green Tea, 2012).

5. Please talk to your Doctor
Please consult your doctor regarding before adding any types of complementary and alternative medicine, including changes of vitamins, herbs or dietary supplements. It is very important that your doctor is aware of all aspects of your health in order to provide the best possible care.

6. Resources https://supertracker.usda.gov/
At this time I will load these websites and we can review them together. These resources are listed for you on the handout and you can explore these websites to learn more information.

7. Review and Questions
The human body requires a balance of nutrients, and there are many tools to use to monitor and track if you are meeting the requirements, one tool is SuperTracker, I encourage you if you do not already make an account to track what foods you eat and evaluate the nutrients of what you are eating. Are you meeting your requirements? What can you change? What should you keep the same? For you to take home today I have a green tea bag and a handout that has a list of resources if you are interested in learning more about herbs, vitamins and dietary supplements. I also have my contact information as well as other local health care resources. Please share any questions or comments. Thank you for your time.

8. References
Cinnamon. (2012). Retrieved from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health:
Garlic. (2012). Retrieved from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health:
Green Tea. (2012). Retrieved from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: