Time | 1 hour agoThe alkaline herb herb, mung, is said to be the best anti-inflammatory medicine available.
But it’s also been shown to cause liver damage and heart disease.
Now, an investigation by the University of Sydney has found mung is toxic to the liver, kidneys, heart and brain.
The team used MRI scans to look at the chemicals in mung.
They found it causes significant damage to the mitochondria, the energy factories that make cells produce energy.
This is particularly harmful to the heart.
“When you have these damaged mitochondria in the heart, the heart’s ability to pump blood and oxygen out is impaired,” said Dr Michael Glynn, from the University’s Department of Chemistry and one of the study’s authors.
“This means you have a heart attack, and that’s very bad news for the heart.”
Dr Glynn said mung can also damage the liver.
“The liver is a great target, because there are enzymes that break down these toxins and the liver’s ability is to detoxify them, and then it can use that to produce more energy,” he said.
“And the liver itself, if it doesn’t have a liver, it can die.”
Dr Gillis said there was also evidence that mung could cause damage to our lungs.
“I’ve seen people with asthma and they’re getting better and they seem to be getting the best of it, but it’s not clear whether the lungs are getting the benefit,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“In the lungs, there’s a lot of oxygen that’s being lost.
So there is a risk that there might be a rise in oxygen levels in the lungs.”
Dr Michael Glynne is one of three authors of a study looking at the effects of alkaline mung in humans.
Topics:drugs-and-substance-abuse,health,health-policy,therapeutic-dosing,psychosis,sydney-2000,melbourne-3000,vicSource Time title More than 80% of Australians use mung herb, study finds article Time| 1 hour 20 minutes agoThe study also found that the number of Australians using mung herbs increased from 5,000 in the 1970s to almost 12,000 now.
“We’re looking at a huge population of people who are in a lot more trouble than they might have realised,” Dr Glynn told the ABC.
“They’re living in a society where they’re more exposed to mung than they’re ever been, and they’ve been exposed to it for the last 40 years.”
It’s very difficult to stop people using it.
“Dr Matthew Taylor, a research fellow at the University and the lead author of the new study, said the findings were very important for the public.”
Because it’s important that people understand that the risks of mung are very low, and it’s very, very safe,” he says.”
But it’s really important that we continue to educate people about the risks, and also that we give them advice about what they should do about it.
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