Coreopsis tinctoria Nuttall - Kunlun Snow Chrysanthemum

Coreopsis tinctoria Nuttall - Kunlun Snow Chrysanthemum

The Plant

This herb is one of the most special ones you can find out there since it only grows in the Kunlun mountain range, in Xinjiang province, nowhere else in the world. You might be familiar with the word Kunlun from the famous Marvel comic Iron Fist, where you can find one of the Seven cities of heaven there. Well, I doubt there is any city like that there, but the place itself is magical and the base of many mythological stories. One of its specialties is this rare herb. It is grown at a height of 3000 meters. The plant itself belongs to the Asteraceae family just like Chrysanthemum, although it is not a part of that genus, it belongs to a different one named Coreopsis. You can mistake it with regular Coreopsis tinctoria, but you can rest assured the only place this grows is in Kunlun mountain range.

Health Benefits

Reduces oxidative stress

When there are more free radicals than your body can keep in check by antioxidants than oxidative stress occurs and the radicals start to do damage to your fatty tissues, DNA, and proteins. This can lead to many serious diseases in the long run, like:
-diabetes
-atherosclerosis
-high blood pressure
-heart disease
-Parkinson's disease
-Alzheimer's disease
-cancer
Oxidative stress also contributes to aging. So this herb can reduce the risk of those diseases and it also slows the effects of aging. You read about the herb's oxidative stress reducing effect in this study.

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Reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke

The plant has an antihyperlipidemic property, meaning it reduces LDL cholesterol levels. If your LDL cholesterol level is high then it can start to form a plaque like substance on the walls of your cardiovascular system, causing a heart attack or stroke, but this herb reduces this risk. Confirmed by this study.

Reduces triglyceride levels

The herb has a lipogenesis suppressing effect, which means it can reduce your triglyceride levels, lowering the risk of heart disease.

Protects mitochondrial functions

Mitochondrial functions are one of the very basic functions in your body, like:
-Cellular respiration
-Cellular energy production
-Calcium homeostasis
-Promotes cell growth and multiplication
-Contributes to apoptosis (natural cell death)
-Supports nerve conduction
-etc.
As you can see it is really important to have these functions work properly since if they don't it can lead to many serious diseases like cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, heart diseases, etc. You can read about the protective effect of this plant in this study.

Has a high antioxidant content

Antioxidants are the ones that keep free radicals in check. If the number of free radicals is greater than the number the antioxidants can keep in check then that can lead to serious health issues. You can read more about antioxidants and free radicals in this study.

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It can help with diabetes

One study confirmed that Kunlun chrysanthemum can reduce blood sugar levels and it can also ameliorate insulin resistance.


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