Job’s tears, yi yi ren
“Let your medicine be your food and your food, your medicine.” The sovereign dictum of Hippocrates is aptly epitomized by the use of Coix (Coix lacrymi-jobi, also known as Job’s tears and yi yi ren) as the most common treatment for cancer in China.
Coix is a member of the Graminaceae family of which all grains are a member. In China and throughout Asia, this little known, non-glutenous grain obtained by removing the hard husk of the fruit is widely used both as a food and for medicine. As a food it is densely nutritious.
Per 100 grams, these seeds contain approximately:
- 7 percent fat
- 18 percent protein
- 52 percent starch
- protein – 15.4 g
- dietary fiber – 3g
- Ca – 25 mg
- Fe – 5 mg
- Vitamin B1 – 0.28 mg
- Vitamin B2 – 0.19 mg
- Niacin – 4.3 mg
Bioactive Constituents in Coix
The oil in coix (coixol) which is 5-7% of the dried seed is antispasmodic,…