What is Valerian?

Other names: All-heal, Amantilla, Setwall, Setewale, Capon’s Tail, Valeriana officinalis

Valerian is a plant native to Europe and Asia. It grows to up to four feet high and has trumpet-shaped flowers. The roots are used medicinally. Although the fresh root is relatively odorless, the dried root has a strong odor that many find unpleasant.

Valerian is believed to have been used since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. It was used as a folk remedy for a variety of conditions such as sleeping problems, digestive complaints, nervousness, trembling, tension headaches and heart palpitations. Valerian’s popularity waned with the introduction of prescription sleep medication. (more…)

Colon cleansing might not be the prettiest problem to have to deal with, but it’s certainly one of the most important - and one of the most easily forgotten.

wW discuss all the good that herbs can do, and some of the bad like side effects and mixing issues, let’s discuss the ins and outs of herbal colon cleansing.

Many, many people are suffering from bowel problems, constipation and stomach related pains that are actually derived from a problem in the colon. Doctors will prescribe drugs, but if you’re not tackling the issue directly, you’re simply papering over the cracks.

The reality is that nutrition, and herbal elements, are two of the most important factors behind a healthy colon. A good colon cleansing product is worth its weight in gold, to say the least. (more…)

Green Tea (Catechin) Ingredient May Promote Healthy Weight Loss - Aside from fighting heart disease, cancer, and other diseases, a new study shows that drinking green tea may also fight fat.

The study showed that people who drank a bottle of tea fortified with green tea extract every day for three months lost more body fat than those who drank a bottle of regular oolong tea.Researchers say the results indicate that substances found in green tea known as catechins may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and decreasing body fat. (more…)

Garlic lovers, take heart: The pungent root may promote healthier responses in blood vessels.

So say researchers who found that compounds in garlic cause tissues or blood vessels to release a chemical called hydrogen sulfide. In large quantities, this compound can be deadly, but it’s also an essential molecule within the body, causing blood vessels to relax and reducing dangerous inflammation.

But how you take your garlic matters, the research showed. “If you prepare it in certain ways, you can lose the compounds that cause it to release hydrogen sulfide, so that helps explain why there has been such great variability in studies,” (more…)

With many children’s cough syrups being pulled from the market because they don’t work, an old folk remedy — honey — may work just as well or better, researchers report.

In a study of kids having trouble sleeping because of cough, a research team at Penn State College of Medicine compared the effectiveness of a little bit of buckwheat honey before bedtime versus either no treatment or dextromethorphan (DM), the cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medicines. (more…)

Inability to sleep or disturbed sleep is a common complaint. Habitual or severe insomnia may require pharmaceutical intervention. However, there is some evidence to indicate that herbal preparations may be useful in mild to moderate cases, both in the form of tablets made of concentrated extracts and as simple herbal teas.

Valeriana officinalis, or valerian root, is one of the most common herbs used for insomnia. (more…)

The acceptance of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a perimenopausal treatment has not been without controversy. Many women choose not to undertake HRT as a treatment of first choice, preferring instead to try what appear to them to be softer options offered by natural and complementary medicine. The treatment of the symptoms of menopause by herbal medicine has a long history of usage and is often clinically the only intervention required.

Naturopaths and herbalists do not prescribe ‘natural’ HRT, but rather use remedies and supplements that ease the transition to and through menopause. Herbs and supplements are used to effectively facilitate the transition from the reproductive to the post-reproductive phase of life. (more…)

There are a plethora of natural home remedies from brown sugar to eliminate heartburn to corn syrup to control nausea that can be used by those who want alternatives to over the counter medications. More than a tasty, hot beverage, green tea is an important part of home remedies from skin and teeth care to general preventative measures and everything in between. For specific examples to ways to use green tea to get excellent benefits read below.

Green Tea and Skin Care (more…)

Sufferers of chronic pain whether it is caused by arthritis, fibromyalgia, carpel tunnel syndrome or old-fashioned lumbago or back pain, will be pleased to hear that there are natural pain remedies that undo the brainwashing by the media that lead us to believe that the answer to all ills are drugs. Watching one’s favorite TV show has become a chore with almost equal time given to either auto ads (since the automotive industry is going through a very hard time at the moment) or pain killer (analgesic) ads, as the time devoted to the program itself.

The fact that is prompting this flood of advertising of painkilling drugs is the drop in sales as people become more and more aware of the side effects that the majority of these drugs have on our bodies. Many of these side effects are absolutely lethal and carefully wording the warning on the box so as not to terrify the public has been seen through by most intelligent people who are looking for less dangerous alternatives in the form of a Natural Pain Remedy. (more…)