Herbal Information

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…)

Smoking is a habit you cannot easily give up, especially if you have a long history with it. Most of us are aware of the fact that smoking seriously damages our health and that of the people around us, but no one seems to be too keen on quitting.

Giving up smoking has so many benefits to it, the first being the fact that you will most certainly look younger. People who smoke look older than those who don’t. It’s a fact. People who smoke got nicotine stains on their teeth and fingers, their skin looks older, their voice is different and their general physical condition is poor. Stopping smoking will knock off 10 years of your age. Quitting thiswill help you gain control on your own life and health. Perhaps the most important achievement is to take control on your health.
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It is absolutely wonderful to know that thousands of people are getting attracted to the magical kingdom of medicinal and culinary herbs! By using herbs and other natural nutritional supplements, they have already laid a confirmed path to achieve better health and a sound mind. Therapeutically speaking, the main aim of herbal medication is to help your body cleanse by itself and heal in a natural way.

Natural Herbs work in a mode that is different to those that are attached to modern medicines and drugs. Herbs are never meant to be taken as a magical bullet or as an instant fix; most of the herbs act slowly and gradually over a period of time, by releasing the essential components required to cure the diseases and symptoms. In essence, a typical herb has three general functions in the body: (more…)

Diabetes Mellitus Information

Diabetes, or Diabetes Mellitus to give it its proper medical name, is a disorder of assimilation. When the pancreases become inactive or atrophied and cease to produce insulin, the body is unable to convert the sugar into energy for the muscles. Its chief symptoms are weakness and loss of weight, great thirst and increase in the amount of urine passed. There is sometimes voracious appetite but the patient. Gradually becomes more and more emaciated. Owing to poor vitality of the tissues, various skin eruptions like boils and carbuncles appear. There may be itching in the groins and eczema. A serious complication could be gangrene of the skin of the feet, beginning with the toes. A curious phenomenon is that the younger the patient, the more rapid is the course of the disease.

Allopathy depends mostly on administration of insulin to, dissolve the sugar in the blood and forbidding starchy and sugary foods to the patients modern science has not been able to pinpoint the real cause of the disease: what is available is only generalizations such as, obese persons are more susceptible to the disease, it attacks males more than females, or that it runs in the families etc. (more…)

This fact sheet provides basic information about cranberry–common names, uses, potential side effects, and resources for more information. Cranberries are the fruit of a native plant of North America. These red berries are used in foods and in herbal products.

Common Names–cranberry, American cranberry, bog cranberry

Latin Name–Vaccinium macrocarpon

What It Is Used For

Historically, cranberry fruits and leaves were used for a variety of problems, such as wounds, urinary disorders, diarrhea, diabetes, stomach ailments, and liver problems. (more…)

The herbal supplement black cohosh, whether used alone or with other botanical supplements, did not relieve hot flashes in postmenopausal women or those approaching menopause, who participated in the Herbal Alternatives (HALT) for Menopause Study, according to results from the clinical trial. The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that women using menopausal hormone therapy, however, did receive significant relief from their hot flashes and night sweats.

The 12-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, compared several herbal regimens and menopausal hormone therapy (estrogen with or without progesterone) to placebo in women ages 45 to 55.
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If you’re thinking of trying herbal supplements, understand that they aren’t right for everyone. Here’s what you should know before you set out to make that purchase.

Herbal supplements may be popular, but are they for you? That depends on the herb, your current health and your medical history. Herbal supplements have active ingredients that can affect how your body functions, just as over-the-counter and prescription drugs do. Herbal supplements may be particularly risky for certain individuals, and their labels are often vague, confusing and of little help when it comes to making a selection. If you’re considering herbal supplements, educate yourself about any products you intend to use before purchasing them, and talk to your doctor about any herbal supplements you’re considering taking.

Are herbal supplements safe? (more…)

The antioxidant activity of green and black tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, Theaceae) in the body (in vivo) is well established, but an important question remains: Does the addition of milk to tea inhibit the bioavailability of antioxidant tea polyphenols? Not according to the results of this Dutch study, which showed that a single dose of either black or green tea with or without milk caused a significant rise in plasma antioxidant activity (Leenan et al., 2000).

The crossover study compared the antioxidant effects of green tea, black tea, and non-carbonated mineral water with or without milk in 21 healthy volunteers. Each participant received a dose of one of the six test substances on six different days. A single dose of tea was defined as 2 g of tea solids in 300 ml of water (Lipton Research Blend, Lipton, Englewood Cliffs, NJ). The researchers utilized the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay to measure both plasma antioxidant and catechin levels. Blood samples were taken before consumption of the test substances and again 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after consumption. According to the results, both green and black tea caused a significant rise in plasma antioxidant and catechin levels, but the effect of green tea was significantly greater at all time points. The addition of milk to either type of tea did not significantly alter responses. (more…)

An open Japanese study suggests that consumption of oolong tea (Camellia sinensis) helps speed clearance of recalcitrant atopic dermatitis lesions. The 118 study participants continued their usual dermatologic treatments but also drank oolong tea (10 g steeped in 1000 mL water a day, divided into three doses). Beneficial results were noted after one to two weeks, and 74 (63%) of the participants showed marked to moderate improvement of lesions after one month. After 6 months, 64 patients (54%) still demonstrated a good response to treatment. The study builds on animal research showing that oral administration of green, black, or oolong tea suppressed allergic skin reactions.

INTRODUCTION

Since you are reading this, chances are you are a smoker, or someone you love is a smoker. In either case you surely are not looking for a article that will tell you how to smoke. Rather, you are looking for a “magic button” to quit smoking.

I am sorry to disappoint you, but there is no “magic button.” In fact, it is going to require discipline on the part of the smoker to kick the addiction. (You will read the word “addiction” over and over again throughout this article. The reason is simple… smoking IS an addiction no matter how you look at it.)

I can offer you facts, statistics and methodologies to eliminate the addiction, but the final ingredient is you and your desire to quit smoking once and for all!

I wish you the best of luck and, as we say in France, “Bon courage”, because I am also an ex-smoker and know how big a challenge it is to become a non-smoker once and for all.
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