Archive for July, 2005
What Is Herbal Medicine? Is It Safe?
Herbal medicine is the use of plant and herb extracts for their
therapeutic value. Most plants contain and produce chemical
substances that aid in healing and other physical treatments.
Herbal medicine is the oldest form of healthcare and constitutes a key role in the development of modern medicine as we know it today. Back when technology was still unheard of, primitive men utilised the vast flora around them to the fullest extent, observing both plant and animal life and their components, eventually giving birth to herbal medicine. In a study by the World Health Organization on herbal medicine use, about 80% of the world's populace still rely on herbal medicine to cure certain ailments and about 74% of the drugs we use today contain at least one botanical element. For instance, Chinese Herbal Medicine's use of ephedrine to cure respiratory conditions still exists in the present time. Ephedrine remains an active ingredient in most of the commercial drugs that are being prescribed to relieve asthma symptoms.
Herbal medicine is defined by three schools of thought: Ayurvedic Herbalism, Traditional Chinese Herbalism and Western Herbal Medicine. While both Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine have moved on to advanced forms, western herbal medicine remains a part of folk treatments. Herbal medicine is, first and foremost, holistic. It aims to address not just a particular symptom, but also to help the whole body rejuventate strengthen itself. And while there is no scientific evidence that all herbal medicines claiming to have healing powers are actually effective, the number the herbal medicines that have been placed under clinical testing have proved their worth. The list of known kinds includes echinacea, which is used to temper colds, St John's wort, used to treat mild depression (without using Prozac), and hawthorne berries, which help in the recovery process from mild heart failures.
Is herbal medicine a direct substitute to modern medication? It depends. While herbal medicines are extracted naturally from plants, not all are safe to use; particularly if they are taken with other types of treatments that may not be complementary. Also, herbal medicine is often used only for mild ailments. If the symptoms are more serious, it is best to consult a trained practitioner of herbal medicine who can tell you which ones are appropriate and recommend dosage levels and frequency. Presently, most of the recommended herbal medicines fall outside of standard drug regulations, thus, not all of their claims to fame are guaranteed and true. And even as common sense tells us that herbal medicine has been around for thousand of years, giving an impression that it is quite an authority, it is not recommended to self-diagnose.
Always keep in mind that herbal medicines are still medicines and, therefore, share the likelihood of having side effects as regular commercial drugs. Some of us have this misconception that because herbal medicines are natural, they are 100% safe. This is not true all the time. The best defense against the possible side effects herbal medicines might give is to educate ourselves with the basics on the herbal medicine in question and to use it with caution.
Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about herbal medicines, please go to: http://herbal.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/
Herbal medicine is the oldest form of healthcare and constitutes a key role in the development of modern medicine as we know it today. Back when technology was still unheard of, primitive men utilised the vast flora around them to the fullest extent, observing both plant and animal life and their components, eventually giving birth to herbal medicine. In a study by the World Health Organization on herbal medicine use, about 80% of the world's populace still rely on herbal medicine to cure certain ailments and about 74% of the drugs we use today contain at least one botanical element. For instance, Chinese Herbal Medicine's use of ephedrine to cure respiratory conditions still exists in the present time. Ephedrine remains an active ingredient in most of the commercial drugs that are being prescribed to relieve asthma symptoms.
Herbal medicine is defined by three schools of thought: Ayurvedic Herbalism, Traditional Chinese Herbalism and Western Herbal Medicine. While both Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine have moved on to advanced forms, western herbal medicine remains a part of folk treatments. Herbal medicine is, first and foremost, holistic. It aims to address not just a particular symptom, but also to help the whole body rejuventate strengthen itself. And while there is no scientific evidence that all herbal medicines claiming to have healing powers are actually effective, the number the herbal medicines that have been placed under clinical testing have proved their worth. The list of known kinds includes echinacea, which is used to temper colds, St John's wort, used to treat mild depression (without using Prozac), and hawthorne berries, which help in the recovery process from mild heart failures.
Is herbal medicine a direct substitute to modern medication? It depends. While herbal medicines are extracted naturally from plants, not all are safe to use; particularly if they are taken with other types of treatments that may not be complementary. Also, herbal medicine is often used only for mild ailments. If the symptoms are more serious, it is best to consult a trained practitioner of herbal medicine who can tell you which ones are appropriate and recommend dosage levels and frequency. Presently, most of the recommended herbal medicines fall outside of standard drug regulations, thus, not all of their claims to fame are guaranteed and true. And even as common sense tells us that herbal medicine has been around for thousand of years, giving an impression that it is quite an authority, it is not recommended to self-diagnose.
Always keep in mind that herbal medicines are still medicines and, therefore, share the likelihood of having side effects as regular commercial drugs. Some of us have this misconception that because herbal medicines are natural, they are 100% safe. This is not true all the time. The best defense against the possible side effects herbal medicines might give is to educate ourselves with the basics on the herbal medicine in question and to use it with caution.
Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about herbal medicines, please go to: http://herbal.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/
Use Digestive Enzymes to Reduce Hemorrhoid Inflammation
Using digestive enzymes when you have hemorrhoids is a good idea.
Digestive enzymes help reduce inflammation, reduce fibrin, and
clean the blood of foreign particles. These enzymes activities
strengthen your immune system and give it more power to work on
your hemorrhoids.
Bromelain
Bromelain is a digestive enzyme that is found in pineapple. It's
capable of reducing inflammation and swelling and for this reason
has been used to treat hemorrhoids.
Bromelain also activates a chemical that promotes the breakdown
of fibrin. Fibrin is a chemical that repairs open wounds,
internal wounds and weak tissue by creating fibrin deposits. If
you are over 35, fibrin is not balanced with your body's enzymes.
This results in excess fibrin deposits at inflamed locations,
eventually causing more sickness and disease. Disease.
To balance and control excess fibrin activity, you need to take
digestive or systemic enzymes. Systemic enzymes are enzymes that
work throughout the body to attack blood impurities and dissolve
fibrin.
As a supplement take 500-750 mg a day. You can also add fresh
pineapple to your diet since it is high in fiber and other
nutrients.
Digestive and Systemic Enzymes
Digestive enzymes are used to help you digest your food and
improve your assimilation. Systemic enzymes are found deep into
our body. They are in your tissues, organs, and cells where they
help in all types of chemical reactions that your body is
involved in.
Both types of these enzymes are available in capsules so you can
easily supplement your diet. Digestive enzymes help to reduce
the stress you get in the rectum when your food is not properly
digested. Undigested food reaching the colon eventually leads to
constipation.
Take a good digestive enzyme that you can get at health food
store. Take 2 capsules with each meal.
Systemic enzymes help reduce swelling, inflammation, improve
circulation, and speed the healing of tissue. One important fact
about systemic enzymes is they eliminate fibrin, which is at
center of most inflammatory conditions and illness.
Take systemic enzymes between meals. This allows them reach the
small intestine and get absorbed into the blood stream where they
can do their work.
Some systemic enzymes are enteric enzymes, which means they are
coated so they will not dissolve in the stomach. This allows them
to move into the small intestine where they will be absorbed into
your blood stream.
The brand Vitalzyme contains serrapeptase, a systemic enzyme that
is mix with other nutrients and enzymes. Just put Vitalzyme or
serrapeptase into the goggle engine. This will bring in a flood
of sites for you to chose a good systemic enzyme.
Rudy Silva has a Physics degree from the University of San Jose California and is a Natural Nutritionist. He writes a newsletter called "Natural-Remedies-ThatWork.com" and he has written an ebook called "How to Relieve Your Constipation with 77 Natural Remedies." You can get more information on this ebook and more hemorrhoid remedies at http://www.hemorrhoid-remedies.for--you.info
Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil Is It For You or Not?
Most of us remember when we were kids how our
Mom insisted we take that awful tasting cod liver oil,
whether we liked it or not!
Well, Recent Medical research on the benefits of fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids has shown, that Mom was right after all.......fish oil is really good for you!
But who can forget that awful taste.
However, all fish oils are not created equal.
Enter Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil
At the time Mom gave us that cod liver oil, the oceans and environment were relatively pure and clean. The cod liver oil we took came from ocean cod that lived in largely un-contaminated waters.
Since that time, mankind has seen fit to do a lot of polluting of our ocean waters. Everything from garbage, to human waste, to toxic chemicals have been dumped into the ocean waters.
In the 1980's there was a "fish oil mania" that swept across the country. Everyone was talking about the proclaimed health benefits of fish oil and it's omega-3 fatty acids.
But, just as quickly as it came on, it left. The reason: people were just not experiencing the health benefits that the experts and researchers claimed fish oil would do.
Why Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil over regular fish oils?
First let's look at a bit of history of how fish oil is manufactured.
Before the 1980's, fish oil came almost exclusively from the livers of the fish. The problem with that is, there was a high amount of vitamin A which, if taken in too high of a dosage, could cause a vitamin A toxicity.
In the 1980's fish oil manufacturing changed so that manufacturer's were able to extract the oil from the whole body of the fish. This solved the vitamin A toxicity problem, but the oil still tasted horrible. So manufacturers encapsulated the oil, which could be swallowed whole.
Yet, the mania faded almost as quickly as it came about.
The reason: People were not taking high enough doses to notice any effect.
Researchers discovered that to get the same amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids as we were getting in the old cod liver oil, we needed to consume eight 1 gram capsules of the fish body oil per day.
People were just not taking enough of the encapsulated body oil to notice any perceivable difference.
But....the big problem with taking that much whole body fish oil became the high presence of toxic PCB's.
To deal with this problem, manufacturers developed a technology called molecular distillation which removed some, but unfortunately, not all the PCB's.
Molecular distilled fish oils are better than normal health food grade fish oils, but still they have enough contaminants in them to cause problems when taken in higher dosages.
The latest break through in fish oil technology begins with
removing most of the saturated fat by a process called fractional
distillation and the removal of virtually all the PCB's by a more advanced and sophisticated molecular distillation process.
With the advent of this new technology, a remarkable new type
of fish oil has arisen: Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil!
Pharmaceutical grade fish can deliver a concentrated amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids without containing un-wanted by-products like chemical pollutants or harmful saturated fatty acids.
Now with Pharmaceutical grade fish oil, you can take a smaller dose and still obtain the required amounts of omega-3's ......Without the presence of toxic PCB's!
A mere teaspoon of Pharmaceutical grade fish oil packs a larger amount of omega-3 fatty acids than a whole tablespoon of the old cod liver oil did..... and it comes without the harmful contaminants and troublesome side effects.
And.....the best part is.....Pharmaceutical grade fish oil leaves almost No after taste in your mouth!!
If you are seeking Quality information on all aspects of health, wellbeing, relationships, sexuality, parenting nad how you can be healthy, we invite you to take a look at our site.
Well, Recent Medical research on the benefits of fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids has shown, that Mom was right after all.......fish oil is really good for you!
But who can forget that awful taste.
However, all fish oils are not created equal.
Enter Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil
At the time Mom gave us that cod liver oil, the oceans and environment were relatively pure and clean. The cod liver oil we took came from ocean cod that lived in largely un-contaminated waters.
Since that time, mankind has seen fit to do a lot of polluting of our ocean waters. Everything from garbage, to human waste, to toxic chemicals have been dumped into the ocean waters.
In the 1980's there was a "fish oil mania" that swept across the country. Everyone was talking about the proclaimed health benefits of fish oil and it's omega-3 fatty acids.
But, just as quickly as it came on, it left. The reason: people were just not experiencing the health benefits that the experts and researchers claimed fish oil would do.
Why Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil over regular fish oils?
First let's look at a bit of history of how fish oil is manufactured.
Before the 1980's, fish oil came almost exclusively from the livers of the fish. The problem with that is, there was a high amount of vitamin A which, if taken in too high of a dosage, could cause a vitamin A toxicity.
In the 1980's fish oil manufacturing changed so that manufacturer's were able to extract the oil from the whole body of the fish. This solved the vitamin A toxicity problem, but the oil still tasted horrible. So manufacturers encapsulated the oil, which could be swallowed whole.
Yet, the mania faded almost as quickly as it came about.
The reason: People were not taking high enough doses to notice any effect.
Researchers discovered that to get the same amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids as we were getting in the old cod liver oil, we needed to consume eight 1 gram capsules of the fish body oil per day.
People were just not taking enough of the encapsulated body oil to notice any perceivable difference.
But....the big problem with taking that much whole body fish oil became the high presence of toxic PCB's.
To deal with this problem, manufacturers developed a technology called molecular distillation which removed some, but unfortunately, not all the PCB's.
Molecular distilled fish oils are better than normal health food grade fish oils, but still they have enough contaminants in them to cause problems when taken in higher dosages.
The latest break through in fish oil technology begins with
removing most of the saturated fat by a process called fractional
distillation and the removal of virtually all the PCB's by a more advanced and sophisticated molecular distillation process.
With the advent of this new technology, a remarkable new type
of fish oil has arisen: Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil!
Pharmaceutical grade fish can deliver a concentrated amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids without containing un-wanted by-products like chemical pollutants or harmful saturated fatty acids.
Now with Pharmaceutical grade fish oil, you can take a smaller dose and still obtain the required amounts of omega-3's ......Without the presence of toxic PCB's!
A mere teaspoon of Pharmaceutical grade fish oil packs a larger amount of omega-3 fatty acids than a whole tablespoon of the old cod liver oil did..... and it comes without the harmful contaminants and troublesome side effects.
And.....the best part is.....Pharmaceutical grade fish oil leaves almost No after taste in your mouth!!
If you are seeking Quality information on all aspects of health, wellbeing, relationships, sexuality, parenting nad how you can be healthy, we invite you to take a look at our site.