Fibromyalgia: Effective Herbal and Dietary Treatments

Current statistics show that fibromyalgia affects approximately 3-5% of the American population, with a female to male incidence ratio of approximately 9:1.  According to current medical criteria, fibromyalgia (also referred to as FM or FMS) is defined as: “A medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia (pain caused by a stimulus which does not normally induce pain), and a heightened and painful response to pressure.  In that fibromyalgia symptoms are not restricted to physical pain, the alternative term “fibromyalgia syndrome” is also applied to this condition.  Other core symptoms of fibromyalgia include overpowering fatigue, sleep disturbance, and joint stiffness.  Some patients also report difficulty swallowing, bowel and bladder abnormalities, jaw pain, numbness and tingling (especially in the hands and feet), and cognitive dysfunction (what many term ‘brain fog.’)"  Read more . . .

Medicinal Bamboo

First mentioned in Asian medicinals of the 6th century CE, modern analysis of bamboo shows that it contains calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C, making it quite valuable as a curative for many common conditions.  Bamboo leaves, for example, are a rich source of hydrocyanic and benzoic acids, while the tender shoots contain various valuable enzymes.  Additionally, the juice of pressed bamboo shoots possesses protease activity which helps in digestion of proteins.  The roots were used for centuries as a curative for rabies.  As both traditional and modern medicine verifies, each part of this amazing plant has a variety of uses.  Read more . . .

Green Tea: Just the Curative Facts

Today, scientific research in Asia as well as in the west has provided hard evidence for many of the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea.  For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent.
Additionally, University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a chemical compound found in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells and that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.  Read more . . .

Acne: Causes and Natural Cures

While acne outbreaks can be devastating at any age--though moreso, perhaps, for teens--it can be dealt with effectively if you know its causes, and how to treat it.  According to most experts today, four factors contribute to typical acne outbreaks: abnormal keratinization (thickening of skin cells), abnormal or excessive oil secretions, bacterial invasion, and the male hormone androgen (in females, androstenedione produced in the ovaries, or androstenediol, a byproduct of progesterone).  However, it’s important to note that it's actually heredity, allergies, oral contraceptives, emotional stress, environment, diet, hygiene, or a weak immune system that make the skin pone to outbreaks.  Read more . . .

Herbal Remedies and Their Preparation: Infusion and Decoction

The return to choosing herbal remedies over synthetic or pharmaceuticals is not just a trend towards healthy options, but acknowledgment that nature provides botanical (as well as zoological) options for most--if not all--of humankind’s ills.  But as any experienced herbalist will be quick to point out, treating ailments with herbs is not as simple as just obtaining an herb you’ve read about online and deciding, “Hey, I’m gonna try that.”  The practice of herbology involves learning to relate symptomology to diagnosis, knowing when and when not to choose a particular herb, acquiring the appropriate part of the plant, and of course, preparing it in a manner that best allows the body to utilize its healing properties.  Infusion and decoction are the two most common methods used.  Read more . . .