Herbs That Boost Testosterone

From the time of birth, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testis and prostate, as well as contributes to behavioral patterns and sense of individuality.  In adolescence, testosterone is responsible for promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle, bone mass, penis and gonad size, sperm development, facial and pubic hair, a deeper voice, and of course, sex drive.  Read more . . .

Herbs That Promote Ear Health

A middle-ear infection is one of the most common and troublesome childhood health issues, and is often a baby’s first significant illness.  Often seeming to establish a life-long trend, chronic ear infections can plague many individuals, leading to a near-endless succession of doctor visits and medications.  With ear illness and hearing problems exacerbated by exposure to loud noises, high fever, nerve damage, infection, drug use, and smoking, more and more herbalists, nutritionists, and medical specialists are advocating the use of particular herbs known to cure common ear ailments, maintain good ear health, and prevent or reduce the progression of hearing loss.  Read more . . .

Herbs That Promote Eye Health

For at least 2000 years, various herbs have been utilized throughout the world to promote eye health–consumed regularly to prevent failing eyesight, and prepared as topical infusions to treat everything from common eye strain to glaucoma.  While there is little modern evidence to support many of the documented and anecdotal claims concerning some of these traditional herbal remedies, others have gained considerable supported from the medical community in recent years, scientifically recognized as containing healthful substances that can indeed prevent or treat eye ailments, and support overall eye health.  Read more . . .

Female Herbs: Herbs Just for Her

Through the centuries, various cultures around the world have not only discovered that plants fall into categories in terms of their biological sex (with male and female plants often having completely different curative properties from one another), but that plants can also be categorized by which sex they best serve: female or male.  Thus, certain herbs are routinely designated as “female herbs.”  The following herbs have traditionally been singled out by many societies around the world as having curative and medicinal properties especially geared to a woman’s body; herbs specifically effective in treating female reproductive conditions for a wide range of women regardless of age, ethnicity, or cultural heritage.  Read more . . .

The Health Benefits of Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a deep-rooted annual herb resembling hay and alfalfa whose seeds have been used both as a curative and as a spice (called methia) for at least 6000 years.  Charred fenugreek seeds have been recovered from ancient sites both in Iraq and Israel (radiocarbon dated to 4000 BCE), and dried fenugreek seeds were even discovered in the tomb of the Egyptian boy-Pharaoh Tutankhamen.  Grown in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, and China since before recorded history, fenugreek is perhaps best known today as a common ingredient in curry powder and chutney.  A dull yellow powder produced from the roasted seeds, fenugreek is readily available fresh and dried, whole and pulverized.  Read more . . .

The Health Benefits of Grape Seed Extract

Grape seed extract, as the term suggests, is a natural chemical extract made from the seeds of grapes.  Most often, the seeds left over from the commercial production of wine or juice are used; harvested, ground, and extracted.  Especially high in particular chemical compounds science terms OPC’s (oligomeric proanthocyanidins), grape seed extract increases the strength of weakened blood vessels, and is also one of the most potent antioxidants known.  And in terms of cost-efficiency, grape seed extract is one of the least expensive ways to get your daily dose of these highly beneficial compounds.   Additionally, grape seed extract contains a vast array of health-supporting ingredients including substantial amounts protein, lipids, carbohydrates, and polyphenols (which come mainly in the form of flavonoids, also known as bioflavonoids).  Read more . . .

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 Plants: What Makes Them Different From Other Plants

For all intents and purposes, there really is no difference between plants we term medicinal and other plants.  In that the biological processes that define plants apply to all members of the plant kingdom, any plant may serve a medicinal purpose–perhaps one we simply have yet to discover.  Fundamentally, the use of plants that can provide therapeutic benefits all comes down to their chemical make-up as to whether they will serve a curative function.  Today, the fields of organic chemistry and pharmacology have qualitatively determined which chemical factors of a given plant are responsible for which therapeutic effect.  These distinctions regard the chemical “constituents” of a given plant: alkaloids, glycosides, essential oils, tannins, bitter principles, sugars, fatty oils, and organic acids.  Read more . . .

Marijuana, Medicine, and Religion

During the reign of the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung Shennong (circa 5000 BP), considered the Father of herbalogical studies, cannabis was cited in the most widely-read herbal of the time, recommended for malaria, constipation, rheumatic fever, absent mindedness, insomnia, nervousness, and a variety of female disorders.  In India, hemp has been used for centuries to quicken the memory, lower fever, induce sleep, relieve headaches, and cure venereal disease.  And in Africa, marijuana has been used for malaria and other fevers–with documented results–and even today, indigenous groups continue to use cannabis poultices for snake bites and brew hemp tea for women during childbirth.  Read more . . .

Alfalfa: History and Health Benefits

In the UK, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and south Asia, alfalfa is known as lucerne, and because it visually resembles clover (with clusters of small purple flowers), in many part of the Western Hemisphere it carries the common folk name, bum clover.  Known to have been used as an herbal remedy for over 1500 years, early Chinese herbals list young alfalfa leaves as treatment for disorders related to the digestive tract and the kidneys.  Similarly, Ayurvedic herbals advocate its leaves for treating poor digestion, and a poultice from the seeds for boils.  In Eastern cultures, it has long been proported to be helpful to people suffering from arthritis and water retention.  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 . . .

Cayenne: What's so "Hot" About it?

As a primary herb, cayenne is among the most widely used medicinal herbs in the US, but also one of the most misunderstood.  In the circulatory system, cayenne first affects the heart, then the arteries, the capillaries, and finally the nerves.  It is an effective herb for heart and circulation conditions, and has been touted for its ability to prevent heart attack and stroke. Good for a variety of ailments, cayenne should be a part of every herbal medicine cabinet.  Read more . . .

The Amazing Curative Properties of Sesame Seed

Officially known as Sesamum indicum, sesame is an annual that typically grows upwards of six feet, producing oblong leaves and small seed pods.  Revered in the Middle East for over 2000 years for both its magical and medicinal powers, the oil of the sesame seed is actually quite nutritious, rich in protein, vitamins A and E, most B vitamins, abundant quantities of zinc, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, as well as healthy doses of essential amino acids.  Additionally, sesame seeds contain two unique substances, sesamin and sesamolin which greatly contribute to their far-reaching curative abilities.  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 . . .

How to Properly Prepare Fomentations, Poultices, Plasters, and Salves

From building one’s immunity to resist colds, to alleviating the symptoms of arthritis; dealing with stress and insomnia to defending the body against cancers, herbs have proven healing powers that equal and often exceed those of synthetic drugs.  But, while countless diseases can be treated with simple herbal infusions and decoctions, if you’re only utilizing internal methods of delivery, then you’re missing out on a number of treatments that could be quite beneficial to you and your family including fomentations, poultices, plasters, and salves.   Indeed, these preparations can replace many topical over-the-counter products you currently use.  Read more . . .

The 12 Most Powerful Common Herbs

While living in California, I took a course in herbology called the “Twelve most powerful common herbs.”  These herbs are considered by many herbalists to be the most powerful curatives among “everyday herbs,” and a good starting point for learning the symptom/herb relationship, and stocking a home herbal medicine chest.  Premier to learning this relationship is knowing when to prescribe a particular herb, and under which circumstance, not to.  I present them here for anyone interested in learning how to intelligently use herbs as curatives.  Read more . . .

Classic Herbals of Traditional Medicine: The Primary Sources

With the growing interest in natural curatives, there is certainly no shortage of herbals (herb reference books) on the shelves.  With virtually every cultural tradition represented, and every new herbal touting newly-discovered ancient “secrets,” it’s difficult for the novice to decide which sources to trust–but decide you must.  And while many modern publications such as The Natural Guide to Medicinal Herbs and Plants, by Frantisek Stary, and Jude’s Home Remedies, by Jude C. Williams are fine secondary reference sources (used for cross-referencing), they haven’t the authority nor tried-and-true dependability of the classic herbals upon which these present-day compilations are based.  And one rule any aspiring herbalist should adopt from the start is not to trust what’s found on the Internet, developing the habit of seeking reliable information as close to the source material as possible. To that end, here are the accepted “primary” sources every herbalist must acquire.  Read more . . .

Creating a Modern Herbal Medicine Chest

The resurgence of practical herbology over the past two decades has proven nothing less than phenomenal.  With growing dissatisfaction for Western medicine (and of course the rising cost of vitamins and other supplements), many households that had routinely relied on conventional medicine are now opting to look outside mainstream cures.  More and more families, especially young “enlightened” parents, are exploring the virtues of creating a modern herbal medicine chest.  Recent studies have proven that many herbal remedies are not the feeble substitutes for synthetic medicines the drug and pharmaceutical industry would like us to believe.  In fact, herbs taken in the right form and dosage have proven again and again to be just as effective as drugs--often at a fraction of the cost, and with far fewer side-effects.  Read more . . .