Has a Cure for the Common Cold Already Been Discovered?

Researchers at University of Wisconsin, University of Maryland, and the Craig Venter Institute, recently announced that they have decoded the elusive genetic blueprints of the common cold, essentially demystified the enigma behind how all the viral strains are related to one another, thus enabling them to hone in on the culprit: the rhinoviruses.  The findings of this study, published in the Feb. 12, 2011 issue of Science journal, explains the nature of the human rhinovirus.  But while this is certainly good news for the millions of men, women, and children who contract the opportunistic virus (twice a year on average for adults, and up to ten times a year for children), many wonder why is it that with all the scientific advances in recent decades, a cure for this commonly-contracted disease wasn't found long ago?  After all, any number of deadly bacteria-related diseases have been cured, why not the common cold virus?  Read more . . .

Home Remedies for Sexual Impotence

Since man first discovered the connection between an erect penis and fertility, he has persued an interest in natural substances that enhance his sexual performance.  While exploring the effects of various plants he found growing around him, he no doubt stumbled upon herbs that when chewed would cause him to have more frequent and harder erections; herbs that would allow him to maintain his erections longer.  As a result, most cultures of the world now have an assortment of herb-based home remedies for treating sexual impotence.  Read more . . .

The Health Benefits of Black Cohosh

Black cohosh is a member of the buttercup family, a perennial plant native to North America.  Also known as black snakeroot, bugbane, bugwort, rattleroot, rattletop, rattleweed, and macrotys, it has been used for centuries by Native Americans who first discovered its many health benefits.  Traditionally considered a female herb, it is commonly used to ease labor pains, treat menstrual cramps, hot flashes, infertility, threatened miscarriage, and to induce lactation.  Black cohosh first appeared in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia in 1830 under the name “black snakeroot.”  In 1844 it gained new popularity when Dr. John King, an eclectic physician of the era, prescribed it to treat a number of illnesses including rheumatism and nervous disorders.  By the early twentieth century, many doctors across the US were routinely advocating black cohosh for most female-related maladies including endometritis, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, sterility, severe after-birth pains, and for increased breast milk production.  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 . . .

The Health Benefits of Essiac Tea

Essiac tea is a blend of herbs believed by many to have unique cancer-fighting properties and a number of other health benefits. Originally used by Native American medicine men, the recipe was rediscovered in 1922 by a Canadian nurse named Rene Caisse as she was attending a woman who claimed to have been cured of breast cancer with an herbal remedy given to her by a North American Indian shaman in the 1890s.  After learning for herself the health benefits of this herbal blend, Rene named her version of the recipe ESSIAC—her last name spelled backwards.  As nurse Caisse discovered, the four main herbs that make up Essiac, burdock root, the inner bark of slippery elm, sheep sorrel, and Indian rhubarb root, each have unique properties that have been utilized for centuries, both as an herbal infusion as well as for topical poultices and plasters.  Read more . . .

The Spiritual and Medicinal Uses of the "Magic Mushroom" (Psilocybe)

As evidenced by findings at numerous Maya sites in Guatemala where numerous mushroom-shaped stones have been discovered, dated to 1000 BCE, archaeologists now know that aptly-named “mushroom cults” of Mesoamerica held psilocybe, the so-called  "magic mushroom," in highest esteem for centuries.  In fact, the archaeological record shows that early Mesoamerica people not only regularly partook of psilocybe, but a number of other hallucinogenic fungi for ritual divining and healing--a practice continued today by the Mazatec people of Oaxaca, in Southern Mexico.  But, what are these so-called magic mushrooms all about?  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 . . .