Learn about Echinacea & why people take it to manage cold symptoms
Are you suffering from a nasty cold? Are you sniffling your way through the month, wishing for a remedy? If so, you’re probably researching Echinacea tablets and trying to work out whether or not they might help to ease your symptoms.
Today’s article will take an objective look at the Echinacea plant and why some people take supplements, believing it will help them fight the germs.
First things first: what is Echinacea?
Echinacea is a flowering plant that can be found all over the United States and Canada. With nine varieties, Echinacea also goes by other names, including black-eyed Susan and purple coneflower.
Echinacea tablets are created from the stems, roots, leaves and flowersof the plant. In addition to tablets, you can find Echinacea in liquid forms, and added to herbal teas.
Does it work and if so, how?
Echinacea has been used in America for at least a couple of centuries now, so you would thinkthatwould give it credibility as a reliable remedy. However, this is not the case. Visit the US gove...
HEENT: no headache, no tinnitus, no hearing loss, mouth sores, no voice changes, no problems swallowing, sinus congestion, no visual disturbances.
Each year, people spend billions of dollars on pharmaceutical drugs, but what if there was an option that was cheaper and natural? Herbal medicine has been around for thousands of years and shows no sign of stopping. Many are familiar with Aloe Vera, a plant commonly used to treat burns, but it can also be used to speed the healing process of cuts. Herbal remedies have been around for a long time and have saved lives, like little Teddy’s life in No Witchcraft for Sale.
Observing the leaves of a hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.) as it grows can tell you whether it's getting all it needs to thrive. Hibiscus is hardy to U.S Department of agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, where it's a perennial. In the cooler zones it's treated as an annual. (See References 1, p. 93) Hibiscus grows dark green, glossy leaves that are adorned with an abundance of flowers. Although yellowing hibiscus leaves can be an indication of the natural resting phase, it can also be a sign of a more serious matter, such as improper watering, lack of nutrients, and sap-sucking pests.
Natural products include dietary supplements and probiotics. Dietary supplements can be anything from multivitamins to supplemental herbs. Probiotics are live bacteria that are found in the digestive tract (National Center, 2011, para.6). H...
Cancer is presently responsible for about 25% of all deaths in US and other developed countries. On a yearly basis, 0.5% of the population is diagnosed with cancer. It can be treated with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies etc., but all these have side effects and that is why botanical treatment turns useful.
Zahn, K.A., Raymond, L. L., Purssell, R.A. (1997). Cardiovascular Toxicity after ingestion of Herbal Ecstacy. Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17(2), 289-291.
Lindberg, D. (n.d.). Herbal Medicine: MedlinePlus. U.S National Library of Medicine. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbal
Herbal supplements and herbal treatments are nothing new to people looking for a way to enhance their diets or to those trying to find an alternative to traditional drugs. Such supplements include vitamins or minerals already present in the majority of foods. Other treatments are more unusual and stem from ancient Chinese healing or Native American therapies. Often these additional or alternative treatments have a positive effect on the patient. In China, during the early seventies, there were good results reported for treating bronchopneumonia in children. The doctors used herbal medicines, traditional methods of massage along the spinal column, and acupuncture and injections into needling points in conjunction with current antibiotics. This combination of traditional medicine with current medical practices had major improvements over the simple administration of antibiotics since the most recent method of antibiotics did not take into account the problems of a poor functioning cardiovascular system, spasms of the bronchi, and the fact that asthma often continues. The traditional method does have an effect on these symptoms (Risse, 108). However, despite the positive effects, there have been reported instances where men and women hav...
Plants cleanse, regulate and nourish the body through an unspoken intelligence. All living creatures have a predisposition for whole plant medicine. Think of it as a type of genetic memory. I know for some, especially those practicing allopathic Western medicine, it
Today, everyone from health care consumers to providers are learning about natural options to help with being healthy. “Herbalists, or individuals who use herbal remedies to alleviate pain, are on the rise in the United States” (Tremmel 1). In 1995, a survey was taken with about 600 physicians across the count...
From working animals to house pets, all animals can benefit from using herbal remedies- notably equines such as horse and ponies. It is nature’s way of healing, evident by the fact that animals have been instinctively ingesting plants to their benefit long before man domesticated them. Herbal treatment is the oldest form of healing. Modern medical science and world history confirm that herbs are a valid and healthy way both prevent and cure disease and infection while improving the overall vitality of animals. Most all modern drugs have been developed from medicinal herbs that have been in the earliest societies’ medical practices. In fact, it wasn’t until the late nineteenth century that veterinary medicine began to use today’s common pharmaceuticals.
Herbal drugs are the medicine which contains medicinal plant parts or there substance likes extracts. As per the initial record the herbal drugs being used in India, China, Egypt, Greek, Roman from last 5000 years. The oldest and biggest Indian texts Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Charak Samhita and Sushruta Samhita include the uses of many herbal drugs (Khamboj et al ). In 3000 B.C. the Egyptian text Papyrus Ebers given the name after the German Egyptologist Georg Ebers contains 800 recipes and description of 700 medicinal plants like aloe, colocynth, Indian hemp, garlic, opium poppy, juniper, cumin, ricinus seeds and Arabic gum (Aksel Bernhoft et al 2008).
For about thousands of years the mankind has been utilizing the rich sources of flora for various diseases and disorders . Written record shows the usage of plants dates back to at least 5000 years and archeological surveys indicates the usage of the medicinal plants even before that . Greek botanist, Pedanios Dioscorides described about 600 herbs in his book in 78 AD and this treaty remained as a major source of reference for about many centuries on the medicinal plants. The therapeutic action of numerous plants were identified by observations and experimentation and were transmitted from one generation to the other by the by the ancient peoples. Swiss physician - Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, in his “Theory of signatures” informs that the colour, shape, odour and flavor of plants will attribute towards their therapeutically properties and thus gives clues to their clinical importance.
Health claims are booming in today’s world. Many of these consumers are being misled by advertising and believe that their choice will benefit their health. Although herbal medicines have been in existence throughout human evolution, I have chosen to take a deeper look into these health practices. I’m curious if this is just another health claim or if there are actual benefits to taking these medicines.
Frequently a person believes that herbal medicine is more naturally safe and soothing than drugs. Nevertheless, there’s no reasonable defense about this. Though many consumers trusted herbal medicine much more than the synthetic medicine because it’s safe and effective, but like anything else, it has its own limitations too. There are several hostile issues related to herbal medicine that has been quite alarming. Notwithstanding, majority of the most popular herbs are at least nearly safe.