American Ginseng And Sex
Makes an older woman younger and a younger woman hunger, makes an older man secure and a younger man more sure, is the refrain of herbalist Jim Dukes bluegrass song Ginseng. That perception of the purported aphrodisiac effects of American ginseng may be more fact than fancy.
Researchers at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Carbondale conducted a series of tests to evaluate the effects of American ginseng on the sexual behavior of male rats. Adult male rats treated with American ginseng for twenty-eight days at doses of 10, 50 or 100 mg/kg of body weight were compared with a control group that didnt receive ginseng. Behavior, testosterone levels, differences in body weight, testicle weight, size of the seminal vesicle, as well as pituitary and spleen weights were measured. While no differences between ginseng-treated rats and controls in any of these biological tests were found, researchers did note an increase in neurotransmitters secreted by the pituitary gland and found that this may increase American ginsengs ability to stimulate copulatory behavior in male rats.
In behavioral tests, vast differences were observed in the ginseng-treated rats. Time between mounting was greatly reduced after fourteen and twenty-eight days in rats treated with the highest ginseng dosage. The time between ejaculation decreased significantly after only one day of treatment with American ginseng extract.
Herbs For Autumn Allergies
Herbs for autumn allergies
Autumn is the season of allergies, with its abundance of pollen, dust and seed. While the fruits of the garden can make us miserable, there are also plants that offer a solution for the ills.
Natures supplies what you need, when you need it.
Common garden herbs like thyme, sage and mint that can be used to offset the effects of hay fever and sinusitis that occur with an allergic reaction.
The best all round herb is Thymus vulgaris.It is avery important tonic herb for strengthening the immune system and for fighting fungal and respiratory infections.
It is particularly useful for helping the body to fight throat and chest infections, because the leaves are strongly antiseptic and contain thymol, an effective antifungal.
Thyme may also be helpful in hay fever and may be used with other herbs, like echinacea, sage and German chamomile for mild asthma, and can be taken alongside conventional treatment.
Make;an infusion of the leaves and sipping it like a tea. However, one should not drink three cups of thyme tea a day for longer than a week as it may influence iron absorption.
Thyme is a bushy little perennial is frost hardy, needs full sun, tolerates poor soil and responds well to regular trimming. It grows about 30-cm high, and also does well; in a pot. Dont overwater or let the water stand in the saucer under the pot.
Sage is at its best right now because of the warm, dry days.
Get On The Ginger Tea Bandwagon
Ginger has been making quite a stir in the asthma community lately, since studies have shown;it can;enhance the effect;of asthma medications.
And its a de-congesting, anti-inflammatory antioxidant, so whats not to love?
Many holistic practitioners recommend adding ginger to your diet or taking ginger supplements to help treat your asthma .
I get my ginger fix through drinking ginger tea. This;lemon ginger tea;is quite refreshing I find I appreciate the lemon flavor to temper the ginger a little bit.
;is also good, just be careful not to oversteep.
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Why Do People Drink Oregano Tea
Oregano has a chilly, slightly bitter taste. This makes for a distinctively flavored tea. But people consume more of thyme tea for its potential health benefits from its taste.
Traditionally, people have used Oregano to calm various health issues, including:
- sore throat
Parsley is also used to reduce inflammation, due to its potential diuretic properties.
How Does This Herbal Cough Syrup Work
This homemade cough syrup uses two strong, natural cough remedies that work in two different ways. Raw honey has been proven by numerous scientific studies to be one of the best remedies for coughsfrequently even out-pacing over-the-counter, pharmaceutical cough medicines. It is soothing, which helps to alleviate a tickly, dry cough.
The thyme is useful because it is an expectorant as well as being antispasmodicmeaning it loosens up any mucus to make it easier to cough up, and helps it so you have fewer involuntary coughing fits.
For me, this cough syrup works because it makes me cough both less frequently and helps me cough better. If youre looking for a cough syrup that will 100% suppress your cough so you can be quiet as a mouse, this isnt the remedy for you. Like most herbal remedies, this works with the processes of your body instead of against them.
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Thyme Herb For Chest Congestion
Image: Shutterstock
- A cup of hot water
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Drink 2-3 cups of thyme tea in a day.
Why This Works
Thyme is an expectorant and antimicrobial agent that is commonly used to treat cold symptoms like chest congestion .
These remedies work well in decongesting your respiratory system and helping you breathe with ease. They also relieve other symptoms like coughing and sore throat. Apart from using these remedies, make sure you drink a lot of water to get rid of the excess phlegm and mucus. Hydration is very important during chest congestion as the incessant coughing and wheezing can make the respiratory tract and throat very dry. This can lead to further irritation and more coughing. So, consume as much water as possible.
Let us now answer some commonly asked questions by our readers.
The 7 Best Teas For Asthma Relief
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Asthma is a chronic disorder that affects the lining of your airways, which become inflamed and narrow, resulting in symptoms like shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness (
Although there are many conventional treatments for asthma, some herbal teas may relieve symptoms.
Here are 7 teas that may provide asthma relief.
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Pineapple Juice For Chest Congestion
Image: Shutterstock
1 glass fresh pineapple juice
What You Have To Do
Drink this with your meals or in between meals.
How Often You Should Do This
Have a glass or two of pineapple juice every day.
Why This Works
Pineapple is known to clear up the airways with its anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, and cleansing properties .
Caution
Do not drink canned pineapple juice as it is stripped of the wonderful vitamin C content that this fruit originally contains.
What Is Buteyko Breathing
It’s a breathing technique that calms the mind and resets the natural breathing rhythm. Follow these steps:
This breathing exercise may be enough to stop the attack. If not, it’ll give you something else to focus on while waiting for medical assistance.
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Cold Season Is A Great Time To Experiment With Home Herbalism
For most of us with healthy immune systems, coming down with a seasonal cold means we more or less just have to tough it out while it runs its course. This makes cold season a great time to dip your toes into making herbal medicines. Since youre already going to suffer through the snot anyway, the risk is relatively low here. The worst that can happen if your herbal remedy doesnt work on your cold symptoms is that youfeel exactly how you were going to feel anyway!
The herbs used to treat most symptoms of the common cold are easy to find, easy to work with, and most of them are even tasty! This Honey and Thyme Herbal Homemade Cough Syrup is way more palatable than any cough syrup you get from the pharmacy shelf. After all, it is made only with food!
Butshould You Really Be Suppressing Your Cough
We live in a culture where most of us want to just quickly move on from all the bad things in lifeincluding our common illnesses. We just want to just hurry up past the part where we feel yucky! But remember: not all coughs are bad coughs. In fact, our body starts coughing for a reason, usually to help us clear mucus from our respiratory system.
If a cough from a cold is productive and not otherwise negatively affecting your life , most health care professionals suggest not suppressing it. Make sure to run it by your health care professional if youre on the fence about your cough.
Because of that, this Honey and Thyme Herbal Homemade Cough Syrup isnt designed to be a cough suppressant. While it will help calm a cough so coughing fits arent so violent, the soothing properties work in tandem with expectorant propertiestrying to get the gunk out of your body smoothly!
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How To Use Oregano For Medical Benefits
Oregano can be administered in many;ways to obtain its beneficial effects. You can use fresh or dried oregano leaves, in its oil form, or taken as tablets as a supplement.
A common way to administer oregano is by steeping a tea. The tea can be made with fresh or dried oregano. Approximately 1 to 2 teaspoons, which is 5 to 10 grams, should be steeped in a cup;of hot water for approximately 5;minutes. The recommended dosage of this tea is up to three times daily.
Oregano oil can be applied topically for treatment of microbial infections, such as athletes foot or other fungal based infections. The oil needs to be diluted by 50% or more prior to application and it can be applied twice daily. Read more about the amazing wonders of oregano oil here.
Oregano can also be taken as tablets, enteric coated tablets or capsules, which can be purchased from herbal supplement stores or online. Oregano capsules and tablets will disintegrate in the stomach, whilst enteric coated tablets will disintegrate in the intestines.
Herbs For Colds And Coughs
Its that time of year again. Fortunately, herbs offer an array of simple choices for symptomatic relief of coughs and colds. When you feel like youre coming down with something, echinacea products can stimulate the immune system and knock out a cold or flu before it has a chance to take hold. Echinacea can also shorten the duration and severity of symptoms; licorice, horehound, mullein, marsh mallow root, and slippery elm are also helpful. If you suspect more than a passing cold or flu, or if symptoms persist, consult your physician. A cough can signal a serious disease that needs proper diagnosis and treatment.
Coughing is a cleansing process, a defense mechanism for the respiratory tract. A productive cough helps clear secretions from the lower respiratory tract and eliminate foreign material, mucous, or other debris from the lungs bronchi, trachea, and larynx. A nonproductive cough, also known as a dry cough, can cause self- perpetuating hacking that further irritates the mucosal lining of the trachea and pharynx. Coughs can arise from many different conditions including colds, flu, allergies, asthma, bronchitis, lung disease, pneumonia, even congestive heart failure and cancer.
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Fight Inflammation With Oregano Tea
You know me always on the look out for new, natural ways to treat my asthma and my health in general. So when I started reading about people using oregano tea to;improve their lung health;and treat asthma, I was intrigued.
Turns out,;studies also show;that oregano is anti-inflammatory . And since asthma is all about an inflammation of the airways and lungs, I thought adding oregano tea to my arsenal just made sense.
I went with this;organic oregano tea for Buddha Teas;. Cant lie I was a little apprehensive to try this I like the flavor of oregano when cooking, but I was worried it would be too much all by itself.
Turns out I love it, and its definitely one of my go-tos. Sometimes my wife Emma says it smells like pizza but its so worth it!
Ways To Drink Thyme Tea
It all depends on the way that you would like to use it. In other words, different preparation is required if you would like to use it internally or externally.
In either case, the drinkable option can contain other ingredients to amplify the effects and drink at a higher temperature.
If you use the tea to cure wounds or fight infections, you will need less ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. of thyme leaves
- 1 cup of water
Preparation:
- Heat the water, and when its boiling, add the thyme.
- Cook for 15 minutes and remove it from the heat source.
- Let it sit until its at drinking temperature.
- Filter out the leaves and transfer it to a spray bottle.
- Apply it to the infected area to clean and disinfect.
If you want to enjoy the benefits of thyme tea if you have a cough or a cold, you can add a few more ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. of thyme leaves
- a cup of water
- 1 tbsp. of honey
- ½ lemon
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Thyme Benefits Symptoms Of Allergies
One of the benefits of thyme tea is that the relaxing effect of thyme extracts on your respiratory system helps stop allergic reactions.
Breathing in airborne allergens can bring on coughing fits, wheezing, and sneezing. One study into the use of medicinal plants such as thyme found that it has antispasmodic properties. Thyme extracts can help to reduce symptoms of asthma and other respiratory symptoms.
The results of other scientific studies have shown why thyme is good for treating asthma. Thyme compounds help reduce inflammation in the airways, address wheezing issues, and help make breathing easier.
You could try inhaling the scent of thyme essential oil directly from the bottle or use it in a diffuser to help soothe inflammation in your airways. Also, drinking thyme tea regularly helps to relax muscles in the respiratory system and ease the symptoms of an asthma attack.
Learn about other essential oils to get allergy relief from hay fever, dust mites, and pet dander.
Easy Thyme Tea Recipe Research
Post;By:; Kathy Sadowski, MS in Aromatherapy, Registered Aromatherapist, LMT
4/11/18
This categorized compilation of research articles does not necessarily imply that there are adequate results to demonstrate safe and/or effective human use. These statements are not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any diseases. The information at this page has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Consult a Doctor before using herbs and essential oils if you have medical conditions, are taking medications, or have questions.
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How To Use Essential Oils For Asthma
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of essential oils from plants for the improvement of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
When it comes to how to use eucalyptus oil for asthma, diffusing it in the air is a great option. All of the oils I just mentioned can be used in an diffuser so you can breathe in the essential oil enriched air.
Are oil diffusers safe for asthma? Check with your doctor first, but many experts will agree that oil diffusers can be used with caution. Start off with just a couple of drops of oil to see how you do. You can use a single oil in a diffuser or combine multiple oils to create your own custom blend.
Other ways to use essential oils for asthma through aromatherapy include:
- Inhaling oils through the nostrils directly off of a cloth or from the bottle.
- Soaking in an oil-infused bath.
- Rubbing oils directly onto the skin.
- Receiving massage therapy that includes the use of essentials oils.
Oral Application
Before using essential oils for asthma internally, read labels carefully to make sure an oil is appropriate for internal use. There are many essential oils that can be ingested by the mouth; however, it is critical to make sure that the oils you use 100 percent pure, therapeutic grade and certified USDA organic. Many oils on the market today are diluted or blended with synthetics that are unsafe for ingesting.
Topical Application
Possible Side Effects and Caution;
Final Thoughts
Buying Thyme For Making Tea
You can use fresh sprigs of thyme from your garden or a farmers market. Fresh thyme has more flavor than dried thyme, but you can also use a dried herb to make a thyme tea recipe.
For fresh thyme, look for leaves that have a vibrant greenish gray color. There shouldnt be any yellow spots or dark spots.
I dont recommend buying dried herbs and spices at the grocery store unless you shop at a higher end store. The herbs and spices on the shelf may not be high quality or fresh, which will affect the taste. When shopping, look for organic thyme from a trusted supplier. I buy my herbs and spices in bulk. I dont pay much more per ounce, but they have a lot more flavor for teas and cooking.;
Store fresh thyme wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel in the fridge. Dried thyme can be stored in a sealed glass jar for about six months. For best results, store it in a dark and dry place.
If you prefer to order dried herbs online, I highly recommend shopping at Mountain Rose Herbs. Theyre a small company Ive trusted for the purchase of my organic products for over a decade now.
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