Since ancient times our ancestor’s harvested the many herbs and spices that grew wild around them, mixed potions, and treated ailments. Man was after all a hunter-gatherer, and an omnivore, (an organism which gets its food energy from both plant and animal material).

The humble herb and spice rack in your kitchen today need not be just a decorative feature, although they look quite pleasing to the eye hanging on the wall, in both modern and old fashioned styled homes. They can in fact hold a plethora of natural healing ingredients that can also add great taste to the foods you eat every day.

Of all the herbs and spices you can choose from for flavour, there are 15 that are more powerful than the rest. Below is the list and you may well be surprised to learn of the many diverse conditions for which they’ve proven so very useful.

1/. BASIL Basil is an herbal carminative, that is, it can relieve gas and soothe stomach upsets. One possible explanation for its calming effect is a compound called eugenol, which has been shown to help ease muscle spasms. Research is still preliminary, but laboratory studies also suggest that compounds found in basil may help disrupt the dangerous chain of events that can lead to the development of cancer

2/. CAYENNE Cayenne pepper is a hot red powder made from tropical chilli peppers. It contains alkaloid capsaicin, which relieves pain by blocking the chemicals that send pain messages to the brain. If you eat cayenne at the first sign of any type of headache, with plenty of water as a chaser, this spicy herb may be an effective alternative treatment. Added to food, cayenne perks up appetite, improves digestion and relieves gas, nausea, and indigestion. The herb also thins phlegm and eases its passage from the lungs, thus helping to prevent and treat coughs, colds and bronchitis.

3/. CINNAMON Cinnamon bark contains an oily chemical called cinnamaldehyde that kills a variety of illness causing bacteria, including the dreaded E.coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureas. Research shows that cinnamon is also able to stop the growth of the Asian flu virus. Herbalists report that cinnamon bark also helps regulate the menstrual cycle and checks flooding during menopause. Also cinnamaldehyde has a tranquilizing effect that helps reduce anxiety and stress.

4/. CLOVE Oil of clove is 60 to 90 percent eugenol. A potent pain deadening antimicrobal. Clove has earned the official endorsement of the FDA as an effective stopgap measure for tooth pain. Clove is also among the spices that can help the body use insulin more effectively, thus lowering blood sugar somewhat. In one lab study, clove was also found to speed healing of the dreaded cold sores.

5/. DILL Dill has been used to soothe the digestive tract and treat heartburn, colic and gas for thousands of years. In fact, the word dill comes from the Old Norse word dilla, meaning to lull or soothe. The herb has an antifoaming action that suggests why it might help break up gas bubbles. Like parsley, dill is rich in chlorophyll, which also makes it useful in treating bad breath.

6/. FENNEL Rich in volatile oils, fennel is what’s known as a carminative herb, meaning that it can ease bloating, gas pains, and digestive spasms in the small and large intestines. Fennel can also reduce bad breath and body odour that originates in the intestines. Women who are breastfeeding may find that fennel, which works in a way similar to the body’s hormones, increases milk flow.

7/. GARLIC Intact garlic cloves contain an odourless, sulphur-containing amino acid called alliin. When the garlic is crushed, alliin becomes allicin. Research shows that allicin helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and also helps prevents blood clots. Garlic can also reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Compounds in this familiar bulb kill many organisms, including bacteria and viruses that cause earaches, flu and colds. Research indicates that garlic is also effective against digestive ailments and diarrhoea. What’s more, further studies suggest that this common and familiar herb may help prevent the onset of cancers.

8/. GINGER When it comes to quelling the queasiness of motion sickness, ginger has no equal say herbalists. In fact, researchers have demonstrated that ginger beats dimenhydrate, the main ingredient in motion sickness drugs such as Dramamine, for controlling symptoms of seasickness and motion sickness. Ginger stimulates saliva flow and digestive activity, settles the stomach, relieves vomiting, eases pain from gas and diarrhoea, and is effective as an anti-nausea remedy. This aromatic herb also helps lower cholesterol. Herbalists have also found it to be useful as a pain reliever.

9/. MINT Herbalists the world over use mint, as a premier stomach tonic, to counteract nausea and vomiting, promote digestion, calm stomach muscle spasms, relieve flatulence, and ease hiccups. Menthol, the aromatic oil in peppermint, also relaxes the airways and fights bacteria and viruses. Menthol interferes with the sensation from pain receptors, thus it may be useful in reducing headache pain. Scientific evidence suggests that peppermint can kill many kinds of micro-organisms, and may boost mental alertness. In one study, people who inhaled menthol said they felt as if it relieved their nasal congestion, although it didn’t increase their measurable airflow.

10/. OREGANO Oregano contains at least four compounds that soothe coughs and 19 chemicals with antibacterial action that may help reduce body odour. The ingredients in oregano that soothe coughs may also help un-knot muscles in the digestive tract, making oregano a digestive aid. This familiar spice also contains compounds that can lower blood pressure too.

11/. PARSLEY Diuretic herbs such as parsley prevent problems such as kidney stones and bladder infections and keep our body’s plumbing running smoothly by causing it to produce more urine. They also relieve bloating during menstruation. Also there’s a reason for that parsley on the edge of the diner plate, its not just there for fancy decoration; it’s an effective breath freshener because it contains high levels of chlorophyll.

12/. ROSEMARY Rosemary is one of the richer herbal sources of antioxidants, which have been shown to prevent cataracts, and contains 19 chemicals with antibacterial action that help fight infection. Traditionally used to ease asthma, this common culinary ingredient has volatile oils that can reduce the airway constriction induced by histamine, that chemical culprit of asthma and other allergy symptoms. Herbalists think that rosemary may also help ease breast pain by acting as a natural drying agent to fluid filled cysts.

13/. SAGE The oils found in sage are both antiseptic and antibiotic, so it can help fight infections. Sage is effective for symptoms of menopause, night sweats and hot flashes, because of its estrogenic action and because its tannins can dry up perspiration. There’s also compelling evidence that sage may b of value to people with diabetes for whom the hormone insulin does not work as efficiently as it should. Lab studies indicate that sage may boost insulin’s action.

14/. THYME Thyme contains thymol, which increases blood-flow to the skin. The warmth is comforting, and some herbalists believe that the increased blood-flow speeds healing. An anti-spasmodic. Thyme relaxes respiratory muscles and is endorsed for treating bronchitis by Commission E, the expert panel that judges the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines for the German government. Aromatherapists say that thyme’s scent is a mood lifter.

15/. TURMERIC Many clinical studies agree that curcumin in turmeric has anti-inflammatory effects, including a significant beneficial effect in relieving rheumatoid arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Curcumin, which gives this spice its familiar yellow pigment, may also lower cholesterol. Turmeric is also packed with antioxidants, including vitamins A, C, and E, which have been shown to prevent cataracts.

Passed down to us by our forefathers and countless generations throughout the world, these 15 food additives and enhancers are just a selected few that are currently known to have medicinal and beneficial properties, yet represent the more commonly used. By including these herbs and spices into your daily cooking or diet on a regular basis, you will greatly enhance your quality of life, and reduce the need for those expensive, and often damaging pharmaceutical drugs.

To your continued good health

John Elliott aka Oaky Wood is the co-founder of The Corner 4 Women thecorner4women.com thecorner4women.com is a poet, writer, artist, webmaster and designer.

Tags: antioxidant, anxiety, asthma, cholesterol, diet, Heart, hiccup, menopause, perspiration, quality of life

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Asthma is also influenced by certain emotions such as laughing, crying, anger, panic, etc. But many in the medical community believe there is no proof people with asthma are any more psychologically disturbed than their non-asthmatic peers. However, it is not possible to have an illness without it having an emotional or trauma component associated with it. Our brain and body is not a split organism where our brain and body work independently of each other.

Having asthma is most likely related to birth traumas where the newborn is being suffocated by the birth process or has a difficulty coming out thus weakening the lungs and the bronchioles. Or, possibly where the parents were over protective or dominating, or demanding to the point of, in a sense, suffocating the child.

And, there are many other asthmatic scenarios that could weaken a persons lungs and bronchioles during childhood. You might know what yours is.

In his book, How to Get Well, 1974, Paavo Airola, Ph.D., says,
“Extensive studies show that there are two basic causes of asthma: one, the typical allergic reaction to one or more allergens; two, psychic factors. Doctors agree that many young asthmatics (according to studies, about 25%) have in common a ‘deep-seated emotional insecurity and an intense need for parental love and protection’. When emotional causes are suspected, these must be dealt with before biological and nutritional treatments can be effective.”

Emotions and feelings, such as apprehension, concern, anxiety, and panic can cause muscular tension and contraction around the bronchioles. Over a long time, these tensions can cause muscle spasms and weakening of the bronchioles, which can then lead to asthma as an adult.

In his book, Cleanse & Purify Thyself, 1998, Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D., says,
“Our own research indicates that Love is the great key. When we understand that Love is the natural state of our beings and when Love is not flowing through our beings every moment, than some other emotion or concept is interfering. These interferences are usually emotions of great intensity or some quirk in our point of view, such as the habit of judging conditions, things, or people in negative ways, and most of the time they are unconscious. One of the activities we all need to initiate is to remove these conscious and unconscious negative emotions so that Love may flow through us. Here in lies one of the most important point in this book.”

For many healers of the past it was clear that childhood trauma and the lack of love provided an atmosphere where illness could develop. Asthma sufferers need to look for and heal that emotional component that prevents them from healing so that they can start the asthma healing.

Rudy Silva is a natural nutritionist that teaches people how to use natural remedies for better health. For more free tips and information on how to get asthma relief with natural remedies and techniques, go to: asthmatreatments.info www.asthmatreatments.info

Tags: anxiety, asthma

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The benefits of salt therapy (also called Halotherapy) or speleotherapy are well known and documented in Europe. Halotherapy uses dry aerosol micro particles of salt and minerals to treat respiratory diseases and seeks to replicate the conditions of speleotherapy, a treatment that has been practiced in old salt mines of Eastern Europe since the early 19th century.

This salt therapy being very well known for its beneficial effects, a Romanian inventor put his mind at work and developed a device that is able to reproduce a speleotherapy micro environment in your home in an affordable and convenient way. Internationally recognized, with Gold and Silver medal at

“Salon International des Inventions”, Geneva and “World Exhibition of Innovation, Research and New Technology”, Brussels This Romanian invention brings new hopes in the natural treatment of chronic respiratory diseases. The inventor thought this device as an air salinizer that uses forced ionization of the indoor air by salt sublimation creating a micro climate of dry aerosol salt therapy in your living space. He used a natural process of salt crystallization to obtain salt micro crystals under 5µm in diameter, invisible to human eyes, being able to penetrate deep into the lung. The device uses only natural salt from within the mountain of salt, untreated or touched by the human processing technology.

Based on clinical studies, the inhaled saline has bactericide, mucokinetic, hydrophilic, anti inflammatory properties, reducing inflammation in the whole respiratory tract, absorbing edema from the mucosa lining the airway passages leading to widening of the airway passages, restoring the normal transport of mucus and unclog blockages in the bronchi and bronchioles leading to rapid elimination of the residual tar and foreign allergens, all of these in a natural process. Edema of the nasal mucosa and the oropharynx and soft palate, causing nasal obstruction and snoring is diminished, leading to widening of the airway passage in the nose and the tubes of the sinuses and improving the sinuses drainage and reducing snoring. In the auditory tube, edema of the Eustachian tube causing ear infection, is also diminished, leading to widening of the airway passages, better drainage and better aeration behind the tympanic membrane.

The salt therapy was found to have beneficial effects in the treatment of:
*Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis
*COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
*Allergic Rhinopathy or Hay Fever
*Cystic Fibrosis
*Sinusitis
*Ear Infections
*Smoking Cough
*Various acute or chronic respiratory disease
*Reduce snoring and activates better sleep by clearing the airway passages in oropharyngeal region
*Increased resistance to Cold & Flu by opening and clearing the nasal airway and improving the drainage of the sinuses
*Humidifies the bronchial secretions reducing broncho-spasm and facilitating elimination of the smoke residual tar, phlegm expel and other allergens
*Improves the quality of the indoor air by eliminating the dust, cigarette smoke, bad odours, mould and mites, having bactericide reduction properties.

The salt therapy is a natural method of therapy and does not involve any risk and is finally adapted to the living space. However, this is NOT a substitute for medical treatment and should only be used as an adjuvant helping to improve the quality of patients’ life, reducing the antibiotics and corticoids or steroids intake, reducing the rate of annual hospitalizations and decrease the frequency of respiratory diseases attacks.

For more information, clinical studies and testimonials click on salinetherapy.com” target=”_blank Salt Pipe / salinetherapy.com” target=”_blank Salin. The salt therapy device could also be available in some health stores.

LTiba
WebSite: salinetherapy.com” target=”_blank www.salinetherapy.com Ph: 1 / 519.641.SALT

NB: The author grants reprint permission to opt-in publications and websites so long as the copyright and by-line are included intact and the article is not used in spam.Educated and motivated person, having a multicultural background with extensive knowledge about European health products and practices.

Tags: asthma, brussels, mineral, sleep, smoking

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The Chinese discovered ephedra in the form of the Ma Huang plant more than 5,000 years ago and it is the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Chinese have long used ephedra to treat colds and flus, fever, and many other symptoms. Recent research has shown that ephedra increases metabolism, promotes weight loss and fat burning, curbs your appetite, relaxes the air passages in the lungs to help treat asthma and cough, and helps promote urination to relieve water retention.

Concerns about the cardiovascular effects of ephedra use, including increased blood pressure and irregular heart rhythm led the FDA to ban ephedra diet supplements in April 2004. The ban on ephedra did not pertain to traditional Chinese herbal remedies nor to products like herbal teas that are regulated as conventional foods. The ban also did not effect ephedrine or pseudo ephedrine supplements. This was the first time the FDA exercised its power to stop the sale of a dietary supplement ingredient and it prompted protest from the dietary supplement industry.

Consumer reaction to the ban was mixed. While the FDA’s alarm may have deterred some, many devoted ephedra users found ways to circumvent the ruling. A government survey following the ban found that many New Yorkers were using “copycat” products to achieve effects similar to ephedra’s. Government officials called for a ban on the copycat products as well, but their calls were silenced by the next judge’s ruling.

In April 2005 Judge Tena Campbell ruled in favor of a Utah supplement company that challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s ban. Nutraceutical Corporation claimed that ephedra has been safely consumed for hundreds of years and that ephedra was being wrongly regulated by the FDA as a drug and not a food. Judge Campbell agreed. And while federal law requires drug manufacturers to prove that drugs are safe before putting them on the market, dietary supplements (classified as a food) are allowed on the market unless the FDA proves that they are unsafe. Since the FDA failed to demonstrate to the judge that ephedra was unsafe in small doses, she lifted the ban on sales of 10 mg or less.

Dr. Cathy Wong, a naturopathic physician, was among those who welcomed the new ruling. She believed a ban on ephedra was harsh and unnecessary, and pointed out that the number of deaths attributed to ephedra is a small percentage of total users compared to the fatality rates of most major (and legal) pharmaceutical drugs.

The FDA, however, stands by its ban on ephedra and suggests that because the ruling allows only dosages of 10 mg or less, the judge has upheld the FDA’s claim that higher dosages are harmful. The FDA has not, as yet, taken further steps to reenact the complete ban, and as a result, many of the banned ephedra-based diet supplements are now available again. Supplements like Zenalean, Xenadrine, Ripped Fuel, and Metabolife can be sold legally.

About The Author
Al Alexander owns and operates World Class Nutrition, worldclassnutrition.com” target=”_new www.worldclassnutrition.com, a leader in the supplement and fitness industry for 28 years. World Class Nutrition offers hundreds of Vitamin Supplements, Legal Steroids, Male Enhancement, Tanning Lotions, Fitness, Work Out, Weight Loss, HGH, Herbal, and Muscle Building nutritional products. Visit World Class Nutrition today to learn more about the safe use of body building supplements and to purchase online. You will be on your way to optimum nutrition and health.

Tags: asthma, diet, Heart, herbal remedies, weight Loss

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