Natural Sleep Remidies

As an unwilling smoker who wants to quit smoking you commit a basic mistake. You are in search for methods to quit smoking. What you need is a method to quit smoking. If you contemplate more than one method, perhaps you are not going to follow any one of them with determination. And without determination, you will not be able to quit smoking.

Of these methods, now you have to decide which one is most suitable for you. There is nothing like easy method and the hard method. The first month of your decision is going to be tough. If you sail through this tough stormy sea, calm waters may greet you ahead.

Now, you have a well devised plan and you are brimming with motivation. In the beginning you need to take the assistance of quit-smoking aids. These may give you some psychological edge, but in reality it will not help. In the first month, you will count each day and perhaps each hour of the day.

You are stressed, beyond the limit?and yet, you need to tolerate. Diet-planning can wait, but in the meantime make a time table for physical exercises, and for breathing exercises. Have fixed hours of sleep. One good point about you, the smoker is that you don’t smoke, while asleep, except in dreams.

Advertise a lot in your family, with your friends, in your office, that you are no more a smoker. Earnestly solicit the support of your well-wishers and family members in your effort to quit smoking.

When the urge becomes difficult to resist, that is the time to resist! Take a book on horror- fiction, sit on the computer, take a bath, go to the kitchen and start cooking your favorite dish.

All the tobacco products need to be out of bound for you. Destroy the existing stock. Never think of gifting them to your still smoking friends. That which is not beneficial for your health, how can it help their cause?

With your solid determination in tact, no harm is there in your taking recourse to smoking aids. Zyban, which is a prescription medicine, reduces your craving for nicotine. You can also try some herbal equivalents of Zyban and they do not require prescription, and they will do you some good. You can also take recourse to laser treatment.

But keep your will power in tact. Nothing to beat it. Will power is like the constitutional guarantee to an individual. You await a glorious time, full of inner freedom, totally devoid of smoke coils.

Good for you, better for people around you and the best happening, all things considered!

Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/do-methods-for-quitting-smoking-help-55231.html

If you’re worried about your blood pressure and want to know more about natural cures for when it is excessive, read on.

An Introduction to Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is very common. However, excessively high blood pressure tends to be genetic and affects approximately 15 to 17 percent of people. Technically, there’s no cure for this condition, but you can make changes in your life to reduce it to a manageable level.

The greatest drawback to high blood pressure is that it can be very dangerous, but there are no unique visible or external symptoms associated with the condition. If your blood pressure is extremely high or it goes up very quickly, you could experience headaches or blurry vision.

There is no cure for this problem, but treatment exists to lower the pressure and manage it on a daily basis. Conventional and complementary therapies aim to find the treatment, or combination of treatments, that suits an individual without causing discomforting side effects. Lifestyle factors should also be examined and changes introduced where necessary.

To learn about specific herbal and natural cures to address the effects, please read on.

Gotu Kola Tea

Gotu Kola tea should be sipped three times every day. Alternatively, you can take this herb in capsule or tablet form. It has few side effects, except for rare instances of nausea and abdominal cramping, which may be an allergic reaction. However, the herb can cause drowsiness and shouldn’t be taken in conjunction with sleep aids or cold medications.

Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil has been shown to be effective in reducing high blood pressure, probably due to the effects of the Omega-3 fatty acids it contains. Although cold-water fish have higher levels of Omega-3’s, Flax (along with almonds) is one of the few plants that does contain it. When it’s exposed to air, flaxseed oil can go bad, so you should keep it in a cool place and use it within a month or two of opening it up.

Your best option is to buy fresh flaxseed and store it in your refrigerator. Because the seeds are durable and can pass right through the digestive system, you need to grind or crush them before use. You can utilize a pestle and mortar or a grinder for coffee to crush the seeds. They’re very tasty on cereal or sprinkled over a salad.

Garlic

Garlic has been proven to lower blood pressure by as much as eight points. The great thing about garlic is that it can be added to almost anything. However, once you cook garlic, it becomes less effective, so raw garlic is still your best bet for lowering blood pressure.

If you’re concerned about your breath or ability to eat two, uncooked cloves of garlic every day, you can try garlic capsules. They’re one of the most popular natural cures for high blood pressure and readily available.

Regardless of the healthy approach you select, there is a certain urgency around the need to pursue treatment since left untreated, high blood pressure can be a deadly condition.

Trevor Price
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/review-of-high-blood-pressure-knowing-about-natural-remedies-614961.html

Passion Flower

There are over 400 species of passion flower (genus Passiflora), which are also known as maypop, apricot vine, or passion vine. The dried, leafy, aerial parts of the P. incarnata species have been most frequently used medicinally.

Uses and Benefits:

Passion flower is promoted as a mild herbal anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic. It is a popular ingredient in many European sedative-hypnotic herbal combination products (often with valerian, lemon balm, and other herbs). Herbalists have also used passion flower for neuralgia, seizures, hysteria, and various physiologic disorders of presumed nervous origin-whenever a “calming” action is desired. Passion flower was included in over-the-counter (OTC) sedative and sleep aids in the United States until 1978, when the FDA banned it due to lack of proven effectiveness.

Pharmacology:

P. incarnata contains flavonoids (e.g., vitexin and isovitexin), small amounts of indole or harmala alkaloids (harman and related compounds), and maltol, all of which have pharmacologic activity in animal models. In most rodent studies, herbal extracts administered orally and by injection have sedative or hypnotic activityHarmala alkaloids have CNS activity (includ�ing psychedelic properties when given in large amounts); interact with a variety of neuroreceptor systems; and are inhibitors of the monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzyme. Chrysin, thought to be a flavonoid component of a related Passiflora species (P. coerulea), binds to benzodiazepine receptors and has anxiolytic actions in mice. however, chrysin may not be found in P. incarnata.

Clinical Trials:

Passion flower has only been studied in combi�nation products with other potentially sedative-hypnotic herbs or drugs; thus, the efficacy of passion flower itself is unknown. Euphytose, a European product that combines P. incarnata with several other herbal sedatives (including valerian), was found to have statistically beneficial anxiolytic properties in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. In contrast, a European controlled study comparing a single oral dose of Valverde (P. incarnata, va�lerian, balm, and pestilence wort) with 3 mg of bromazepam found that both were no more effective than placebo.

Compoz, formerly a popular U.S. OTC product that contained P. incarnata (as well as scopolamine and antihistamines), was found to have equivalent anxiolytic effects to placebo in one study; however, the amount of Passiflora in 3 tablets of Compoz was 22.5 mg, a daily dose that was probably negligible. Compoz has been removed from the market.

Despite having CNS effects in rodents, an aqueous extract from a related Passiflora species, P. edulis, had no sedative-hyp�notic effects in nine healthy volunteers.

Adverse Effects:

In general, passion flower is considered to be safe and nontoxic, and dependence and withdrawal have not been reported. However, there are isolated case reports of adverse reactions. Five patients required hospitalization due to unresponsiveness or altered consciousness associated with overdoses (100-600 ml) of a P. incarnata product (Relaxir; usual dose 2 teaspoons) used in Norway. One patient appeared to respond to flumazenil. In Australia, a 34-year-old female developed severe nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, prolonged QTc on EKG, and episodes of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia associated with initiation of a P. incarnata product (Sedacalm) at therapeutic doses. Lastly, a patient with rheumatoid arthritis developed a cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction associated with the use of an oral extract. Product adulteration or contamination may have been responsible for these disparate reactions.

Other species of Passiflora have been implicated in toxicities. An aqueous extract of P. edulis caused abnormal elevations of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and amylase in several healthy volunteers. Old reports that passion flower contains toxic cyanogenic glycosides are probably referring to the ornamental blue passion flower, P. coerulea, and not to P. incarnata.

Side Effects and Interactions:

Although pure harmala alkaloids have MAO inhibitor activity in animal experiments, adverse reactions or interactions in humans using passion flower have not been reported. Newer studies have shown that only trace amounts of the alkaloids are contained in the herb ( <0.1 ppm), and thus doses used clinically should not have MAO inhibitor activity.

Cautions:

Safety in pregnant and breast-feeding women hafl not been evaluated.

Preparations & Doses:

The usual recommended dose is about 500-2000 mg of dried herb, or 300-400 mg of commonly prepared extracts, 3-4 times daily, or as needed.

Summary Evaluation :

Passion flower is commonly used as a mild anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic herb, properties which have been demonstrated only with large doses in animal studies. Beneficial activity in humans has not been adequately evaluated at therapeutic doses, and evidence-based recommendations cannot be made. Avail�able information suggests that effects are likely to be mild in usual doses, and can only be regarded as possibly beneficial for minor problems of anxiety or insomnia

Steve Mathew
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/passion-flower-medicinal-uses-interactions-side-effects-dosage-109263.html

Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha, a traditional Indian (Ayurvedic) medical herb,is thought of as “Indian ginseng.” It is often marketed simply as “Withania” and is also called winter cherry or Dunal. The berries, fruits, and roots have been used traditionally. In Western herbal medicine, most preparations are made from the root of the shrub.

Uses and Benefits:

As is the case with ginseng, ashwagandha has been employed for numerous conditions in traditional Asian therapies, and lor additional disorders in contemporary herbal practice. A major traditional use of the herb is in “balancing life forces,” which may be regarded as an adaptogenic or anti-stress tonic effect. rhus, ashwagandha is considered to be a general promoter of health, or a “rasayana” that promotes rejuvenation according to traditional Ayurvedic practice.

Purported anti-inflammatory benefits have led to use in tuberculosis, liver disease, rheumatic disorders, and skin problems. The herb’s “panacea” reputation has expanded its repertoire to include therapy for weakness, stress, sexual debility, aging symptoms, and anemia, among many other conditions. It is claimed to he effective in infections, particularly those caused by fungi. The Latin species name is a tribute to its supposed effectiveness in promoting somnolence and improving sleep. Recently, AIDS and cancer have been added to the list of its proposed immunostimulant uses, although clinical evidence is lacking.

Pharmacology:

Much of the pharmacologic literature on ashwagandha is in foreign journals or consists of older reports or studies carried out on rodents; or employs techniques that are difficult to evaluate. Over 35 active chemicals have been identified in the herb, including steroidallactones (such as withanolides and withaferins), alkaloids (such as somniferine, scopoletin, withanine,and anaferine), saponins, and glycosides. Additional chemicals of possible importance include choline, beta-sitosterol, flavonoids, tannins, an essential oil called ipuranol, a crystalline alcohol called withaniol, and several acylsterylglucosides or sitoindosides.

Several specific withanolides and withaferins have been shown to have antineoplastic effects in animals.Withaferins have shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial actions. Withanolide-D and withaferin-A appear to contribute immunoactive effects. Somniferine is a hypnotic, while scopoletin is a smooth muscle relaxant in guinea pigs. The adaptogenic properties of the characteristic glycosides (sitoindosides VII and VIII) and other derivatives of Withania are sometimes explained as resulting from a state of “nonspecific increase in resistance,” resulting in enhancement of survival when under stress ; however, this concept fails to convey any insights into its action.

Clinical Trials:

There are few controlled clinical trials that con

Steve Mathew
http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/ashwagandha-medicinal-uses-interactions-side-effects-dosage-106212.html

Hi does anyone here take valerium daily/nightly?????? I take valerina (brand name) nightly and I was just wondering if anyone here takes herbal sleeping aids and if they have taken them for a long time???? just want to know if its safe and if anyone has stopped etc just need peace of mind thanks

You can talk to a herbalist or a pharmacist. Definitely talk to your pharmacist or doctor if you are taking any other medications. Remember not all interactions are going to be known at this point so, if you use something like ‘the pill’ use back up contraception to avoid accidents.

Acidity is quite a simple problem when it begins, but it can get out of hand easily if not taken seriously. It is a common ailment and results from a wrong diet. The excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach causes acidity. Prolonged acidity can cause chronic indigestion, arthritis, gout, ulcers and even false angina pains.

Acidity tends to have a much higher incidence in highly emotional and nervous individuals. It is also more common in the developed and industrialized nations.

What are the symptoms?

The main symptoms of acidity are:

• Dyspepsia and heartburn

• Discomfort, burning sensation in the upper part of the gut area, especially after eating.

• Regurgitation of the gastric contents

• loss of appetite

• nausea, vomiting

• feeling of sickness

• flatulence accompanied by burping

• constipation

Causes of acidity:

Acidity may be caused by many conditions such as:

# Medical conditions, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, stomach ulcers

# Hyperthyroidism – excessive secretion of the thyroid gland.

# Anxiety, anger and stress.

# Constipation, flatulence or intestinal gases.

# Artificial stimulants or the thought of nearing the food time can create acidity.

# Excessive intake of stimulants like tea, coffee etc.

# Excessive intake of fried foods, spicy or pungent food,

# As a side-effect of some drugs used for treating other illnesses

# Overeating along with bad food combinations. Overeating puts extra load on the stomach, liver, kidneys.

# Eating too rapidly, therefore improper salivation of food.

# Excessive smoking, intake of alcohol

# Tendency to eat and drink together

# Insomnia

# Lack of exercise.

# Long gaps between meals leads to acidity, as it gives the acid in the stomach more time to act.

How is acidity treated?

Try to identify and avoid foods that disagree with the digestive system. Also, try not to eat too quickly and avoid stress.

Some people need to be given drugs to control their condition.

Medicines to treat acidity include:

• Antacids, which neutralize the acid in the stomach.

• Acid suppressants, which reduce the amount of acid produced by the stomach.

What type of diet should be followed?

# Avoid canned and junk food, artificially ripened fruits and vegetables or those kept in cold storage. Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables.

# Avoid a heavy intake of spices and aerated drinks that are highly acidic and strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones.

# Cold beverages with or after meals should be particularly avoided. Cold drinks dilute the enzymes and put stress on the digestive system. As a result, the food gets fermented leads to acidity.

# Avoid excess smoking, tea and coffee. Both nicotine and caffeine are directly related to problems of acidity. Instead, take coconut water, fresh water melon, cucumber juice and thin-skinned lemons because these are alkaline.

# Bitter gourd, amla (Indian gooseberry) juice is an excellent remedy for acidity.

# Benign lactic acid present in buttermilk, yoghurt are helpful. Raita prepared with fresh curd, grated cucumber, fresh coriander, tomato is a sure shot remedy in aiding digestion, and helps remove acidity.

# If you are overweight, lose some immediately. Those who are overweight put too much pressure on the esophageal sphincter, which leads to reflux of the contents of the stomach into the oesophagus, and heartburn follows.

# Drink plenty of water, as it aids digestion and helps flush out toxins. Eat only when hungry because digestive juices are released in the stomach only when one is hungry.

# Go green. Green leafy vegetables and sprouts contain vitamins B and E that facilitate the elimination of acids from the body.

# Get moving! Not enough physical activity means not enough sweat, which in turn results in uric acid being deposited in the body.

# Avoid stress and get adequate amount of sleep. Insomnia disturbs the digestive system.

# Bring about a change in food and habits that is conducive to overall good health.

Some home remedies to treat and prevent acidity -

i. Mix 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/4 teaspoon methi seeds, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds. Roast them on a low flame. Add a pinch of hing (asafetida) and salt and stir for a minute. Grind to a powder when cool and store. Mix 1/2 tsp of powder with 1 teaspoon of curd. Eat twice a day for quick relief.

ii. Pineapple acts as a tonic and relieves digestive disorders. Half a glass of fresh pineapple juice should be taken after a meal for treating and preventing acidity.

iii. Eat almonds to give relief to symptoms of acidity.

iv. Chewing of a carrot increases saliva and quickens digestion by supplying the digestive system with necessary enzymes, minerals and vitamins. The juice of carrot is also beneficial.

v. A very simple remedy for acidity is thin butter-milk mixed with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder. For better results, an equal quantity of cumin (jeera) powder and rock salt is to be added to the buttermilk.

vi. A piece of jaggery or gur after lunch and dinner prevents acidity.

vii. Take one piece of clove and suck it slowly. This will give you relief from acidity.

viii. Eat a cup of vanilla ice cream or drink a glass of cold milk to get heartburn and acidity relief within minutes

Candy Willims
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/acidity-cure-easy-and-effective-herbal-treatments-116319.html