Natural Holistic Health Blog

Passion flower (passion vine) is found in every country except Europe, Africa and Antarctica. There are over 500 known species of passion flower’s and they are almost always vines. Some of the species grow as shrubs but they are few and far between. The passion flower plant bears an edible fruit called passion fruit.

The name “Passion Flower” has given rise to many names which relate it to sex or romance. However, the name does not relate to these things at all. The word passion actually refers to the passion of Jesus Christ. The structure of the plant itself was used to symbolize the last days of Jesus Christ and the Crucifixion. This all happened during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Most passion flower plants require pollination by large bees, hummingbirds, bats or wasps. A few of them pollinate themselves. The pollen in the passion flower is a very important source of food for a large number of insects. An interesting feature of some of the passion flower plants keep butterflies from laying too many eggs on them. They actually have small nubs on them that look like butterfly eggs. This tricks the butterfly into believing there are more eggs on the plant than there actually are.

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Filed under: Herbs For Health by Dee
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Reflexology, also called zone therapy, comes under the heading of alternative medicine. It involves the practice of massaging, squeezing or pushing parts of the feet, hands, body or in the ears with the goals of affecting other parts of the body.

Interestingly, although reflexology has been classified as an alternative medicine approach, there is no consensus among practitioners (reflexologist) on how the practice is supposed to work.

There does appear to be a unifying theme or idea that areas of the feet and hands correspond to different areas of the body. The theory is that by manipulating these areas the reflexologist can make significant changes in a specific organ system or in an individual’s overall health.

The ideas behind reflexology are not new. It was practiced in the Egyptian culture as early as 2330 B.C. the practice, as we know it today, was first researched and developed by Eunice Ingham. Her first work was published in 1938 and since 1942 workshops have been constructed around the world.

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Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Detox, Immunity, Infection, Herbal Recipes, Reflexology, Scented Baths by Dee
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Stinging Nettle (Common Nettle) grows from one meter to two meters tall during the summertime and dies off when the winter comes. It’s rhizomes spread out wide. The roots and stolons are both bright yellow in color. The leaves are spade shaped and range from 3 to 15 centimenters in length. Both the leaves and stems are covered with dense hair.

Most of the hair does not sting but some of them might have hairs that inject several chemicals into whoever touches them. This burning sensation can last for anywhere from a minute or two to a week. Stinging nettle can be found in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa.

Nettle is believed to cause lactation and tests have confirmed that it’s juice helps people suffering with congestive heart failure by acting as a diuretic. Extracts from the nettle plant are commonly used to treat ailments such as kidney problems, pain, arthritis and hay fever.

Rubbing the needles across the skin is used to provide temporary relief from rheumatism. The goal here is to provoke inflammation and cause redness. This was started a long time ago and used as a folk remedy.

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Filed under: Herbs For Health by Dee
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Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) is indigenous to the northern hemisphere. The stems group up to a meter in length and have hairy leaves all along it. The leaves at the bottom of the stem are large and they gradually get smaller as they get closer to the flower. The flower are a whitish to pinkish color. It flowers in early summer and grows actively during the spring.

The common yarrow plant is very good at dealing with dry weather conditions, even droughts. It is great for stopping your soil from eroding because of it’s ability to withstand dry conditions. The seed must be planted shallowly because it requires light and a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit to germinate. The soil it is planted in must also drain well. Common yarrow can be considered a problem plant because it grows rampantly and can invade your gardens like a weed.

Historically, yarrow has many uses as a natural medicine. The most active part of the plant, as a medicine, is the flowers. Yarrow is used for treating inflammation in the body. It is effective at helping to clot the blood and, strangely enough, helping it to flow more freely. It also is very good at treating headaches.

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Garlic (Allium Sativum L.) is part of the onion family. The bulb, stems, flowers, and leaves of the garlic plant are all edible. Everything except for the bulb is normally harvested and consumed early in their growth cycle. A wax paper type of protective cover is layed over the bulb and other parts of the plant and is not considered edible.

Garlic is a hardy plant and can be grown in just about any mild climate around the world. If the climate is cold you can plant around 6 weeks before the ground freezes and harvest late in the spring. China produces most of the worlds garlic with a stunning 77% of the overall harvest. The United States produces about 1.4% of the annual harvest. Most of this comes from Gilroy California. There are two basic types of garlic and you have to be careful to pick the right one for your climate. Softneck garlic thrives close to the equator and hardneck garlic performs better in cold climates.

Garlic has many medicinal uses. It’s biggest claim to fame is the prevention of heart disease and cancer. It also is said to prevent high cholesterol, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.

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Filed under: Herbs For Health by Dee
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In 1979 Richard Lucus wrote a book that claimed a subspecies of Gotu Kola, called “Hydrocotyle asiatica minor”, had a longevity factor called ‘youth Vitamin X’. This youth Vitamin X was said to be a tonic for the endocrine glands and brain. He also said that extracts from this subspecies were beneficial to help circulation and skin problems. Since then, Michael Moore, has debunked this as myth. He claims that there is no such subspecies of Gotu Kola in existence. Nonetheless, some of the circulatory and dermatological effects have a solid basis in Centella asiatica.

Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) is a small annual plant that is native to Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, northern Australia, Iran, Melanesia, New Guinea and Malaysia. It has slender interconnecting stems, creeping stolons, that are red to greenish in color. The leaves are green, long-stalked, reniform leaves that have a smooth texture with rounded apices. The root consists of rhizomes, which grow down vertically. It is cream colored and covered in root hairs. When Gotu Kola flowers the buds are a pinkish to red color. They are situated in small bunches close to the soil surface.

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St. Johns Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) is also known as Klamath Weed or Tipton’s Weed. There have been at least 370 different species of this wonder plant, in the plant genus, Hypericum discovered to date. St. Johns wort thrives in subtropical areas of the world. These include Asia Minor, North America, India, Russia, China and Europe.

This perennial herb flowers yellow and is traditionally harvested on June 24. This is where it got its name; June 24 is St John’s day. St. Johns Wort is easy to identify. The yellow flowers are normally about twenty millimeters across and are found late in the Spring to early summer. If you smash the seeds or yellow flowers you will discover a purple/red colored liquid.

St. John’s Wort is not all glamour and glory. Many countries consider it to be a noxious pest of a plant. When it is consumed by livestock it can cause many problems from depression of the nervous system to photosensitization. It can even cause death among precious ranging animals.

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Filed under: Anxiety and Depression, Herbs For Health by Dee
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Goldenseal (Orange-root, Orangeroot; Hydrastic canadensis) is a perennial herb that grows in the northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada. It has a purplish and hairy stem. The leaves that form in Spring are also hairy and have 5-7 double-toothed lobes and small, single flowers with greenish white stamens. During the summer it bears a single berry with 10-30 seeds in it.

Goldenseal can be purchased in many different forms: salve, tincture, tablet or bulk powder. Goldenseal can be used both internally, as a digestion aid, and externally as a topical antimicrobial. It is often blended with other herbs in order to give their medicinal effects a boost.

Herbalists today widely agree that Goldenseal has many terrific health benefits with it being an effective muscle stimulant, laxative, astrigent, and bitter tonic, as well as having anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-catarrhal and alterative properties.

What Goldenseal Can Be Used For:

* To remove canker sores when gargled as a rinse.
* Gastritis
* Colitis
* Duodenal ulcers
* Loss of appetite
* Liver disease
* To stimulate the appetite and bile secretion – It’s bitterness is responsible for this.
* Aid Digestion

Has An Astrigent Effect On The Mucous Membranes Of:

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Filed under: Herbs For Health, Reference Articles by Dee
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What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic biochemical disorder which affects the body’s ability to use carbohydrates, sugars and starches. People with diabetes are not able to produce sufficient insulin or are unable to use the insulin they produce effectively enough to break down glucose or sugar in the blood and make it available to the body.

More than 16 million Americans alone suffer from diabetes. Diabetes is often referred to as an epidemic in the Western World today.

There are two main types of Diabetes, referred to as Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes usually surfaces in childhood and is usually associated with the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. People with Type 1 Diabetes are also called Insulin-Dependent because they have to take insulin for life.

Type 11 Diabetes is also called Adult Onset Diabetes and usually occurs after the age of 40. People with Type 11 Diabetes do produce insulin in the pancreas, but their body cells have become resistant to it.

Although people with controlled diabetes can lead a normal healthy life, uncontrolled diabetes means chronically elevated blood sugar levels which slowly destroy proteins in the body, causing considerable damage to tissues and organs.

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Filed under: Herbs For Health, Health & Vitality by Dee
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Externally

* lavender
* St. John’s wort

Use essential oil diluted 1:10

* comfrey (roots and leaves) – make and use as cream

* aloe – juice

Originally posted 2007-04-10 09:55:31. We hope you have enjoyed this Post From the Past!

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Filed under: Herbs For Health, First Aid, Injuries, Bites by Dee
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