Herb Consults

Many people today try to find natural means of maintaining their health and preventing diseases. At the same time people do not want to suffer from negative side effects. And they do not want to pay a lot for such preparations.

Natural herbal formulas are able to provide all of this. They are able to improve one’s health and to prevent possible health problems that often occur due to nutritional deficiencies. However, it is not easy to find a good and top quality herbal supplement on the market today.

You could see a lot of low quality products in the stores. This happens because of poor regulation of the supplement market. Manufacturers are able to put anything into their products and it is impossible to do anything about this fact.

On the other hand such low quality products never lstay long on the market. No one wants to buy low quality supplements more than once. That is why when choosing a herbal supplement look at the manufacturer’s background and previous history. Try to choose reputable brands with long history only.

Quality herbal extracts could be beneficial for your health. And we are going to list some of the benefits below.

First of all, herbs could give you additional energy for life. You could do much more things without feeling tired. You could finally do something you have always dreamt about, but did not have enough energy to start. When your body gets all vital nutrients, it begins to feel better and your energy levels lift up.  Read more... (453 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Even though conventional multivitamins and other dietary supplements are affordable and abound in drugstores and other retail, herbal supplements are well loved among many consumers not only in the East — the stronghold of herbal medicine — but all over the world.

One of the reasons for this would probably be because of the recognition that herbs have been used for healing and wellness purposes throughout time, and that the medical community is open to exploring the viability of various methods of natural medicine in preventing and treating diseases.

It has been said that even if you eat healthy foods and take basic vitamin supplements, it would not do you if a lot of excellent if your body is unable to absorb and digest the nutrients you’re taking in. An herbal supplement would aid in nutritional absorption because it nourishes the cells, promotes cellular communication, and enables them to function more effectively. It would also promote cell growth and repair.

Botanical products such as herbs are very vital nowadays because they help detoxify and cleanse our bodies, which are exposed to countless numbers of pollutants and other toxic substances in what we eat, drink, and breathe.

Some supplements are being marketed for their anti-aging effects, and with the increasing number of baby boomers, these are in high demand. This is not to say that they would keep a person eternally young; rather, they can mitigate some of the most common effects of aging. For instance, studies have shown that bilberry extract can prevent eye problems such as glaucoma and cataracts; guggulipid extract can help relieve arthritis symptoms; hawthorne berry extract is beneficial for both hypertension and hypotension; and turmeric extract can help with symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis.  Read more... (738 words, estimated 2:57 mins reading time)

Pamela Bond recently reported on the natural products industry criticism of a new research review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (02-01-2010) that warned of dangerous herb-drug interactions that some herbal supplements can cause in heart disease patients taking prescription drugs.

“The errors and problems in this paper are too numerous to list completely at this time,” said Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the Austin, Texas-based American Botanical Council. “While there are potential and actual interactions that various herbs can have with drugs used by patients with cardiovascular diseases, this paper will do little to improve professional awareness and skill in this area.”

In a press release, the American Botanical Council specified several errors in the published study:

• Latin names for herbs are missing. For example, the authors don’t clarify the species of ginseng discussed. Many ginseng species “cause varying pharmacological effects,” noted Blumenthal in the release.
• Some herbs labeled in the study as “commonly used” are not generally available in the U.S. dietary supplement market.
• Capsicum is listed as being used for shingles, trigeminal, and diabetic neuralgia. But the over-the-counter and prescription drug capsaicin, a compound derived from chili peppers (Capsicum spp.), actually is used for those purposes.

“There are more [flaws],” said Blumenthal, adding that the study “should not have been published in its present form without serious additional edits, revisions and deletions, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology would be advised to retract it.”  Read more... (513 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)