Herbs and Herbal Supplements

[Racoon]

OAT FIBER (Avena sativa)

OOh, my ears perk up at "sativa"

While the grain from the Oat plant is not only nutritious, we also know it is one of the most effective ways to reduce Serum Cholesterol.

Oat Fiber is also good for gas and upset stomach, is a good source of vitamin B.
Its good for skin and hemorroids.

It also has a calming effect on the body.

Oat Fiber. eat foods rich in it.
* gradually increase the amount of Oat Bran... too much at once, and you may suffer from cramps and gas.

[CerebralEcstasy]

I've always had a keen interest in growing herbs for both seasoning my food as well as medicinal properties.

I found that Earl Mindel's Vitamin Bible and Herbal Bible have been a valuable resource of mine. I started reading it as a kid, when I kept craving dirt, or ice cubes. My mom had it on her shelf, and I believe I still have that copy!

I really enjoy herbal teas, chamomile for relaxation, peppermint for the same thing, and green tea.

Green Tea being my favorite, for the following reasons.
Rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG a powerful anti-oxidant: inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, and kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

Effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Racoon

OAT FIBER (Avena sativa)
Its good for skin and hemorroids.
.

Very good for skin and skin problems Put a handful in the bath
It is the reason we have so many beautiful Scots
Gotto love those kilts

[iris]

Hi Raccoon, it seems you know a lot about herbs. Can you please shed light about the bitter melon regarding its claim on lowering blood sugar level. I am taking bitter melon tea for the moment. It's working for me but I am doing some research and many are against herbs.

Any info is much appreciated as i am new to this. Thanks

[Racoon]

Originally Posted by iris

Hi Raccoon, it seems you know a lot about herbs. Can you please shed light about the bitter melon regarding its claim on lowering blood sugar level. I am taking bitter melon tea for the moment. It's working for me but I am doing some research and many are against herbs.

Any info is much appreciated as i am new to this. Thanks

Thanks for the acknowledgement I know only what I know and thats from reading good sources and Actual growing and such.. making teas and tinctures..

I didn't have any info on "Bitter Melon", but I looked it up for you.
so here is what I can add Iris. :


Natural Health, June 2006 v36 i6 p94(2)
Herbal insulin: this promising treatment for diabetes might also slow fat gain and help stave off breast cancer. (healing: herbs) Michael Castleman.

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 Weider Publications THE TASTE may be bitter, but the benefits are sweet. Bitter melon--also known as bitter cucumber, bitter gourd, balsam pear, balsam apple, or Momordica charantia--is an annual vine that grows to 6 feet in Asia, Africa, and South America. It produces an orange-yellow fruit--eaten as a vegetable--that's used in folk medicine to treat a host of conditions, including cough, colds, headache, fever, wounds, hemorrhoids, gastrointestinal disorders, tumors, and diabetes. The effects on diabetes and some cancers have been verified, albeit in preliminary research.

Chemical Cousins

All parts of bitter melon, but especially the fruit, contain compounds chemically similar to insulin. This is the hormone that allows blood sugar (glucose) to pass from the bloodstream into the cells. In diabetics, the body does not make enough insulin, or the cells become resistant to its action. Either way, sugar remains in the blood, and glucose levels rise. Treatment involves dietary changes, insulin supplementation, and/or medications that reduce blood sugar.

Several animal studies have found that the insulin-like compounds in bitter melon reduce blood sugar and help treat diabetes. Writing in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers at India's University of Mumbai gave an extract of bitter melon to diabetic rats. It reduced their blood sugar by 48 percent, an effect comparable to that of the widely prescribed drug glibenclamide (Glyburide, Micronase).

Another potential attraction of bitter melon is its impact on cholesterol, a factor in heart disease. (Type 2 diabetics are more than twice as likely to develop heart disease as non-diabetics.) In a study at Japan's University of Miyazaki, researchers fed rats bitter melon extract and documented a "marked reduction" in cholesterol.

Obesity raises risk for diabetes, yet bitter melon may have a preemptive use here as well. In a report published in The Journal of Nutrition, University of Hong Kong researchers placed rats on a high-fat diet with or without supplemental bitter melon extract. The animals in the plant group gained less weight and accumulated less body fat. The researchers concluded that bitter melon "strongly counteracts the [harmful] effects of a high-fat diet."

It also seems to increase levels of immune-boosting interferon and antioxidants like glutathione and superoxide dismutase, which may explain Japanese and Indian animal studies that have linked bitter melon to declines in cancers of the breast and stomach.

[iris]

Thanks for researching Raccoon . I remember reading a study just like that i just forgot where. Sometimes when I surf I just read and jump to other link forgetting to bookmark an interesting site. Anyway, I feel more confident with this bitter melon tea. Thanks again!

God bless!

[Ganoderma]

Anyone happen to have any info on the reasons behind "Withania somnifera" helping with "depresiion/anxiety" type things. i have heard mixed reports but never any reasons as to why it works. i used to grow it and found it kind of a smelly plant, never did try it though (disadvantages of having to grow indoors in pots).

[Racoon]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

Anyone happen to have any info on the reasons behind "Withania somnifera" helping with "depresiion/anxiety" type things. i have heard mixed reports but never any reasons as to why it works. i used to grow it and found it kind of a smelly plant, never did try it though (disadvantages of having to grow indoors in pots).

Apparently, Withania somnifera, or Ashwagandha works by increasing anti-bodies and stimulating the immune system. This could translate into a sense of better well being and reduced stress.

With regards to your depression inquiry, it appears that Ashwaganda is an "anti-stress" adaptogen. towards the bottom of this post I copied info from the research article, but its a little dry.

HallenRM probably has more experience with this, as he's more familiar with Ayurvedic herbs.


Alternative Medicine Review, June 2004 v9 i2 p211(4)

Withania somnifera, also known as ashwagandha, Indian ginseng, and winter cherry, has been an important herb in the Ayurvedic and indigenous medical systems for over 3000 years. Historically, the plant has been used as an aphrodisiac, liver tonic, anti-inflammatory agent, astringent, and more recently to treat bronchitis, asthma, ulcers, emaciation, insomnia, and senile dementia. Clinical trials and animal research support the use of ashwaganda for anxiety, cognitive and neurological disorders, inflammation, and Parkinson's disease. Ashwaganda's chemopreventive properties make it a potentially useful adjunct for patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. Ashwaganda is also used therapeutically as an adaptogen for patients with nervous exhaustion, insomnia, and debility due to stress, and as an immune stimulant in patients with low white blood cell counts.

Ashwagandha is a small, woody shrub in the Solanaceae family that grows about two feet in height. It can be found growing in Africa, the Mediterranean, and India. As a result of this wide growing range, there are considerable morphological and chemotypical variations in terms of local species. However, the primary alkaloids of both the wild and the cultivated species appear to be the same. The roots are the main portion of the plant used therapeutically.

The major biochemical constituents of ashwaganda root are steroidal alkaloids and steroidal lactones in a class of constituents called withanolides. (1) At present, 12 alkaloids, 35 withanolides, and several sitoindosides from this plant have been isolated and studied. A sitoindoside is a withanolide containing a glucose molecule at carbon 27. Much of ashwaganda's pharmacological activity has been attributed to two main withanolides, withaferin A and withanolide D.

The withanolides serve as important hormone precursors that can convert into human physiologic hormones as needed. Ashwagandha is thought to be amphoteric; i.e., it can help regulate important physiologic processes. The theory is that when there is an excess of a certain hormone, the plant-based hormone precursor occupies cell membrane receptor sites so the actual hormone cannot attach and exert its effect. If the hormone level is low, the plant-based hormone exerts a small effect. Ashwagandha is also considered to be an adaptogen, facilitating the ability to withstand stressors, and has antioxidant properties as well. Other studies have shown ashwaganda to have an immunostimulatory effect.

Anxiety and Depression

In an animal study assessing the anxiolytic and antidepressive actions of ashwagandha compared to commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals, an extract of the root was administered orally to rats once daily for five days. The results were compared to a group administered the benzodiazepine lorazepam for anxiolytic activity, and the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine for antidepressant investigation. Both the ashwagandha group and the lorazepam group demonstrated reduced brain levels of a marker of clinical anxiety. Ashwagandha also exhibited an antidepressant effect comparable to that induced by imipramine in the forced swim-induced "behavioral despair" and "learned helplessness" tests. (11) Other similar studies confirm these results, lending support to the use of ashwagandha as an antistress adaptogen.

[orbsycli]

Raccoon, do you know anything about Dagaa?

Is it an herb?

I tried www.erowid.org but nothing came up . .

[Racoon]

Originally Posted by orbsycli

Raccoon, do you know anything about Dagaa?

Is it an herb?

I tried www.erowid.org but nothing came up . .

Thats because it might not have been spelled right (... poked around some)
could you mean Dagga, and its another word for Hashish.
I can imagine that is what you heard or meant...

Here is some of this very recent article:


The Economist (US), July 15, 2006 v380 i8486 p46US
Making a hash of it; Morocco. (Morocco's drug policy)

Why it is hard to stop Moroccans growing a lucrative crop

ONCE you leave the tarmac road, the hillside hamlet of Mechkralla can be reached only after an arduous three-hour trek up a mule track, itself partly paid for by the European Union to encourage tourism in Morocco's northern mountain range, the Rif. Almost as soon as the main roads and towns are out of sight, the wild, rocky landscape turns into a patchwork of verdant cannabis fields interspersed with golden wheat and hot-pink oleander bushes. Along the way, women with bright striped sashes and straw hats are harvesting the tall seven-leafed plants.

The Rif has hundreds of villages like Mechkralla, virtually all surviving on the growth of this illegal crop whose resin, extracted from cannabis pollen, is turned into hashish. According to the United Nations, the region exports 1,000 tonnes a year, providing 80% of European hash-smokers' needs, and nearly one-third of the world's.

Hamed, a blissful-looking farmer who smokes the dried buds in the traditional way, mixing them with coarse tobacco in a long reed pipe, sells a kilo of hash for 3,000 dirhams ($348). By the time it reaches Paris or London, its value may multiply by ten. If Hamed grew wheat instead, his modest income would fall several times over.