Herbal Drinks to Keep You Healthy in the Fall and Winter

As the cold starts to creep in and we change our outdoor lifestyle to an indoor one, we often have to take additional steps to stay as healthy as possible. While snuggling next to a warm fire with your family is great for your mental health, you still need to worry about colds and flus that seem to make the rounds as the fall and winter months descend upon us. You already have a good idea of what healthy food is out there for you, but the benefits of herbal drinks are rarely thought about during these cold days.

Choosing the Right Herbal Drink

While cost is often a factor in your choices, your herbal drinks should always be a well-sourced product made of the highest quality ingredients. Be careful about buying the cheap store shelf teas, some are great for you, but some will include essential oils and artificial flavors. Herbal teas rarely need additional flavor, so you want to ensure that you are going all natural for the full health benefit. If using tea bags, make sure they steep long enough, which may be as long as 10-15 minutes for the full benefit. 

 

Peppermint Tea

During the cold months you tend to turn to comfort foods and warm drinks and few drinks can give you the kick like peppermint tea. Not only is this a wonderful and fresh tasting tea it can help relieve muscle spasms, bloating, gas, nausea and helping to heat up the body. The one thing to keep in mind is that peppermint is not good for heartburn and indigestion. Peppermint is extremely easy to grow in your own garden, so consider making some homemade tea this fall.

Ginger Tea

This tea works similarly to peppermint tea as it helps cut down on nausea, vomiting and upset stomachs. All you need is a ginger root simmered on the stove for 10-15 minutes. Add some fresh lemon juice and honey to help fight off a cold. You can even make the tea from powdered ginger to warm up the cold days.

Lemon Balm Tea

Lemon balm is easy to grow and can really life your spirits. The cold necessitates much more time inside your home and can lead to cabin fever or the “winter blah” feelings that accompanies the dreary outdoors. In addition, lemon balm can also help improve concentration and is safe for children. It may even reduce or prevent nightmares when given just before bed time. Lemon and maple syrup are great additions to help make this tea something you and your children will look forward to having.

Rosehip Tea

The fruit of the rose plant is one of the best sources of vitamin C, which helps with your immune system, skin health and adrenal functions. Check out local health shops to get some rosehip and play with different recipes to find the one that makes the tea one of your go to winter drinks.

Jenni F. is a writer for HowDoIBe.com. If you are at all interested in a career in health, take a look at this site to learn more about earning your degree online!

Aconite root: the queen of poisons

Aconite root is highly poisonous herb and it also called as wolf’s bane, monkshood, women's bane, devil's helmet and blue rocket in various parts of the world. The written documents citing use of aconite root is found in the traditional Chinese medicine. Earlier aconite root was used for hunting. Today, the highly poisonous herb has been put to good use in the medical arena. Aconite root, which is called as queen of poisons, is a neurotoxin that can induce instant respiratory paralysis and heart attack.    

When the early physicians tried their hands on aconite root, they believed that it had divine properties that can cure several ailments. Ancient Chinese used fumes from burning aconite to  detoxicate the body. The modern pharmaceutical industries have proved that the Chinese were right in their belief. Extracts from aconite root are today used for similar purposes in the medical field for example drugs manufactured from aconite root are used to relieve body pain, diuretic and diaphoretic purposes.

Although early physicians were unable to find a suitable antidote for the poison, they were successful in taping the benevolence of the ancient herb in a major way. Today, researchers have successfully developed antidotes for the poison. They have also made good use of the herb in developing ointments and injections that can relieve neural pain, Back ache due to arthritis, and rheumatic disorders.

What is green tea?

Tea undoubtedly is a common drink all over the world. Apart from make you feel refreshed, tea can also provide you with essential vitamins and minerals and instant energy as well. Well, green tea isn’t a refreshment drink as the regular tea. Actually green tea is produced from the leaves of Camllia sinensis and not from the tea plants. It is indeed a medicinal drink that originated in China thousands of years ago. Green tea was used in many of the Asian countries to mitigate ailments such as blood sugar and indigestion. Green tea did not gain much popularity until recently. The reason for the popularity of green tea is the growing menace of obesity. Being overweight or obese has become very common due to the sedentary life style of modern times.

Obesity is the cause of many fatal ailments such heart attacks, stroke and the like. Tackling obesity isn’t an easy thing. Obese people often are lazy and find it difficult to exercise or perform tasks that would bring down their weight. This is when green tea came to their rescue. Regular consumption of green tea considerably reduces weight and makes you feel light. This wonder working ability of green tea made businesses turn their focus on green tea. But for the gorgeous advertisements and persistent marketing strategies green tea wouldn’t have crossed Asia.

Now that people all over the world are on the lookout for an easy way to weight loss, green tea has gained much momentum. Indeed green tea has its effects when it comes to weight loss programs. However, it is important for you to follow the instructions when it comes to consuming green tea. Apart from regular consumption of green tea, you also need do exercises related to weight loss to get the complete benefits of green tea.

The role of Basil or Tulsi in ancient herbal treatment

Basil also called as Tulsi in India is an ancient herbal cure for various ailments. Basil is being used commonly all over India for home treatments as well as in alternative treatment centers. It is a small shrub that is believed to have divine powers. One can see Basil in every Hindu home in India. Although most of them are unaware of its medicinal properties, they worship it as one of their deities.

The reason for growing Basil or Tulsi at home had a purpose in ancient times. The plant is usually grown in pots and placed in the center of a house where sun light is available in plenty. The shrub spreads a pleasant aroma that keeps the house fresh throughout the day. The air that is filled with the essence of the plant is actually an inducer of immunity. Most people having the shrub at their homes remain health from common ailments and epidemics.

Healing powers and benefits of Basil or Tulsi are incredible. The ancients immersed the leaves of the plant in water and claimed it to be holy and every one had to have a sip of the drink. The secret behind this is that everyone at home had their quota of Basil essence daily to improve their immunity. It was also used to treat fever, common cold, coughs, throat irritation, respiratory disorders, mouth ulcers, skin related ailments and other external ailments including treatment for eyes.

Some of the long term benefits of using Basil or Tulsi include dissolving of kidney stones, increasing memory power and strengthening of nervous system. It is also an excellent herb for digestive disorders. Since the herb had the cloak with religious tint, for a long time the herb was ignored by people of different faiths. Now that the medicinal value of Basil or Tulsi is well known to the world a lot of research is being conducted to discover more healing properties of the herb.

Health benefits of Noni juice

If you are wondering what Noni is and what are the health benefits of Noni juice, this is the right place to know about the wonder fruit Noni and its benefits. Noni is a small edible fruit that has great medicinal values. Noni was an important ingredient in ancient Indian herbal cures. While the healing effects of Noni was taught by the ancient Indian physicians to the world, Noni was almost forgotten for centuries until its amazing properties were rediscovered by American scientists.

The pungent odor and disgusting taste of Noni makes this edible fruit uneatable. May be this is one of the reasons for Indians ignoring Noni for a long time. Today, the modern method of Noni juice extraction has propelled the fame of this ancient herbal cure throughout the world. Noni products are available to consumers in several processed forms such as Noni juice, Noni powder, and the like.

Noni’s popularity as super-food is gaining momentum by the day some of the reasons and benefits of Noni are as follows.

• First of all, Noni is good at boosting a person’s immune system thus enhances the natural ability of healing.
• Apart from its nutritional values Noni has the ability to tune the digestive system to its best.

• Noni’s Anti-oxidant properties function effectively in expelling the toxins that hinder the functioning of cells and make one feel energetic and refreshed.

• In fact the olden day physicians have named the Noni tree as headache tree because of its effectiveness in healing headaches.

• The antibacterial, antifungal capabilities of Noni are yet another plus for Noni.
• The latest discovery of Noni’s ability to fight cancer is what made Noni very popular among physicians and researchers.
• The effect of Noni juice on skin improvement is amazing.

To learn more about the nutritional and medicinal value of Noni juice and purchase Noni juice online, visit the website www.motherofherbsnoni.com.

Cardamom in ancient herbal treatments

Cardamom is a well-known spice. The early use of the spice is found in traditional Indian herbal treatments. Although people use cardamom to spice up food every day, they aren’t aware of its medicinal values. Elaichi is the common name of the spice and it is readily available in the market. It is indeed a pricey spice however; the health benefits of cardamom are much more valuable than its actual price.

The characteristics of Elaichi or Cardamom include strong aroma and flavor. The use of cardamom in the Indian cuisine is for the simple purpose of good digestion of rich foods. It is true that cardamom can help in digestion but the actual health benefits of cardamom could really surprise users of cardamom. In the ancient herbal treatments cardamom was used to cure stomach cramps, flatulence, and intestinal sours.

Only much later, did people realize that cardamom is a very powerful anti-oxidant. Regular consumption of Cardamom can detoxify the body and improve blood circulation. In general it prevents high blood pressure and prevents heart attacks. Ancient physicians even used cardamom for treating urinal tract infections.

Cardamom has several nutrients essential for well being. For example it is rich in Vitamins, Minerals and essential oils. These ingredients stimulate the immune system of the body and enhance the overall well being.

When it comes to consumption of cardamom, it is all right to have cooked meals spiced up with cardamom. However, chewing cardamom often can provide you with great health benefits. It can strengthen your teeth, gums, and cure mouth ulcers and sore throats. One other fringe benefit of chewing raw cardamom is it prevents bad breadth and keeps your confidence high. Cardamom is also very effective for smokers that wish to quit smoking.