The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body - Heal Your Body Naturally and Maintain Optimal Health Using Alternative Medicine, Herbals, Vitamins, Fruits and Vegetables (53 page)

Dosages:
Take two (2) capsules, two (2) times each day with water at mealtimes. Do not exceed recommended dosage.

Precautions:
There have been reports of interactions between Ginseng and MAO inhibitor drugs, digitalis, warfarin (Coumadin) and high doses of prescription steroids. Pregnant women and nursing mothers should not use Ginseng, and diabetics should consult a physician before using.  Avoid taking Asian/Korean Ginseng for two weeks prior to elective surgery. Korean Ginseng should not be used by people with hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, heart disorders, asthma or insomnia without first consulting a physician.

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The root of
Lady's Slipper
is called "Nature's Tranquilizer" and is used primarily as a
gentle
tonic to
calm the nerves and ease tension, anxiety and stress.
Often called the American Valerian, it is also thought to
relieve depression, recurring headaches and hyperactivity in children.

Plant Description:

Lady's Slipper is a perennial plant that is native to the woods and meadows of North America. The fleshy rootstock produces several rounds, hairy stems with alternate leaves and characteristic golden yellow flowers, lined with purple, blooming from May to July.

This beautiful member of the orchid family has a characteristic lower lip that forms an inflated sac, which suggests the shape of a moccasin, thereby giving the plant one of its common names, Moccasin Flower.
  Lady's Slipper is a pungent, bittersweet herb with an unpleasant odor and thrives in moist, humus-rich soil in an open or shady situation, growing to about two feet in height. Like many other native orchids, Lady's Slipper is becoming increasingly rare, and its history as an ornamental is as rich as its distinguished medicinal past.

History:

The plant was widely employed by Native Americans as a tranquilizer, and the early settlers found that it was a good substitute for the garden heliotrope (Valerian) that women and children had used as a sedative in Europe. They began to refer to the plant as American Valerian, and by the mid-nineteenth century, doctors were prescribing the root for hysteria, delirium, irritability, epilepsy and neuralgia.  Although called American Valerian, because of its calming properties, Lady's Slipper is less potent than Valerian, and the roots of several varieties of this plant (
Cypridedium pubescens/
larger and
Cypridedium parviflorum/
smaller) were included in the
United States Pharmacopoeia
from 1863 to 1916. Lady's Slipper is a complex resinoid substance and includes cypridenin.

Medical Uses:

Lady's Slipper is mainly used as a nervine and tonic that gently strengthens the functional activity of the nervous system. As such, it has been used by generations to relieve hysteria, general nervousness, delirium tremens, tension, anxiety, nervous depression, irritability, recurring headaches and a relief for all stress. Its relaxing qualities are also considered helpful for reducing hyperactivity in children.

As a mild sedative, Lady's Slipper is said to be effective in easing chronic insomnia and restlessness and is especially useful during those times when "the brain just won't shut off," and it allows sleep. Lady's Slipper is considered superior because it is non-narcotic.

Lady's Slipper is considered an antispasmodic and has been helpful for relieving cramps and muscle twitches and spasms. With its additional ability to relieve nervous conditions, it has also been used in the past to ease epilepsy.

Lady's Slipper helps to relieve neuralgia, which is a severe, throbbing or stabbing pain along the course of a nerve. It is also thought to be useful in relieving Bell's Palsy.

As a diaphoretic, Lady's Slipper is said to increase perspiration, which ultimately cools the body and eases intermittent fevers.

Dosages:
Take two (2) capsules, one (1) time each day with water at a mealtime.

Precautions:
Overuse (many times the recommended dose) may cause hallucinations. Handling the plant may cause an allergic reaction.

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L
emon Balm
calms ya down!
 

The herb has been used for centuries to "restore the joy of life to even the most melancholy" and will not only alleviate stress and anxiety, but is said to improve memory and mental function.  Try Lemon Balm for a good night's sleep.  It also helps to relieve indigestion, cramps and combat cold sores.

Plant Description:

Lemon Balm is one of the most fragrant of herbs.
  Its origin is somewhat ambiguous, but it appears to have originated in the Middle East and southern European areas of the Mediterranean.  Others argue that the herb was brought from the Orient to Spain by Arab traders; however, this perennial plant is now naturalized all over Europe and parts of the United States, where it grows to a height of three feet in fields and along roadsides in almost any type of soil.  It is easy to grow; but when cultivated, it is a highly ornamental plant that may frequently be found in beautiful mounded shapes, preferring rich, sandy, loamy soil in sun or partial shade. 

History:

Lemon Balm is widely cultivated as a culinary herb with the leaves used in herbal medicine, and its value as an important therapeutic herb goes back thousands of years. Lemon Balm's botanical name,
Melissa
, is derived from the Greek, meaning "bee," referring to the great attraction Lemon Balm flowers held for bees.  (The plant was a favorite of ancient beekeepers, because of the honey they produced.)  The word Balm is also derived from the Greek,
balsamon
, an oily, sweet-smelling resin.  Finally, the name Lemon describes the plant's fragrance when the leaves are bruised. Virtually all the herbal physicians and naturalists of the past, including Dioscorides and Pliny, revered Lemon Balm as a treatment for a variety of problems, including nervous disorders, headache, and as an antiseptic for healing wounds.  It was greatly esteemed for all complaints that "proceeded from a disordered state of the nervous system" and was also thought to combat poisonous venoms and help insect bites.  Arab doctors of the ninth and tenth centuries used Lemon Balm to dispel anxiety and heart palpitations and described it as a "gladdening" herb. Paracelsus (1493-1541) highly esteemed the herb as "the elixir of life" that would completely revivify a man.  Lemon Balm was brought to Germany (where it is still widely cultivated) by Benedictine monks and its pleasing flavor is included in the manufacture of Benedictine and Chartreuse.  In 1653, the herbalist, Nicholas Culpepper said it would relieve weak stomachs, and John Evelyn (1620-1706) noted that Lemon Balm was "sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy."  Finally, the
London Dispensary
of 1696 claimed that a daily dose would "renew youth and strengthen the brain."  The leaves, stems and flowers of Lemon Balm are used in herbal medicine.Some of the constituents in Lemon Balm include volatile oils, tannins, acids, resin, monoterpenoid aldehydes, flavonoids and polyphonic compounds.

Medical Uses:

Lemon Balm has been used for thousands of years as an effective calmative that is good for all kinds of nervous problems, including tension headaches, migraines, neuralgia, hysteria, nervous tension, stress, anxiety, excitability, heart palpations (resulting from anxiety) and agitation. Frequently called "the calming herb," it may be effective in treating Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, easing such symptoms as inability to listen, fidgeting, inability to sustain attention and shifting from one incomplete task to another. It also appears to relax muscle tension without daytime drowsiness.

To prevent insomnia, Lemon Balm is used to calm and relax the nerves, and Lemon Balm is an old and particularly reliable treatment for relieving the feelings of melancholy and depression.

Lemon Balm is also effective in calming the digestive tract. It relieves dyspepsia, colic, gas, upset stomach, indigestion and stomach cramps (particularly when related to nervous tension).

In the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Lemon Balm shows great promise, because of the herb's possible central nervous system acetylcholine receptor activity and antioxidant properties. It may even positively affect cognitive abilities, enhance memory and improve mental clarity.

Further demonstrating Lemon Balm's calmative quality, the herb has been used to relieve irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stopping the spasms and relieving the pain and cramps associated with the disease. In addition, although it is strong enough to ease spasms, it is not so strong as to cause constipation.

Lemon Balm is an old folk remedy for treating feverish patients. It promotes perspiration and cools the body by breaking a fever. It is especially helpful in cases of colds and flu.  Lemon Balm is also said to relieve bronchial catarrh and some forms of asthma.

In cases of hyperthyroidism, the flavonoids and polyphenolic found in Lemon Balm induce thyroid-regulating actions and have been known to block the attachment of thyroid cells by antibodies that cause Graves' disease, a condition that result in hyperthyroidism and over-stimulation of the thyroid gland.

Lemon Balm is said to possess excellent antiviral properties. Its volatile oils have been known to destroy viruses in test tubes in as little as three hours, and this quality makes the herb especially helpful in combating cold sores and herpes virus infection.  In addition, it is also thought to relieve the pain, itching, and sting of an outbreak.  According to recent research, topical use of Lemon Balm speeds healing time of herpes simplex virus sores on the mouth.

Lemon Balm is an antibacterial and, used externally, it makes a fine poultice that has anti-putrescent effects and has been used as a surgical dressing. It is good for tumors, insect bites and stings, and it also cleanses sores and wounds.
  Because of its agreeable lemony scent, the herb is often included in sachets, potpourris and perfumes.

Precautions:

Lemon Balm is mild, gentle, and safe for children. It is wise, however, not to take it concurrently with barbiturates for insomnia or anxiety, as it may increase their effects.

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Lemongrass
is a
mild sedative
.  Try it for your insomnia, or when you are under stress, or even if you need help to
calm a nervous or upset stomach.
The herb is also said to
relieve headaches, lower intermittent fevers and rid the lungs of mucus.
Lemongrass also acts as an
effective antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial.

Plant Description:

Lemongrass is a perennial and intensely fragrant herb, native to Asia, and widely cultivated as a commercial crop throughout the tropics and subtropics of the world. The plants grow well in sandy soils in warm, humid climates in full sun with adequate drainage.

The narrow foliage of Lemongrass ranges from blue-green to gold, and the flowers are white, cream or green. It ranges in height from about three to five feet and is a bitter, aromatic grass with leaves used in herbal medicines and herbal teas.  Lemongrass is also highly valued commercially as a common food flavoring and ingredient in baked goods, confections, cosmetics, perfumes, creams and soaps, and the oil is used in hair oils and herbal baths.

History:

The herb's lemony flavor is widely used in Asian (particularly Thai, Lao, Sri Lankan, Khmer and Vietnamese) and Caribbean cooking.
  Lemongrass is used in traditional Brazilian medicine as an analgesic and sedative, a use that is copied around the world.  Some of the constituents of Lemongrass include essential oils (including terpineol, myrcene, citral (its most active ingredient), citronellol, geraniol and limonene, among others), alpha-pinene, beta-sitosterol, coumarin, tannin and ursolic acid.  The large amounts of citral and geraniol in Lemongrass are lemon-scented and rose-scented respectively. Lemongrass also includes nutritious calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc.

Medical Uses:

Lemongrass is widely used as an analgesic, an agent that reduces the sensation of pain, and has been effective in relieving painful headaches.
  Its essential oil, myrcene, is the constituent that produces this effect and confirms the longtime Brazilian use of the herb for pain. The herb is also believed to relieve spasms, muscle cramps and rheumatism.

As a mild sedative, Lemongrass's myrcene is an effective relaxant that acts as central nervous system depressant and helps people under stress and hypertension.
  It is also used to relieve insomnia, again confirming the Brazilians' longtime use of the herb for sedation.

Lemongrass is an aromatic and cooling herb that is used to increase perspiration and relieve fevers and help treat minor, feverish illnesses. Furthermore, it also acts as a diuretic and helps promote urination and relieves retained water.