Green tea may sound like something you might serve with Dr. Seuss’ green eggs and ham, but it’s certainly not something that will upset your stomach. In fact, it may very well help it. Initially cultured in the fourth century B.C., green tea has been used for brewing tea as well as treating diseases since ancient times. The Chinese have used it for years, treating everything from headaches to depression.

Although it and black tea are derived from the same plant, it is the difference in their processing that sets them apart. Green tea is dried but not fermented, as black tea is. This allows it to hold its beneficial chemicals intact. The beneficial chemicals are catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is an antioxidant. Antioxidants such as this prevent free radicals (which are particles in our bodies) from harming our cells. Free radicals may lead to cancer. In this way, antioxidants hinder cancer cell growth by killing cancer cells. However, they do not harm healthy tissue.

Research has shown it is effective in fighting a variety of cancers. There have also been studies demonstrating that green tea may help lower cholesterol and prevent blood clots, which can lead to strokes or heart attacks. It may also help with hypertension, kidney function, and arthritis. Green tea is also believed to give the immune system a boost by allowing it to fight viral and bacterial infections. This would also help to prevent allergies, colds and flu.

Skin aging is a result of free radical damage, so green tea can help with skin care as well. In fact, some skin care brand names are using green tea in their products today. Green tea may also help improve memory and slow the development of Alzheimer’s. Since it boosts insulin activity in the body by more than 15%, it can help with diabetes. Furthermore, it may aid with weight loss, since it is believed to increase metabolic rates. This may also strengthen bones, which may help prevent osteoporosis. Green tea may even help with tooth decay by killing bacteria that causes plaque. The only negative side effect of green tea is insomnia due to the caffeine content. However, the caffeine content in green tea is still lower than that in coffee.

As little as four to five cups of tea per day has shown to be beneficial to the human body. The taste is fresh, light, and some say green or grassy. Some teas have a bit of sweetness and some are astringent. Typically, green tea is not served with milk and sugar, but that is for you to decide.

You may have heard that you can use natural herbal remedies to cure ailments but have no idea where to start. After all, there are thousands of herbs available; not to mention herbs from the east such as Chinese medicinal herbs and Ayurvedic herbs. It would appear to be an impossible task to know them all. Well, do make a start! Hopefully, in time, you can grow to know about the basic principles of using herbs for health in your daily life.

For a start, the first thing to know is to understand what natural herbal remedies are and how they work. Usually this term refers to the use of medicinal plants to aid in healing and in creating more health and wellness. Although herbal therapy is one of the oldest methods of healing, it is often referred to as alternative or complementary medicine today. The reason is that any form of healing, other than using synthetic drug therapy and surgery, is considered alternative.

Natural herbal remedies possess beneficial chemical properties. For instance, a lot of plants contain saponins, which are well known for helping in the bowel elimination process as well as for helping to break down excess mucus. A lot of plants also contain tannins, which are chemical compounds that can help to slow down bleeding. In addition, many of the compounds derived here are being added to commercially manufactured pharmaceutical drugs today.

The easiest way to derive benefits from natural herbal remedies is to drink them in the form of herbal teas. They are also commonly prepared in a tincture, which is a concentrated liquid extract. There are also plenty of different kinds of herbs that can be eaten fresh. Many herbs can also be used as compresses, creams, poultices, and salves. They are also commonly used in external applications in the form of essential oils. Today, many of these herbs are also becoming available in herbal capsules or tablets.

Most of these medicinal herbs are used to treat specific conditions, boost overall health, or as a complementary treatment. For example, some of them can also be used to reduce the side effects of some prescription drugs. However, you must ensure that herbs used in this manner will not interact negatively with your prescription drugs. Ask your doctor to make sure.

Natural herbal remedies can be very effective for many of the mild symptoms that you experience on a daily basis. There are some powerful herbs that can also be used to treat chronic conditions as well. These chronic conditions include diabetes, arthritis, memory problems and cardiovascular disease. You should still note that just because herbs are natural, it does not necessarily mean that they are safe. Hence, you would need to get to know about the herb that you are using. Do always check back with your health care provider when in doubt or if you intend to use them to treat a specific ailment that you are having.

The mint is a herb that is commonly used in many personal care products as well as used as an ingredient in cooking. However, it also has many healing properties that make it an excellent herbal home remedy as well.

With thirty different varieties of mint, there can be a lot of herbal remedies that can be made out of them. Peppermint is the preferred mint herbal remedy in the western world. In China, it is the field mint. Garden mint, or spearmint, is another very popular mint herbal remedy which is more commonly used for children.

The aerial parts of the mint herb are the most commonly used parts to make herbal remedies. The mint is great for healing in cases of digestive disorders, colic and fatulence. In addition, mint is often used to treat motion sickness and nausea. If you are suffering from flu or fever, a mint herbal home remedy can be used to help promote sweating to break the illness. In Chinese herbal medicine, mint is also called bo he and is used to help relieve the symptoms of liver stagnation or other digestive complaints.

Mint is best used right after harvesting. You can also use the aerial parts to prepare an inhalation, tincture, compress, or an infusion, depending upon your needs. The easiest way to ingest mint as a herbal home remedy is in the form of teas.

An essential oil can also be prepared from mint. Peppermint oil is known for its analgesic, calming, and cooling affect on your body. This is a good remedy for treating and relieving headaches, migraines, treating fevers, and treating skin problems. This oil is considered antibacterial in nature as well, which is great for using on minor infections.

Inhaling peppermint oil can help relieve severe nasal congestion, but should not be used too often. It can irritate your mucous membranes if used frequently. Young children should not use peppermint oil and nursing mothers should stay away from peppermint oil, as it can decrease your milk flow.

You can also derive benefits from mint by just eating the herb. Mint is used for flavoring dishes in cooking. It is widely used as an ingredient for desserts such as in mint chocolates or ice cream.

The mint that I am most familiar with is the laksa leaves used in Asian cooking. It is also a commonly used ingredient in Vietnamese salads and soups. However, what is interesting to note though that this mint ingredient does not actually belong to the mint family although its general appearance and odor are similar.

High blood pressure is a condition that has the potential to be quite a health risk. Therefore, it is essential for anyone suffering from high blood pressure to follow the advice a health care professional or a qualified naturopath before relying entirely on remedies other than prescription drugs. Similarly, for controlling blood sugar, while you may try alternative remedies, you should always take your doctor?s advice about reducing the intake of (or stopping) prescription drugs.

Silymarin for blood sugar - Antioxidants are known to be beneficial in controlling blood sugar. Silymarin, (silybum marianum) a herbal extract taken from the seeds of Milk Thistle, has wonderful antioxidant properties that work in this manner. By taking Silymarin, you can reduce your blood sugar levels quite significantly. Silymarin contains the active ingredients called flavolignans, which help the liver from poisoning. They also are believed to help in controlling Type 2 Diabetes, although the exact mechanism as to how they do it is still not clear.

Mulberry leaf Morus - mulberry leaf is chock full of Vitamin A and the B family of vitamins. It also contains pectin, adenine and choline. Chinese make and consume ?sugar control herbal tea? made from morus, green tea and jasmine in order to control blood sugar levels.

Vaccinium berries - Herbs that include huckleberries, blueberries and bilberries belong to the genus Vaccinium. Bilberries are rich in antioxidants and are said to control blood sugar levels. Both the leaves and the fruit of the bilberry herb have long been in use for the treatment of diabetes. However, as the leaves do impair the normal working of the liver when used for a long time, it is better not to use the bilberry leaves at all. But the berries of the bilberry herb are very useful, even if they may not actually lower the blood sugar levels. They are good in protecting the blood vessels from the damaging effects of diabetes and other diseases.

Neem leaves - Extracts from neem leaves and bitter gourd, it is believed, help in controlling blood sugar levels, provided they are consumed on a long term and regular basis.

For controlling blood pressure, you should first take care of your nutrition. Avoiding meat and dairy products will help. In doing so, you can reduce your cholesterol too. Eat an abundance of fruits, especially those kinds that do not aggravate your blood sugar levels, in case you are a diabetic as well.

The best thing that can really work for lowering your blood pressure is drinking a lot of plain water while avoiding consuming soft drinks, particularly those that are processed drinks and those that contain sugar. It is better to avoid coffee as well. The best advantage with water is that it does not produce any side effects at all.

The next thing you can do is to minimize your intake of common salt or sodium. Better yet, just avoid salt altogether in your food. Table salt is processed sodium chloride and is found in high quantities in processed and pre-packaged foods.

If you start with only fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and whole grains, you won?t have a problem lowering your sodium intake. If you cannot avoid salt intake altogether in cooking, you can perhaps use sea salt or ?Celtic salt?, whose molecules are quite complex, and so it is not harmful like table salt is. It is also difficult to find low-salt foods at restaurants due to the high volume of prepared and frozen foods they buy before they even begin making your dish in the restaurant.

Following any or all of this advice will help to control blood sugar and blood pressure the natural way.

The Chinese are well known for their tea, they equivalent have a ritual when it comes to making teas and have tea houses especially for the drinking and brewing of tea. Along with this they introduced the world to herbal tea, herbal teas is perhaps best kind known as a remedy for sleep problems but it also is used for many other small ailments.

There are differing teas that are gladly available in the supermarket and health store or you can choose to use one of the many plants and herbs that grow in most gardens. Making your own herbal tea is simple, use 1 teaspoon of dry herb or 2 of fresh with 1 cup of water. Always use hot not boiling water, but boil the water first and allow to stand for a minute or thereupon before pouring the water onto the herbs and let stand for a further 5 to 15 minutes.

For those who want to pick their own and brew their own here are some of the most popular forms of plant and herb material that are readily available for picking.

Persimmon tea is made from finely crushed leaves and which makes a strong bust that can be used at anytime, it is particularly rich in vitamin C and as such is useful when used as a tonic.

Sassafras tea is made from fresh washed roots, it is important to wash until the drench turns to a reddish brown color and then it can be sliced and dried. It is thought to be particularly helpful for those who suffer from bronchitis, used regularly as a tonic and a blush purifier and thinner.

Birch tea can be taken from yellow or white birch and the leaves when dried and stored can be used all year round. 1 or 2 cups a day is thought to be a great cure for headaches and rheumatism. It is very effective when brewed and left to go numbed as a mouthwash and verbal to be an excellent plan of pain reliever.

Blackberry or raspberry tea is made from matured leaves of the brambles and makes a tea that can be used to successfully control diarrhea. It is also drunk to help purify the blood and used as a tonic.

Alfalfa tea is made from the flower heads and dried powdered leaves. It is a nutritious tea that is thought to help arthritis although the brains is a insufficient bland.

Strawberry leaf tea is useful for a number of ailments including eczema, stomach problems and diarrhea. The best way to parent this tea is to pout boiling water on a handful of leaves at night then stash and allow to steep overnight. This tea should then be drunk cold.

Rose original tea although having a very tart taste can be used all year round and is thought to be special successful in reducing the symptoms associated with colds, flu and a sore throat. The tea should be steeped for roughly ravishing toilet paper then agonizing or can be placed in cool water overnight then left to steep, strained and then reheated in the morning.