What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is a painful condition of the articulations (joints). There are numerous types of arthritis. Some are inflammatory although others are degenerative in nature. It is not really known what triggers or causes the condition but it is thought to be partially inherited. It happens three times as frequently in women than men. Age isn’t always an element as youngsters and elderly alike could suffer form it.

Osteoarthritis (Degenerative joint type of the disease) is the most frequent form. It is very painful and occurs when cartilage in the joint begins to erode and distort. This commonly sets out in middle age and is associated to elements such as genetics, joint injury and being overweight. Rheumatoid arthritis impacts on tissue linking up bones and joints and is the most debilitating kind of arthritis.

Arthritic pain most often commences in the hands, particularly the knuckle joints, and generally affects both hands at the same time. The most easily identifiable areas of impairment are the joints; however the entire body could be involved. It can take place at any age; however, it commonly begins in early middle age.

Common Symptoms of Arthritis

In osteoarthritis the symptoms are well defined: pain and stiffness in the articulations, especially the knee joint* and hip joint*. This is followed by other sensitive joints. The signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are also defined: joints puff up and turn red, stiff, and tender, morning stiffness, tiredness and flu-like aches, feverishness, and a loss of appetite.

The following is a list, that could be advantageous, of traditional herbs for treating arthritis:

Alfalfa - This herbaceous plant has a long-dated history as a folk remedy for relieve from arthritic symptoms.

Boswellia - This tree species are well known for their fragrant resin which has many pharmacological uses particularly as anti-inflammatories. It did well in numerous clinical studies and is recognized for its positive effect in both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Cat’s claw - This herbaceous plant contains natural chemical components called sterols which serve to relieve swelling. This is only a short list of the many beneficial herbs.

However, many other over the counter or through your qualified herbalist, remedies for arthritis are available. These remedies include glucosamine and chondrotion sulphate, ledum, bryonia, bromelain, and soaking in a hot bathtub with Epsom salts or mineral salts for 20 - 30 minutes. A trained, competent herbalist will be able to tell which treatment is the most beneficial for you.

arthritis, herbal remedies

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Honeybush is one of the four, commercially utilized honeybush species, out of the 23 encountered growing wild; C. sessiliflora, Cyclopia intermedia, C. subternata and C. Genistoides. It is not a herb but a medicinal bush.

Leaf form and size differ within the species, but are by and large thin, needle-like to elongated broadish leaves.

Two processes of treating honeybush for its use in making tea are common. In the conventional method, the top new leaves are harvested, during flowering period, then with mechanical means are first cut and thren bruised by rollers, and the final product placed in a sunny place to oxidize.

The new, industrialized process oxidizes the collected leaves, for two or three days, in revolving tanks, heated at low temperatures of up to 80 degrees C. The dried up leaves after heat procesing are place outdoors to air dry.

The leaves and stalks of the Cyclopia species are used most commonly to make a sweet herbal infusion.

Numerous health properties are connected with frequent use of the tea. It has very low tannin content and contains no caffeine. It is consequently particularly of value to children and patients with digestive and heart troubles where stimulants and tannins should be avoided. It is also very rich in minerals and antioxidants.

The minerals Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Iron and fluoride are found in Honeybush. According to research Honeybush besides contains Coumestans, Isoflavones, Xanthones, and Flavones all acknowledged to advance good health and also considered to assist in the prevention of certain types of cancers.

Honeybush has also anti-spasmodic properties which imply those with delicate digestion could easily relish this tea. It has been employed as a treatment for colic in babies and also assists to alleviate insomnia.

honeybush

A lot of of the herbs and their therapeutic properties do now appear rather fanciful. The very few named below are included for their interest value, you are not actually advised to sample them as a remedy for your health issues without the qualified opinion and advice of your herbalist or health care provider.

Agrimony. This is an ancient medicinal herbaceous plant. The Greeks employed it to cure cataract. In Britain, several centuries later, it was produced into a spring tonic and a blood purifier good for those with afflicted liver. Agrimony was also made into an emollient called arquebused and applied to injures imposed by an arquebus, a hand-held gun.

Betony. This was ground into a cream together with animal fat (hog) and used to sooth burns.

Borage. Even in Roman times, borage had the repute of being a cheering, encouraging plant in Pliny’s words brings always courage’.

Chervil. This is yet additional herb which the Romans brought into Europe from the lands of the Mediterranean. in England in the fifteen century it was an all-important plant, and it stayed in favor. For John Gerad, chervil made salads that excelled ‘in wholesomeness for the cold and feeble stomach’. The cooked roots (boiled) were a protective against plague. It could be consumed to cure the hiccups, and its leaves soothed the pain of rheumatism and contusions.

Elder. Elderflowers water has been accepted as a relieve for colds for many centuries.

Fennel. The Greeks thought very high of fennel and employed it for slimming and for addressing more than twenty different illnesses. The Romans ate it-root, leaf and seed-in salads and baked bread and cakes. In Aglo-Saxon times it was utilized on fasting days presumably because, as the Greeks had already discovered, it stilled the pangs of hunger. Even in later centuries it was ‘much used in drink to make people more lean that are too fat’.

Horehound. The Greeks thought also highly of this herb and used it as an antispasmodic drug. It was an antidote for the bite of mad dog and this is how it got its common name.

herbs, herbal medicines

Cultivation is most effectual when grown in a large clump. It requires well-drained soil and a good deal of sun to get the best flavor. Seedlings don’t transplant well, so sow in directly wherever they are to grow in the garden in spring or autumn. Caraway does best from fall-sown seeds and in general sprouting is a little slow.

Before planting work the soil to some depth since caraway is deep-rooted herb. It does well in all but those most wet warm regions. You must aloud about 20 cm between plants. Caraway needs very little attention other than weeding and guaranteeing watering in very dry weather condition.

The seeds are delicious cooked in seed cakes, with fatty meals such as pork, goose but they are especially good with cabbage dishes, carrots and cheese. It is also an all-important component of Kummel and other liqueurs. The roots might be boiled and eaten as vegetables while the crispy young leaves add a refreshening taste to salads and soups. Made into a tea, caraway is supposed to aid the digestion.

persian cumin, caraway

Rue has been highly valued for its medicinal strengths over the years. It is reputed to cure numerous complaints, such as headaches, coughs, and croup. Rue is toxic in large doses, but it is prescribed by Homeopaths in minute doses to treat symptoms of weakness or bruising.

The part of the plant used (in very small quantities) is the fresh leaves to flavor salad dressings; if fresh leaves are not available, using the dried leaves make a poor replacement. Rue has a strong fragrance that is pleasant and sweet. Its rather bitter taste is , even more bitter when dried.

The herb prefers full sun and well drained soil with natural or added lime. Propagation is by seed, root division or cuttings 10-12cm long, in late summer. Many centuries ago rue was taken medicinally as a tisane and thought to preserve good health.

All of us have at least become aware that drinking Chamomile tea ahead of going to sleep could help us to relax and rest. That lemon tea with added honey is an outstanding help to overcome the common cold or that Peppermint herbal tea could help sooth dyspepsia.

Did you however know that Damiana herbal tea is the equivalent of herbal Viagra? That Dandelion tea could assist in the cleansing of your liver? Or that tea made from Hawthorn berries could assist with heart problems. That is right, herbaceous plants made and drunk as teas have a lot of the healthful attributes that standardized herbal extracts have to offer.

Herbal teas may not be as strong in a lot of instances, but herbal medicine and using of teas rather than extracts has been long-dated, and by many herbalists a favored form of handling disorders and diseases.

In order to make a tea, use 1 teaspoonful of the dried out herb to a cupful of boiled water, let it infuse for 5 to 10 minutes then sit down and relish your herbal tea. Herbal teas could do with a small amount of honey, just go on and add a spoonful. Not just is honey healthy for you but, it will take some of the bitter qualities out of a few herbs.

Here are a couple of tasteful calming herbal teas.

Calming Tea 1
1 oz Lemon balm
1 oz Chamomile flowers
½ oz St Johns Wort
Steep 2 tbs of the mixed herbs in 1 cup of hot water. Cover for 10 minutes then strain.

Calming Tea 2
1 Part Sage
1 Part Thyme
1 Part Marjoram
1 Part Chamomile
Blend ingredients in a tea ball and put in a mug of hot water for 5 minutes.

All mint has square stems and white or mauve flowers in terminal heads or spikes that appear from midway to late-summer. Mints grow well and overspread quickly wherever they are plant. They favor a well dug, very damp soil and a sunny or partially sunny location. Propagation is mostly by root division, in spring or autumn, since plants true to the parent are hard to come by from seeds.

Mint is vulnerable to rust disease. If signs of rust appear, the plants should be dug out and destroyed. Rust shows up as orange freckles on the lower leafage and stems. Regular harvesting is good for mints as they become much bushier and attractive. Leaves could be used either dried out or fresh.

In addition to its popularity as a culinary herb, mint is popular for its role in cosmetics, as a pest repellent, and in potpourri. Mint is perfect for soups, salads, poultry, meats, fish, sauces, stews, chocolate dishes and tangy sweets. Peppermint is most frequently used for teas and desserts.

Pennyroyal the most pungent member of the mint family rubbed on pet’s fur will assist to deter fleas. However, essential oil of pennyroyal is so potent that it should be considered a poison. In the interest of safety, never use essential oil for anything, just leave pennyroyal oil alone. If a pet or person could be expecting, don’t use, not ever, pennyroyal at all.

It is dioecious plant with male and female cones on separate plants, which are wind pollinated. The shrub is usually used in horticulture as a decorative bush. From its reddish stems to green, needle-like, pointed leaves and piquant berries the entire plant is highly fragrant.

The green, ripening to purple-black waxy berries are round, 4-12 mm diameter and commonly have three (at times six) fused shells, each with a individual seed. The male berries are yellow, 2-3 mm long, and drop shortly after casting their pollen.

Its astringent blue-black berries are too bitter to consume in the raw state and are commonly sold dehydrated and employed to flavor meats sauces and staffing. Berries are used as well to flavor spirits, especially gin. They are in general crushed prior to use to liberate their flavor. Since juniper berries have a robust taste, they should be used sparingly.

Juniper berries have been agelong used in practice of medicine by a lot of cultures. Pedanius Dioscorides, an ancient Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist as well names juniper berries, when crushed and applied on the penis or vagina prior to sexual intercourse, as a contraceptive. Juniper berries act as a potent urinary tract antiseptic if ingested and they were employed by American Indians as herbal remedy for urinary tract infections.

Western tribes mixed the berries of juniper with Berberis root bark in herbal tea to address diabetes. Clinical studies have supported the effectiveness of this treatment in insulin-dependent diabetes. Chemical compounds in these plants when mixed and ingested have been exhibited to activate insulin production in the body’s fat cells, as well as stabilize blood sugar levels. Indigenous Americans as well used juniper berries as a female contraceptive.

Juniper grows well in any well-drained limey land. It prefers hill sides and doesn’t like intense shade. It responds well to conservative doses of organic fertilizer which will advance growth. Propagation is by cuttings or seeds. Sow seeds or small plants in spring 1.5 meters apart.

It is crucial to have two plants as it is very uncommon to encounter male and female flowers developing on the same bush. Male flowers resemble green catkins, though the female flowers are cone-like. Berries are picked in autumn once they have turned black. They commence by being green in color and could take two or more years to mature fully.

Angelica favors an open semi-shady location with fertile and moist soil. This herb can stand moderated frosts. Seeds planted in late summer will develop stalks that could be used in candying by the next summer. If it is permitted to flower and seed will very shortly produce seedlings that could be plant out the following spring.

Angelica plants should be irrigated on a regular basis and the soil dressed with compost. If the stems require growing more before they are ready for harvesting, then the flowers should be removed since once the plant blooms it dies. Harvest leaves as called for on early summer and stems prior to flowering.

Use the leaves fresh or dried. Infuse leaves in boiling water for a herbal tea or to make the basis for a skin tonic. The dried out leaves also make an appealing and aromatic add-on to potpourris. The stems might be crystallized and then utilized for cake decoration or to flavor food such as jam.

Artemisinin a common malarial drug is obtained from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua L). It is normally employed in those tropical nations which can afford it, as part of a combination-cocktail with other antimalarial drugs in order to prevent the development of parasite resistance.

The plant has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties. Scientists connected a chemical homing instrumentation, to artemisinin drug, that directs the chemical selectively to malignant neoplastic disease cells, but spares healthy cells, they report in the new issue of the journal Cancer Letters.

According to research workers at the University of Washington, the new chemical compound is 1,200 times more precise in killing certain forms of cancer cells than presently usable drugs and paves the way for a lot of effective chemotherapy drug with marginal side effects.

The artemisinin chemical compound takes advantage of cancer cell’s high iron levels.

Tomikazu Sasaki, at UW chemical science professor and senior writer of the university study said. “The chemical is like the equivalent of a special secret agent setting an explosive devise within the cell.”

Research workers essayed the artemisinin-based chemical on human leukemia cells, and detected it to selectively killing only the leukemia cells.

Sasaki said that the research has also shown leads displaying that the chemical compound is likewise selective and useful for human prostate and breast cancerous cells, and in essence it kills breast cancerous cells in rats safely.

He added that most accessible chemotherapies, to address cancer, are very cytotoxic and destructive to normal cells. On average one healthy cell is destroyed for every ten cancer cells.