Evening primrose oil aids in weight loss, reduces high blood pressure, and helps to treat all skin disorders, in addition to female disorders such as cramps & heavy bleedings, hot flashes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, alcoholism and any other disorders. It is also very helpful to take during menopause...
Fennel
You're at an Indian restaurant waiting to be seated when you notice a small bowl of fennel seeds on a table by the door. You wonder what they're for, and before you know it, you're entertaining some odd possibilities: Seasoning for the mango chutney? Something to be tossed over your shoulder for good luck? The answer: Pssst, they're to relieve gas, says Ayra H. DerMarderosian, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy and medicinal chemistry at Philadelphia College of Science.
Contemporary herbalists recommend fennel to aid digestion, and yes, it does help expel gas. It works by relaxing muscles in the digestive and reproductive systems. It's been used traditionally to boost mothers' milk production and promote menstruation.
Studies have shown that fennel is effective in relieving infant colic. However, not all of fennel's uses have been supported by scientific research.
Healing with Fennel:
To make fennel tea, steep ½ teaspoon of crushed fennel seed in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Allow the tea to cool sufficiently if you're giving it to an infant.
For a digestive aid, either chew a handful of seeds or try an infusion or tincture. The seeds have a pleasant, licorice-like flavor.
Reach for fennel to:
Soothe Indigestion: Like many other aromatic herbs, fennel appears to relax the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract to help expel gas. European research shows it also kills some bacteria, giving support to another of its traditional uses-to treat diarrhea.
Stimulate menstruation: One study suggests the herb has a mild estrogenic effect, meaning it acts like the female sex hormone, estrogen. This action may have something to do with its traditional use as a milk and menstruation promoter.
Cure colic: In a recent Israeli study, researchers gave an herbal fennel tea to 33 colicky babies and a non-medicinal drink to 35 other colicky infants for seven days. More babies who received fennel tea showed improvement that those who received the placebo drink. Although the study is from conclusive, it can't hurt to try giving fennel tea to a colicky baby. "It' worth a try, because colic is such a complex thing," says Dr. DerMarderosian.
Grow Your Own:
Fennel is a striking 6-foot tall perennial with feathery leaves and tall stalks capped by large umbrella-like clusters of tiny yellow flowers. The tiny oval fruits (seeds) are ribbed and greenish gray. All parts of the plant have the herb's characteristic licorice fragrance.
To grow fennel, plant seeds in rich, moist soil after danger of frost has passed. Germination takes about two weeks. Thin seedlings to 12 inches apart. Do not over-water. Harvest seeds in late summer as they turn greenish-gray.
Note: Fennel may damage neighboring plants, including bush beans, tomatoes, caraway and kohlrabi. Also, if coriander seeds are planted nearby, fennel won't fruit.
Safety Considerations:
Fennel is included on the Food and Drug Administration's list of herbs generally regarded as safe. But because of its estrogenic effect, pregnant women should avoid medicinal amounts of the herb.
Warning: Don't harvest fennel in the wild; it closely resembles poison hemlock, which can cause death if ingested.
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Fenugreek is an annual plant widely cultivated for both medicinal and culinary uses. A long taproot sends up a round stem with a few branches. The leaves are trifoliate, on hairy petioles, with obovate leaflets. In June and July, axillary, sessile, yellowish flowers appear. The fruit is a 16 seeded, compressed, malodorous legume.
Fenugreek has been used as an demulcent, expectorant, mucilaginous, and restorative. Fenugreek is one of the oldest medicinal plants, going back to the ancient Egyptians and Hippocrates. Large amounts of the decoction are given to strengthen those suffering from tuberculosis or recovering from an illness. It can also be taken for bronchitis or fevers and gargled for sore throat.
Make a poultice of pulverized seeds for gouty pains, neuralgia, sciatica, swollen glands, wounds, furuncles, fistulas, tumors, sores, and skin irritations.
Fenugreek seed, according to European research, may be a good agent for reducing serum cholesterol. The seeds contain a certain portion of mucilaginous fiber with high viscosity. The herb affects cholesterol levels in the same fashion as Pectin. Fenugreek also contains saponins. The saponin-containing plant fibers could inhibit the intestinal absorption of cholesterol much the same as Alfalfa saponins do (i.e. by absorbing bile acids, and increasing the loss of bile acids by fecal excretion, which then leads to an increased conversion of cholesterol into bile acid by the liver).
Fenugreek is a member of the legume family, along with chickpeas, peanuts, and green peas. It has been used as a cooking spice for centuries. It has been used to treat constipation, and hyperlipidemia. It is thought to delay gastric emptying, slow carbohydrate absorption, and inhibit dextrose transport. The main side effects are gas and diarrhea, which subside after a few days. In pregnant women it may cause uterine contractions which may lead to spontaneous abortion. Allergic like reactions have also been reported. It may inhibit corticosteroid drug activity, such as prednisone, interfere with hormone therapy, and potentiate the activity of MAO inhibitors . It may delay the absorption of other medicines taken at the same time and have additive hypoglycemic activity with secretagoguges. Since it is related chemically to blood thinners, it may react with other meds or herbs that have antiplatelet effects, such as warfarin, ginkgo biloba, ginger, feverfew, and horse chestnut.
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
Fam: Leguminosae
Fenugreek is a native to India and southern Europe. For centuries it has grown wild in India, the Mediterranean and North Africa. where it is mainly cultivated. A limited crop grows in France. It was used by the ancient Egyptians to combat fever and grown in classical times as cattle fodder. Commercially, it is used in the preparation of mango chutneys and as a base for imitation maple syrup. In India it is used medicinally, and as a yellow dyestuff. It is also an oriental cattle fodder and is planted as a soil renovator. In the West, fenugreek's therapeutic use is now largely confined to the treatment of animals, though historically. it has been used in human medicine. The name derives from the Latin 'Greek hay" illustrating its classical use as fodder.
Spice Description
Fenugreek is the small stony seeds from the pod of a bean-like plant. The seeds are hard, yellowish brown and angular. Some are oblong, some rhombic, other virtually cubic, with a side of about 3mm (1/8"). A deep furrow all but splits them in two. They are available whole and dried , or as a dull yellow powder, ground from the roasted seeds.
Bouquet: Warm and penetrating, becoming more pronounced when the seeds are roasted. Ground, they give off a 'spicy' smell, pungent, like an inferior curry powder which would probably contain too much fenugreek.
Flavour: Powerful, aromatic and bittersweet, like burnt sugar. There is a bitter aftertaste, similar to celery or lovage.
Hotness Scale: 2
Preparation and Storage
Dried seeds should be lightly roasted before using (don't overdo it though, or they will become bitter). After roasting, they are easily ground. A small amount will complement many other spices, but too much can be overpowering. If the seeds are required as part of a curry paste they can be soaked overnight to swell and soften, and be easily mixed with the other ingredients.
Culinary Uses
The major use of fenugreek is in curry powders, figuring in many mixtures, especially vindaloo and the hot curries of Sri Lanka. It is an ingredient of Panch phoron, the Indian five-spice mixture. In home-made powders, the amount used can be controlled, but in cheap bought powders it often overpowers. When fish is curried, particularly strong-tasting fish such as tuna and mackerel, fenugreek is frequently included in the spice mixture. Many chutneys and pickles incorporate it and it gives a tangy aroma to vegetables. The leaves, both fresh and dried, are used in meat curries, dhal and vegetable dishes and chutneys. The seeds are an ingredient of the Middle Eastern confection halva. Flour mixed with ground fenugreek makes a spicy bread. In India the roasted ground seeds are infused for a coffee substitute or adulterant. A tea can be made by infusing teaspoon of seed with two cups of water for five minutes.
Attributed Medicinal Properties
Fenugreek is a digestive aid. As an emollient it is used in poultices for boils, cysts and other complaints. It also lowers blood pressure. In the East, beverages are made from the seed to ease stomach trouble. The chemical make-up is curiously similar to cod liver oil, for which a decoction of the seed is sometimes used as a substitute.
Plant Description and Cultivation
An erect hairy annual of the bean family, reaching 30-60 cm (1-2 ft.). The long slender stems bear tripartite, toothed, grey-green obovate leaves, 20-25 mm (3/4-1 in) long. The root is a mass of fingery structures. The sissile axillary flowers are white or pale yellow. The thin, sword-shaped pods are 10-15 cm (4-6 in), with a curved beak-like tip, each carrying 10-20 seeds. The plant radiates a spicy odour which persists on the hands after touching. Wild and cultivated varieties exist. Mild Mediterranean climates are most suitable. Plants mature in about four months. The whole plant is uprooted and allowed to dry. The seeds are threshed out and further dried.
Other Names
Bird's Foot, Foenugreek, Goat's Horn
French: fenugrec Sénegré, trigonelle
German: Bockshornklee, Griechisches Heu
Italian: fieno greco
Spanish: alholva, fenogreco
Indian: mayti, methe, methi
Tamil: venthium
Malay: alba
Sinhalese; uluhaal
Fenugreek
minimizes symptoms of menopause, relieves constipation, controls diabetes, reduces cholesterol, soothes sore throat pain and coughs, eases minor indigestion, relieves diarrhea
From ancient times through the late 19th century, fenugreek played a major role in herbal healing. Then it fell by the wayside. Now things are once again looking up for the herb whose taste is an odd combination of bitter celery and maple syrup. Modern scientific research has found that fenugreek can help reduce cholesterol levels, control diabetes and minimize the symptoms of menopause.
The ancient Greeks fed this herb to horses and cattle. The Romans then started using it, too, calling it "Greek hay." (In Latin, "Greek hay" is foenum-graecum, and that evolved into "fenugreek.") As fenugreek spread around the ancient Mediterranean, physicians learned that its seeds, like many seeds, contain a gummy substance called mucilage. Mixed with water, mucilage expands and becomes a gelatinous soother for irritated tissues.
In India, the herb was incorporated into curry blends. India's traditional Ayurvedic physicians prescribed it to nursing mothers to increase their milk. In American folk medicine, fenugreek was considered a potent menstruation promoter. It became a key ingredient in Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound -- one of 19th-century America's most popular patent medicines for "female weakness" (menstrual discomforts). Today, fenugreek is most widely used in the United States as a source of imitation maple flavor. But this may change as its medicinal value becomes better known.
Almost a century after Lydia Pinkham's death, scientists have confirmed that fenugreek seeds contain chemicals (diosgenin and estrogenic isoflavones) similar to the female sex hormone estrogen. Loss of estrogen causes menopausal symptoms, so adding fenugreek to the diet might help minimize them. Estrogen can also cause breast swelling. "One woman told me her breasts grew larger after she started eating fenugreek sprouts," says James A. Duke, Ph.D., a botanist retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and author of The CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs.
Cholesterol buster ... and more
Several studies have shown that fenugreek reduces cholesterol in laboratory animals, and Indian researchers have shown the same effect in people with high cholesterol levels. The people in one Indian study added about four ounces a day of powdered fenugreek seeds to their diet for 20 days. During that time their total cholesterol levels and their levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol fell significantly. At the same time their high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or "good") cholesterol levels remained unaffected. "There's no question that fenugreek reduces cholesterol," says Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D., director of the American Phytotherapy Research Laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, and author of The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine.
Fenugreek also "has great promise in alleviating Type II (non- insulin-dependent) diabetes," says Dr. Duke. And according to one study, it may also help people with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes. For ten days, Indian researchers added about four ounces of powdered fenugreek seeds a day to the diets of people with Type I diabetes, which requires daily insulin injections. The injections, however, did not entirely eliminate a key sign of the illness, sugar in their urine. With fenugreek added to their diet, their urinary sugar levels fell by 54 percent.
Fenugreek's soothing mucilage can also help relieve sore throat pain, cough and minor indigestion. "Because its mucilage expands in the gut, it also adds bulk to the stool," says Bernie Olin, Pharm.D., editor of The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, a St. Louis-based newsletter that summarizes scientific research on the medicinal value of herbs. "As a result, it can help treat constipation and diarrhea."
Putting the herb to work.
To make a medicinal tea, gently boil two teaspoons of mashed seeds per cup of water, then simmer for ten minutes. Drink up to three cups a day. To improve the flavor, you can add sugar, honey, lemon, anise or peppermint.
Fenugreek is considered safe. But several of the conditions it helps -- diabetes, elevated cholesterol and menopausal symptoms -- require professional care. If you'd like to use this herb in addition to standard therapies, consult your physician.
ALJ
Respiratory System
Traditional Use: Used for asthma, hay fever, allergies, cough, earache, lung and sinus congestion, insomnia, diarrhea and dyspepsia. Relieves excess conditions.
ALJ provides nutrients that must be present for proper respiratory system function. This formula is a source of calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and silicon. It contains 480 mg of:
Boneset herb Mullein leaves
Fenugreek seeds Fennel seeds
Horseradish root
Each of these herbs have traditionally been used as dietary supplements by themselves; ALJ combines them in a balanced formula.
Available in gelatin capsules and all-botanical vegitabs (480 mg). Recommendation: Two to four capsules every two to four hours, or as desired, as an addition to the everyday diet.
ALJ liquid extract provides all the benefits of its powdered counterpart in easily assimilable liquid form preserved in a glycerin base. Recommendation: Take 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml or 20-30 drops) every two to four hours, or as desired. Children should only use one-half of the recommended amount (10-15 drops every two to four hours.)
http://www.naturallyherbs.com/prod/775-9.htm?np=1 for the above herbal combination for respiratory problems.
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), also known as Bachelor's Button, is a common flowering aromatic plant. Feverfew was known to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks who regarded it as a valuable remedy to alleviate headaches, joint pain, stomach aches, menstrual pains and fever. For centuries, it has also been employed as an emmenagogue to promote menstrual flow.
Modern researchers confirm that Feverfew is a valuable herbal remedy that is especially effective in treating migraine headaches and arthritis. Feverfew contains a number of lactones, among them parthenolide, michefuscalide and chrysanthenyl. The main active sesquiterpene lactone, parthenolide, is known to inhibit the production and secretion of prostaglandins - substances released by blood platelets and white blood cells that contribute to migraines. White blood cells secrete substances believed to contribute to the kind of inflammatory processes seen in arthritis, and possibly some other auto-immune disorders. Another substance, Serotonin, is also secreted by blood platelets and can constrict blood vessels and contribute to migraine pain. This inhibition of prostaglandins results in reduction in inflammation, decreased secretion of histamine, and a reduction of fevers, thus the name Feverfew.
Researchers conducting placebo-controlled studies have discovered that taking daily supplements of Feverfew resulted in a 24% reduction in the overall number of migraines, and the headaches that did occur were measurably milder and resulted in less vomiting. Feverfew has also been useful in relaxing smooth muscles in the uterus, promoting menstrual flow and inhibiting platelet aggregation and excessive blood clotting. Feverfew also helps stimulate digestion and improves liver function.
Flaxseed, and particularly Flaxseed Oil, supplies the body with essential Omega fatty acids. Not only are flaxseeds richer in these fatty acids than fish oil, but they also taste much better. Scientific studies conducted by Dr. Johanna Budwig in the treatment of seriously ill cancer patients resulted in a gradual recession of tumors, and symptoms of the cancer, liver dysfunction, anemia and diabetes were either partially or completely alleviated.
Flaxseed has been used effectively for treating female disorders, colon problems, inflammation and tumors. Flaxseed oil also promotes strong nails, bones, teeth and healthy skin. A simple remedy such as flaxseed oil with beneficial implications in cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and other conditions should certainly be considered as an important dietary supplement by anyone who is interested in preserving, or regaining, their health. It has been shown to help prevent male prostate cancer now.
Flaxseed oil can be added to fruit smoothies for breakfast or lunch to get your daily omega fatty acids..which help avert heart disease.
Evening Primrose Oil
Fennel, Fenugreek
Feverfew, Flaxseed
