Few would argue that we're a nation that's enslaved to the pharmaceutical industry. Although "Big Pharm" has discovered life-saving drugs, we've been conditioned to depend upon synthetic pharmaceuticals to maintain our health - without always fully understanding the long-term repercussions of putting these chemicals into our bodies.
Natural remedies are available that help diminish the unsightly look of spider veins. These supplements treat the cause of spider veins, not only being a remedy for their symptoms. Herbal remedies strengthen vein walls and may improve blood circulation and the veins flexibility. Spider veins fade away once the vein is restored to a healthy state.
Recent scientific studies reinforce the biological nature of the neurological disorders ADD and ADHD. Supporting the paradigm of neurotransmitter and stress hormone imbalance are findings of delayed frontal cortex development that triggers ADD. Now that doesn't make your child mentally challenged. Some ADD cases get over the symptoms once the frontal spheres of the brain eventually peak during the teen years. Nevertheless, to aid in cortex development, consider the administration of ADD herbal medicines formulasto help your child cope with the symptoms.
Brain: Many factors such as high blood pressure, anxiety etc. creates imperfections in our brain by affecting the chemical composition of brain. The use of herbal supplements provides optimum supply to the brain which helps in fighting against the unusual thoughts which leads to depression.
Gingko Biloba:
This is derived from the oldest species of tree naturally occurring on the planet. Gingko can assist keep your brain in its optimum operational condition. This has been used for over 5,000 years. Ginkgo is known for its facilitation in recovering memory loss and age-related circulation troubles. Studies show that ginkgo may help increase blood flow to the brain and stimulate neural activities, resulting in better short-term memory. Ginkgo Biloba is also known to increase oxygenation of brain tissues.
Cloves (Eugenia Caryophyllata). This is another great herb purported to support the less complex digestive systems of pets. The herb detoxifies the body and in the process eliminates harmful organisms and substances. In medicine, Cloves is used to treat indigestion, diarrhea and ringworm infections. Meanwhile in the manufacture of herbal formulas, Clove is integrated to reduce bitterness and soothe digestive muscles as well.
Are Herbal Supplements And Medications Regulated?
In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the main agency that regulates herbal and other dietary supplements, as foods and not as drugs. This ruling means that these supplements have not yet met the same standards as drugs for proof of safety, effectiveness, and quality. A producer, for example, can sell an herbal product without proving that it truly works.
Herbal Supplements and Their Effectiveness in Boosting Health
Even by just looking at the description of what an herbal supplement is you will right away know that they are effective. Remember, herbal supplements are from herbs - from plants. They are just like the vegetables that you eat during your meals. And just like vegetables they are also very healthy. The only difference between the vegetables and the supplements is that the latter is taken as a pill, tea or any other form it was manufactured. But regardless of that, they both have the same effects - boosting a person's health.
Herbal supplements have many health benefits. Many of them are potent antioxidants. Some have antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, and antitumor properties. Some improve general bodily functions such as digestion, mental clarity, circulation, hormonal balance, etc. Many people also consume herbal supplements to prevent and treat common ailments and improve the overall well beings.
Herbal supplements contain active constituents extracted from dry or fresh herbs. These active constituents can be divided into two main groups based on their chemical properties, hydrophilic (water loving) and lipophilic (oil loving). Traditionally, hydrophilic compounds are extracted in water and ethanol whereas lipophilic compounds are extracted in chemical solvents such as acetone and hexane.
The use of chemical solvents in extracting lipophilic compounds has raised some health, environmental and safety concerns in recently years. First of all, there is a small amount of toxic residues left after the extraction process, which can pose a health threat to the consumers. Secondly, the disposal of organic solvents is detrimental to the environment. And lastly, these chemical solvents are toxic and highly volatile, handling of these chemicals require extreme caution.
Unfortunately, the major active constituents in many herbs such as ginger, St. John's Wort, valerian, rosemary are lipophilic. In the past, they were extracted by organic solvents such as acetone and hexane. But the advance in new technologies has provided safer alternative to the food industry. Supercritical fluid extraction is one of these new technologies. It allows health food manufacturers to produce cleaner, more potent and stable herbal products.
Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using carbon dioxide (CO2) is an improved extraction method. Carbon dioxide is non-toxic, non-explosive and can be readily removed from the finished products and recycled. It does not pose any hazardous problems to the environment. The extraction takes place without high temperature heating and boiling so the extracted products are more stable. In addition, the extraction yields a highly concentrated herbal extract.
In comparison, chemical extraction using organic solvents leaves adsorbed chemical residues in the finished products. The solvents may react with the active compounds and degrade them. To remove the solvents from the extracted products, high temperature heating is required, which may degrade the active constituents. As a result, the quality of the extracted products is generally inferior to that from supercritical fluid extraction.
The commercial application of supercritical fluid technology is still limited to few high valued products due to high investment costs and new operation. New chapter is one premium brand producing herbal and fatty acid supplements using this new technology. With the increasing public demand of purer, cleaner nutritional supplements, one may assume that more companies would be applying this new extraction technology in the near future.
Both Vanya Hartwell & Kwan H Lo are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.