Herbal Medicine Center

Archive for December, 2009

From the earliest attempts to treat erectile dysfunction back to Muslim physicians and pharmacists these problems were treated with tested drugs, then John R. Brinckley initiated a boom male impotence cure with injections and surgery despite the increasing availability of effective of these treatments, plant-derived and herbal remedies continue to provide the best alternative for men seeking to improve their sex life.

When viagra was introduced, it became the best selling drug in history and it continues to be a pharmaceutical best seller to this day despite the high prices of it. Due to high prices and a prescription required to buy viagra, herbal male sexual enhancers have flooded the market with a brilliant reputation of being safe as well as cheap. Experts have gone as far as to recommend a few of these herbal products to certain patients as an extremely effective alternative to viagra.

With the intense research and studies carried out on these herbal products it was discovered that when certain natural herbs were mixed, it created a powerful dietary supplement that boosted the libido to a new level.

Having an erection problem such as being unable to get or maintain an erection long enough for satisfying sex, is extremely common. It’s also a condition that can be treated.

Why herbal remedies are such a good alternative?

Unfortunately 44% of men would not go to their GP if they experience erection problems, and those who do go to their GP about their ED wait on average 17 months before going for a consultation. But there’s no need to delay – oral treatments for ED (PDE5 inhibitors). Herbal products have revolutionised the treatment of men with ED and are now widely available over the counter.

Male enhancements prepared with natural ingredients helps with erection problems without causing any side effects; it improves the blood flow to the penis which helps with better and long lasting erections, natural male enhancement products also help improve the penis size by slowly and gradually stretching the penis and enabling it to contain more amount of blood. Increased amount of blood to the penis helps increase the penis size and girth.

Although there are a lot of speculations regarding the potency and efficiency of these herbs in increasing the male libido and over-all sexual function, medical experts have come a long way to prove that they really do work and as a result an increasing number of men are using natural alternatives.

An ezine articles published that in fact, many scientific studies show that these herbs do not just help in enhancing the penis; they also provide multiple sexual benefits. Some of these benefits include stronger and longer erections, better stamina, increased sperm production and better sexual performance.

Herbs that help to enhance the penis had been tested not just to work but also to deliver safe results. Some of these herbs act as part of the active formulation of numerous male enhancement products. Medical researches have been conducted to find the unique benefits of these herbs in giving solutions to male sexual concerns.

Like every procedure that tries to heal something, hypnosis has also many risks. And maybe because it’s not a normal, medical procedure, and it’s not even totally explained yet, it presents higher risks. We all know the risks of medicine, especially of surgery. Hypnosis has even higher risks because they are not all predictable. That’s why, before starting a hypnosis treatment, we should all be aware of the risks.

Hypnosis means giving up totally to your self-control in the hands of the person who hypnotizes you. Everything takes place with your agreement, because without it it’s impossible. The hypnotist needs your permission and allowance to enter your brain and thoughts, or else his trial will fail. The real risk begins after he manages to take over your brain, your thoughts and ideas. This is when you can’t do anything anymore.

The first risk is represented by the hypnotist. Either not a professional hypnotist or even a person who doesn’t want to help you but to harm you. In both cases, he can damage your memories, your emotions and feelings and he can create fears and anxiety inside your head. You can do things under his command that normally you wouldn’t do and you can remember things you wanted to leave forgotten. The point is: if you’re not sure on his professionalism, better don’t allow anyone to hypnotize you! Not even as a joke!

The second risk, if first one was eliminated, is represented by your mind itself. The hypnotist can never know what he can wake up inside of you with his questions. You can remember dramas, sad experiences from your past, old paranoia or even psychosis. By waking up certain things inside your mind without knowing these things will harm you, the therapist can really twist your mind. When you wake up, you will probably wake up with all those memories or psychosis back and it will be pretty hard to face them all. That’s why hypnosis therapists generally ask many questions so they can understand if your memories are positive or not. And if they are not, they simply delete them back or tell you to forget them again.

Another disputed risk is the one regarding the moment when you wake up. There is a theory that states people risk not to wake up anymore after a hypnosis session. It’s not something that can happen to everybody, but it can happen to some persons according to their mind state.

So before trying hypnosis, make sure you are very well informed and you choose the right person to hypnotize you!

Human Growth Hormone is prescribed by injection and is prohibitively expensive for most Americans. The therapy is not covered by insurance and can easily cost over $1000 per month; who can afford that. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that HGH supplements have begun to hit the market. A few pills or a nasal spray are a lot cheaper than thousands of dollars a month for injections.

FDA guidelines state that any product containing less than 2 micrograms of HGH are not considered drugs and therefore do not need FDA approval. So that means any legal supplement of HGH contains less than 2 micrograms of HGH. Most research on HGH has been done based on dosages up to 49,000 micrograms. So you would need to take something like 25,000 doses to equal one injection. Clearly this is not a significant amount of HGH.

So, is it really possible to raise HGH levels through the use of legal HGH supplements? Not significantly, but we can also raise HGH levels by stimulating our pituitary gland to produce more natural HGH. This is a much more effective way to increase HGH and get the benefits it provides. These supplements are HGH enhancers and can be more effective at raising HGH levels in our bodies.

The thing is you need to find a supplement that causes the pituitary to secrete more HGH. Some researchers tell us that certain amino acids can be used to increase HGH production in the body. Specifically arginine, glutamine and lysine have been claimed to increase HGH production in humans. Since some of these cannot be taken in pill form your best bet is to mix the powders yourself and then add them to your usual post workout protein drink. Since HGH is released mostly when we sleep a good solution is to take the aminos prior to bedtime.

There are also a line of homeopathic supplements that are available. The goal of these supplements is to enhance your HGH production as well. By introducing HGH into your body the claim is that it also stimulates additional HGH production. While this does make some sense it has not been proven yet by research.

There’s no doubt that increased HGH levels provide great anti-aging benefits, even turning back the clock to some extent. The question is how do we get sufficient amounts of HGH into our bodies. The supplements available today do some good in boosting normal HGH levels and they are safe. Take the time to research any HGH boosting product you are considering to make sure that it lives up to it’s claims.

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well.

This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack.

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

Many people nowadays are turning to “organics” and “naturals” otherwise known as herbals. The rising popularity of herbal supplements has created a new fad if not a new health lifestyle. But before you join the bandwagon, here are some things you need to know about this mean, “green” dietary supplementing machine.

What is the difference between a drug and a dietary supplement?

According to the definition set by food and drug administrations in different countries, drugs are chemicals that can prevent, prolong the life, treat other effects of a health condition, improve the quality of life, and/or cure ailments and diseases, or alter the function of any part or chemicals inside the body. These drugs have approved therapeutic claims. For example, paracetamol is a drug given to bring down the body temperature in fever. Ascorbic acid is indicated for the treatment of scurvy. Iron supplements are given to treat mild cases of anemia.

Herbal supplements are not classified as drugs but as dietary supplements. The main difference is that they do not have approved therapeutic claims unlike in the case of drugs. Moreover, dietary supplements could either contain vitamins, minerals, herbals, or amino acids, all aimed to add to or supplement the diet of an individual. They are not intended to be taken alone as a substitute to any food or medicine.

Most of the manufactured medicines we now have once came from animals and plants. Through the years, chemists isolated the life-saving or life-curing components and separated them from the harmful ones. This lead to the further drug research and drug development that lead to the production of a different variety of drugs for many ailments and conditions from synthetic sources. But still we have semi-synthetic drugs, as well as drug that more or less approximate more natural composition. Since herbal supplements are made from a mixture of crude herbs reduced into powder or gel form, and later on packaged as tablets and capsules, there is a possibility that life-threatening or at least body chemistry-altering components are still present, thus the expression of concern from the medical community.

Is there a growing concern with the use of herbal supplements?

Yes. With the rising popularity of using and consuming anything herbal or organic is the proliferation of fake herbal supplements that threaten to endanger lives. If that’s the case, then why are herbal supplements given drug administration approvals? One way of ensuring the safety of the people is to have all candidate drugs, food, drinks, and dietary supplements registered with the proper authority. Otherwise, they would pose more risk with these things being sold in the black market for a hefty sum. We could ensure the quality and safety of herbal supplements if they get proper classification with the food and drug administration. Moreover, people may be able to file the proper complaints in the event a worsening of health condition is proven to be linked to the use of a particular herbal supplement.

Is using herbal supplements worth the risk?

Yes. It cannot be discounted that many who have tried herbal supplements experienced an improvement in their health—whether this is due to the herbals themselves or due to a placebo effect, as long as they do not worsen the condition of an individual, then using them is worth the risk. But of course, certain things must be considered before taking those herbal supplements:

Your doctor knows best.

First of all, clear your condition with your doctor. Ask him/her if taking a particular herbal supplement is safe given your health condition. People with heart, liver, or kidney trouble or malfunction, are usually not advised to take these, or at the minimum is to take these herbals in minimum amounts. All substances pass through the liver and kidney to be processed and filtered respectively. Kava, which is used to relieve people from stress, has been pulled out from the Canadian, Singaporean, and German markets because it contains substances that cause liver damage. Certain herbals such as Ephedra used for losing weight, contains chemicals with heart-inducing effects that can increase heart rate, which in turn can exhaust the heart and cause heart attacks in several documented cases by the American Medical Association.

Follow the directions for use.

Never take more herbal supplements than what is directed by the doctor or as instructed on the bottle. Each individual reacts differently to the components of herbal supplements. While it is perfectly safe for one individual to take in a supplement of primrose oil capsules, another person may be allergic to it. So, do not even think about downing one bottle of

It has no approved curative effect.

No matter how the product pamphlet or the label of the bottle sounds about how it has been found to be helpful in certain health conditions, these herbal supplements are not therapeutic. So do not substitute these for the medications prescribed by your doctor for the treatment of certain diseases, or for the maintenance of blood pressure, lowering of blood sugar and cholesterol, and fight off infections.