Herbal remedies??

[OrangeSquash]

Hey
Does anybody here take herbal remedies?
What do you take, and what for? Does it help with the reason you take it? How did you discover it?
Thanks

 

[Bolletje]

Just herbal tea to soothe the nerves

 

[Progster]

My partner is the one who is really into herbal medicines. I take ground up dried olive leaves. They are claimed to contain a substance, oleuropein, which helps prevent and fight cancer. There is both anecdotal and scientific evidence that this is the case, and in the country where I live, clinical trails are underway on leukemia patients. Olive oil also contains this substance, but you would have to consume a huge amount of olive oil to get anywhere near an effective dose. Olive leaves also contain oleuropein in large quantities, and are easier and more practical to consume. Olive leaf extract is also available commercially. I started taking it after being diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer and reading that this may help to prevent a recurrence. So far, since my treatment I'm cancer free (though of course this does not prove that the olive leaves had any effect).

It also lowers blood pressure, so if you already have low blood pressure, not a good idea.

NOTE: olive leaf is a food supplement which may help to fight cancer, but it is not yet a proven alternative medicine to conventional treatments and I would not recommend that anyone should abandon their prescribed treatment in favour of olive leaf extract. Consult your doctor
Unexpected Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract | Life Extension

 

[shysnail]

I drink chamomile tea for anxiety. Honestly, I think it's the calming effect of holding and drinking a hot drink that is more effective than the chamomile itself. But the only other hot drink I like is coffee, so it's probably better than that for calming me

I've only ever used herbal remedies for mental health things. Not yet found any I'm really convinced has worked for me, but I'm always open to trying.

 

[Mary Terry]

I don't know if herbal remedies really work but I have made several things for decades that I think are useful:

Ginger tea with freshly grated ginger root for an upset stomach,

A strong French onion soup with both chicken and beef broth and tons of onions, garlic and fresh rosemary for respiratory and sinus issues like colds, and

Hibiscus (Jamaica) tea with lots of fresh lime juice for the vitamin C and diuretic benefits.

 

[Suzanne]

I have taken gkino biloba and natural anti anxiety meds ( they work a treat).

 

[Mia]

Use herbal remedies that I either grow or buy or find in the wild. I take no doctor-proscribed medications as they tend to not work for me. They either cause terrible side-effects or don't work at all. I will use antibiotics for severe infections, and anti-virals on occasion, as well as vaccines if absolutely necessary.

Use slippery elm bark for coughs and sore throat in powder form made into a thick solution. Have also used it with both my dog and cats, after they vomited or had stomach upsets.

Use a homemade solution known as drawing salve for rashes, bug bites, splinters. And another plant based remedy made from the stalks of 'orange jewelweed' for bug bites, and rashes like poison ivy and poison oak.

For inflammation, because I have arthritis, teas made variously from ginger, licorice root, cinnamon bark, and sometimes turmeric root. They all work in combinations that I've trialed over the years. Also use tea tree oil and neem oil and epsom salts for skin rashes and such.

Sometimes use powdered willow bark (which has salicin) for headaches and muscle pain, if I can find it at a health food store. And St. John's Wort in solution for depression and insomnia.

 

[Running Girl]

I don't know if herbal remedies really work but I have made several things for decades that I think are useful:

Ginger tea with freshly grated ginger root for an upset stomach,

A strong French onion soup with both chicken and beef broth and tons of onions, garlic and fresh rosemary for respiratory and sinus issues like colds, and

Hibiscus (Jamaica) tea with lots of fresh lime juice for the vitamin C and diuretic benefits.

I take hibiscus in capsule form for high blood pressure. i didn't like the side effects from the prescription Bp meds. Hibiscus really, really works for hypertention!

 

[Running Girl]

Quite a few OTC or herbal things that do work: I take SAM-e for depression, 1200mg a day. Watch out for formulas that contain mannitol or sorbital cause it will give you gas, bloating, and indigestion. but don't blame the SAM-e. If you find a formula without the sorbital or mannitol, no problem. This works instead of an SSRI for targetting the serotonin receptors. So i was able to give up the SSRI years ago (goodby nasty side effects) 2) Hibiscus Flower in 400mg capsules. 1 cap twice a day for High Blood Pressure. Really works! No longer need a prescription high blood pressure med (goodby nasty side effects). 3) Theanine for anxiety and/or irritability. This works well, but only for a few days, a week at most. then the effect is not there. So you get a tolerance to it very quickly. Also, a small rebound effect after it wears off. Lasts about 6 hrs. (the effect, not the rebound!) So I only take this when I know I'll be in a stressful situation that normally has me bitched up. I wish theanine worked as a daily thing, but alas... 4) I just started on Gosha-Jinki-gan for urinary requency. Kind of expensive, found online. Came from Japan. Jury still out on whether it helps.

 

[Ronin82]

I take N-Acetyl-Cysteine for lung and liver cleaning, and as a glutathione builder. Works great! I also use Ashwaghanda for anxiety and thyroid and that stuff is amazing. I drink a turmeric tea with black pepper and olive oil for Fibro pain and inflammation, and that's the only way I can function at my physically-demanding job. I use ginger regularly, herbal extracts/oils/teas for colds and flus, and generally use food as medicine. I'm going to have to try the Hibiscus for BP, I want to stay off BP meds! I only take 2 prescriptions, Buspirone every day and Klonopin 2x a week.

 

[Mary Terry]

I'm acutely allergic to aspirin so appreciate the suggestions about anti-inflammatory properties of various herbs and teas. Tylenol provides pain relief but does nothing for inflammation like the pain I've had for 2 months in my heel which podiatrist says is inflammation. He prescribed me 2 weeks of oral steroids which is harsh on my body and give me 'roid rage' and insomnia. I've been icing my heel several times every day for 2 months which helps reduce inflammation and it is slowly getting better. It sux to get old, folks!

Hibiscus (or Jamaica) tea is popular in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America with pregnant women for its diuretic properties. My ankles swelled a lot with my last pregnancy and I used it then to fight fluid retention. Good to know that it fights high BP, too.

 

[Bolletje]

Hibiscus (or Jamaica) tea is popular in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America with pregnant women for its diuretic properties. My ankles swelled a lot with my last pregnancy and I used it then to fight fluid retention. Good to know that it fights high BP, too.

Hibiscus fights high blood pressure because of the diuretic effect

 

[Mary Terry]

Hibiscus fights high blood pressure because of the diuretic effect

That makes perfect sense!

 

[oregano]

Sometimes I wonder what knowledge of the natural world was lost during the genocidal campaigns of the 19th century aimed at "civilizing the savages". In Africa tribes had "male houses" which were apparently huts containing natural remedies, of course Europeans burned the huts and forced the Africans to worship Christ and use European medicines. In the US entire tribes were wiped out before they could be studied. I wonder what was lost when the Shasta People, who lived in the area I'm moving to, were tricked into eating beef jerky laced with strychnine under the guise of a peace treaty offering in 1852. Almost every last one of them died, local tales tell of clusters of bodies that were only found due to vulture activity, many months later. I read years ago about a scientist who realized that a tree in Indonesia might hold a cure to HIV. When he tried searching for the tree later, he found that it was now extinct due to slash-and-burn forest clearing techniques. My mom's parents were so big into natural remedies that my grandfather was told by his doctor at one point that the stew of supplements he was taking, inspired by "natural cures" books ordered in the mail, was killing him faster than his diabetes!

 

[All-Rounder]

For joint support and all sort of inflammation I take a mix of MSM with Devils Claw, Cats Claw, Boswellia, Curcuma which helps inflammation and pain.

I make Masala tea which is the mpst flavorful milk tea on Earth, contains green tea, ginger and a bunch of good spices for sweets [cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, flavorful tree bark, anise, rosemary, lil bit of cumin] which helps me with focus, energy and lose weight as well as digestion and bloating.I add a bit of whole milk on top but not enough to cut off the flavors but soften the taste. I love the taste.

I also use seaberry oil which is a rare mix of all omegas existent, highest content and variation of vitamins in natural supplements and
great mix of antioxidants which unlike other natural treatments can be done safely on a more prolonged timespan. Oil doesnt contain extra additives other than the capsule which is just animal jelly which helps with joints. Its also dosaged and i dont stain myself, softgels are great. So im really happy with it.

 

[Fino]

Fenugreek has a noticeable effect for mood and anxiety, and I grow it myself in a micro vegetables thing! So that part helps too!

I also drink tea, usually peppermint, and that helps because I like it.

 

[OrangeSquash]

Wow!! Thank you all so much for your replies, I haddn't anticipated so many!

Could I also ask if anybody chooses not to drink caffeine, alcohol or sugar (as in processed, desserts, ice cream, chocolate, cake etc...)?

My reason for asking is that I am curious as to what (if anything) could alleviate things like anxiety and stress perception, and also autism traits - if a particular diet policy could help with cognitive function etc.
I watched a documentary on Netflix a year or so ago about a high fat & low carb diet to reduce autism (and other neurodiversities) symptoms and wondered if anybody has first-hand experience of this.

As a side note, for my own personal benefit... My GP and I are discussing the possibility of a prescription of antidepressants to get me through a tricky stage of my career change which is causing alot of unsavoury thoughts (to put it nicely) in my head.

Thank you all once again

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I'm an herbalist. I don't do much weeding in the garden, because practically every "weed" there is edible or medicinal. My neighborsmust think I'm weird, watering that weedy mess every day and carefully taking leaves and flowers off the weeds, but not pulling the roots, but it's free food that bugs and rodents leave alone.

Cultivated garden crops are so much harder to maintain. One caterpillar seems to wipe out an entire plant, and then there's the time spent just waiting for it to grow.

Meanwhile, God put this plethora of nutritious, fast growing plants in my yard that are invasive(so there's too much food) and they're delicious too.

It's just so easy to eat when you can identify the weeds. It's like going to McDonald's. But like I implied before, it feels like cheating, and you're going to get a few confused neighbors as you stand there watering a weedy mess.

 

[Running Girl]

Hibiscus fights high blood pressure because of the diuretic effect

Not only. My bp without it is 160/95. With hibiscus its 130/80. It has antihypertenaive properties.

 

[Edward764]

As indicated in my " wired" thread in the the anxiety section, I am going through tough times now.

What was a night time sleeping problem only a few weeks ago is now chronic, and more of a daytime waking problem.
I am not capable of even sitting down at a restaurant for breakfast with my parents. I cannot sit still for anything. I need to get up from the restaurant table and walk around outside. I cannot go to a movie or I will need to get up every five minutes and walk around in the lobby. If forced to sit still, I would literally go insane and probably eventually shake uncontrollably.

These are "bizarreness attacks" caused my inability to accept how bizarre and futile my life has been.

When I was about 24 years old, I came to the conclusion I was the most bizarre person to have ever lived, but even this feeling has not interfered with my daily living until now, 37 years later, although my sense of being the most bizarre has never abated.

I believe the main trigger has been my mom's stress and depression, caused by her having to care for my dad's dementia, and the realization three days ago that her driving privaleges were revoked by the DMV.
An 86 year old woman should not need to care for an 87 year old man, but it has come to this, and made worse by transportation issues.

Having no work for the summer has also isolated me by eliminating a normal deviation.

But I digress. What I really need is an herbal supplement that will relax my nerves and allow me to sit still again. I can't write my autobiography if I am wired and can't sit still.

What are a some of the best quickly obtainable options that can be taken in capsule or pill form?

SAM, Ashwaganda and gkino have been mentioned here, are they the best options?