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The use of natural therapies–things like herbs, medicinal teas, and tinctures–has been growing among adults for years. Now there’s strong evidence that children are receiving these treatments in greater numbers too. A recent study of 142 families in a pediatric emergency department in Atlanta found that 45 percent of caregivers had given their child an herbal, or “natural,” product, including some outright quack remedies such as turpentine and cow chip tea. That last item, says study author Dr. Steven Lanski, of Emory University, “is exactly what it sounds like.” It wasn’t only the high number of children taking herbal remedies that was surprising, said Lanski. Even more astonishing–and worrisome–was that 77 percent of those surveyed didn’t believe, or had no idea, that natural products could have side effects. In today’s world of catch-phrases and trend-oriented marketing, “natural” doesn’t always mean safe. Unlike prescription and over-the-counter medicines, the United States Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate herbal remedies and other such supplements. Thus, they face no extensive tests before they are marketed and don’t have to adhere to any standards of quality in manufacturing.

“Parents must be very careful,” says Dr. Susan S. Baker, a physician who served on the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Alternative and Complementary Medicine. “They cannot assume that what is on a label is actually in the container. Similarly, they cannot assume that what is on the label is all that is in the container.”

Additionally, herbal preparations can have severe and potentially life-threatening interactions with prescription and over-the-counter medications, warns Lanski. For instance, his survey included an adolescent with asthma who was taking the prescription drug albuterol. The teen also received ephedra, an herb that acts similarly to albuterol in the body. Combining the two could have led to a dangerous overdose.

It’s important that parents tell their child’s healthcare professional about everything that child takes–from vitamins to herbal remedies, says Lanski. Yet, in his study, only 45 percent of those surveyed whose children used herbal remedies had told their healthcare provider about the supplements.

Even better than telling is asking. Give your child’s doctor a call before you add a natural remedy to your child’s medicine cabinet. This allows your physician to do a little research into whether there’s a potential risk.

“Herbal product use and perioperative patients” is the basis for this AORN Journal independent study. The behavioral objectives and examination for this program were prepared by Rebecca Holm, RN, MSN, CNOR, clinical editor, with consultation from Susan Bakewell, RN, MS, BC, education program professional, Center for Perioperative Education. Participants receive feedback on incorrect answers. Each applicant who successfully completes this study will receive a certificate of completion. The deadline for submitting this study is May 31, 2007.

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

After reading and studying the article on the effect of herbal product use on perioperative patients, the nurse will be able to

(1) explain how the historical use of herbal remedies affects herbal medicine practice today,

(2.) identify regulatory guidelines that affect marketing of herbal products,

(3.) discuss the process of herbal product preparation, and

(4.) describe the perioperative implications of herbs that are used preoperatively.

This program meets criteria for CNOR and CRNFA recertification, as well as other continuing education requirements.

A minimum score of 70% on the multiple-choice examination is necessary to earn 2.6 contact hours for this independent study.

Purpose/Goal: To educate perioperative nurses about the effects of herbal product use on perioperative patients.

In the recent years there has been a flood of information regarding herbal supplements and for a good reason. The number of these supplements being sold in the United States is growing exponentially every year. With so many to choose from it’s often becomes confusing and hard to decide which ones to buy.

Below you will find a short list of the most essential supplements we put together for you. So next time you’re deciding what to buy for you use this guide to help you in your selection.

Calcium(1,200 mg - 1,500 mg/daily)
Excellent supplement as you age, edspecially if you don’t consume dairy products.

Omega-3 Fats(1,000-3,000 mg/daily)
Essential fatty acid. Can affect mood, depression and found in fish, especially salmon

Garlic
Garlic is a supplement that decreases cholesterol, and studies suggest that it may even prevent many types of cancer. In addition, it has antimicrobial and cardioprotective properties.

Ginseng (100mg twice daily)
Ginseng is used medically and contains adaptogens, which improve stamina, central nervous system and reaction to stress.

Ginkgo Bilboa(60 mg GBE twice/day)
Helps to improve memory.

St John’s Wart (900mg dialy in 3 doses)
Contains hypericin which prevents Seratonin from breaking down too quickly in the brain and therefore can help regulate mood and fight depression.

Zinc(15 -30 mg/daily)
Absolutely vital to prostate health and overall vitality.

Coenzyme Q-10(30-100 mg/daily)
Natural body substance needed for enzyme function and cell regulation.

Are you or someone you know tired of dealing with the extreme discomfort associated with menopause? Then you might be interested to know that a combination of two popular herbal remedies may be able to provide real relief.

German researchers recently found that a combination of St. John’s wort and black cohosh is “very effective” for easing the psychological and physical symptoms of menopause. Both herbs have been widely used by menopausal women in the past, but this is one of the first studies to prove their effectiveness. St. John’s wort is often used to treat mild depression and black cohosh is a popular menopause symptom remedy.

One of the goals of the German study was to see if the herbal medicines could offer a viable alternative to hormone replacement therapy, which may cause an increased risk of disease. The researchers gave women a supplement containing 1 milligram of triterpene glycosides (an active ingredient in black cohosh) and .25 milligrams of hypericine (an active ingredient in St. John’s wort).

After 4 months the women who took the herbal combination experienced a 50% reduction in menopause symptoms, including sweating and hot flashes. They also experienced significantly less depression than women taking a placebo. In fact, overall depression scores fell by nearly 42% in women taking the herbal medicines.

At the end of the study, over 60% of the women taking the herbal supplement rated the treatment as “good” or “very good” compared to only 25.6% of women taking the placebo. Also, there was no significant difference between the herbal group and the placebo group in terms of side effects reported.

Obviously, if you’re looking for safe, natural menopause relief, a combination of St. John’s wort and black cohosh may be worth considering. Both are widely available in herb and health food stores.

Herbal medicine is the use of leaves, barks, roots and flowers of plants for the treatment or prevention of ailments or the promotion of good health. Like China, the Philippines is another country long known for using herbal medicines long before its popularity in the west. In recent years, medical researchers, organizations, pharmaceutical companies and government health agencies took a serious look at folkloric herbal medicines often used by Filipinos in rural areas.

Research and studies by the academe, industries and government confirm the effectively of certain herbs in the treatment of diseases. Many of these herbs also proved to have health benefits in addition to their curative value. The Philippine Department of Health, after thorough evaluation and years of clinical trials have endorsed 10 herbal plants as alternative medicines for various diseases ranging from asthma, hypertension to diabetes.

The 10 herbs endorsed by the Philippine Department of Health are:

1. Akapulko for fungal infections.

2. Ampalaya for diabetes.

3. Bawang for hypertension.

4. Bayabas as antiseptic.

5. Lagundi for asthma

6. Niyog-niyogan for intestinal infestation

7. Sambong as a diuretic

8. Tsaang Gubat for intestinal motility

9. Ulasimang Bato for gout

10. Yerba Buena as analgesic

Caution however is advised to those who wish to try herbal medicines. A lot of research is still to be done and standards of dosage have to be established. Many of the commercially available herbal medicines are listed as supplements and have not passed the stringent standards required by the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration. Some herbal medicines also react to prescription & nonprescription drugs. Always consult your doctor before taking any herbal medicine.

A Guide to Online health supplements Many of the dietary supplements are available on net or otherwise under the name of women health supplements, weight loss dietary supplements or alternative health supplements. Some of these dietary supplements can be taken as alternative health supplements for some ailments or diseases or along with conventional therapies.

You have the option of buying online health supplements but remember that the only claims that a dietary supplement is allowed to make are structure/function claims. These are broad claims that the product can support the structure or function of the body such as heart health supplements for arteries. But the claims must be registered with the FDA ahead of time, and there is a requirement that these claims be substantiated.

Nevertheless, even if you are buying online health supplement or discount health supplements, remember that some of the dietary supplements overstate their importance and their impact on overall health. The solution here is not to buy these online health supplements, but to be well-informed about the different categories of health supplements available and what specific functions that these health supplements can perform.

The dietary intake of certain minerals or herbal health supplements can change the energy balance and increase or decrease the body fat of a body. Certain dietary supplements help in better absorption of other minerals or help in digestion. Certain health supplements regulate the hormone metabolism of a body especially some of the women health supplements or weight loss health supplements.

Chelated mineral supplements as the best mineral supplements Many multivitamin formulas have mineral supplements as their constituents. Minerals can also be sold as single supplements. These mineral supplements are available in various forms like tablet, capsule, powder, and liquid forms. Some are available in chelated form, which means that the minerals are bonded to protein molecules that transport them to the bloodstream and enhance their absorption. When mineral supplements are taken in non chelated form they are usually automatically chelated in the stomach during digestion. Chelated mineral supplements are considered as the best mineral supplement form by far. Our experience with the various chelated formulas available has shown that, in general, orotate and arginate forms of minerals make the most effective and the best mineral supplements.

Colloidal mineral supplements
Colloidal minerals differ from metallic minerals in that they are highly absorbable, water-soluble and enzymatically very active. These liquid colloidal mineral supplements are extracted from various vegetable and plant sources with pure, cool clear water to the desired concentration and then processed through a complex array of special filters to allow only the organic colloidal.

The characteristic feature of liquid colloidal minerals is that they have a natural negative electrical charge, which is the signature of the true plant derived mineral. The main advantage of these liquid mineral supplements is that they greatly increase the transport and bioavailability of other nutrients obtained from foods and/or vitamins and other supplements. And secondly these colloidal minerals can attract toxins and heavy metals from the body and flush them out.

Though taking these health supplements in some cases may be helpful but it is best to make use of the natural health supplements present in natural foods. A balanced nutrition and diet is the best solution for taking care of your health.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), with its 2500 year old history, offers many lower back pain remedies - lower back stretches, lower back strengthening exercises, massage techniques, acupuncture, herbal remedies, liniments, sticking plasters and others. Some require a trained TCM practitioner to administer them, while others can be easily learnt and applied by anyone. This article introduces the latter - simple, effective lower back pain remedies and stretches for lower back pain that YOU can apply yourself to relieve and prevent lower back pain.

Lower Back Stretches

Breath slowly, smoothly and deeply through your nose while doing the exercises.

Exercise 1. Lie on your back on a firm bed or the floor. Gently bring your knees up until they’re above your abdominal area. Spread your knees a little and grab the inside of your shins just below your knees, or the inside of your ankles if you can. Inhale. As you exhale let your knees naturally fall further out to the side with gravity. Focus your mind on your lower back (closing your eyes helps). Feel your inner thighs stretching and your lower back relaxing. Hold the position for a few minutes as you continue to breath slowly, smoothly and deeply. This exercise stretches and relaxes your iliopsoas muscle which connects from your lumbar vertebrae to the inside of your hip joints. Tension in this muscle often causes and/or aggravates lower back pain.

Exercise 2. Lie flat on your back on a firm bed or the floor. Bend your knees and slide your feet up till they are near your backside. Inhale. As you exhale, flatten your lower back by gently pressing it into the bed or floor. Hold for several seconds, then let your lower back return to its natural, curved position. Repeat 3 or 4 times, several times a day.

Exercise 3. Lean across a table and grab the far edge with both hands. Your torso should be on the table and your legs hanging from the edge. Inhale. As you exhale, let gravity naturally pull your legs down towards the floor. Feel your lower back stretching. Hold the position for several minutes as you continue slow, deep breathing. Focus your mind on your lower back (closing your eyes helps) and imagine the pain releasing with each exhalation. Repeat several times a day.

Lower Back Pain Remedies

1. Ginger & Sesame Oil Liniment

Mix together equal parts of pure sesame oil and the juice from grated ginger. Heat in a pot till warm. Apply a small amount to the painful area and rub it in for a couple of minutes. It should be applied to unbroken skin only. Ginger and sesame oil liniment is a superb, easy-to-make, home remedy for back ache and other aches and pains. It warms, circulates your blood and stops pain. You can safely apply it several times a day, particularly after showering and before bed. Make sure you pull your clothing down over your lower back immediately afterwards to keep the area warm. Also, while it’s normal for your skin to become hot and turn red after you apply the liniment, if a rash develops discontinue use.

2. Lower Back Self-Massage

Can be done standing or sitting. With fists clenched (not too tightly), use the backs of your hands, including your knuckles, to vigorously rub your lower back up and down for several minutes, 3 or 4 times a day. Rub close to your spine and also the sides of your lower back - where ever you experience pain and stiffness. Self-massage is a highly beneficial lower back pain remedy you can do anytime, anywhere to relieve AND prevent lower back pain. Massage warms the area, moves the blood and directly stimulates your kidneys, which helps to maintain a strong, healthy lower back.

Tip: To greatly enhance the effects of the above lower back pain remedies and lower back stretches, combine them. For example, lie down and do the first 2 stretches, then stand up and do the lower back self-massage, then apply some Ginger & Sesame Oil Liniment. You know your body best though, so experiment till you find what works best for your particular situation.

With US$5 billion market in the United States alone in 2003, a 500% increase in 10 years, tea is a well established industry that is quickly growing. Tea bags, loose teas, tea shops, and gourmet teas are only a few examples of the outlets for this ever increasing number. Though sales have been mainly rooted in the standard teas stemming from the Camelia sinensis plant (Green tea, Oolong tea, and Black tea), a vast increase in herbal and natural medicines in the western world has brought upon a virtual explosion of Organic Herbal Tea Blend, releasing any confinements there may have previously been.

Now it is not only Big Business that is apart of this industry as the infinite number of herbal tea blends are combing with the free commerce of the internet. This conception is creating new life in an industry that had been patiently waiting. New companies are forming, new mixtures are being created, and now even new tea bags are being designed.

The machine manufactured tea bags are still standard in market where cost is being put before quality. A metal staple is used to close a bag filled with low quality tea dust, which is known to have very low health benefits and give a more bitter taste than its whole leaf loose tea counterpart. Due to the manufacturing techniques used by these production factories, tea dust is the only filler able to be injected with the machines used to mass produce these bags. As the general size of each organic herbal tea blend is larger, they are unable to be used with these processed bags.

Second in popularity is a relatively new pyramid shaped tea bag. A more spacious bag allows for a free floating of the loose tea that is inside. Though higher in quality than the stapled standard, problems of this style include a large shape and size that makes bulk packaging difficult. Also, most bags are filled with green and oolong loose teas, as opposed to organic herbal tea.

With the combined short falls of these two bags, the ever increasing number of organic herbal tea blends and home based companies are in desperate need for a tea bag to match their unique nature. Fortunately as the number of companies is increasing, and more money is entering into the market, handmade gourmet tea bags are being created, better matching the ingenuity behind each organic herbal tea blend. It is very possible that as the number organic blends increase in popularity, raising the desire for organic products and higher health benefits, consumers will be more willing to pay slightly higher prices to receive significantly higher in quality tea bags. With this in mind, it very well could be that a unique organic herbal tea blend could be your gateway to differentiation in a busy tea industry.

Many people all over the world are now hooked on a new trend – herbal smoking, also known as legal bud smoking. Legal bud smoking involves inhaling the fumes of several herbs, after lighting them, either through specialized pipes, chillums or just by rolling them in cigarette paper.

A wide variety of these herbs have been branded as legal buds. These herbs are those which have been used for centuries in shamanic potions and traditional tribal teas. Herbal smokes are prepared by blending two or more of these herbs in varying proportions. Most popular herbs used are salvia divinorum, hops, chamomile, damiana, ginseng, kava kava, wild dagga, passion flower, star of Bethlehem, skullcap, Artemisia vulgaris, scotch broom tops, betel nut powder and many more. Some manufacturers also call them marijuana alternatives. These blends also contain powders of the mugwort, in order to hold the mixture together.

Many of these ingredients, like the Ayurveda and Persian, are well-known for their medicinal properties and even used in medicinal branches. Some of them are secretly grown. The salvia divinorum has been used for hundreds of years by the shamans of the Aztec civilization for its healing properties. The skullcap is another herb which supposedly relieves a person of worries and tensions. Damiana and ginseng are reputed aphrodisiacs.

American manufacturers procure these herbs from the Hawaiian Islands or Mexico, where the herbs are grown in secret plantations. There is a huge market in America for smokers of legal buds. Some claim that it gives the same high as smoking pure marijuana, but this is a misconception. Most of these herbs do provide ‘highs’, but they are very short-lived.

Herbal smoke is inhaled through pipes or chillums. Native Indians just roll the mixture in a betel leaf. Some people use cigarette paper for rolling the mixture.

The general perception is that herbal smoking is not as harmful as tobacco-smoking. Herbal cigarettes do not contain tobacco, and hence no nicotine. Some manufacturers even claim that these herbal blends do not affect children in any adverse manner. However, health experts have a different point of view. Burning leaves release tar, which clogs the lungs over a period of time. Herbal mixtures may not be as addictive as tobacco, but they do create a craving and a desire to smoke them repeatedly. The only proven effect of herbal smoke is its numbing effect of the nervous system, but health activists still hold herbal smoke in contempt.

The use of herbs and other alternative remedies for the treatment of a wide range of human illnesses has rapidly gained popularity over the past two decades. Herbal remedies are especially popular among patients with chronic diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and gastrointestinal ailments. Also, some herbal treatments appear to be beneficial for treatment of psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety and insomnia. It is logical to think that if an herb or botanical preparation can help a human with a psychiatric disorder, then it might also help a pet with a behavioral problem.

Before going into specifics on what is known about improving animal behavior problems with natural herbal remedies, a word of caution is in order. Clearly, the increasing popularity of alternative remedies is partially due to the fact that some of these products work well. Unfortunately, much of the increased use of alternative therapies is due to hype and propaganda from companies that manufacture and sell such treatments. To separate fact from fiction, it is important to rely on information from objective, reliable sources like the scientific and medical literature rather than from dietary supplement websites and promotional pamphlets.

There seems to be an increasing number of false claims for products labeled “homoeopathic,” which really just means that the “active ingredient” is so dilute as to be almost undetectable. There is little or no scientific evidence that these dilute formulations work. Therefore, the comments that follow are limited to herbs known to have beneficial effects when used in doses that are meaningful.

As always, it is a good idea to consult your veterinarian before beginning a new course of treatment for your pet. Following are some indications for use of herbal remedies:
• Barking. Perhaps the best-known herbal remedy for dogs is the use of a lemon or citronella scented aerosol in a collar to control nuisance barking. Although commercial collars of this design are expensive, there is substantial evidence that this can be an effective behavior-modification tool for many dogs.
• Anxiety. Valerian has been tested in humans with some success in the treatment of anxiety and sleeplessness. This herb is available in most health-food stores and in many groceries and pharmacies. Valerian can be useful to control a variety of anxiety-related or fear-induced problems such as restless during car travel, fear of thunder, and anxiety while left alone.
• Forgetfulness & Senility. Another example of an herb that might have a useful role in pet health is Ginkgo. This herb is being tested for the improvement of memory and concentration in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Ginkgo may be helpful in dogs with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome or in older cats with random and excessive vocalization.
• Others. Although most reports of the use of herbs are related to human conditions, there are increasing numbers of practitioners interested in their veterinary applications. For example, small studies are looking at the use of Chamomile to treat irritability in dogs and cats, and Cantharis and Staphisagria to reduce cat spraying.

But, Watch Out! Of course it is important to be cautious in the use of any new treatment, and this caution is especially important in the use of herbs, which are not always reliably packaged and labeled. Just because something is natural does not mean it is safe. Think of the natural poison, arsenic, for example. A very common herb, St. John’s wort, can cause sensitivity to sunburn in both people and animals. Several dogs have died from being given excessive doses of an over-the-counter dietary supplement called 5HT (5 hydroxytryptophan – sometimes known as Griffonia seed extract). So, be skeptical of unproven claims, and gather reliable information.