Of the 630 scientific peer-reviewed articles that have been published about the proven health benefits of black seed oil, one fact is clear  — there are few diseases that it cannot help the body overcome. With virtually no side effects, the healing prowess of black seed is actually quite unbelievable and boggles the mind that most Americans have never heard of it!

Nigella Sativa is the botanical Latin name for this plant. The black seeds are found within its seed pods, and black seed oil (BSO), which comes from various seed extracting methods, has been consumed as a spice, used as a food preservative, and used in medicine around the world, particularly in Eastern cultures for its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties, traced back to over 3,000 years.

Thymoquinone is the active ingredient isolated from the seeds produced by Nigella Sativa and has been investigated for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities since its first extraction in the 1960’s. Many health experts claim that it is, indeed, a true panacea for almost every known disease throughout history.

The tiny seed that comes from the plant may be small, but it packs a huge punch of beneficial, almost miraculous, effects against almost any diseases it comes in contact with.

Black seed flower (Nigella Sativa)

This medicinal plant and its oil possess healing properties against many different types of diseases, bacteria, and viruses such as tuberculosis, colds, flu, encephalomyelitis, diabetes, asthma, and cancer, to a host of other ailments and diseases.

Unique Black Seed Oil Benefits

Quite possibly the most promising research has been done connecting Nigella sativa to multi-drug resistant bacteria. This is a big deal because these so-called “superbugs” are becoming a significant public health risk.

According to the National Institute of Health:

• Strains of bacteria that are antibiotic-resistant are becoming virtually impossible to treat, including staphylococcal, tuberculosis, influenza, gonorrhea, candida, and malaria.
• Between 5 – 10% of all hospital patients develop an infection from superbugs.
• More than 90,000 of these patients die every year, up from 13,300 patient deaths in 1992.
• People infected with superbugs typically have longer hospital stays, require more complicated treatment and don’t recover as well, if at all.

A study conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, researchers set out to determine just how potent black seed oil is against some of these superbugs and compared it against several antibiotics such as Amoxicillin, Gatifloxacin, and Tetracycline. “Out of 144 strains tested, most of which were resistant to a number of antibiotics, 97 were inhibited by the oil of black cumin.”, the report stated. (2)

Next to oil of oregano, few things on the planet can boast this type of potency to microbes! The study uncovered that it was especially effective against multidrug resistant strains of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus.

The key to understanding why black seed oils benefit the body in this way is because it is rich in 3 key natural chemicals: thymoquinone (TQ), thymohydroquinone (THQ) and thymol.

The Power Behind Black Seed Oil Benefits

In an effort to offer a solution to the growing antifungal resistant problem people have with yeasts and molds, a recent study was conducted with the purpose of determining if Nigella sativa seed oil could help. Published in the Egyptian Journal of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, scientists tested thymol, TQ and THQ against 30 human pathogens and were surprised to discover that: (3)

Each compound showed 100% inhibition of the thirty pathogens evaluated.

Thymoquinone was the best antifungal compound against all of the tested dermatophytes and yeasts, followed by thymohydroquinone and thymol.

Thymol was the best antifungal against molds followed by TQ and THQ.

What this study tells us is that Nigella sativa oil carries a unique chemical constituency that is not only effective individually, but more importantly also collectively. Essentially proving that fungus and molds cannot exist in the presence of these phytochemicals, it is no wonder why researchers are seeking to solve the superbug problem with the mighty black seed!

Thymoquinone – An active ingredient in black seed, researchers have been investigating TQ since the 1960s. It is well known for its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties that have been reported to help with encephalomyelitis, diabetes, asthma and carcinogenesis. (4)

Interestingly, thymoquinone acts as a free radical or an effective superoxide radical scavenger, in addition to preserving antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase. Both Glutathione peroxidase and S-transferase are heralded for being major detoxifiers and greatly aid in cellular antioxidant defense systems because they protect the liver from toxins. (4,5)

Thymohydroquinone – Akin to thymoqinone, thymohydroquinone is one of the most potent natural acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors on the planet. (6) AChE inhibitors are chemicals that stop enzyme activity, which increases the amount of time and the amount of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine remains active in the brain. To give you an idea of their usefulness, pharmaceutical-grade acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are used medicinally to treat a wide range of conditions including (7)

• Apathy
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Autism
• Glaucoma
• Dementia
• Myasthenia gravis
• Neurodegenerative conditions
• Postural Tachycardia Syndrome
• Schizophrenia
• Parkinson’s disease

Considering that the pharmaceutical approach to these diseases comes at a great cost along with adverse events, sometimes fatal, to the patient, it offers much hope to millions to learn that safe, plant-based solutions are a viable alternative!

Thymol – It is an active constituent of Nigella Sativa. It is also the active ingredient that gives thyme essential oil its medicinal properties. Thymol is a natural monoterpene that holds a number of useful qualities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (8)

For example Thymol,

• Is commonly used to kill tuberculosis and various other viruses.
• Is used as a medical and general purpose disinfectant.
• Is a rapidly degrading, non-persisting pesticide.
• Is also used in food flavorings, perfumes, mouthwashes, and even cosmetics.

Thymol is among those pesticides for which EPA believes a broadly reduced set of generic data requirements is appropriate for reregistration. The Agency, therefore, has waived most generic data requirements for thymol with the exception of studies that are considered essential, including additional information about chemical purity, and product chemistry studies.

10 Proven Health Benefits of Black Seed Oil

1. Cancer

Croatian scientists evaluated the antitumor activity of thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone in mice and discovered that the two phytochemicals in black seed oil resulted in 52% decrease in tumor cells. (10)

Being rich in both chemicals, black seed is unique in that it can help prevent and treat cancer through a variety of mechanisms:

• Anti-proliferation
• Apoptosis induction
• Cell cycle arrest
• Reactive oxygen species generation
• Anti-metastasis
• Anti-angiogenesis

According to one study,

“The anti-tumor effects of thymoquinone have also been investigated in tumor xenograft mice models for colon, prostate, pancreatic and lung cancer. The combination of thymoquinone and conventional chemotherapeutic drugs could produce a greater therapeutic effect as well as reduce the toxicity of the latter.” (11)

2. Liver Health

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. Nearly every toxin gets processed through the liver, and the bile from the liver is the key to digesting fats and keeping your mind and body happy and healthy.

For those that have struggled with poor liver function due to medication side effects, alcohol consumption, or disease, black seed oil could greatly speed the healing process. In a recent study, scientists discovered that black seed oil benefits the function of the liver and helps prevent both damage and disease. (12)

3. Diabetes

Explained in a recent article published by the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research highlight that black seed oil “causes gradual partial regeneration of pancreatic beta-cells, increases the lowered serum insulin concentrations and decreases the elevated serum glucose.” (13) This is actually quite profound because Nigella sativa is one of the few substances on the planet that is suggested to help prevent both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

In fact, according to the study, black seed “improves glucose tolerance as efficiently as metformin; yet it has not shown significant adverse effects and has very low toxicity!” (13)

This is HUGE because metformin, one of the most commonly prescribed type 2 diabetes drugs, can cause a slew of unwanted side effects including (14)

• Bloating
• Constipation/Diarrhea
• Flushing of the skin
• Gas/Indigestion
• Heartburn
• Headache
• Nail changes
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Muscle pain
• Stomach pain

4. Weight Loss

The Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders published a study last June systemically reviewing the literature for plants that have anti-obesity properties and discovered that black seed oil was amongst the most effective natural remedies on the planet. (15)

Not traditionally believed to treat obesity, Nigella sativa is a marvelous anti-inflammatory agent that is known to help people lose weight in the same way that it helps diabetics. Specifically, by decreasing these weight gain triggers, black seed oil has helped millions shed excess weight, as well as (16)

• Appetite
• Glucose absorption in the intestine
• Liver gluconeogenesis (generation of glucose)
• Blood glucose levels
• Cholesterol
• Triglycerides

5. Hair

Probably one of the unique black seed oil benefits is its uncanny ability to help restore hair loss. Black seed oil is rich with β-sitosterol which is a very potent natural DHT blocker. DHT is what is linked to alopecia, (hair loss and baldness). Black Seed Oil with its potential to effectively inhibit DHT, it is fast becoming a favorite treatment for many hair loss sufferers. You can use it either orally in pill form, or massage it on your scalp. If massaged, Black Seed Oil with its good absorption property directly targets the DHT attached with your hair follicles, and if taken orally, it attempts to reduce DHT levels throughout your body. For best results, leave the oil on the scalp for at least 5 hours, then wash regularly.

6. Skin

Produced in the retina, choroid, and epidermis, melanin is a pigment that protects the skin from damage. You probably are most familiar with it being the main chemical responsible for giving our eyes and skin their individual color. Known to promote and inhibit melanogenesis (melanin production), black seed oil benefits on the skin and other cells are profoundly healing. (17, 18)

For example, in a recent study conducted by Iranian researchers, Nigella saliva was found as effective as the skin cream Betamethasone in improving the quality of life and decreasing the severity of hand eczema. (19) When you consider that black seed oil has virtually no side effects, the benefits of Nigella, in fact, far exceed medical intervention!

7. Infections (MRSA)

Of all the superbugs that black seed oil can kill, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most important. MRSA is plaguing hospitals and nursing homes across the globe because ordinary staph infections are becoming resistant to generic antibiotics. The elderly population is especially at risk because it is generally associated with invasive procedures such as surgeries, intravenous tubing, and artificial joints. (20) Primarily due to weakened immunity, the growing population of senior citizens has made MRSA a global public health risk.

Thankfully, one of the strongest black seed oil benefits comes to the rescue.  Pakistan scientists took several strains of MRSA and discovered that each one was sensitive to N. Sativa, proving that black seed oil can help slow down or stop MRSA from spreading out of control. (21)

8. Fights Fungal Infections

Fungal infections occur when bacteria grows on top of your skin, resulting in a variety of different diseases and rashes. Research shows that fungus and mold cannot co-exist with the compounds found in black seed oil, leading many scientists to conclude that black seed oil is beyond a powerful herb, but a powerful systemic natural remedy. The results show that black seed has an effective antifungal and antibacterial properties that can extensively treat and cure fungal infections.

9. Reduces Flu’s and Fevers

Another arising issue directly related to a weak immune system is flu or fever can cause serious even more damage to your immune system. Not having a way to help your body can leave you in bed for days if not weeks. Since the black seed is anti-inflammatory, you can use black seed oil for flu and fevers for quick relief. With immediate aid to your immune system, your body will feel the potent antioxidant and antibacterial properties of black seed oil go to work.

10. Reduces High Blood Pressure

Black seed oil for high blood pressure is one of the most common uses of black seed oil today. Although it’s not recognized as an official treatment, many high blood pressure patients noticed a significant drop in their blood pressure levels when taking black seed oil. Studies like these have led many to start taking black seed oil as a natural remedy for reducing high blood pressure.

Bonus

Treats Symptoms of Pain

Ibuprofen and other painkillers work to kill pain because they are anti-inflammatory. The same is true of Black seed or its oil. In 2001, Dr. Al-Ghamdi investigated the anti-inflammatory, analgesic (a drug to reduce pain) and antipyretic (a drug to prevent or reduce fever) properties of Nigella sativa. He concluded that the evidence supported the use of black seed oil as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent for those experiencing pain.

Black Cumin Seed Oil has shown to be an invaluable asset for anyone who may need to find a natural remedy that treats and prevents a myriad of diseases. If you’d like to get some black seed oils, you can pick up some up here.

The dosage is important to consider if taking black seed oil for any disease or ailment. It has been suggested that a dose between 20 micrograms to 2 grams daily, depending on what one is using Black Seen Oil for, is sufficient in providing a therapeutic result.

Safety concerns

Portions of this article first appeared on Dr. Axe.com.

The post 10 Proven Health Benefits of Black Seed Oil appeared first on Natural Revolution.

Pharmaceutical drugs are not your only path to pain relief. Natural pain remedies like herbal medicine, in which parts of a plant are used medicinally to treat health problems — is an increasingly popular way to manage pain.

The post 5 Natural Remedies for Pain Relief appeared first on Natural Revolution.

By Steven Peters — When you consider sinking your hard-earned money into picking up a quality essential oil to lift your mood that will also give yourself other positive therapeutic effects, you, of course, want something that is safe and to know exactly what’s in the bottle.

Unfortunately, you have no idea what you’re buying if you blindly trust a seller or company that claims their essential oil is “Therapeutic Grade”, “100% Pure Grade”, “100% Pure Pharmaceutical Therapeutic Grade”, “Grade A”, or any other official-sounding adjective that describes them because, in fact, you could be buying snake oil, as laying claims like that have no legal justification.

Certain companies have coined these terms to make it seem as though they have better oils than other companies. This is simply not true. Companies that use such phrases as “Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade”, sometimes are using registered trademark phrases.

And here’s the kicker — any company that claims that their essential oils are a particular grade, this may come as a shock, but there is no city, state or federal regulatory agencies that evaluate, tests, certifies or grades any essential oils on the market. It is an unregulated and unlicensed field both for the practice of aromatherapy as well as the manufacture of essential oils, resins, and other aromatherapy products.

It is purely voluntary that companies, suppliers or vendors test their own products by third-party laboratories, and there still is no guarantee that what you just bought isn’t diluted, contaminated, fractionated, or worse, contain toxic chemicals in them from mishandling, unless you know about the company, where the products are sourced and how they’re tested and manufactured first before you buy any essential oil from them.

The reason companies can claim that “no other company can say that they have Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade oils”, is because their company has trademarked the words, and no other company can legally use that particular phrase/words, not because there is any difference or superiority of their oils.

There are some companies that may use these terms that are not necessarily trying to be deceptive, however, many companies very often do so to increase their sales. This is why it’s imperative to know the company background and where the oils are sourced, how they’re stored, the date of harvest, how they’re handled, bottled and packaged, as well as having a batch number and data sheet with test results that detail the oil’s constituent profile. Otherwise, you have no idea what you’re getting.

In fact, high-quality pure essential oils do have therapeutic properties that have positive effects on specific parts of the body, which are pointed out below. But knowing how to navigate your way through all the hype that can be found online, and to know which companies are credible that actually do sell high-quality essential oils, is something we cannot overstate the importance of knowing prior to buying any essential oil.

We researched countless credible sources online and found companies and organizations that are the leaders in essential oils and aromatherapy practices (which are cited at the end of the article) to bring you comprehensive information with this, our Essential Oils Guide: Therapeutic Uses, Recipes & Safety.

A Brief History of Essential Oils

Intriguing myths and folklore are associated with aromatherapy and essential oils. The use of essential oils for therapeutic, spiritual, hygienic and ritualistic purposes goes back to a number of ancient civilizations including the Chinese, Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans who used them in cosmetics, perfumes, and drugs.

Essential oils, or aromatic oils as they were once called, have been used by many cultures around the world for centuries. Their uses varied between cultures from religious purposes to healing the sick. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when essential oils gained notoriety as effective healing agents, but eventually the knowledge of essential oils spread around the globe.

The earliest evidence of human knowledge of the healing properties of plants was found in Lascaux, located in the Dordogne region in France. There, cave paintings suggest the use of medicinal plants in everyday life that have been carbon dated as far back as 18,000 B.C.E.

Sorting Out the Good From the Not So Good

If you don’t know anything about the company or the essential oil they’re selling, it’s impossible to know if they are pure, refined or distilled, from low-quality harvests, or if they’ve been sitting in their stockroom on a store rack for a long period of time, stored in such a way that harms the oils by heat or moisture, not processed correctly, or the oils may be inadvertently blended with harmful chemicals during bottling.

This is why it’s essential that essential oils, from seed to store are processed in such a way as to safeguard the quality that ends up either on you and eventually in you, or in your home through aromatherapy diffusers.

High-quality essential oils should come in dark-colored glass bottles. Be cautious of merchants that offer oils in plastic or clear glass bottles, that’s because many undiluted essential oils can melt plastic over time or leach toxic plastic by-products into the oil, and clear glass bottles offer no protection from sunlight which can lessen their therapeutic potency and can degrade the scent and quality of the oil.

Companies or merchants who may offer a large amount of oil in aluminum bottles are adequate if the container is lined inside.

Tips for Savvy Shoppers on What to Lookout For

Refrain from purchasing oils that are packaged in containers that incorporate rubberized dropper on the inside top of the bottle. After some time, undiluted essential oils are strong enough that they can break down the dropper and the oil can become contaminated.

It’s a good practice to send a supplier or seller an email and simply ask anything you feel you need answers to so you know how fast they respond to your question(s), as well as seeing how informed and helpful they may be. This will give you some insight on how a particular seller does business.

Search out and ask merchants for test results for their oils. A reputable seller/supplier will give point-by-point test results about their oils and will be knowledgeable and transparent about their practices, and their company and products they sell.

It’s also important to see how long they’ve been in business, and if they have any consumer complaints with the Better Business Bureau or another consumer-related review websites.

It’s best to find an online or small local retailer who specializes in essential oils as their oils are least likely to remain on the store shelves or be mishandled as opposed to large retailers.

Large retailers like Whole Foods and alike, too often the bottles will have dust on the top cap of the bottle which is one of a few indicators that they’ve been sitting there for a prolonged period of time and are not as fresh as possible.

Avoid purchasing oils from retailers/providers that don’t give the oil’s a botanical (Latin name), where the herb/flower originated and the technique for extraction. This lets you know how informed, or uninformed for that matter, they are about the oils they sell.

Organic essential oils are typically superior to non-organic oils and are grown in compliance with organic farming practices and the suppliers are usually more careful in sourcing their oils for therapeutic quality and aroma. But of course, you’re going to pay a higher price for organic oils.

If you’re trying to decide on a seller or merchant to pick up some essential oil, there’s nothing wrong with asking for samples to discover if this is a supplier/seller that you‘d like to buy from without wasting your money on a large order which you may not be satisfied with.

There are some legitimate vendors who may want to charge a small fee for supplying samples, so don’t let that stop you from getting a sample from these sellers/suppliers.

While thinking about a buying essential oil from a vendor at an outdoor or indoor event like street fairs, farmer’s markets, craft shows, festivals, ask the seller for information about their business and where it’s physically located. Ethical and knowledgeable vendors are typically open and honest and answer any questions about their products and generally, appreciate any questions you may ask.

Be careful with phrases which include “fragrance oil,” or “perfume oil”, as what they are selling is not a pure essential oil.

How Essential Oils are Extracted

The different methods of extraction are:

• Steam Distillation: The most common process of extracting an essential oil is by distillation, a process that isolates the aromatic, volatile element of the plant with steam.
• Cold Pressed: Expression, or cold pressing, is used primarily for citrus fruits like orange and lemon, where the essential oil is obtained in tiny pockets in the peel or rind. Oils extracted by cold pressing are the most volatile of essential oils and can evaporate quickly when exposed to air.
• CO2 Extraction: The CO2 extraction method yields a greater number of aromatic compounds than any other distillation process. In certain conditions at a low-temperature Carbon Dioxide or CO2 can be pressurized to become a liquid.
• Solvent Extraction (only used for absolutes): Flowers too delicate to be processed with heat are soaked in a solvent, usually hexane that extracts the volatile elements. The solvent is then evaporated leaving only the most fragrant constituents behind. This process produces what is called an “absolute”.

Essential Oils When Using on Skin

Essential oils are volatile, meaning that they evaporate very quickly. When you dilute essential oils, the evaporation process is much slower because they are diluted in non-volatile substances.

Carrier oils such as almond oil, avocado oil, etc., carry the essential oil into the skin using less of the essential oil. Additionally, the therapeutic benefits of a carrier oil often increase the therapeutic benefits of the essential oil.

Some essential oils shouldn’t be used on the skin directly because it may be an irritant.

Pure essential oils are many times more concentrated than the whole plant, which is why it’s recommended diluting essential oils before applying them to the skin. Dilutions are typically 2% – 10%. For adults, a 2.5% dilution is recommended for most purposes. For children under 12, 1% is generally safe.

Dilutions of essential oils into a carrier oil are typically 2% – 10%. For adults, a 2-3% dilution is recommended for most purposes. For children under 12, 1% is generally safe.

Guidelines for Scenting Bulk Bases with Essential Oils

There are many great carrier oils from which to choose. Jojoba, almond, marula, coconut, argan and avocado are all nourishing oils with a good shelf life.

Where to use essential oils

Bath – To soothe sore muscles, for relaxation, emotional calm, and balance. An aromatic bath is a luxurious way to relax, pamper the skin and feel better if unwell or tired. Always mix essential oils with a natural emulsifier such as milk, honey, almond oil, sesame oil, coconut oil or in sea salts before adding them to the bath. A safe dose is 5 – 10 drops of essential oils mixed with 1/2 – 1 cup of salt or emulsifier. Aromatic baths are excellent for supporting all systems of the body and creating a healthy and balanced state.

Steam inhalation – To directly affect the respiratory system in the case of illness prevention or treatment. Steam inhalation delivers essential oils directly to the nasal passages, sinuses, and lungs. Add 1 – 5 drops of essential oil to a pot of hot water. Cover head with a towel and allow steam to circulate inside the towel. This practice is excellent for opening sinuses, easing tension, and invigorating the skin. Eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils are great for facial steams.

Diffuser – Use anytime to scent a room and keep the air fresh. Excellent for busy offices or health care treatment rooms to help prevent the spread of common pathogens.

Oil based blend or lotion – Great for massage, bath oils, and local topical treatments. The choice between an oil base or lotion base is mainly a personal choice. Experience will be your greatest teacher.

Lip Balm – For chapped or dry lips. Great as an everyday lip moisturizer.

Top 15 Essential Oil Origins and Their Therapeutic Benefits

Each and every essential oil that comes from a particular plant species contains compounds with unique healing and therapeutic benefits. Here are some of the most popular essential oils, their origins, and therapeutic benefits.

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum)

Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia and are commonly used as a spice. Clove is antibacterial, anti-parasitic and has antioxidant protection. (1)

Cypress (Cupressaceae)

Cypresses are cone-bearing trees or shrubs with opposite or whorled leaves. Many species have aromatic wood. The oil from this plant improves circulation, reduces varicose veins, lifts confidence and can help heal broken bones. (2)

Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae)

Eucalyptus is the tallest known flowering plant on Earth. There are more than 700 species of eucalyptus and most are native to Australia; a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia. The use of its essential oil improves respiratory issues like bronchitis, sinusitis, allergies, is invigorating and purifies the body. (3)

Frankincense

Frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula, in North Africa, and Somalia for more than 5000 years. Frankincense is gathered by slashing the bark, which is called striping, allowing the resin to bleed out and harden, which are called tears. Frankincense builds immunity, reduces inflammation, heals age spots, supports the brain and may help fight cancer.† (4, 5)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger was exported to Europe via India in the first century AD as a result of the lucrative spice trade and is widely used as a spice or a Traditional medicine. The characteristic fragrance and flavor of ginger result from volatile oils that compose 1-3% of the weight of fresh gingerGinger reduces inflammation, supports joints, improves digestion and relieves nausea. (6, 7)

Grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi)

The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree is a hybrid originating in Barbados as an accidental cross between two introduced species, sweet orange, and pomelo, both of which were introduced from Asia in the seventeenth century. Grapefruit supports metabolism and cellulite reduction. Mix with coconut oil and rub on areas of cellulite or take a few drops internally with water. (8)

Lavender (Lavandula spica)

Lavandula (common name Lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found from Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to southeast India. Lavender helps with relaxation, improves mood and heals burns and cuts. (9)

Lemon (Citrus limon)

The lemon is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia. The tree’s ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world, primarily for its juice and oil, which has both culinary and cleaning uses. Lemon is great to use in homemade cleaning products, improves lymph drainage and cleanses the body. (10)

Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha)

Myrrh is a resin, or sap-like substance common in Africa and the Middle East. Myrrh is botanically related to Frankincense and is one of the most widely used essential oils in the world. It’s a natural antiseptic and can prevent or reduce infections, and also supports beautiful skin, reducing stretch marks and stabilizes hormone balance. (11)

Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

Oregano is a flowering plant in the mint family and is native to temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region. Oregano’s most prominent use is the staple herb eaten in Italian dishes for centuries. Oregano has powerful anti-microbial properties, it can kill fungus and help with the cold virus. (12)

Rose (Rosa)

There are over a hundred species of roses. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa. Rosa chinensis has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for centuries. Rose is astounding for reducing skin inflammation and great for creating glowing skin. Add a few drops to your facial moisturizer. (14)

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)

Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East. Peppermint oil has a high concentration of natural pesticides, mainly pulegone and menthone. Peppermint supports digestion, improves focus, boosts energy, reduces fever, headache and muscle pain relief. (13)

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean and Asia.  The name “rosemary” derives from the Latin for “dew” (ros) and “sea” (marinus), or “dew of the sea”. Rosemary can naturally thicken hair so it is great to add to homemade shampoos. Also, it improves brain function and memory so it’s great to use when working, reading or studying. (15)

Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)

The Tea Tree is native to Southeast Queensland and the Northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia. Tea tree oil was first extracted in Australia, and this species remains the most important commercially. Tea Tree is a natural antibacterial, antifungal, reduces odors and can help stimulate the immune system. (16)

Sandalwood (Santalum album)

Sandalwoods are part of the same botanical family as European mistletoe. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods and is the second most expensive wood in the world. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries. Sandalwood is a natural aphrodisiac that improves libido and can also improve energy. (17)

Essential Oil Recipes

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Safety Concerns

• Ingestion of essential oils for therapeutic purposes is not recommended by self-prescription due to the highly toxic nature of some essential oils.
• Essential oils such as thyme, oregano, clove, and cinnamon can irritate the skin—even cause blisters.
• Essential oils in the citrus family (bergamot, lemon, lime, orange, angelica), as well as cumin, can cause phototoxicity, resulting in a burn when you’re exposed to the sun (or radiation from a sunbed) even briefly.
• Some essential oils can trigger seizures in people with epilepsy, including eucalyptus, fennel, hyssop, pennyroyal, rosemary, and sage.
• Peppermint and eucalyptus can interfere with the effectiveness of the cancer drug 5-fluorouracil and potentially other medications.
• If you are allergic to ragweed, you may be allergic to the essential oil of chamomile, which is in the same botanical family.
• Keep all essential oils out of reach of children and pets.
• It’s recommended to stay out of the sun or sun tanning booth for at least twenty-four hours if photosensitizing essential oils were applied to the skin.
• Avoid prolonged use of the same essential oils.
• Avoid the use of undiluted essential oils on the skin, unless otherwise indicated.
• If you suspect any sensitivities to specific essential oils or have known allergies, it may be wise to perform a skin patch test prior to its use.
• Know the safety data on each essential oil and place into the context of use and knowledge.
• Use caution when treating a female client who suspects she is pregnant or has been trying to become pregnant.
• Keep essential oils away from inadvertently entering the eyes.
• Essential oils should be kept away from direct contact with flames, such as candles, fire, matches, cigarettes, and gas cookers.

Dermal Irritants (Table 1)

*bark is more irritating than leaf

The following oils listed in Table 2 are considered to be dermal sensitizers and are not recommended for use in aromatherapy massage.

Dermal Sensitizers (Table 2)

Photosensitizers (Table 3)

Non-phototoxic citrus oils (Table 4)

A mucous membrane irritant will produce a heating or drying effect on the mucous membranes of the mouth, eyes, nose, and reproductive organs. It is recommended that mucous membrane irritating essential oils not be used in a full body bath unless placed in a dispersant first (e.g., milk, vegetable oil). Table 5 lists some common essential oils considered to be mucous membrane irritants.

Table 5 lists some common essential oils considered to be mucous membrane irritants.

Mucous membrane irritants (Table 5)

Purity is Essential for Potency and Safety

With any essential oil you may be considering buying, it’s imperative that the company you buy from has standards for testing every batch of oil with Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Gas Chromatography (GS) technology, whether through an on-site or third party laboratory, assuring purity and the exact chemistry of each oil.

GC and MS technology is utilized by a very sophisticated device that separates the volatile compounds in essential oils into individual components and produces a linear graph and produces their percentages.

Each batch number should be listed on the essential oil bottle and should match the batch GC/MS report. This process is vital for medicinal blending and for quality assurance.

Below is a sample Gas Chromatography report. Mass Spectrometry test results show similar components and their percentages.

Click on image to view larger

The precise breakdown of the chemical components in individual oils from GC/MS reports are important as the therapeutic benefits and safety issues of essential oils are, in large part, determined by their chemical makeup.

In order for essential oils to have a therapeutic effect, they must be pure plant extracts. Adulterated oils or perfume/fragrance oils will not offer therapeutic effects and may, in fact, cause allergies, headaches and chemical sensitivities.

Where to Find the Best Source of Essential Oils

There are so many online retailers that sell essential oils that it can be overwhelming to search through the countless number of them to find which has high-quality oils.

One of our favorite suppliers of high-quality essential oils is Plant Therapy, where they are a family-run business.

Plant Therapy’s standards of quality are some of the strictest in the industry. Before they sell an essential oil they do everything possible to establish that it is 100% pure, natural, and of the highest quality, making it appropriate for use in aromatherapy, and even kid-safe.

Plant Therapy works directly with world renowned essential oil expert, Robert Tisserand, and several analytical laboratories.

Before they obtain a sample, they gather every bit of information about the farmer, distiller or supplier. They research their background, reputation, commitment to quality, and commitment to the industry. Once this has been established to their satisfaction, they then move on to the oil.

Their essential oils are first organoleptically (relating to qualities as taste, color, odor, and feel of a substance that stimulates bodily senses) tested by Robert Tisserand before being sent to a third party testing facility. Robert has been evaluating essential oils professionally for over 40 years.

Every bottle of oil from Plant Therapy will have a specific batch code that describes exactly what batch of oil is in the bottle. This information is also directly linked to the testing reports for each batch of oil.

You can see each essential oil’s GC/MS report by going to the essential oil’s product page and clicking on Test Reports.

If you’d like to pick up some high-quality essential oil from Plant Therapy, click here.

Below are other top-rated companies that have very high-quality essential oils.

• doTERRA
• BioSource Naturals
• Artisan Aromatics
• Stillpoint Aromatics
• Aromatics

If you’d like to read a must-have book for beginners and intermediates who are eager to gain a solid understanding of specific essential oils, hydrosols, and carrier oils and learn how to safely incorporate them into daily living, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, is one of our top picks.

The book features extensive and easy-to-follow information on:

• Using essential oils and their therapeutic properties
• A broad range of conditions and remedies
• Therapeutic healing for babies and children
• Skincare, haircare, and body care
• Essential oils best suited for massage modalities
• Creating natural home care products

It’s a good choice for those who are seriously interested in learning about aromatherapy, remedies (recipes), tips, cautions and supporting information.

If you’d like to pick up a copy, you can find it on Amazon by clicking here.

We’ve found and gathered our information within this article from a few credible sources after scouring the internet and going through the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy, Aromahead Institute, and AromaWeb, where all three are the top go-to sources for anything else you may want to know about essential oils.

We hope this article has shed some light on what to look for when buying or using essential oils.

Did you enjoy this article? If so, kindly share it and let us know what you think in the comments below. We welcome your input!

The post The Ultimate Essential Oils Guide: Therapeutic Uses, Recipes & Safety appeared first on Natural Revolution.

“It’s pernicious . . . it’s diabolical . . . it creeps into every moment of our lives. It influences our relationships, impacts our body, works its way into our conversations, sparks non-nourishing behaviors, and forces us to do things we’d never want to do. It’s infectious; it’s relentless . . . it’s stress!” — daviji

By Steven Peters — Everyone has stress in their lives to some degree. From the moment we’re born to the time we leave this plane of existence, we’re all trying to cope with things that life throws at us. And thankfully, there are mechanisms within our brain which react to stress that can help us through stressful situations.

However, when a person is faced with stress that goes beyond the scope of ‘normal daily stress’, and stress happen abruptly like a physical injury or may be emotionally taxing over a course of months or years, it can take a profound toll on our brain and emotional state of mind, which can then adversely affect our mood and behavior.

When that happens, it literally changes the brain chemistry and depletes essential neurotransmitters, which send signals across a chemical synapse, and acts as a junction between two nerve cells, transmitting the necessary chemicals required for the brain to function normally.

There are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters within our brain, and each plays a key role in how we feel emotionally and how our body functions. When we are stressed, our brain sends out chemicals that help us relax like GABA, and glycine for example.

The Excitatory Neurotransmitters

• Glutamate is used by the great majority of fast excitatory synapses in the brain and spinal cord. Excessive glutamate release can overstimulate the brain and lead to excitotoxicity causing a host of issues.
• Norepinephrine is found throughout the central nervous system. Chronic stress, if continued for a long time, can damage many parts of the body. A significant part of the damage is due to the effects of sustained norepinephrine release. The consequences can include sleeplessness, loss of libido, gastrointestinal problems, impaired disease resistance, slower rates of injury healing, depression, and increased vulnerability to addiction.^[49]
• Epinephrine takes part in controlling the adrenal glands. It plays a role in sleep, with one’s ability to become and stay alert, and plays a key role in the fight-or-flight response, also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response. It’s a reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.

The Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

• GABA is used in virtually every part of the brain. Many sedative/antianxiety drugs, act by enhancing the effects of GABA. It plays the principal role in reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. ^[Source] 
• Glycine is found throughout the central nervous system, especially in the spinal cord, brainstem, and retina. A 2014 review on sleep aids noted that glycine can improve sleep quality, citing a study in which 3 grams of glycine before bedtime improved sleep quality in humans.^[Source]
• Dopamine has a number of important functions in the brain; this includes regulation of motor behavior, pleasures related to motivation and also emotional arousal. It plays a critical role in the reward system.
• Serotonin is produced by and found in the intestine (approximately 90%), and the remainder in central nervous system neurons. It functions to regulate appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature, mood, behavior, muscle contraction, and function of the cardiovascular system and endocrine system. It is speculated to have a role in depression, as some depressed patients are seen to have lower concentrations of serotonin in their cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue.^[Source]
• Histamine works with the central nervous system (CNS). Although histamine is small compared to other biological molecules, it plays an important role in the body. It is known to be involved in 23 different physiological functions.

There is a vast amount of hormones, chemicals, sensory receptors and biological communication constantly being transmitted between cells in our body and the synapses in our brain. When even just one of those are overburdened to help send chemical signal to lessen the effects of stress, the stores of chemicals may be depleted, just like anything in our body which uses stored resources (bodily fluids, minerals, vitamins, etc.), due to constant physical or emotional stress, and when that happens, adverse internal (emotional) and external (bodily) symptoms begin to appear.

There’s quite a bit of research on depression and anxiety, which are commonly linked to one another by the same neuropathways in our brain that correlate to our emotional state of mind, and the symptoms that can occur can be quite debilitating if not treated, even life-threatening at times including suicide.

‘Recognizing’ is key to the beginning of healing

When we begin to understand how certain stressful events in our life can affect our mental health, symptoms of depression and anxiety can manifest as racing thoughts, unable to concentrate, unable to do daily task, the feeling that you can not catch your breath, numbness or tingling in your arms or legs, headaches, loss of appetite, inability to get a good night’s sleep, constant worry, feelings of dread, crying over situations that you wouldn’t normally cry about, and to the extreme, suicidal ideations.

Now that we’ve recognized some of the emotional or psychological state and the physical state of the symptoms that are present when depression and anxiety have manifested within us, we can begin to approach it in a way that can help relieve the painful emotional and physical symptoms that all too often can occur.

The reality is, there are only a few things in our lives that we are in control of.  Those are our thoughts, our breathing, and our behavior. We don’t have control of much else; we can’t control our body’s involuntary functions; we cannot control how other people think, we cannot control the weather; we cannot control time, we sometimes cannot even control how we think and react to a situation, especially if depressed or anxiety related issues have developed.

Thoughts create things — whether on the outside of us or within us. The tallest skyscraper in the world and the pyramids in Egypt initially came from a single thought. Thoughts are incredibly powerful and can become things which can shape not only ourselves but communities, cultures and the entirety of the world now, lasting only momentary (a thought), or last onward into the distant future.

Each and every thought that a person thinks creates an emotional response within them. When we see a funny movie, we laugh. When someone in our lives leaves for various reasons, we can become sad, or happy for that matter. Either way, you create that emotion.

What we think affects how we feel. ‘Feelings’ are what drives our lives. So when you think, know that you are in the process of creating something profound either internally or externally whether negative or positive.

It’s essential that we take productive and necessary steps to bring our brain back into homeostasis, which is the ability of the body or our cells to seek and maintain a condition of equilibrium or stability within its internal environment when dealing with external changes.

When a person is in a depressive, anxious or panic state, it’s extremely difficult to think about anything positive because they’re in a state of emotional crisis, and it can be very difficult to break the cycle of irrational thoughts or behaviors unless there is treatment.

Because what we think becomes things, if one is in the constant state of negative or irrational thinking, and cannot control those thoughts, like they normally would be able to if the chemical signals in the brain were functioning properly, that is the red flag that is raised and should be paid attention to with immediate intervention by seeing a medical specialist that understands mental health-related issues. A psychiatrist can write prescriptions, while a psychologist essentially uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way they feel.

If any of these symptoms affect your relationships and your ability to function at home or work, consult with a healthcare practitioner qualified to assess and treat depression and anxiety.

Emotional Symptoms

• Constant or transient feelings of sadness, anxiety, and emptiness
• Feeling restless; may experience irritability
• Feeling hopeless
• Feeling worthless, regretful or guilty for no reason
• Suicidal thoughts may occur
• Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once enjoyed
• Loss of libido
• Feelings of isolation

Physical Symptoms

• Disturbed sleep patterns; may sleep too little or too much
• Low energy
• Heart palpitations
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Significant weight loss or gain due to a change in eating habits; either loss of appetite or eating too much
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions
• Crying at the least bit of something emotional occurring
• An overactive startle response
• Numbness or tingling in the hands and legs

These symptoms are classic clinical signs of major depressive disorder (MDD) and general anxiety disorder (GAD).

Understanding how antidepressant drugs work

Pharmaceutical antidepressant drugs may be necessary in times of crisis, and they do help in certain instances where a person is in such a state of anxiety, depression, or psychosis, that they are unable to cope or ‘get it under control’. Pharmaceutical medication absolutely should be considered in situations where one feels they’ve lost the ability to function as they once did.

A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or (SSRI) is a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders. They’re a type of drug which acts as a reuptake inhibitor of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)) by blocking the action of the serotonin transporter (SERT). This, in turn, leads to increased concentrations of serotonin and, therefore, an increase in serotonergic neurotransmission.

Antidepressants have helped millions of people get out of the funk that they’re in, though unfortunately, many of those patients may very well be addicted to the medications that once helped them initially.

If a person needs to take medication because they’re at their wit’s end, it most certainly is appropriate to treat the symptoms of depression and anxiety with pharmaceutical drugs, at least until they are stable, which can be from weeks to months — it all depends on how a person responds to the medication they’re taking.

Generally, it takes a person to feel the effects of antidepressants within 6-8 weeks. Antianxiety medications act within minutes after ingesting them.

SSRI drugs should not be abruptly discontinued after extended therapy, and whenever possible, should be slowly tapered down in dosage over several weeks to minimize discontinuation-related symptoms which may include nausea, headache, dizziness, chills, body aches, burning or prickling sensation, insomnia, and electric shock-like sensations.

Antianxiety medication like benzodiazepines work rather quickly and people can find almost instant relief. Though they may be necessary, antianxiety medication is only a band-aid and should be considered as a temporary means to reduce anxiety as they are also very addictive. They don’t treat the underlying causes of anxiety, and this is why is important to understand there are other options available like psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and an approach with natural supplements that can help remedy depression and anxiety long-term.

Finding the treatment that’s right for you

‘Retraining the brain’ is analogous to a person who gets into an accident, injured their body and lost their ability to use their arms and legs, and must to go to rehabilitation to retrain their body how to function again. They’re actually retraining their brain to give the signals to their body which create an impulse that affects bodily movement.

If you’re experiencing depression and/or anxiety, and you value your life; if you value being happy; if you value all the positive and good things that you had in your life before you started to experience depression or anxiety, you can retrain your brain and begin to set yourself on the road to recovery, and below we’re going to dig into how you can do just that.

There’s no shortage of supply of doctors who may write a prescription they feel will help you relieve your symptoms of depression or anxiety. But in the end, those will only put a Band-Aid on the problem.

Below are simple yet very powerful tools that may help you overcome depression and anxiety naturally.

There’s a reason certain breathing practices have been around for thousands of years, and that’s because there’s actually something to it. Studies have shown that breathing techniques, particularly yogic breathing, have a profound effect on our body and mind and can actually heal the brain from injury.

Researchers have documented the benefits of a regular practice of simple, deep breathing which include:

• Reduced anxiety and depression
• Lower/stabilized blood pressure
• Increased energy levels
• Muscle relaxation
• Decreased feelings of stress and overwhelm

Here is one simple yet very powerful breathing technique which when done correctly, can produce oxytocin within your brain, basically making you feel like you’ve taken a drug — but it is you that is releasing it within your body by simply breathing a certain way. Oxytocin is a natural hormone within the body that makes us release stress and feel good.

Remember, you have control of three very powerful mechanisms within you, and one of them is your breathing.

A simple but powerful breathing technique is to sit in a quiet comfortable place, your feet on the floor, arms uncrossed laying palms up on your thighs, eyes closed and focus only on your breathing. Breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of 5 and breathe into your belly, and then into your chest. Then breathe slowly to the count of 5, breathing out of your mouth while slightly puckering your lips making a whooshing sound.

Do that three to four times, and at the end of your last exhale, begin to notice how you feel. When you do, you’ll discover that you feel calmer. That is because you’ve released oxytocin within your brain and body.

This simple yet powerful breathing technique is retraining your brain to be calm — do this often enough and you’ll discover just how easy and effective it is. You are highly encouraged to do this daily as many time as needed.

You can begin to rebuild the supply of serotonin by doing things that increased serotonin, not only in your brain but your gut as well, like spending time outdoors in the Sun. By being in the sun, it creates and synthesizes melatonin and serotonin in our body to help regulate our mood and sleep cycle.

Get at least 20 minutes of direct sunlight every day, but only before 11 am and after 3 pm. This is because the ultraviolet light A (UVA) is less during those times.

The sunlight that reaches us is made up of two types of harmful rays: long wave ultraviolet A (UVA) and short wave ultraviolet B (UVB). UVA rays penetrate deep into the dermis, the skin’s thickest layer. Both play a key role in premature skin aging, eye damage (including cataracts), and skin cancers.

Getting the right amount of sun has been shown to be healthy for us but in small amounts, so you want to restrict yourself from being in the sun at the times where the UVB rays are the strongest.

It’s also important to get enough vitamin B6 as it plays a vital role in the brain and is a very important vitamin that you can get from food. The foods to concentrate on eating that will increase serotonin are foods that contain precursors to tryptophan which then are converted into serotonin are chicken, turkey, fish, nuts, seeds, bran, oats, beans, eggs, spinach, seafood, watercress, mushrooms, broccoli, turnip greens, and lean meats.

Exercise is also very important in rebuilding serotonin and other brain-boosting chemicals. Research has shown that exercise boosts serotonin. Even gentle exercise like walking and rebounding can boost your immunity and mood.

If you’ve ever “gone with your gut” to make a decision or felt “butterflies in your stomach” when nervous, you’re likely getting signals from an unexpected source: your second brain.  Hidden in the walls of the digestive system, this “brain in your gut” is revolutionizing medicine’s understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health and even the way you think.

Research has shown that lower stores of serotonin, not only within the brain but particularly in the gut, have a profound effect on your emotional state of mind. The ‘brain-gut’ connection plays a vital role.

You can also incorporate probiotics into your diet, which positively affect the microbiology of the gut and our health. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your health, especially your digestive system. We usually think of bacteria as something that causes diseases. But your body is full of bacteria, both good and bad. Probiotics are often called “good” or “helpful” bacteria because they help keep your gut healthy.

We usually think of bacteria as something that causes diseases. But your body is full of bacteria, both good and bad. Probiotics are often called “good” or “helpful” bacteria because they help keep your gut healthy.

A new study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity suggests that taking a probiotic supplement may in fact help improve mood.

You can find probiotics in foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, and in supplements as well.

The enteric (pertaining to the intestines) nervous system doesn’t seem capable of thought as we know it, but it communicates back and forth with our big brain with profound results. When our brains are healthy as well as the brain in our gut, we see immune responses improve, which correlates to better health, as well as improved emotional wellbeing.

Did you know that your natural state of mind is joy? Everything that you experience from an outside source affects you internally. What you see, what you hear, what you taste, what you smell, and touch all affects our senses, which in turn affects how we feel. We are ‘feeling’ beings. Everything we do and everything we think about plays a crucial role in how we feel. If we don’t like something, we tend to stay away from it because it doesn’t feel good to us. The opposite is true too.

We are ‘feeling’ beings. Everything we do and everything we think about plays a crucial role in how we feel. If we don’t like something, we tend to stay away from it because it doesn’t feel good to us. The opposite is true too.

For example, you can listen to your favorite music, watch your favorite movies, read your favorite books, eat your favorite food, hang around your favorite people — anything that can give you an experience of feeling good and happy. This simple practice is what will begin to reshape your thought patterns and put you in a better state of mind, which in turn will help to increase the ‘feel-good’ chemicals within your body and brain to help lessen the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

You could also have someone give you a massage, or you could sit in a jacuzzi; you can go swimming either in a pool or at the beach; workout at the gym — anything that you enjoy doing, do. This will increase the likelihood of your brain receiving new information that is not stressful, but rather, is enjoyable.

These may seem like simple behaviors that don’t correlate to anything useful or productive, but in fact, these behaviors are helping to repair the brain and build essential neurotransmitters and other sensory stimuli to put the brain in a less state of stress.

The more often you surround yourself with things and immerse yourself into doing things that make you feel good, you will over time, start to feel just that.

Meditation is a practice that has been around for centuries. It’s necessary to quiet the mind, and when you quiet the mind you can begin to release the thoughts that may be tormenting you. With meditation, we have the control to quiet the mind. To stop the worrisome thoughts. We can relax. We can calm ourselves.

A study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison indicates that the practice of “Open Monitoring Meditation” (such as Vipassana), reduces the grey-matter density in areas of the brain related to anxiety and stress. Meditators were more able to “attend moment-to-moment to the stream of stimuli to which they are exposed and less likely to ‘get stuck’ on any one stimulus. ”

The brain needs rest from stress, and especially after a serious event which can alter our neurotransmitters, thus sending signals to the brain which disrupt those chemical signals and put us in a state of emotional crisis.

Meditation is a great way to achieve the kind of peace we all need to bring about lower levels of stress. Meditation has been found to be as effective to treat anxiety and depression as antidepressant drugs.

Benefits of Meditation

• Reduces stress
• Improves concentration
• Improves focus, attention, and ability to work under stress
• Increases happiness and overall sense of wellbeing
• Helps regulate mood and anxiety disorders
• Slows aging
• Reduces risk of heart diseases and stroke
• Helps to tolerate pain easier
• Improves learning, memory, and self-awareness
• Opens up channels of creativity
• Benefits cardiovascular and immune health

Practicing daily meditation has been shown to reduces levels of depression by 75%, and reduce levels of anxiety by 30%. It also has remarkable benefits to increase the overall sense of wellbeing by 65%.

When we are mentally active, resting or sleeping, the brain always has some level of electrical activity. During meditation, our theta brain waves are most abundant in the frontal cortex and middle parts of the brain. These types of waves originate from a relaxed state of consciousness and are essential for a rested state of mind.

There are approximately 23 types of meditation. If you’d like to learn about which meditation practice is best suited for you, click here.

Meditation is like multivitamins for your brain. It’s good to take it every day.

Only when we are on the road to recovery can we begin to heal what has caused us so much emotional or physical pain. In some instances, we may not even recognize that certain things in our life have affected us until outward symptoms present themselves.

You can approach relieving depression, anxiety, panic or other mood disorders by taking the pharmacological approach and seeing a medical doctor with whom can give you medication that will help you if you’re in a state of crisis. For many, this is a fix that can help get them through those rough times when they are feeling their absolute lowest.

It’s important to understand that with prescription drugs, come psychological dependence and a host of other symptoms that can set in, which actually can sometimes be worse than the symptoms that were present before taking the medication.

Natural remedies to help overcome depression and anxiety

• 5-HTP is a precursor to tryptophan that increases serotonin. Since 5-HTP increases the synthesis of serotonin, it is used for several diseases where serotonin is believed to play an important role including depression, insomnia, obesity, and many other conditions. Several studies have found that doses of 150-3000 mg daily for 2-4 weeks can improve symptoms of depression. Some early research shows that 5-HTP may be as beneficial as conventional antidepressant therapy for some people. [Source]
• St. John’s wort is most commonly used as a natural remedy for depression and symptoms, such as anxiety, tiredness, loss of appetite and trouble sleeping. It’s also used to treat heart palpitations, moodiness, the symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and symptoms of menopause.
• Valerian root extract has been used to ease anxiety, and nervous restlessness since the second century A.D. It became popular in Europe in the 17th century. Some research suggests that valerian may help people with insomnia. The Food and Drug Administration listed valerian as “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS). For anxiety, 120 to 200 mg, 3 to 4 times per day. Extreme caution should be used if combining valerian with any medications that have sedative effects. [Source]
• Cannabis is a medicinal herb and has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for depression, PTSD, and anxiety. The oral administration of the non-psychotropic, the substance that doesn’t get you “high”, cannabidiol or (CBD) which its extracts are made into an oil form is safe and well tolerated in humans, according to clinical trial data published online by the Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Design. The dry herb can be smoked, but we recommend vaporizing cannabis to lessen the inhalation from carbon particles that are released when ignited by a flame.  [Source]
• L-Theanine is a relaxing and non-dietary amino acid found pretty much exclusively in teas from Camellia sinensis (green tea) and is known to promote relaxation without sedation, as well as reducing stress at standard dosages. L-Theanine tends to be taken in the dosage of 100-250mg. Theanine may also have effects on the cardiovascular system and play a preventative role in cancer. Theanine is sold in the United States as a dietary supplement and has been granted GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status by the Food and Drug Administration. [Source]
• Melatonin is the natural hormone your body secretes that helps to maintain your wake-sleep cycle (also called “biological clock”) and can help you sleep. It is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan and then released into the blood and cerebrospinal fluid, crossing the blood-brain barrier. It sends messages to the melatonin receptor agonist in the brain and other areas of the body to help control the sleep and wake cycles. [Source]
• B-Complex vitamins play a role in producing brain chemicals that affect mood and other brain functions. Low levels of B-12 and other B vitamins such as vitamin B-6 and folate may be linked to depression. [Source]
• Omega-3 fatty acid has shown in studies that up 2 grams of EPA (omega-3 fatty acid) taken daily is sufficient for decreasing symptoms of several mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety with no side effects. [Source]
• Kava has been consumed in many cultures because it is known to relieve anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia for centuries. Kava has a calming effect, producing brain wave changes similar to changes that occur with antianxiety drugs such as Valium, for example. Kava also can prevent convulsions and relax muscles. Although kava is not addictive, its effect may decrease with use. In several studies, kava is as effective as benzodiazepines in eliminating anxiety symptoms. [Source]

Overcoming depression and anxiety naturally

Although the natural treatment approach may outweigh the risks with conventional drugs, these natural substances can have side effects, especially when they’re combined with pharmaceutical drugs like antidepressants or benzodiazepines, which in combination, can sometimes bring about adverse side effects.

However, the safety records of natural remedies far surpass any drugs created by the pharmaceutical industry, especially in light of the FDA admitting that 106,000 people each year who take prescription drugs die from their use which they deemed “safe” prior to approving the drug. This ‘medical cartel’ has been engaged in massive criminal fraud, presenting their drugs as safe and effective across the board—when, in fact, these drugs have been killing and maiming huge numbers of people at a staggering rate.

The benefits of natural remedies, which have been used for thousands of years, have a fairly good safety record. Mind you, there are natural products that potentially may cause harm because of different factors including underlying diseases, age, drug/herbal interactions, etc., but the risk-benefit ratio clearly points to more benefit than risk when consuming a natural substance, especially when clinical data shows their relatively safe profile.

If you’re suffering from the debilitating symptoms of depression or anxiety, these tools can help put you on a path of healing. Healing our emotional state of mind can be more difficult than physical healing, though may not come overnight if you or someone you know is dealing with these kinds of issues, know that with the right treatment it is ‘fixable’ over time.

Consider the time that it took, perhaps months or years, which brought about depression and anxiety — it requires a dedicated approach over time to help heal the internal wounds.

However, if you’re in constant emotional agony and you find it hard to cope, seeking medical attention is essential to bring about fairly immediate relief; going to the emergency room at a hospital, or seeing your primary doctor may be the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself.

It’s also important to empathize with those that are close to the person who is going through these kinds of issues — they’re taking on the emotional rollercoaster with that person and can be very difficult for them too. Being gentle and kind to others prior to and while going through treatment can help advance the recovery/healing process.

Finding stability and feeling ‘normal’ again

After you’ve found the right medications that are right for you, and you then are stable enough and would like to get off of prescription medications after several months, you may consider trying the natural approach to sustaining your emotional stability. Though, you may still require antianxiety medication if needed to get you through the rough spots.

If you are considering tapering off of benzodiazepine medication like Xanax or Ativan, etc., your doctor may be unaware of The Ashton Manual, which in the UK is regarded as the pinnacle of information that has been compiled over the course of thirty years on how to taper off of benzodiazepine drugs safely, and put in an easy to understand tapering schedule and guidelines that can help reduces withdrawal symptoms.

If you’re trying to taper off of any medication, it’s always best to consult your doctor. However, medical doctors only know so much. They aren’t always versed in the traditional approaches to treating diseases and disorders, or how to taper patients off medication properly, especially those that have a high susceptibility to addiction like some antidepressants and antianxiety medication.

Assessing the risk-benefit ratio

Modern medicine has provided an immense amount of proven life-saving interventions like surgery, as well as drugs such as antibiotics and pain medication that can, in fact, save lives in many situations.

However, man-made synthetic prescription drugs, while they can save lives, don’t come without their inherent risks. There are now antibiotic-resistant strains of MRSA and other life-threatening infections that are no longer effective because of the overprescribed usage of antibiotic medications.

For the more common pain conditions like back pain, chronic headache, and fibromyalgia, opioids may offer some relief, though in some cases, the drug doesn’t help, but rather, cause severe constipation as well as dangerous sedation.

A person who takes an opioid can become cognitively impaired and confused. Taken as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain safely and effectively. However, when abused, even a single large dose can cause severe respiratory depression and death.

Antidepressants too don’t come without risks. There are 15 times more suicides among people taking prescription antidepressants than reported by the Food and Drug Administration, which issued a black-box warning on antidepressants more than a decade ago. The agency did so after conducting hundreds of studies involving nearly 100,000 patients that showed the rate of suicidal thinking or suicidal behavior doubled among those taking antidepressants to 4% of patients, up from 2% of patients given a placebo.

The risks of adverse events related to antidepressants come in all varieties. Some you could live with them, like dry mouth or an occasional headache. Others are quite severe and even life-threatening at times, although those are extremely rare.

Ultimately, we don’t know very well how these medications interact with the brain in the long-term. That means standard rules of medication still apply: You want to take the drug as long as necessary, but no longer. In the case of taking antidepressants to treat depression, that includes being careful not to stop too early either, which could cause a relapse – though relapses can occur in patients who take antidepressants daily, as prescribed.

Good things come in good time

It’s important to realize if you’re in the midst of a depressive/anxiety state and are taking prescription medications, it will take time for your brain to readjust. If you aren’t ready to jump back into your old routine again, it may be best to consider easing off those regular routines and focus on healing yourself until you’re emotionally stable enough to resume those activities.

It’s best not to put yourself in any kind of stressful situations, or surround yourself with people that are not serving you in the best possible way, or giving you what you need in this time of crisis. Friends, family, and emotional support are imperative to help you through the hard times. It won’t last, and you will get better (“this too shall pass”) — you just need some time until you feel better again, and the less stress, the better.

Also, not sticking to either a natural or pharmaceutical approach if you are depressed or anxious, and talk therapy with a psychologist just won’t cut it because it does take time to ‘retrain your brain’, to get you back to ‘normal’ again, can make it even that much harder and longer to recover. Whatever approach you take, just stick with what works best for you.

Prescription antidepressants and antianxiety drugs have their own positive and negative effects when taken, although they can provide people relief they may need to get them through profoundly stressful circumstances that led up to a point where they need urgent medical attention.

It’s also crucial to be aware of the alternative approaches to prescription medication, which have shown through clinical studies to be proven effective in certain people who are trying to overcome depression and anxiety naturally and find the relief they need to get their life back.

If you would like to try a natural supplement to help with your depression, anxiety, or sleep, we’ve put together a list below of herbal and natural supplements that can help depression, anxiety, and sleep issues.

The supplements are from one of our affiliate partners, Amazon. To read more about how affiliate links help sustain the cost of running this website and bring you articles like this, feel free to click here.

Natural supplements

Bonus — Music as medicine

Music is one of the best things you can have in your life for your state of mind. While music has long been recognized as an effective form of therapy to provide an emotional outlet, the notion of using music to treat physical ailments is a relatively new domain. A wealth of new studies are touting the benefits of music on mental and physical health. For example, a meta-analysis of 400 studies found that music improves the body’s immune system function and reduces stress. Listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery. [Source]

Below is some very soothing meditation music that has proven benefits of lessening stress, and listening to it in combination to the breathing techniques I’ve outlined above, it absolutely can affect your state of mind in a very positive way. You can do this daily as needed.

When it’s all said and done, it is up to the individual to be their own best health advocate, because only they, and perhaps with the help of others, can find the answers to the questions they’ve been looking for that will finally set them on a path of healing.

Here’s to your good mental health!

If you liked this article, spread the word and share it, and leave us your thoughts in the comments below. We welcome your input!

The post 7 Secret Techniques to Overcome Depression and Anxiety Naturally appeared first on Natural Revolution.

Probiotics hold the key not just for better health and a stronger immune system, but also for treating digestive issues, mental health illness and neurological disorders. Research continues to prove that probiotics benefits and side effects go far beyond what we previously thought.

In this, The Ultimate Probiotic Guide to Better Health article, you will learn everything you ever need to know about probiotics, including the top 10 probiotics, best probiotic foods, best probiotic supplements and how to use them.

Probiotics Benefits Begin in the Gut

The first and most overlooked reason that our digestive tracts are critical to our health is because 80 percent of your entire immune system is located in your digestive tract!That is an astounding percentage.

In addition to the impact on our immune systems, our digestive systems are the second largest part of our neurological system. It’s called the enteric nervous system and is located in the gut. This is why it’s called our second brain!

Many people with health issues, such as thyroid imbalances, chronic fatigue, joint pain, psoriasis, autism and many other conditions don’t realize that these illnesses originate in the gut.

If these issues and many others are connected to our gut health, then what elements are essential for digestive health? Consider this: According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, upward of 60 million to 70 million Americans are affected by digestive diseases. In addition, digestive disease and disorders cost the U.S. over $100 billion per year.” (1)

These statistics are staggering, yet poor gut health actually affects much greater numbers than these statistics illustrate. That’s because your digestive health affects every physiological system in your body.

The many toxins we’re subjected to today decrease digestive function, affecting our ability to utilize nutrients and rid ourselves of cholesterol, triggering chronic inflammation in the body, which is the cause of many chronic conditions and diseases.

The secret to restoring your digestive health is all about balancing out the good and bad bacteria in your gut. If you’re going to be healthy, you MUST consider consuming probiotic-rich foods and supplements daily.

What Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are bacteria that line your digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. There are actually 10 times more probiotics in your gut then cells in your body!

Your skin and digestive system by themselves host about 2,000 different types of bacteria. Probiotics benefits have been proven effective in supporting immune function and healthy digestion, as well as beautiful skin.

Your good gut bacteria is also responsible for:

• Producing vitamin B12, butyrate and vitamin K2
• Crowding out bad bacteria, yeast and fungi
• Creating enzymes that destroy harmful bacteria
• Stimulating secretion of IgA and regulatory T-cells

Probiotics have been in our systems right from the moment that we stepped into the world. When a newborn is in the birth canal of the mother during delivery, that’s when the baby is exposed to the bacteria of his or her mother for the first time. This event starts a chain of events inside the baby’s GI tract, and the infant’s GI tract starts to produce good bacteria.

If you don’t have enough probiotics, the side effects can include digestive disorders, skin issues, candida, autoimmune disease, and frequent colds and flus.

Historically, we had plenty of probiotics in our diets from eating fresh foods from good soil and by fermenting our foods to keep them from spoiling.

However, because of refrigeration and dangerous agricultural practices like soaking our foods with chlorine, our food contains little to no probiotics today, and most foods actually contain dangerous antibiotics that kill off the good bacteria in our bodies.

By adding more probiotic foods into your diet, you could see all of the following probiotics benefits:

• Stronger immune system
• Improved digestion
• Increased energy from production of vitamin B12
• Better breath because probiotics destroy candida
• Healthier skin, since probiotics naturally treat eczema and psoriasis
• Reduced cold and flu
• Healing from leaky gut syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease
• Weight loss

Top 7 Probiotic Killers

Most people, including children, are in need of a probiotic boost due to the use of prescription medication, particularly antibiotics, as well as high-carbohydrate diets, the consumption of chlorinated and fluoridated water, and conventional foods, such as non-organic meat and dairy that contain antibiotic residues. These chemicals kill off probiotics in your system, which over time damages your digestive tract. (2)

Here are the top seven probiotic killers that can prevent your body from getting all the tremendous probiotics benefits it needs:

1. Prescription antibiotics
2. Sugar
3. Tap water
4. Genetically modified foods (GMOs)
5. Grains
6. Emotional stress
7. Chemicals and medications

In order to improve your gut flora balance, make sure to avoid the probiotic killers. We’re exposed to many of these foods, toxins, and stressors on a daily basis, and if you’re going to restore your digestive health, they must be addressed. If they’re not addressed, your gut micro-organisms become imbalanced, and your system can become a breeding ground for bad bacteria, yeast, viruses, fungi and parasites. (3)

The only way to fix this issue and heal your gut is to eliminate the foods that feed bad bacteria and start consuming probiotic-rich foods and supplements so probiotics benefits can work their magic.

20 Probiotics Benefits Proven by Research

The strongest evidence to date finds that probiotics benefits include:

• boosting the immune system
• preventing and treating urinary tract infections
• improving digestive function
• healing inflammatory bowel conditions like IBS (4)
• managing and preventing eczema in children
• fighting food-borne illnesses

New studies underway may soon prove that probiotics can:

• reduce flu and colds
• reduce overuse of antibiotics
• treat kidney stones
• treat colic
• prevent cavities and gum disease
• treat colitis and Crohn’s disease
• combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria
• treat liver disease
• battle cancer (5)
• manage autism
• lower cholesterol
• fight bacteria that causes ulcers
• improve acne
• lose weight

How Probiotics Work

Your gut contains both beneficial and harmful bacteria. Digestive experts agree that the balance of gut flora should be approximately 85 percent good bacteria and 15 percent bad bacteria.

If this ratio gets out of balance, the condition is known as dysbiosis, which means there’s an imbalance of too much of a certain type of fungus, yeast or bacteria that affects the body in a negative way. By consuming certain types of probiotics foods and supplements, you can help bring these ratios back into balance.

Also, it’s important to understand that probiotics are not a new idea. Throughout history, cultures have thrived on probiotics found in fermented foods and cultured foods, which were invented for food preservation long before the refrigerator.

In fact, the refrigerator could be one of the worst inventions for you digestive health because now we don’t have to culture or ferment our foods to keep them from spoiling so we lose out on those vital probiotics and probiotics benefits.

4 Steps to Get More Probiotics in Your System and Reap Probiotics Benefits

1. Eat More Sour Foods

Step No. 1 is consume more sour foods. Embrace what I call the power of sour and sour foods like apple cider vinegar, specifically, and fermented vegetables. They contain some probiotics, but also they contain certain types of acids like gluconic acid and acetic acid, healthy acids that create a certain type of pH in your body that supports the growth of probiotics in your system.

So again, it’s great to get some healthy sour foods. What I would start doing is add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a drink two times a day. So before breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner, add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in your meal, and then start consuming more fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi, or drinking kvass. Get some fermented vegetables like sauerkraut several times a week in your meals; that’s one way to boost probiotics in your system.

2. Consume More Probiotic-Rich Foods

The second way is just to start consuming more probiotic-rich foods. Now, probiotic-rich foods are things like high-quality goat milk yogurt, kefir or even different types like coconut kefir, but getting more probiotic-rich foods in your diet is essential to boosting and increasing your probiotics.

I would start trying to consume one serving of probiotic-rich food a day. You can add kefir, one of my favorites, in your morning smoothie, and you can eat some organic probiotic yogurt during the day. And again, get some good fermented foods in your diet — at least one serving a day or more.

3. Feed the Probiotics in Your System

Step No. 3 to naturally boost probiotics in your system is to start to feed the probiotics. So think about this: Probiotics are living organisms. If they’re going live in your body, they need fuel, they need to feed off something, they need good soil. That soil is fermentable fiber.

Getting good, high-quality fiber in your diet can actually cause probiotics to increase in your body. And the best type of fiber is soluble fiber, known as fermentable fiber. Some of my favorite high-fiber foods include chia seeds. Chia seeds benefits include that it is a great form of fermentable fiber, as are beneficial flaxseeds — adding chia and flax into a morning smoothie is fantastic.

Along with that, organic fruits and vegetables are a great option. And then also, nutritious sweet potatoes and regular potatoes are also good forms of fermentable fiber. A high-fiber diet consisting of these foods fuel probiotics.

4. Take a Quality Probiotic Supplement

Last but not least, taking a quality probiotic supplement is a great way to get more probiotics in your body. Taking a quality probiotic supplement can naturally boost the good probiotics in your system.

Top 10 Probiotic Foods List

If you want to start consuming probiotic-rich foods, here is a list of the most beneficial probiotic foods:

1. Kefir

Similar to yogurt, this fermented dairy product is a unique combination of milk and fermented kefir grains. Kefir has been consumed for well over 3,000 years, and the term kefir was started in Russia and Turkey and means “feeling good.”

Kefir is created by the fermentation of milk by the bacteria, and yeasts in kefir starter break down lactose in the milk. That’s why kefir is suitable for those who are otherwise lactose intolerant.

It has a slightly acidic and tart flavor and contains anywhere from 10 to 34 strains of probiotics. Kefir is similar to yogurt, but because it’s fermented with yeast and more bacteria, the final product is higher in probiotics.

If you want to learn more, check out this article on how kefir benefits your health.

2. Sauerkraut

Made from fermented cabbage and other vegetables, sauerkraut is not diverse in probiotics but is high in organic acids (what gives food its sour taste) that support the growth of good bacteria. Sauerkraut is extremely popular in Germany today.

Sauerkraut is high in vitamin C and digestive enzymes. It’s also a good source of natural lactic acid bacteria, such as lactobacillus. Sauerkraut juice has been studied to benefit digestive issues like leaky gut, diarrhea, and constipation, and is also effective at helping you kick a cold fast.

3. Kimchi

Kimchi is a cousin to sauerkraut and is the Korean take on cultured veggies.

It’s created by mixing the main ingredient, such as Chinese cabbage, with a number of other foods and spices, like red pepper flakes, radishes, carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, sea salt and fish sauce. The mixture is then left aside to ferment for three to 14 days.

4. Coconut Kefir

Made by fermenting the juice of young coconuts with kefir grains, this dairy-free option for kefir has some of the same probiotics as traditional dairy kefir but is typically not as high in probiotics. Still, it has several strains that are great for your health.

Coconut kefir has a great flavor, and you can add a bit of stevia, water and lime juice to it to make a great-tasting drink.

5. Natto

A popular dish in Japan consisting of fermented soybeans, natto contains the extremely powerful probiotic bacillus subtilis, which has been proven to bolster your immune system, support cardiovascular health and enhance digestion of vitamin K2.

Natto can also contain vitamin B12, which is lacking in vegan diets and is one of the highest plant-based sources of protein at 17.7 grams per 100-gram serving size.

6. Yogurt

Possibly the most popular probiotic food is live cultured yogurt or greek yogurt made from the milk of cows, goats or sheep.

Yogurt in most cases can rank at the top of probiotic foods if it comes from raw, grass-fed animals. The problem is there is a large variation in the quality of yogurts on the market today. It’s recommended when buying yogurt to look for three things: First, that it comes from goat’s, sheep milk or A2 cows milk; second, that it’s grass-fed; and third, that it’s organic.

7. Kvass

Kvass is a common fermented beverage in Eastern Europe since ancient times. It was traditionally made by fermenting rye or barley, which gives it its mild flavor. In more recent years, it’s been created using beets, fruit, along with other root vegetables like carrots.

Kvass uses lactobacilli probiotics, which have blood- and liver-cleansing properties.

8. Miso

Miso is one of the mainstays of traditional Japanese medicine and is commonly used in macrobiotic cooking as a digestive regulator. Miso has been a staple in Chinese and Japanese diets dating back approximately 2,500 years.

Today, most of the Japanese population begins the day with a warm bowl of miso soup believed to stimulate the digestive system and energize the body.

Made from fermented soybeans, rice or barley, adding a tablespoon of miso to some hot water makes an excellent, quick, probiotic-rich soup.

The fermentation process can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of years to complete, and the end result is a red, white or dark brown paste with a buttery texture.

Miso soup is famous throughout the world, and it’s very easy to prepare. Simply dissolve a tablespoonful of miso in a pot of water filled with seaweed and other ingredients of your choice.

9. Kombucha

Kombucha is an effervescent fermentation of black tea that’s started by using a SCOBY, also known as a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. Kombucha has been around for over 2,000 years and was thought to originate in 212 B.C. in the Far East. It later surfaced in Japan and then spread to Russia.

Many claims have been made about kombucha, but its primarily health benefits include digestive support, increased energy and liver detoxification.

Read more here on the health benefits of kombucha.

10. Raw Cheese

Goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, and A2 aged cheeses are particularly high in probiotics, including thermophillus, bifudus, bulgaricus and acidophilus. Always buy raw and not pasteurized or you will not be getting any of the probiotics benefits.

_______________________________________________________________

How to Pick the Best Probiotic Supplements

It’s important to note that there are different types of strains of probiotics. The probiotics benefits experienced with one probiotic strain may be completely different from the health benefits seen from another probiotic.

Certain strains of probiotics support immunity, others digestion, and some even help burn fat and balance hormones.

If you want to use probiotics to help with a specific health concern, it’s vital to select the right probiotic for the right condition. Or you can consume a wide range of probiotics in your food to be covered.

As we said earlier, you are what you digest, and there are no other compounds in the world that support digestion and the assimilation of nutrients better than living probiotics. While many companies now produce probiotics, the majority of them are ineffective at best. Most probiotic supplements today are destroyed by your stomach acid before they ever get to your digestive tract.

When reading a probiotic label, it should reveal the genus, species, and strain of the probiotic. The product should also give you the colony forming units (CFUs) at the time of manufacturing.

Also, the majority of probiotics can die under heat so knowing the company had proper storing and cooling of the facility is also important.

There are five specific things you want to consider when buying a probiotic supplement:

1. Brand quality — Look for brands that are reputable like Garden of Life, MegaFood, and Axe Naturals.
2. High CFU count — Purchase a probiotic brand that has a higher number of probiotics, from 15 billion to 100 billion.
3. Strain diversity — Search for a probiotic supplement that has 10–30 different strains.
4. Survivability — Look for strains like bacillus coagulans, saccharomyces boulardii, bacillus subtilis, lactobacillus rhamnosus, and other cultures or formulas that ensure probiotics make it to the gut and are able to colonize.
5. Research — Do your homework and look for brands that have strains that support your specific needs.

Here are a few more things to look for:

Stay away from general health claims and consider how much information is really on a label.

• Stability: Probiotics need to be kept cold in order to preserve their potency. This applies to their production, transport, storage and sales.
• Date: The fresher the better when you’re talking about living organisms.
• Sugar: Sugar is not a good food source for probiotics. Prebiotics are the food source meant to keep probiotics alive. A synbiotic is a supplement that contains both prebiotics and probiotics. The best synbiotics contain healthy plant starches and fiber.
• Living vs. dead: “Live and active cultures” is a better bet than “made with active cultures.” After fermentation, the product may be heat-treated, which kills off both good and bad bacteria (extending shelf life).
• Bacteria type: “Live and active cultures” does not necessarily mean that the kinds of bacteria the product holds have been proven as beneficial. The bacteria strain should consist of two names and two letters: the genus, species, and strain. If the label lists two names, it could be any one of hundreds of bacteria without research or proven health benefits behind it.
• Potency: This is where it gets tricky. Most probiotic products don’t list a number of bacteria their products contain, and the amount that’s effective depends upon many qualifiers. Health benefits can occur with 50 million CFUs for certain conditions and may take as many as 1 trillion CFU for others. The higher the number the better. The Food Standards Code claims that at least one million live bacteria per gram are necessary for yogurt and other fermented drinks to provide the 10 billion CFU needed for health effect.

Beneficial Probiotic Strains 

• Bifidobacterium bifidum — the most dominant probiotic in infants and in the large intestine, supports the production of vitamins in the gut, inhibits harmful bacteria, supports immune system response and prevents diarrhea. (6)
• Bifidobacterium longum — supports liver function, reduces inflammation, removes lead and heavy metals. (7)
• Bifidobacterium breve — helps colonize healthy gut community and crowd out bad bacteria. (8) 
• Bifidobacterium infantis — alleviates IBS symptoms, diarrhea and constipation. (9)
• Lactobacillus casei — supports immunity, inhibits h. pylori and helps fight infections. (10)
• Lactobacillus acidophilus — relieves gas, bloating, improves lactose intolerance. Shown to help with a 61 percent reduction in E. coli, lower cholesterol levels and the creation of vitamin K. (11) Also, important in GALT immune strength.
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus — a powerful probiotic strain that has been shown to fight harmful bacteria that invades your digestive system and is stable enough to withstand the acidic digestive juices of the stomach. It also neutralizes toxins and naturally produces its own antibiotics.
• Lactobacillus brevis — shown to survive the GI tract, boost cellular immunity, enhanced natural T-killer cells and kill h. pylori bacteria. (12)
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus — supports bacterial balance and supports healthy skin, helps fight urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, and reduce anxiety by reducing stress hormones and GABA neurotransmitter receptors. (13) Also, survives GI tract.
• Bacillus subtilis — an endospore probiotic that’s heat-resistant. Elicits a potent immune response and supports GALT. (14, 15) Suppresses growth of bad bacteria like salmonella and other pathogens.
• Bacillus coagulans — an endospore probiotic that’s heat-resistant and improves nutrient absorption. Also, has been shown to reduce inflammation and symptoms of arthritis. (16)
• Saccharomyces boulardii — a yeast probiotic strain that restores natural flora in the large and small intestine and improves intestinal cell growth. It’s proved effective in treating inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease. (17) It’s been shown to have anti-toxin effects, be antimicrobial and reduce inflammation. (18, 19)

Are There Probiotic Side Effects?

Probiotic side effects can sometimes include diarrhea if you take too much too fast. You can start off with a smaller amount like one tablespoon of kefir or one probiotic capsule a day and work your way up.

But overall, the side effects of probiotics are nothing but positive, making probiotics benefits all the sweeter.

Final Thoughts on Probiotics Benefits

• Do your best to remove substances that can destroy probiotics, like sugar, grains, GMOs, tap water, antibiotics and emotional stress from your life.
• Consume two servings daily of probiotic-rich foods from the top 10 list to receive probiotics benefits.
• Another way to get all those great probiotics benefits it to take a probiotic supplement that has at the very least 10+ strains of probiotics with at least 15 billion CFUs.

This article first appeared on Dr.Axe.com.

The post The Ultimate Probiotic Guide to Better Health appeared first on Natural Revolution.

What was considered far more valuable than gold and silver in Biblical times? What would kings and queens of antiquity never be caught without? What was found in King Tut’s tomb and cherished for its health-giving benefits for thousands of years?

The answer to all of these questions comes from one of the oldest secrets of the natural world: essential oils.

Today, we’re going to uncover the reasons why essential oils have been used for more than 5,000 years to promote health, wellness and beauty.

And we’ll also see why kings and queens, like King David, King Solomon and Queen Esther, would never be caught without these oils in their treasure chest.

But before we talk about the amazing health benefits of essential oils and their many uses, I want to answer some key questions about essential oils:

• What are they?
• What makes them so healthy?
• And besides the great smell, why have they remained so popular throughout history?

What Are Essential Oils?

Have you ever smelled the crisp, refreshing scent of a fresh cut lemon?

Or maybe you’ve breathed in the cool, tingling air of real peppermint?

If so, you may have already experienced the power of essential oils and not even know it.

Essential oils are responsible for the fragrances you smell. They’re also the nutritional compounds inside many plants and herbs. And once extracted from the plant or herb, they bring many of the same health-giving benefits to the table. One reason they’re so powerful is because they’re the “essence” of the real plant or herb, only in a highly concentrated form.

Where Does the Aroma Come From?

The naturally occurring aromas of essential oils come from volatile compounds inside the fruit or plant. When pressed and concentrated, the rinds of citrus fruits or the roots, stems and flowers of plants release volatile compounds that represent the true essence of the plant.

If the words “volatile compounds” makes you nervous, don’t worry.

The first time you experience an essential oil, you’ll notice this characteristic almost instantly. In fact, the moment you open a bottle, you’ll get a waft of the pleasant aromas inside.

That instant smell you’re greeted with is the volatile compounds at work.

This volatility makes essential oils ideal for diffusing and for practices such as aromatherapy. But make no mistake. Aromatherapy isn’t just about the aroma of essential oils.

The effects of the fragrances and these volatile molecules go even deeper — all the way to your bloodstream and your limbic system.†

How?

The limbic system is directly connected to areas of the brain that control all of these key areas:

• Heart rate
• Blood pressure
• Breathing
• Memory
• Stress levels
• And hormone balance

Because essential oils can support this bodily system, new scientific evidence shows that inhaling essential oils may be one of the fastest ways to create physiological or psychological benefits.

When you ingest something, it enters your stomach and is processed mainly by your digestive system.

An aroma, however, activates your olfactory nerves and goes directly into your body, lungs and bloodstream. This direct interaction with key areas of the body produces unique and, in many cases, powerful health benefits.†

And that’s not all. Essential oils can also enter the skin directly. When added to creams and lotions or massaged directly on the skin, essential oils can deliver a host of healthful qualities.

Take lavender, for example.

How?

For starters, your skin is the largest organ in your body. In just one square inch of skin, you’ll find all of these vital functions:

• 650 sweat glands
• 100 sebaceous (oil-producing) glands
• 78 heat sensors
• 13 cold sensors
• 165 structures that perceive pressure
• 1,300 nerve endings
• 19 yards of blood vessels

And every one of those roles can be influenced by what the skin comes into contact with.

That’s where essential oils come into play. They bring the health-giving benefits of nature to your pores directly.

It’s clear that the benefits are far-sweeping. But before you dive into using them, let’s examine how they’ve been used throughout history and the best ways to use them in the modern world.

Science Finally Confirms the Wisdom of Our Most Trusted Text

Like I’ve alluded to before, beyond their beautiful fragrances, essential oils can deliver some powerful health benefits.

Evidence of these benefits dates back thousands of years to:

• Ancient Egypt

• Ancient Rome

• And even our most coveted text: The Bible

Biblical historians have found scriptural references to all of these key essential oils:

• Frankincense
• Myrrh
• Galbanum
• Rosemary
• Hyssop
• Cassi
• Cinnamon
• Cedarwood
• Myrtle
• Spikenard (aka Lavender)

All of these essential oils were used for anointing and for promoting health.†

And do you remember the story of three kings visiting baby Jesus and Mary after his birth? The kings offered gold, frankincense and myrrh.

These oils were so cherished and so valuable, they were two of the three things given to God’s only son! Talk about powerful.

In the modern world, essential oils are as popular as ever before. They’re used in many household care and beauty products.

Where do you think things like lavender-scented shampoo and lemon-scented soaps come from?

However, because of mass production and commercialization, many essential oils are both less present in today’s products plus don’t have the same health-giving abilities they used to.

When oils are not held to high-quality production standards and are not rendered from all-natural sources, they simply don’t deliver the same benefits. And in some cases, they can even be toxic.

Historically, the plants used to make essential oils were grown organically — without pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In part, they were grown that way because toxic chemicals like that did not exist. Equally, people also knew the real power of essential oils comes from their connection to nature.

Sadly, that’s not the case for many essential oils today. Most essential oils on the market are neither organic nor are they non-GMO.

In fact, in the modern world, there are 4 grades of essential oils you need to look out for:

Unfortunately, many people today consume mega-doses of synthetic grade or non-organic essential oils, which can be toxic, standardized and full of unwanted chemicals. As a result, many of these synthetic essential oils are unable to provide the powerful, health-giving benefits. Instead, they really are just a nice smell with none of the healthful benefits.

Most commercially available essential oils are nothing more than a man-made concoction of synthetic chemicals, an ineffective combination of water, cheap oil and inorganic chemicals.

In fact, even if you take so-called “therapeutic” essential oils that have been extracted from real plants, they will not be as effective since they’ve been grown on farms coated with pesticides and other resin.

In summary, an ideal essential oil should be:

• certified organic
• 100% Pure and Therapeutic Grade
• sourced indigenously or come from certified organic land
• not containing any bases, fillers or any additives

If you can find an oil that meets all of these criteria, great! You can feel good knowing that the provider has taken every possible measure to deliver the best, farm-to-your-front door, safe, whole-body supporting oil available.

With that said, be cautious of any brand that doesn’t hold their oils to these standards.

Click here to discover the only brand of essential oils we recommend.

This article first appeared on Dr. Axe.

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Wouldn’t it be nice if our worries could just float away with a single pill? While that might not be the case just yet, there are powerful healing herbs that have been around for centuries and studied which have shown just how incredible they are to being the closest thing to a “miracle cure” that nature has to offer.

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Manly P. Hall

By MITCH HOROWITZ

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw an explosion of spiritual teachers and impresarios dealing in “secret wisdom.” Their ranks included hacks and frauds – as well as more than a few genuine scholars of esoteric traditions. Most have vanished from memory, their writings a historical footnote.

There exists one distinct figure, though, whose movement and teachings not only survived his passing but are even experiencing a revival in our day. His name is Manly P. Hall. While few academicians will ever know of him, Hall was among the twentieth century’s – and perhaps any century’s – most commanding and unusual scholars of esoteric and mythological lore. Yet the source of his knowledge and the extent of his virtuosity can justly be called a mystery.

While working as a clerk at a Wall Street banking firm – the “outstanding event” of which involved “witnessing a man depressed over investment losses take his life” – the 28-year-old Hall self-published one of the most complex and thoroughgoing works ever to catalogue the esoteric wisdom of antiquity, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Hall’s Secret Teachings is almost impossible to classify. Written and compiled on an Alexandrian scale, its hundreds of entries shine a rare light on some of the most fascinating and little-understood aspects of myth, religion, and philosophy.

Today, more than seventy-five years after its initial publication, the book’s range of material astonishes: Pythagorean mathematics; alchemical formulae; Hermetic doctrine; the workings of Kabala; the geometry of Ancient Egypt; the Native American myths; the uses of cryptograms; an analysis of the Tarot; the symbols of Rosicrucianism; the esotericism of the Shakespearean dramas – these are just a few of Hall’s topics. Yet his background betrays little clue to his virtuosity.

A Man Unknown

Hall was born in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1901 to parents who would shortly divorce, leaving the young Manly in the care of a grandmother who raised him in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He had little formal schooling. But there was a spark of some indefinable brilliance in the young man, which his grandmother tried to nurture in trips to museums in Chicago and New York.

Tragedy struck early, when his grandmother died when he was 16. Afterward, a self-styled Rosicrucian community in California took him in. At age 19, suspicious of the community’s claims to ancient wisdom, Manly moved on his own to Los Angeles where he began a precocious career in public speaking – first giving an address on reincarnation in a small room above a bank in Santa Monica, and soon rising to the rank of minister at a liberal evangelical congregation called The Church of the People.

Word spread of the boy wonder’s mastery of arcane and metaphysical subject matter. He attracted benefactors and eventually began travelling the world in search of hidden wisdom. Yet Hall’s early letters from Japan, Egypt, China, and India are, in many respects, fairly ordinary: They contain little of the eye-opening detail or wonder of discovery that one finds in the writings of other early twentieth-century seekers encountering the East for the first time. More often they read like prosaic, if somewhat sensitive, linear travelogues of their day.

Like a bolt from the blue, however, one is astounded to discover a short work of immense power from the young Hall – a book that seems to prefigure that which would come. In 1922, at the age of 21, Hall wrote a luminescent gem on the mystery schools of antiquity, Initiates of the Flame. Though brief, one sees in it the outline of what would become The Secret Teachings of All Ages. On its frontispiece, Initiates of the Flame boldly announces: “He who lives the Life shall know the Doctrine.”

The short book goes on to expound passionately and in detail on Egyptian rites, Arthurian myths, and the secrets of alchemy, among other subjects. Feeling the power and ease in its pages, the reader can almost sense the seeds of greatness that were beginning to take hold in Hall’s grasp of esoteric subjects.

The Secret Teachings Born

Hall soon returned to America, where he tried his hand at banking – though he found his true path in the beaux arts Reading Room of the New York Public Library. Entering this cavernous space today, it is not difficult to picture the large-framed, young Manly P. Hall surrounded by books of myth and symbol at one of the room’s huge oaken tables. Like a monk of the Middle Ages, Hall copiously, almost superhumanly, pored over hundreds of the great works of antiquity, distilling their esoteric lore into his volume.

By the age of 28, having pre-sold subscriptions for nearly 1,000 copies (and printing 1,200 more), Hall published what would become known as “The Great Book” – and it has never gone out of print since.

Indeed, Hall is an exception to most of his contemporaries as someone whose work is actually building in influence today. In its day, the Secret Teachings was expensive, hefty, and cumbersome. As a result, the book spent much of its existence as an underground classic. In late 2003, however, the Secret Teachings found new life in a reset and redesigned “reader’s edition,” which has sold a remarkable 40,000 copies in less than three years.(For further details, see “Bringing the Secret Teachings Into the 21st Century” by Mitch Horowitz at www.lapismagazine.org). A little-known 1929 companion volume by Hall, called Lectures on Ancient Philosophy, has also been recently reissued.

After publishing his magnum opus, Hall opened a campus in 1934 in the Griffith Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles called The Philosophical Research Society (PRS), where he spent the rest of his life teaching, writing, and amassing a remarkable library of esoterica. A self-contained property designed in a pastiche of Mayan, Egyptian, and art deco styles, PRS remains a popular destination for LA’s spiritually curious.

Following Hall’s death in 1990, PRS barely survived simultaneous legal battles – one with Hall’s widow, who claimed the group owed her money, and another with a bizarre father-son team of con artists who, in the estimation of a civil court judge, had befriended an ailing, octogenarian Hall to pilfer his assets. The Los Angeles Police Department considered Hall’s death sufficiently suspicious to keep it under investigation for several years.

Secret Wisdom, Practical Wisdom

For all his literary output, Hall revealed little about his private life. His most lasting record is a frequently trite, unrevealing childhood memoir called Growing Up with Grandmother (in which he refers to his guardian as “Mrs. Arthur Whitney Palmer”). As an adult, Hall’s close relations were few. He did not marry until well into middle age, in a union some surmise was never consummated.

Hence, when Hall disclosed something about his background, it was purposeful. He wrote this in a PRS newsletter in 1959: “As a result of a confused and insecure childhood, it was necessary for me to formulate a personal philosophy with which to handle immediate situations.”

Here was someone with a tremendous interest in the arcane philosophies of the world, in the occult and metaphysical philosophies, but he wasn’t fixated on immortality, or a will to power, or on discovering keys that unlock the universe. Rather, he was focused on harnessing inner truths in a very practical way. How, he wondered, could such ideas lend clarity to daily life?

We’ll take a byroad that steers us in another direction before returning to this point. Our byroad involves one of the most famous novels in history, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The work has many facets, among them a portrait – not sympathetic, but not as unsympathetic as one might suppose – of the European occult in the Enlightenment era. The portrait comes in the character of a young Victor von Frankenstein, a budding scientist torn between the occult teachings that drew him to science as a child and the prevailing rationalism of his teachers. Victor confides his interest in the great alchemists and occult philosophers, such as the Renaissance-era magus Cornelius Agrippa, but his professors dismiss him with complete condescension.

One day in his room, Victor ponders the unbridgeable gap between his magical visions and the scholasticism of his peers:

I had a contempt for the uses of modern natural philosophy. It was very different when the masters of science sought immortality and power; such views, although futile, were grand; but now the scene was changed. The ambition of the inquirer seemed to limit itself to the annihilation of those visions on which my interest in science was chiefly founded. I was required to exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur for realities of little worth.

In a sense, Victor spoke for generations of occultists when describing his ideal of boundless grandeur, immortality, power, and visions. (And who wouldn’t sympathise with the rebellious young Victor – whose dreams and ambitions, while hopeless, exist on a grand scale – versus the certainties of his crusty professors?)

An occult scholar born at the cusp of the twentieth century, Manly P. Hall signalled a different kind of ideal. Hall told of “a personal philosophy with which to handle immediate situations.” After Hall’s death, a reporter in the Los Angeles Times noted, “Followers say he believed in reincarnation and in a mixture of the Golden Rule and living in moderation.”

For Hall, the very act of writing The Secret Teachings of All Ages was an attempt at formulating an ethical response to the age he lived in. While the book is at times speculative and some of its sources are limited by the constraints of their era, it is the only codex to esoteric ideas that treats its subject with total seriousness. Contemporaneous works, such as The Golden Bough, regarded indigenous religious traditions as superstition – interesting museum pieces worthy of anthropological study but of no direct relevance to our current lives. Hall, on the other hand, felt himself on a mission to re-establish a connection to the mystery traditions at a time when America, as he saw it, had given itself over to the Jazz-Age materialism he witnessed at his banking job.

“After I thought the matter over,” he wrote a few years before his death, “it seemed necessary to establish some kind of firm ground upon which personal idealism could mingle its hopes and aspirations with the wisdom of the ages.”

In this sense, the prodigious scholar achieved more than a cataloguing of esoteric truths. He turned the study of occult ideas into an ethical cause.

MITCH HOROWITZ is the editor in chief of Tarcher/Penguin. A well-known voice for occult and esoteric ideas, Horowitz lives in New York City with his wife and two children. The above article is adapted from his book Occult America: White House Séances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation. You can visit his website at www.mitchhorowitz.com.

Exclusively for Natural Revolution readers, we’ve come across a version of this book in PDF format, which is in the Public Domain, now available for free by clicking the this link. Enjoy!

Get ready for some incredible ideologies and profound wisdom from a man whose scope of research into the many facets of the esoteric, in such a short period of time, has been revered by philosophers, theologians, and academics, among others, over a span of a hundred and fifteen years and into the 21st century; what an incredible legacy and passionate work Manly P. Hall has left us all to discover and contemplate.

The above article appeared in New Dawn Magazine No. 96 (May-June 2006).

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta showing the clear proven medical benefits of high CBD marijuana and why marijuana should not be classified as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance by the U.S. Federal Government.

Marijuana should be immediately rescheduled to Schedule 3. Marijuana is less harmful than heroin, cocaine and crystal meth, with accepted medical uses in the United States, moderate potential for physical dependency in some populations and high potential for psychological dependency in some populations.

Given the need for establishing a consensus with social conservatives, Schedule 3 is the most conservative scheduling that is honest and truthful for now, although we may choose to revisit this issue again at a later date after the science is in and we know more about the issues of dependency from a large scale scientific perspective.

We need to do this now on a bipartisan basis. It’s about openness and transparency in government. We need to be told the truth and not be lied to by our government. Schedule 1 is official state propaganda hard coded into the law of the land. It’s insane. It is a glaring example of official abuse of power, given what we know today.

Both Congress and the executive branch (e.g., U.S. Attorney General) have the authority to reschedule marijuana. It can be an Act of Congress or an act of an official in the executive branch.

Drug scheduling is a multiple choice with five options. The question is, “Which schedule most correctly and accurately and truthfully describes marijuana according to all available scientific evidence and medical research?” Some answers are more correct and truthful than others, as can be attested to by scientists, academics, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals. Schedule 1 is the wrong answer, based on the evidence presented in the three CNN videos above.

Since it has a variety of scientifically proven medical uses and it has been proven to be safe under medical supervision, Schedule 1 is patently untruthful with respect to marijuana and there is a growing political consensus on that point.

Keep in mind that heroin is a Schedule 1 drug and cocaine and crystal meth are Schedule 2 drugs. Marijuana is less addictive and dangerous than all three of these drugs and it currently has accepted medical uses in the United States.

So what’s the best answer? Schedule 3, of course, at the very least. Marijuana is medicine. Case closed.

If you or someone you know lives in Florida, Amendment 2 is on the ballot which would give doctors the ability to recommend medical marijuana to their patients. If you support this compassionate measure and do live in Florida, we highly encourage you to vote YES ON 2 on November 4th.

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