The chemical formula for Epsom salt is MgSO₄, which means that its active components are magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. But why is it called Epsom? Epsom salt gets its name from a saline spring at Epsom in Surrey, England. It’s the place where this compound was first distilled from mineral water. If we’re being precise, then it’s basically a mineral salt. The transparent crystals might fool you at the start, but once you’re accustomed to using it, you’ll know the difference between Epsom salt and the usual salt right away.

Why I’m talking about Epsom salt? It’s a miracle salt. There. I said it.

I had been scrolling through different social media sites, trying my luck to overcome my back pain. Among the crowd of so many to-dos and not-to-dos, I came across Epsom salt. At first, I thought that all the benefits were just exaggerated fluff. But a part of me believed that there’s something about this salt. It’s unique and relieves body ache (it had me on the back pain!)

I followed my itch to discover more about the product and the more I researched it, the more I came to realize the significance of this salt. Then it was the time. I had to treat my excruciating back pain and this was just the thing. Next morning, I rushed to the supermarket and bought the best quality Epsom salt. I came back home and rushed to the kitchen to make myself one of those fancy bath bombs.

Why Use Epsom Salt?

As soon as I took the bath, I felt the pain ceased to exist. My whole body felt so relaxed and even those little paper cuts on my fingers start healing faster. Epsom salt has been one of the mineral salts that have a wide range of benefits, which outweigh its negative impacts. It is known to treat a variety of health issues, such as swelling, body ache, gout, and constipation to name a few. The use of Epsom salt depends on how and where you use it. It’s a salt for everyday use. I’ve shared my bit of the experience and today, I’m going to share some more experiences you can have once you start using Epsom salt.

1. Epsom Salt Gives Magnesium Levels A Boost

Due to the fact that magnesium regulates more than 300 enzymes in the human body, it plays a crucial role in controlling, regulating, and operating many body functions, such as nerve and muscle control and production of energy and electrical impulses among many others. Studies have reported that magnesium deficiency is linked to several neural diseases, such as a migraine, depression, and epilepsy. Low magnesium levels are caused by severe diarrhea, alcoholism, and malnutrition, leading to hypercalcemia, or high calcium levels.

However, since Epsom salt is an abundant source of magnesium, soaking your feet in an Epsom salt and water mixture helps you increase the levels of magnesium without the need to take magnesium supplements. Via this Epsom salt bath, many health problems can ward off. To be honest, whenever I have swollen feet at the end of the day, all I need is a bucket, some warm water, and a few tablespoons of good old Epsom salt. That just does the trick. Always.

2. It Detoxifies The Body

While we are schooled about certain organs in the biology class, we sometimes ignore the fact that our skin is the largest organ of our body and the pores of which can help us draw out some toxic compounds. For several centuries, European spas used healing salts (including Epsom salt) for therapeutic purposes. Nifty!

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According to Dr. Ray, a member of the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine (A4M), magnesium from Epsom salt is absorbed to some degree in the skin, due to which it normalizes the magnesium level (in case of magnesium deficiency) and other magnesium-related metabolisms. When you soak in an Epsom salt bath, a process called ‘reverse osmosis’ initiates, which draws out the salts as well as toxins from your body.

3. Alleviates Pain, Inflammation, and Cramps

Epsom salts are also known to relieve body pain, joint inflammation, and the cramps arising as a result of muscle tension. In relevance to the body detoxification baths, Epsom salts help soothe the body, alleviating the discomfort and swelling in sore muscles, joints, and feet. It also helps in reducing the puffiness around aching feet, bruises, sprains, and injuries related to feet and other body areas (just like it treated my paper-cut fingers!)

Different studies have indicated that magnesium plays a critical role in preventing chronic inflammation that might be building up from a long time. The decrease in the levels of this mineral, as stated before, leads to the increased level of a potential marker of inflammation.

4. It Eases Constipation

Most people don’t realize that apart from being an active detoxifier, Epsom salt is also a proactive laxative. Due to its natural laxative properties, the FDA has approved it for the treatment of constipation. When Epsom salt enters the body, it induces an increase of water and clears the colon by stimulating the ilium brake. It does so by releasing digestive hormones and neurotransmitters.

Use of food-grade Epsom salt eases the flow of water in the intestine and hence, flushes out the toxins from the body. Plus, it also helps in driving out the gallstones from your gallbladder. However, oral consumption for the treatment of constipation by Epsom salt brings temporary relief and isn’t recommended for long-term usage. In case of an unwanted side effect like itching, hives or irritation, immediate consultation with a physician is highly recommended. In my family, it’s the first-aid laxative and everyone loves to use it.

5. Epsom Salt Regulates Blood Sugar Levels

The body becomes prone to many metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, when the magnesium levels drop below the optimum. In this context, scientific evidence implicates that the risk of diabetes reduces if the healthy magnesium levels are maintained. And yes, that brings us straight to the Epsom salt – the ultimate source of magnesium.

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Magnesium and Sulfur in the Epsom salt increase the body’s potential to produce and use insulin. It has been noticed that the regulated use of magnesium in the form of Epsom salt (in recommended doses) helps in regulating blood sugar levels and hence, lowers the risk of type-2 diabetes in men and women.

6. Healthy Skin And Hair With Epsom Salt

Apart from inducing internal health benefits, Epsom salt has popularly been used by several around the world as a part of their beauty regimen. While Epsom salt takes care of your gut and removes toxins from your body, it also gives you healthy, glowing, and radiant skin and hair. You can make Epsom salt bath bombs to relax your muscles, exfoliate your face and body, and even prepare a moisturizing magnesium lotion. Just a pack of this salt gives you the experience and multiplied benefits of a spa and salon.

For hair care, mixing equal proportions of Epsom salt and hair conditioner can soften the hair and increase the volume. It’s a million dollar spa hair treatment you’re ever going to experience. You can take my word for it! I’ve become a fan of Epsom salt for giving me the best skin and hair treatment I’ve had in years!

7. Keep Your Plants Healthy With Epsom Salt

You must’ve noticed that plant fertilizer contain some fundamental minerals, such as magnesium, sulfur, zinc, chloride and so on. As for Epsom salt, it contains the basic minerals that most plants require, especially the vegetables. Besides the plant growth, there are many other uses of Epsom salt in the garden, such as removing unwanted pests, preventing slugs, and greening up your lawn etc.

I am a gardening freak and it’s one of my favorite hobbies. I can’t just let my plants die of malnutrition! Apart from using organic products for gardening purposes, I keep a separate storage of Epsom salt for my plants as well.

Here’s my tip: Epsom salt is like a growth bazooka for tomato plants. If your tomatoes aren’t healthy, give them a dose of Epsom salt in recommended quantity. Make sure you keep other factors intact, so your plants can get the best environment to grow in.

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8. It Acts As An Active Detergent Remover

Not only does the Epsom salt does wonder for the human body, it also has a lot of benefits for your machines. Does it sound too good to be true? It must and it should. Since your body needs cleansing, your machines need it as well to function soundly.

If you have a washing machine, it usually remains running until your clothes are washed and clean. But the washing detergent may accumulate over time and leave residues in your machine. You can clean up this detergent build-up by simply using Epsom salt and vinegar. Once you run a cycle or two, you’re going to see miracles.

9. Got A Splinter? Try Epsom Salt

Of all the ancestral remedies passed down from one generation to another, this one has got to be a favorite one. Splinters are pricks that keep poking our skin with sharp ends and refuse to come out. But if you’ve got Epsom salt, there’s no problem at all!

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Though the removal of these splinters can be like a chaos for a few, a solution of Epsom salt and warm water can help reduce the inflammation, subside the pain, and ultimately, make the splinter easy to remove. And yes, it works every single time; well, at least for me, it does!

10. Epsom salt improves circulation

As mentioned before, Epsom salt helps suppress the marker for inflammation and reduces the overall inflammation process. As the process of inflammation reduces, the magnesium in the Epsom salt may help prevent cardiovascular disease and protect the arterial elasticity. Once it helps keep the arteries healthy, the chances for the formation of blood clots and plaque buildup reduces.

11. It Eases Gout

A gout is a painful form of arthritis, in which uric acid crystals form in the tissues surrounding the joints. The result? Painful joints, swelling, inflammation, and irritation in the affected area. Since Epsom salt is notable for drawing out toxins from the body, it helps ease gout by relaxing the joint and flushing out the uric acid crystals.

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Conclusion

No matter how much we depend on man-made products to restore our health and youth, Mother Nature is always reaching out to us in the numerous ways. One of these ways is Epsom salt. Other than the benefits mentioned in the above article, there are myriads of advantages this natural mineral salt has to offer.

However, it is recommended that you take the salt in suggested proportions and quantity. It doesn’t have much side effects, but if it irritates you or doesn’t relieve your situation, you can discontinue its use and refer to a doctor as soon as possible. Like myself, you may find it hard to follow at times, but if you’re determined to make your life healthy, then nothing’s going to hold you back.

Author Bio:

Stella Holt is a savvy blogger who has dedicated her exceptional skills solely to writing, reading and discovering everything new. Since her passion keeps peaking and touching new heights, Stella has narrowed her writing and blogging career towards writing for the healthcare industry, where she writes about patient care, related illnesses, medical ethics, the current healthcare system and so on. Currently, she pens projects for St. Michael’s Urgent Care Unit in Hattiesburg. When not blogging and writing, Stella can be found gardening in her backyard or playing with her cats, Rosy and Chika.

The post 11 Surprising Benefits Of Epsom Salt Everyone Should Know appeared first on Natural Revolution.

Taking dietary supplements have been shown to boost health and improve nutrition. As herbal supplements or botanicals are nothing new since plants have been associated with medical use for centuries, many believe botanicals are safe and effective to use.

But these benefits are just one side of the coin. Any herbal supplement that can produce a positive effect on your health will carry an inherent degree of risk.

Unlike other medications, herbal supplements aren’t as strictly regulated. In fact, herbal supplements do not require approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While good manufacturing practices are followed, herbal supplements are only investigated after problems have been reported.

It’s important to understand the potential benefits and side effects before taking them. If you’re leaning towards employing complementary medicine therapy to alleviate certain illnesses, exercise caution. Speak with your doctor before trying any new type of dietary medication.

Having professional guidance from a healthcare practitioner ensures you avoid any unexpected side effects.

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A brief history of herbal supplements

Despite being a growing medical field, herbal medication has a long tradition in the medical community. Fossil records indicate that herbal medicines, ginkgo biloba in particular, have been around since at least the Paleozoic period.

The ancient Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to document plant-based remedies. The Ebers Papyrus is acknowledged as one of the oldest known medical works regarding herbal medicines. It was compiled around 1550 BC and it contains 700 medical formulas and remedies meant to cure afflictions and illnesses.

Other ancient civilizations, from the Greeks to the Babylonians, were renowned herbalists. When colonists first reached the shores of the New World, Native Americans introduced medicinal plants and herbs indigenous to the Americas, such as Black Cohosh.

Since then, black cohosh has remained a popular medicinal aid, helping alleviate menopausal discomfort, among other uses.

Today, thanks to innovations in chemical analysis, medical science has contributed to the decline of herbal remedies. Regardless, herbal medicines have experienced a revival. Not only are many of today’s pharmaceutical drugs plant-based, but more and more physicians are revisiting traditional remedies to complement medical science.

The health benefits of herbal supplements

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 11% of the total 252 drugs on the essential medicine list is exclusively of plant origin. As the aim of herbal supplements is to treat underlying causes, they help to address nutritional deficiencies rather than mask or suppress symptoms.

Herbal supplements have long been documented for their ability to treat the underlying causes of diseases. Herbal supplements are most used to address persistent illnesses and major health concerns such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, digestive issues, and skin conditions.

Herbal medicines are also used as a preventative measure to promote general well-being and restore the body’s natural balance. Additional benefits of herbal supplements include:

• These are a cost-effective choice in treating diseases
• These are easier to obtain than pharmaceutical medications
• These have beneficial, healing properties
• These address more than one condition
• There are fewer side effects

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Understanding the risks

As previously mentioned, the FDA does not approve herbal medicines. In fact, herbal supplements are subjected to a different set of regulations. This means they cannot be designated as drugs or food, but rather as supplements.

If taken carelessly and without professional guidance, herbal supplements can have a devastating effect on your overall well-being. Taking several herbal supplements without the support of a healthcare practitioner can trigger complex chemical reactions in your body.

Herbal supplements will often come with many components that have several active reagents that could have dangerous side effects under the wrong conditions. Where herbs are harvested, processed, and packaged will also determine the chemical components of the supplement.

For example, a number of Asian herbal supplements have been found to have significant concentrations of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. This can contribute to a substantial risk of heavy metal poisoning, among other complications.

Unwanted pharmaceutical and herbal interactions have also been noted. Possible adverse interactions are common when prescription medicines and herbal supplements are used together without medical supervision.

Even without being compounded by pharmaceutical medicine, certain herbal ingredients have been found to be harmful to the body.

Bitter orange, aristolochic acid, and kava are noted natural ingredients, yet carry adverse effects. Bitter orange is associated with causing high blood pressure. Aristolochic acid can cause renal failure and urothelial cancer. And kava has detrimental effects on the liver.

With a lack of strict monitoring or regulations available, consumers must remain educated on the products they buy. To certify the credibility and ingredients of natural supplements, be sure to talk to your doctor. They can confirm potential problems or risks, particularly if you are taking prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medication.

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The essential supplements to take

With herbal medicines gaining popularity, many are turning to traditional dietary supplements to complement their health. If you’re looking for a dietary supplement to better manage your health, below is a list of the 10 most common herbal supplements with mild adverse side effects.

1. St. John’s Wort

A flowering shrub native to Europe, St. John’s wort is a flowering plant of the genus Hypericum.

A popular herbal therapy, St. John’s wort has long been associated with alleviating symptoms of depression. While it’s most known for its antidepressant activity, it is also linked with improving PMS and menopausal symptoms and relieving inflammation and skin irritation.

2. Echinacea

Originally found throughout the regions of North America, echinacea has become a popular herbal remedy for treating and preventing a variety of illnesses, most commonly the common cold and flu. Scientific research has indicated that echinacea has the potential to be used as a preventive medicine to treat respiratory infections and boost immune cell response.

3. Black Cohosh

Introduced to the colonists by the Native Americans, black cohosh is an effective natural remedy for treating several menopausal conditions. This shrub-like plant has been linked with effectively treating menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, menopausal discomfort, cramps, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

4. Ginseng

Known for its ability to improve mood and mental performance, ginseng has been used by Native American and Chinese herbalists for centuries. As a popular herbal medicine, ginseng has been used for centuries to treat a range of medical conditions. Scientifically, ginseng has been known to improve cognitive function, treat erectile dysfunction, and lower blood sugar.

5. Milk Thistle

A native plant in several regions, from southern Europe to South Australia, milk thistle has been historically used as a supplement to treat liver disorders such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and gallbladder problems. The scientific community remains split on the use of milk thistle as a treatment option for liver diseases.

Commentary on milk thistle as a herbal supplement suggests more rigorous studies are needed.

6. Chamomile

Considered as one of the most ancient medicinal herbs, chamomile is commonly used to treat ailments such as insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, hay fever, and menstrual symptoms. In recent years, chamomile has been scientifically found to be a helpful supplement in positively treating diabetes and lowering blood sugar.

7. Green tea

A plant native to China and India, green tea possesses health benefits that have been well documented. Used as a medicinal herb for centuries, green tea is loaded with nutrients and antioxidants known to improve brain function, aid in fat loss, and lower the risk of certain types of cancer.

Green tea has also been known to improve dental health and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

8. Ginkgo Biloba

An ancient natural herb, ginkgo biloba has been found in fossil records dating back millions of years. As such, its effects on health have been well investigated. Numerous clinical studies have reported ginkgo biloba as an effective alternative medicine to treating impaired cerebral circulation, particularly in the elderly.

Ginkgo has also been used to treat other health disorders such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and depression. A word of caution, though: Ginkgo can enhance the risk of bleeding in patients on antiplatelet or anticoagulant medication.

9. Aloe vera

Often described as a “wonder plant,” aloe vera has been used for centuries for its numerous health properties. Today, aloe vera is widely used in cosmetics, food (approved as a flavoring by the FDA), and herbal remedies.

Rigorous scientific studies have found aloe vera to be beneficial in treating cavities, constipation, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, and second-degree burns.

10. Ginger

Despite being known mainly as a culinary ingredient, ginger has been well established as an effective ingredient for medicinal purposes.

Scientific analysis has found ginger to treat many lifestyle-related health conditions. These conditions include, but are not limited to, nausea, inflammation, loss of appetite, and pain. As a dietary supplement, ginger has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties beneficial to our health.

A final word on supplements

By leveraging the power of nature with the logic of science, herbal dietary supplements can contribute to the betterment of your health. It’s important to remember though that dietary supplements are not miracle workers.

Herbal supplements should serve as complementary medicine due to their deregulatory nature and lack of strict monitoring. There are active ingredients in herbal supplements that are significantly potent. And while they are beneficial to your health, these can present adverse side effects.

Consulting with your doctor or a neuropathic health practitioner first will ensure you understand all the potential risks and benefits of taking herbal supplements.

AUTHOR BIO

Frank L. Jaksch Jr. is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of ChromaDex. He oversees research, strategy, and operations for the Company with a focus on scientific and novel products for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. Mr. Jaksch earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Valparaiso University.

The post The Essential Guide to Herbal Dietary Supplements: What to Know Before You Buy appeared first on Natural Revolution.

By Eric Fishman, MD — Breathing in the air is something that everyone does each and every minute of every day. The problem is, when people are breathing in the air they may not realize that they are not getting the best air unless they live in a bucolic location where air pollution is not as bad in cities such as Los Angeles or Mexico City. But possibly more important than the pollution in large cities is that the air can be characterized as inert, meaning its lack of what is known as secondary metabolites, commonly terpenes, which are fragrant substances found in the air in the woods.

So What Is Paleo Air?

This is a concept that is analogous to the Paleo Diet. However, we are contemplating our ancestors from a completely different perspective. We are exploring them from the point of view of our air quality relating to the lack of healthy “ingredients” in the ambient air when compared to what our ancestors breathed in.

If you think about taking a trip to the mountains, essentially everyone talks about how crisp and refreshing the air is in the mountains. You may believe it is this way because the air is clean or because you are at a higher elevation, however, imagine a time during which all of the air you breathed was like the air you get in the mountains. It is, in fact, due to all the trees that are present as the trees release secondary metabolites such as terpenes, and our bodies have evolved to breathe these compounds.

That is a concept that we have called Paleo Air. We are talking about a concept that is going to allow you to understand more about the air our ancestors used to breathe that was filled with natural substances our bodies require to maintain optimal health.

Pollution

Our ancestors did not have all the extra chemicals that have been found in the air that we breathe in now. As you can tell from a chart made by BBC, Nitrogen is the main element in the air with Oxygen following. You can also see, however, that the air is made of 1% other, but non-random, materials and some of these other materials are chemical pollutants that are in the air.

Our ancestors did not have man-made chemicals in the air. So the 1% they had in their lungs is not the same 1% that we are getting now. As you can tell from the chart from the US EPA, you will find that pollution from coal power plants is substantial, particularly when it comes to carbon compounds. This has definitely contributed to the air not being anything like what our ancestors were able to breathe.

Yet again, these pollutants are what most people have focused on, and we are trying to concentrate not on the pollutants, but rather on the missing components. As a basic philosophical issue, it is always easier to see what is there than it is to detect what is missing. However, we are going to focus on what is missing!

The Forest and Forest Therapy

So, do we want to return to the air of the ancestors, and if so, how can that be done?

A lot of people tend to feel quite a bit better when they are in the woods or out in nature, following in the steps of our ancestors, who would have had plenty of unspoiled forest land to roam around in and enjoy. This led us to research health benefits of forested land, where we have firmly concluded that air that has recently been in the vicinity of plants have a larger quantity of terpenes and is closer to the air that our ancestors breathed.

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Now, this may seem like it is a completely new concept, but think about this; your ancestors lived for millions of years without pollution and yet they were all exposed to these terpenes with every breath, every day.

The Paleo Diet is one that tries to provide the best possible solution to a modern diet and replace it with one that would have been easily available to our ancient cousins. So, much like the Paleo Diet, the concept of Paleo Air is based on breathing air similar to that of our ancestors.

What Are Terpenes?

Once we realized this, we decided that we had to find a solution for people to help people feel refreshed in their homes, offices or on a city street!

We are going to get a little bit technical here and we do apologize, but do not worry as we will explain it in simple terms.

The basic solution to the lack of terpenes is to have a readily available, portable source of a wide variety of terpenes, to support what could be called Terpene Replacement Therapy.

So, what is a terpene, you may ask?

Terpenes are hydrocarbons that are based on a 5 carbon isoprene unit.

You may also see the word terpenoids, which are similar to terpenes, except they will have some modest chemical modification such as an added Oxygen molecule. For our purposes, you can interchange the concept of terpenes and terpenoids.

If you are not up to date on your chemistry, a hydrocarbon is basically a molecule that contains carbon and hydrogen. You can find out more about terpenes in technical terms online.

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Why are Terpenes released by Plants?

Well, now that you have the technical information on what these are, you are probably wondering what this has to do with Paleo Air, and how it is even related to our ancestral heritage. That is what we are going to cover here because it is important that you understand why you should be concerned about these, and how they are going to help you out.

As we stated at the beginning of this article, everyone, even in modern times, seems to feel better when they are out in the woods, and a lot of times, people chalk it up to feeling good about just being out in nature, which is a true statement. However, even people who have a lot of plants in their home and have a “positive vibe” tend to feel better about everything that is going on in their lives. Now, you cannot really say that they were in the woods because they just have plants in their home, which brings up the terpenes that the plants release.

As you now know, the terpenes are a group of organic compounds, that are released by plants, and are based on a C10H16 formula. These are often released by plants to help attract insects to them for pollination, and other reasons.

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After having explored this from the standpoint of therapeutic needs for people, it was determined that these terpenes are what cause most of the beneficial effects from essential oils. This is why essential oils can get your body back in balance with our ancestors’ air.

So, how do you improve the quality of your life and of the air you are breathing with something that is already in the plants our ancestors breathed and that you can also breathe by going to the forest?

The terpenes are already in the plants so you do not have to worry about them being a new compound to which you would be exposing yourself.

You may be asking yourself, how is breathing in an essential oil going to help me out? Well, that is very easy to answer as you will find, this is going to make it easier for you to get the full effects of the oils.

An interesting study from the National Institute of Health demonstrates, quite extensively, the benefits of breathing in terpenes found in the forest.

Some may argue that modern medicine is more beneficial, however, if you have talked to anyone who has used these plant-based oils they will tell you that they have had quite a bit of relief.

What Is Terpene Deficiency?

Yes, Terpene Deficiency is a “thing” and a lot of people are deficient without even realizing it. So how would you know that you are deficient in terpenes? Keep reading, as that is what we are going to cover here.

The good news is if you live in the woods, you may not have the issue of terpene deficiency, as it is typically found in city dwellers. So, if you are living in the country or the woods already, you will be safe from this issue. We are going to cover some of the symptoms that could help guide you toward knowing if you are deficient or not.

A common problem that people will experience, and actually has been seen with the modern lifestyle, is higher blood pressure. If you think about this, when you are in the mountains you will typically find that you are going to have less stress in your life, and it is not just because you are on vacation. Rather, it is at least partially because of the increased exposure to the naturally occurring terpenes that you would likely not have thought about before.

A common issue that a lot of people are going to experience with the lack of terpenes is going to be a dramatically reduced sense of smell. This is because the nose is not really being used to smell the roses as one would say, it is instead, used to smell pollution the majority of the time. This is usually why when people get out into the smells of nature and have been in nature for a short time period, they start to talk about all the different fragrances.

While some people will really recognize this one right away, they need to realize that they could have an issue with a lack of energy. They may think this is coming from the fact they are not eating properly or not sleeping properly, however, they need to realize this is not always the case. One of the main problems that people may have is that they are going to be just a bit deficient in terpenes.

Depression and anxiety are not new problems, but they are problems that are growing quite a bit in frequency. The problem for a lot of people who live in cities is the fact that they are not getting out into the woods and enjoying the beauty of nature. While people may think it is just the natural beauty of the area that is making them feel better, they need to realize that this is not the case and in fact, a lot of people will start to feel uplifted the more time they spend out in the woods.

Just think about simple camping trips, and despite how you would stay up late at night, you would come out feeling refreshed. This is due to the fact that you were out in nature taking in the sun and the terpenes.

We touched lightly on stress before and how it relates to your blood pressure, but what you need to realize is that stress is not always job or situation-related. In fact, one way of looking at this is to analyze the fact that you are not breathing in terpenes, and thus you are terpene deficient. However, simple exposure to the missing terpenes may be sufficient to get the stress relief you need without having to deal with the drive out to the woods or overcoming the winter months problems of having no plants nearby to help you out.

Author Bio:

Eric Fishman, MD

With substantial experience in western medicine, including decades of operating on patients, and an interest in eastern medicine through practicing yoga and homeopathic remedies, Dr. Eric Fishman has developed Breathe Nature and Therapeutic Air® products, allowing millions to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy in an easy-to-use personal diffuser. An orthopedic surgeon, holistic physician, yogi, and creator of MONQ (the healthy lifestyle brand promoting personal essential oil diffusers and other wellness products), Dr. Fishman takes a scientific approach to holistic health. His MONQ product line exemplifies this approach, using modern technology to make the ancient art of aromatherapy available to everyone.

The post Paleo Air – Breathing the Right Kind of Air for Optimum Health 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

Click to view larger

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.

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.

The post 6 Healing Herbs That Can Change Your Life appeared first on Natural Revolution.

This article shows how astaxanthin:

• Provides pain relief
• Helps fight fatigue
• Supports eye health
• Cleans up cells in our body
• Protects skin
• Provides Anti-Cancer properties

Astaxanthin (pronounced “asta-ZAN-thin”), which is cited with references throughout this article, you’ll discover the latest findings on its multi-functional ability to target risk factors for various degenerative diseases. You will also learn of the drug industry’s predictably corrupt efforts to develop patented synthetic forms of astaxanthin to treat heart disease—and reap windfall profits.

Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid found in algae, shrimp, lobster, crab, and salmon. Beta carotene, for example, is orange. Astaxanthin is dubbed the “king of the carotenoids”, and is responsible for turning salmon, crab, lobster and shrimp flesh pink.

In the animal kingdom, astaxanthin is found in the highest concentration in the muscles of salmon. Scientists theorize astaxanthin helps provide the endurance these remarkable animals need to swim upstream.

For humans, astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant with wide-ranging health benefits, and unlike other antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, vitamin E, C, D and selenium, astaxanthin never becomes pro-oxidant in the body. [23, 24, 25, 26]

Astaxanthin has been discussed by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Joe Mercola and recommended by many health experts. Krill supplements contain trace amounts of astaxanthin, not nearly what you need to achieve the therapeutic benefits discussed today.

Astaxanthin helps to relieve pain and inflammation

Astaxanthin is a potent anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, blocking different chemicals in your body that make you feel pain. More than that, astaxanthin reduces the inflammatory compounds that drive many chronic diseases.

Even though it’s 100 percent natural, astaxanthin works like some prescription pain medications, but without the risk of addiction, GI bleeds or heartburn.

More specifically, astaxanthin blocks COX 2 enzymes just like the prescription medication Celebrex, the blockbuster drug prescribed for osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, acute pain, and monthly painful menstruation. [1]

Natural astaxanthin not only affects the COX 2 pathway that blocks pain, it also suppresses serum levels of nitric oxide, interleukin 1B, prostaglandin E2, C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor alpha), all signs of pain and inflammation. [1]

Natural astaxanthin was shown to reduce CRP by more than 20 percent in only eight weeks; there is not a prescription drug that does that. [21] Even the American Heart Association claims CRP is a key indicator of heart disease. [22]

Astaxanthin Helps Fight Fatigue

Astaxanthin provides excellent recovery from exercise. [17] Just like salmon making the heroic upstream swim, astaxanthin can help athletes do their best. Pure natural astaxanthin is indicated for recovery of muscles, better endurance, enhanced strength and improved energy levels. [18, 19, 20]

Astaxanthin Supports Eye Health

Loss of vision is a terrifying reality for millions of aging Americans. Three major age-associated causes of blindness are cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. All of these are associated with chronic oxidative damage, and most involve some degree of inflammation. [27] That makes powerful antioxidants such as astaxanthin of natural interest to prevention-oriented physicians. [28]

Well-designed clinical trials have shown that astaxanthin helps diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, eyestrain and fatigue and seeing in fine detail. There are also well-designed positive human clinical trials of astaxanthin supporting eye health. [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Astaxanthin cleans up cells in our body

Astaxanthin unique molecular lipophilic and hydrophilic properties allow it to enter and span the entire cell, with one end of the astaxanthin molecule protecting the fat-soluble part of the cell and the other end protecting the water-soluble part of the cell.

Natural astaxanthin is exceptionally powerful in singlet-oxygen quenching, a technical term meaning in this case, that it is an active species (antioxidant) in photodynamic therapy (against free radical damage).

A 2007 study analyzed several popular antioxidants and their antioxidant power. [10] This study found astaxanthin was:

• 6,000 times stronger than vitamin C
• 800 times stronger than CoQ10
• 550 times stronger than green tea catechins
• 75 times stronger than alpha lipoic acid

Protects skin and provides sunscreen protection

Astaxanthin has been shown to protect the body’s largest organ — our skin. The studies are clear and consistent and show excellent results for helping with skin moisture levels, smoothness, elasticity, fine wrinkles, and spots or freckles. [12]

Astaxanthin reduces damage caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. In fact, if you get a sunburn, which causes inflammation, astaxanthin penetrates the skin cells and reduces UVA damage. Think of it as an internal sunscreen.

Anti-Cancer mechanisms

Astaxanthin’s multiple mechanisms of action make it an ideal candidate for prevention and adjuvant treatment of many different kinds of cancer. By quenching free radical production in oxidatively stressed tissues, astaxanthin can prevent the DNA damage that is required to initiate many forms of cancer.[28] By subduing inflammatory mediators such as COX-2 and NF-kB,[36] astaxanthin may prevent cancer promotion, the step that allows potentially cancerous cells to blossom into full-blown tumors.

By supporting healthy intercellular communication, astaxanthin improves tissue resistance to cancers.[15] And by impairing enzymes like matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that cancer cells use to break down tissue barriers, astaxanthin can help prevent tumor invasion and metastatic spread.[36]

Drug companies profiteering from Astaxanthin

Despite drug companies trying to cash in on a natural form of astaxanthin, you can easily find it online here at a very reasonable price, though finding a company that is transparent with the information about the purity of their product can be challenging.

Luckily, we searched through a myriad of products and found one that is not only tested for its safety and purity, but it has the right therapeutic dose required to be effective.

The importance of astaxanthin sources

Wild Pacific salmon, especially sockeye salmon, have one of the highest astaxanthin content. However, you’d have to eat about 6 ounces (165 grams) daily to get just 3.6 milligrams, which isn’t enough to get a therapeutic dose.

However, the chances of having traces of mercury in most store bought salmon that isn’t wild caught, you run the risk of unknowingly eating heavy metals, particularly mercury, with every bite. [11]

Since salmon can also be quite expensive, there is another form of astaxanthin that is a much better source — marine algae, which is a potent form of astaxanthin when exposed to light.

Astaxanthin should come from either an outside pristine source, or an indoor cultivator, and the company should provide a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for their product to ensure its purity.

We reached out to no less than six suppliers of astaxanthin, but only one responded to our request for a COA, and that was a company named ArticFarma, marketed under the Algalife brand.

It wasn’t easy getting a COA from this company when we requested it on their website on three different occasions, but after tracking down the CEO of the company, Andrew H.Jacobson, and sending a request to his company email, he was very gracious in providing a COA for us to display to our readers.

Below is the COA we requested for the astaxanthin that we’re recommending, not only because of the third party testing by an independent lab, which clearly states just how pure this product is, but for the transparency that this company showed by providing us a copy of the COA.

In a recent press release the company put out:

“Icelandic Astaxanthin is 100% pure and natural, cultivated directly from haematococcus pluvialis, the richest source of natural Astaxanthin. Developed in a state-of-the-art facility exclusively built for the research and development of micro-algae solutions to the world’s global nutrition needs, Icelandic Astaxanthin offers unparalleled purity.”

“After searching the globe, we chose Iceland to build our facility due to its pristine environmental conditions, free of the contaminants and pollutants commonly found in other areas deemed suitable for the cultivation of algae,” said Andrew Jacobson, CEO, ArcticFarma.

Getting the proper therapeutic dosage is key

Studies show that doses of 8-12 milligrams provide therapeutic benefits. Make sure that your particular brand has undertaken all the special precautions to harvest it properly, purify it, encapsulate it and protect its potency right up to the expiration date on the bottle.

By researching several products and the companies that sell it astaxanthin online, we found AlgaLife’s astaxanthin supplement to be something we’d recommend. Not only for the myriad of health benefits that’s been shown in study after study, but this company  is one of the only one in half a dozen companies that sell this product, who is transparent and stands behind its product which, as you have seen by the COA, passes all safety protocols from a third party laboratory.

If you’d like to incorporate this powerhouse of an antioxidant into your supplement regimen, you can find it online at Amazon by clicking here.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and family. 

The post Nature’s Most Powerful Antioxidant You Never Heard Of appeared first on Natural Revolution.

Scientists have called resveratrol a “miracle molecule.” A 60 Minutes segment on the compound reported, “If [scientists] are right, we all may soon be taking a pill that could add a decade or two of healthy old age.”

Now a new compound has been found, primarily in blueberries, which acts as an antioxidant that is so powerful that one of America’s most trusted experts in medicine recently declared on national television, “It’ll help you live longer.”

In early studies, it appears that resveratrol helps in keeping cells healthy, blood flowing through the veins and arteries more fluidly, supports healthy blood sugar levels, and keeps mental function clear and sharp through enhancing the mitochondrial function in the brain.

But what scientists have recently discovered is that this groundbreaking substances is 300% more powerful than Resveratrol. Think of it as Resveratrol 2.0.

One recent study took a closer look and found that this compound worked better than resveratrol in animals in keeping brains healthy and supporting memory. They concluded that this antioxidant is “more potent” when it comes to keeping the brain young.

This compound is called Pterostilbene, and its actions work on a cellular level like Resveratrol does but in a more potent form. Let’s take a look at both of these compounds closer to get a better understanding of how they work on their own, and the benefits of when they’re combined.

Benefits of Resveratrol

Resveratrol has been associated with something known as the ‘French Paradox.’ This is a reference to why the French diet can be so high in fatty foods like cheeses and red meat along with red wine, yet the people seem to maintain good health.

The reason is thought to be the Resveratrol benefits contained primarily in their consumption of the red wine.

Resveratrol acts as a powerful antioxidant. This means that it is capable of removing free radicals and other toxins and poisons from the body. This helps to make all your organs function better, and even offer them some level of protection from future decline and loss of function.

This also may lead to other well-known Resveratrol benefits, such as protection against cancer and even a reduction in the risk of developing cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Resveratrol is also thought to have a number of additional benefits. It is considered to help improve the circulation, increasing blood flow where needed.

Not only this, but it also has the ability to help reduce inflammation, which is normally considered to be one of the primary markers of disease. There are some researchers who would go so far as to say all disease first begins with inflammation.

Resveratrol also helps to reduce the risk of diabetes and it enhances energy and endurance.

Benefits of Pterostilbene

Many of the benefits associated with Resveratrol also apply to Pterostilbene. For example, it is helpful at reducing the risk of developing heart disease. It fights against the hardening of the arteries, which is generally the first step in the development of heart disease.

Studies show that it helps to inhibit the buildup of LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol. There is also evidence to suggest that this supplement may help fight oxidative stress, another key factor in the development of heart disease.

Pterostilbene is also a highly effective antioxidant which can promote the removal of toxins and other damaging compounds from the body. This can not only protect you against developing cancer, it can also hinder the growth of certain cancers.

This is possible because Pterostilbene alters cancer cell cycles and changes their ‘pre-programmed’ cell death (apoptosis). Metastasis, or the spread of cancer from one part of the body to another, is prevented at least to some degree.

Cognitive function may also be improved by Pterostilbene supplementation. This supplement increases the production of a peptide substance known as insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF. The IGF “axis” is also commonly referred to as the Growth Hormone/IGF-1 Axis. Insulin-like growth factor 1 is mainly secreted by the liver as a result of stimulation by growth hormone (GH). IGF-1 is important for both the regulation of normal physiology, as well as a number of pathological states, including cancer.

Pterostilbene is considered to be very important in the growth of blood vessels and neurons in the hippocampus region of the brain as well.

This region of the brain is tied directly to memory functions and an increase in blood supply and oxygen may lead to dramatic long-term improvements in cognitive performance. Some early evidence suggests that Pterostilbene supplementation is helpful in treating conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Pterostilbene and Resveratrol Comparison

Both Pterostilbene and Resveratrol are considered to be within the classification of stilbenoids, which are plant-like compounds that act as phytoalexins. Phytoalexins are antimicrobial and often antioxidative substances synthesized by plants that accumulate rapidly at areas of infection. Researchers note that phytochemicals are part of the plant’s defensive arsenal. Because of this action, these are substances that are known to have many types of health benefits.

Resveratrol is most commonly found in grapes and the wine made from those grapes; Pterostilbene is also found in grapes and blueberries primarily.

These supplements have both become more and more popular in recent years, although Resveratrol has been around longer. In fact, Resveratrol has achieved much of its popularity through its action as a potent antioxidant.

Studies found that taking Resveratrol can significantly improve lifespan and the immune system. It is even thought to have anti-cancer fighting properties.

The same holds true for Pterostilbene. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that this newer supplement possess many of the same properties of Resveratrol and is also more powerful in a number of areas.

What’s even more astonishing is that scientists have found that resveratrol activates genes near the beginning of the molecular cascade caused by caloric restriction. These in turn activate a broad array of disease-preventing genes. In essence, resveratrol’s beneficial genetic action takes place “upstream.”

But the difference with Pterostilbene is that it directly activates genes “downstream” from the sites of resveratrol’s action. This complements resveratrol’s ability to help prevent cancer and diabetes, and support healthy blood lipids. Acting together, resveratrol and pterostilbene produce potent longevity-promoting effects across the cycle of gene expression through complementary mechanisms.

A combination of the two is the best way to maximize your results when taking these supplements so you derive the greatest benefits for your overall cellular health.

Side Effects & Safety of Pterostilbene and Resveratrol

Both Pterostilbene and Resveratrol are very safe and are incredibly well-tolerated in adults. Few side effects have been reported with either of these natural compounds.

As far as long-term effects go, there does not seem to be any kind of toxicity associated with either of these. Even excessively large dosages have not been associated with side effects save for some temporary mild stomach discomfort.

Studies have shown that combining both Pterostilbene and Resveratrol have a symbiotic effect on the body. If you’d like to try this supplement, you can get it on Amazon at this link.

The dosage you decide to use should be based on your own health needs, recommended dosage, and personal sensitivity level. Before adding either Pterostilbene or Resveratrol to your supplementation routine, it is always best to contact a physician for advice.

The post Science Reveals This Substance 300% More Powerful than Resveratrol appeared first on Natural Revolution.