Herbal Remedies News

Bad breath is caused by bacteria in the mouth which cause odour. Sometimes it can be caused by tooth decay or gum disease, throat infections or other medical conditions and these things should be ruled out before applying any herbal treatment.

Normal cause of bad breath is where food debris has got stuck in the teeth and bacteria accumulates on it and causes a bad smell. It is more likely to happen when there is tooth decay as the bacteria can easily breed in the holes in teeth and also areas of decay can accumulate pus which smells.

Sometimes the foods we eat can leave behind an odour – things such as garlic and onion can persist. Some people like to chew parsley after eating garlic as they think this negates the smell of garlic on the breath. Garlic can also be boiled up with cloves to make a mouthwash.

Mint is often used as a cure for bad breath which is why it is often used to flavour toothpastes. Chewing on mint leaves can be beneficial as can chewing on cardamom seeds.

Fenugreek is sometimes boiled in water to make a tea and this can be used to eliminate bad breath.

If the cause of bad breath is suspected to be tooth decay then it is wise to get advise form a dentist so that the problem can be cured, rather than the symptoms treated.

These remedies are useful as a temporary measure but will not cure the tooth decay and so you could risk losing teeth if you ignore the symptoms.

In the sixteenth century milk thistle was used a lot, as a food. The whole of the plant, roots, flower, leaves, stem and seeds can be eaten. It has been used for thousands of years as a herbal remedy as well. It has been used for various medical conditions, as it is today but tend sto be mostly known for its properties that help the liver.

Milk thistle extracts have been used a lot, over the years, as liver tonics. The extract is made from the seeds and these days is used to treat liver conditions such as cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and gallbladder problems. It can be administered in capsules, extracts and teas. Since the seventies, testing has been carried out on milk thistle to find out the extent of its liver protective tendencies. However, the evidence is not conclusive.

There are other uses for the milk thistle which are unproven. These include being taking with steroids by body builders to protect the liver, reducing the growth of cancer cells, reducing hangover, lowering cholesterol and easing the pain of opiate withdrawal. Some further research is being carried out in some of these areas in order to see whether any of these are true.

The problem with the clinical studies done on milk thistle, as with most herbal remedy testing, is that different concentrations are used in different studies, many are not replicated and some are not double blind. This means that the results do not hold much ground and so many more tests need to be done in order to determine how good it really is.

St. John’s Wort is a plant which tends to grow mainly in Europe. It is cultivated but often grows wild in fields and meadows where it can make quite a nuisance of itself as it is a toxic weed, not only killing other plants but also poisoning livestock. The first use of the plant for medicinal purposes was in ancient Greece. It was used by Native Americans as an antiseptic and has been used as a herbal tea for a long time.

St Johns Wort have been shown to be useful in treating depression. A review of the findings of clinical studies done on the use of it for treating major depression found that not only was it more effective than a placebo but in fact as effective as some anti-depressants. The major advantage is the lack of side effects associated with it compared with typical anti-depressants. The only concern with these results it that they only seem to be found in Germany which seems a bit odd. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine ran their own trials and found hardly any effects greater than a placebo on major depression. Interestingly it has not been found to have any effects on mild depression.

St. Johns Wort is also being tested for it effectiveness in helping other medical disorders such as ADHD, alcoholism, Parkinson’s Disease, but no firm evidence has yet been produced. It seems that additional testing needs to be done to confirm the findings both for its efficacy in treating depression as well as its use for other disorders.

Flaxseed has been used since caveman days as there were dyed flax fibres found in a cave dating back to 34,000 BC. It was used in Ethiopia and Ancient Egypt in ancient times. It has many different uses which is probably why it has always been so popular and its use for making cloth is probably its original and is still a use today.

There are two varieties a brown and a golden. Most types are very similar in properties but it tends to be the golden flax seeds which are used for medicine. They are used for quite a few things. Their high fibre content makes them suitable for use with bowel problems but they must be taken with plenty of water as they can cause blockages otherwise. The high fibre content can also sometimes cause problems with the effectiveness of some medicines taken orally and so use should be monitored by a doctor if medication of this type is being taken. These problem only tend to occur if large quantities of flax seeds are consumed.

It has been found that flax seeds contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids which have been found to lower the bad cholesterol levels in the body. Studies have shown that they are particularly effective in some women. Some studies have also shown that they can benefit people with certain types of cancer but the results are not always replicable. Flax can help to level out blood sugar levels and so can be useful for diabetics.