St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

The St. John's wort grows on dry soils, sunny meadows, forests, among
bushes. The up to 50 cm tall plant yellow blooms from June to August.
During this time, you collect their aerial parts.

Effects and properties

As a home herbal remedy St. John's Wort is gaining in significance for
medicine. While pharmaceutical companies are already marketing it as a
natural herbal remedies for depression, researchers now confirm that a
chemical constituent of St. John's wort kills bacteria and fungi.

The active ingredient hyperforin destroyed in tests of a team of skin
specialists Freiburg Christoph Schempp even in small quantity
multi-resistant pathogens, which conventional antibiotics could harm
it. In combination with essential oils, tannins and flavonoids St.
John's wort also inhibits inflammation, relieves pain and heals
wounds. It helps with sciatica and rheumatic pain.

Application

St. John's takes it as a tea, pressed juice from the fresh plant, as
capsules or tablets. It is effective against nervous exhaustion, for
menopausal-upsets, anxiety and restlessness. For one to two teaspoons
of dried tea in a cup of St. John's wort with boiling water and let
stand for ten to 15 minutes and drink three times daily. It has proven
to be very natural antidepressant. St. John's wort herbs externally
heals burns, relieves neuralgia, muscle pain, strains and sprains.

Caution

St. John's Wort increases the sensitivity of the eyes and skin.
Moreover, the remedy has recently come under suspicion of affecting
the reproductive and ability to conceive. Published in the journal
"Fertility and Sterility" Californian researchers led by Richard
Ondrizek gynecologist in March 1999, the results of their experiments.
The scientists fertilized eggs and sperm in the laboratory of hamsters
with four natural medicines.

In high concentrations, the medicinal herb St. John's wort, echinacea,
ginkgo and saw palmetto led to losses of eggs and detracted from their
ability to unite with sperm. "St. John's wort was also able to alter
the genetic information in sperm," said Ondrizek. The researchers
acknowledged, however, that the data were only "preliminary". We can
not yet say whether the drugs have similar effects in humans.

How good do natural remedies really work?

Natural Remedies It is a decades-old dispute: alternative healers
against school doctors, natural chemicals against, tried and tested
against science. Now get closer to both sides - for the benefit of
patients

Anyone with conventional remedies is not further investigated, often
in his salvation homeopaths, naturopaths, acupuncturists or

Perhaps there are stories like that of Florian Klauer, which account
for the fascination of natural remedies. The boy suffered for years
from a chronic runny nose, he always had to be treated with
antibiotics, the doctors did not go on at some point. Then his mother
took him to a naturopath. "The has looked Florian and found that it is
a very deep, chronic thing," says Sabine Klauer. "We started with the
treatment, and now he's the first time in several weeks, no
Schnupfnase. He is so happy about it and we parents also. The duration
of colds has restricted him and he really took a lot of joy. "

Everyone knows these stories. Of children who have long been plagued
by a medical school of eczema and treated unsuccessfully. And after a
visit to the medical practitioner not to scratch the skin sore. Of
adults who toiled for years the migraines and after numerous visits to
the doctor where the pain is finally taken - by a homeopath, a
naturopath or an acupuncturist.

In natural remedies, many people find the natural and gentle, they are
looking in all areas of their lives. Those who buy organic bread
Ökoäpfel and that also takes better do something against his big and
small vegetable suffering, yoga or familiar to the acupuncturist.
Nearly two thirds of Germans now go to alternative practitioners in
1970 there was only one-third. And they give a lot of money on it: a
total of five billion euros in 2006 they paid out of pocket for
natural medical therapies.
The alternative
The Scientific
The Integrative

Pamela Wessel, 34, hotel manager: "I'm reluctant to doctors'

"I had terrible back pain for a long time until I landed five years
ago with my naturopath who is also an osteopath. Together with her I
get the pain under control. I'm generally reluctant to doctors,
healers are really the better choice for me. Because natural remedies
looks rather than the medical school, where are certain ailments and
diseases and how they arise. Especially for my children, I find the
natural remedies well. Meanwhile, I even say: My naturopath is my GP.
"

Most doctors, however, are critical. They ask themselves: How can
something have an effect that is not in our textbooks? Why should a
banal herb better help against a weak heart as a drug that was
developed 20 years? What should align with the smallest needles
stabbing pain in a torn knee? And how should globules - beads, which
contain no active ingredient - a relieve hay fever, asthma improve,
even cure eczema? What are medicinal herbs, acupuncture, homeopathy,
yoga, Ayurveda, Bach Flowers, Reiki, osteopathy and what else is
there, what to look for these sometimes obscure methods in medical
practices and hospitals?
Other topics

The conflict between alternative and conventional medical doctors is
old, he sometimes acts as grave a bitter fight. Empathy and patience
with medical equipment and assembly line clearance, holistic healing
practitioner against symptom, quackery to science. And last but not
least against natural chemistry. On the one hand, herbs that nature
has created, whose power has been for centuries, sometimes even
thousands of years ill are exempted from their suffering. On the other
pills in the pharmaceutical industry, on the drawing board designed,
synthesized in the laboratory - chemical clubs with strong side
effects. As simple as it was for a long time.

As simple as it is no more. Something moves. An increasing number of
German universities, once the strongholds of resistance to natural
remedies, created working groups to explore, in medical school natural
medical treatments are now often an integral part, and health
insurance, or rather known to be more economical to assume the cost of
alternative therapies , four billion euros in 2006 alone.

Natural remedies kefir slows allergy

Kefir contains benign bacteria that can protect against allergies
Bacteria that are present in the milk drink kefir may protect against
food allergies.

Three to five percent of children under three years suffer from a food
allergy. Until now, the only way to avoid the symptoms, a strict
renunciation of the allergens.

Ji-Ruei Liu and his colleagues at the National Formosa University,
Yunlin, Taiwan, now have a natural product found that the allergic
reactions can possibly absorb: kefir. The information contained in the
milk drink bacteria apparently put out of action one determine
antibody, called immunoglobulin E (IgE). It has an important role in
the body's defenses, but also plays a key role in allergic reactions.

minimized antibodies

The Taiwanese kefir fed to laboratory mice. Within three weeks, the
animals showed a lower level by two-thirds of a specific IgE, which is
involved in allergic reactions to egg white. This form of food allergy
is especially common among young children.

In addition, the researchers found that kefir apparently prevents food
allergens to pass through the intestinal wall.

Basis for drug

Ji-Ruei Liu believes that the milk drink may be a promising tool for
the prevention of allergies. "In the future we may perhaps some
components of kefir, eg certain strains of bacteria and bioactive
proteins, which filter that can be used as a medicine. "

herbal and natural remedies

reports on herbal and natural remedies and other information soon to appear here.