Joomla! site syndication http://www.inthe21stcentury.com Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:23:26 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.inthe21stcentury.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.inthe21stcentury.com Joomla! site syndication http://www.inthe21stcentury.com/content/view/72/2/ Lemon balm is one of the most beloved of the healing herbs. The scientific name of this herb—Melissa officinalis—reveals much of its history. It is thought that bees and lemon balm have been inextricably linked since ancient times. The name Melissa is derived from the Greek term for "honey bee." Moreover, many herbalists agree that lemon balm has much of the same healing and tonic properties that royal jelly and honey has. Lemon balm has traditionally been honored as a herb with the ability to lend rejuvenation. During the Middle Ages, lemon balm was a key ingredient in all medieval elixirs of youth. Even as late as the 18th century, lemon balm continued to maintain its reputation as an elixir of youth. Herbalists describe the character of lemon balm as sour, dry, cold, and slightly bitter. Lemon balm is known to contain volatile oils (including citronellal), polyphenols, bitter principle, tannins, rosmarinic acid, and flavonoids. The actions of the plant have alternately been described as sedative, anti-depressant, a relaxant and restorer, a digestive stimulant, antibacterial and antispasmodic. It has also known for its ability to promote sweating, relax the peripheral blood vessels, and for its antiviral properties. The leaves of the lemon balm plant are believed to help relieve the symptoms of depression and tension. The leaves are known as carminative, so are thought of as ideal for those who may suffer from digestive upsets when they become anxious or worried. Because of its cooling properties, lemon balm is also good for people who may suffer from feverish colds. The leaves of the lemon balm plant may be used both internally and externally to treat the eruption of cold sores. The herb can be used externally to treat sores or any other kind of painful swelling. The best time to harvest lemon balm is just before flowering. In the summer, the leaves of the lemon balm plant can make a delightfully cooling and refreshing tea. Hot lemon balm tea is used to treat depression, nausea, indigestions, and nervous exhaustion The essential oil of the lemon balm plant is also popular with herbalists. The concentrated oils from the lemon balm leaves are much more potent than the leaves themselves. Just a few drops of lemon balm essential oil can affect an individual. A few drops of lemon balm essential oil are recommended as an antidote to depression. The potency of lemon balm essential oil is thought to be able to "shock" the depressed patient out of their state. Diluted lemon balm essential oil can also be applied topically to help heal cold sores. Other popular methods for consuming lemon balm in herbal remedies include as an ointment, tincture, infused oil, and in a compress.. A lemon balm compress can be applied to any area of suffering from painful swellings, or conditions such as gout. Lemon balm can also be used to create soothing massage oil. Simply dilute 5-10 drops of essential oil by combining with either almond oil or olive oil, and then rub to relieve chest complaints or other areas of tension. Articles - Health Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.inthe21stcentury.com/content/view/90/2/ Your thyroid dictates much of your metabolism, any malfunction or disease afflicting this area may cause you to have problems in metabolism leading to a drastic problem with your weight – you may either gain weight, lose weight, or may find that losing weight is harder than usual. Those that plan diets do not take into consideration how their thyroids and metabolism may affect their weight loss program. Most experts and even the media pitch in and recommend that the best way to lose weight is cut calories. Those with a condition called hyperthyroidism suffer from an overactive thyroid leading to one having his or her metabolism skyrocket. If this is the case, then you will probably lose weight fast. This is a nice proposition for some who wish to lose weight. However, this is actually hazardous to the health. Aside from the medical difficulties such a disease brings, one will also notice weight problems as a result. These people have trouble keeping on weight and may notice weakness and bulging of the eyes. This disease may need special treatment from doctors. Hypothyroidism on the other hand works in the other direction – slowing metabolism until the body gains weight at an incredible rate. Like hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism causes a general weakness in the body. It too may need special treatment and may cause serious health problems if left unattended. While cutting calories in itself can be very hard for most people – imagine, the people involved in life and death struggles at the supermarket regarding whether to buy that extra box of sweets, some have exactly the opposite problem. Instead of eating too much calories – which is a problem in itself, they eat too little calories instead. Problem? What ProblemThe problem with some is that they believe that since the experts say that they have to cut calories, cutting calories to an inordinate amount will reap greater results. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. While cutting calories helps diets, consuming too little calories pushed the body into a hoard mode, the body’s metabolism slow to adapt to the lesser amount of available energy. If your body enters this mode, your body will work at such slow metabolism that losing weight becomes impossible. The technique here should be to reduce calories without the body slowing its metabolism. Only then can losing weight become easier. Another problem that can arise from decreased metabolism is that when your metabolism slows due to a drastic reduction in metabolism, and then you suddenly eat a good, hearty, calorie-filled meal, you are bound to gain more weight owing to the increased surplus of energy. This is why an imbalanced meal is highly discouraged among those that seek to lose weight. The sudden loss and increase of calories will cause an imbalance in one’s energy consumption directly affecting fat deposit. Here is a simple computation to help you get to the right amount of calories you will need per day so that you get your nutrients in the right balance. First of all, multiply your weight in kilograms by 30. If you only know your weight in pounds, divide it by 2.2 to get to its English equivalent. We divide this number by 30 because that is the number of calories you need to maintain your weight per pound of weight. For example if your weight in pounds is 150, divide it by 2.2. That will give you a figure of 68.18. This is your weight in kilograms. Multiply this by 30 and you will arrive at the amount of calories you will need per day to maintain 150 lbs. You may consult a nutritionist to help you come lose weight. In the end it all comes down to math. If you consume more that your body needs, it stores it as fat. Now is probably a good time to start studying the back of those grocery cartons. Try to keep your diet at a 40% protein, 25% fat, and 35% carbohydrate meals at 300 calories per meal. Spread out these meals in a day for optimum results. While it may be simple computation to get at numbers, do not forget the earlier mentioned fact that the body adapts to its condition. Expose it to extreme ones and you may find yourself getting results you never wanted. Consult a nutritionist for more advice. Our IT21C – Store has a range of downloadable ebooks covering health and relationship issues: Why not check it out? You will also find a range of free reports on our download link. Articles - Health Sun, 06 May 2007 00:00:00 +0100