Today, many consumers want to take responsibility for their own health and find out what works for them and their medical conditions. Many people are turning to “alternative medicine” , especially when conventional medical treatments don’t work. Alternative medicine is really popular today. It includes acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage therapy. The one that’s of most interest to people in the nutrition field is herbal medicine. Herbal Medicine may be defines as ” the use of plants to treat disease and improve health”, and according to the World Health Organization, this definition suggests that over 80% of the world’s population currently uses herbs and medicinal plants for primary healthcare! The current top 8 herbal supplements according to amounts sold are St.John’s wort, ginkgo biloba, echinacea, ephedra, kava, garlic, curcumin and resveratrol. Together they account for 50 percent of all retail sales of herbal supplements. Let’s look at these herbs in terms of what they can do for the typical person: 1. St. John’s wort This supplement may be beneficial for mild depression but is no help in major depression, even with moderate symptoms. It might work by preventing nerve cells in the brain from reabsorbing the chemical messenger ...
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