Alba Tovar Health and Wellness Professional Herbs Alba Tovar Health and Wellness Professional

What are Herbs? Herbs is any plant or plant part that has been used for medicinal, culinary or fragrance purposes. The following are some examples of herbs that are useful for many purposes but in this case we will discuss their medicinal purpose. Chamomile Echinacea Sage Thyme

Medicinal Benefits Chamomile –this medicinal herb is good for infusions and it relieves indigestion and colic, good for anxiety and tension, and skin inflammations and irritations. Echinacea – good if you have a cold or the flu, it eases the severity the symptoms and it helps bring relief to your immune system. Sage – It helps provide relief for mouth and throat inflammations. Thyme – The active principle in thyme, thymol, is a strong antiseptic. This is good if you suffer from coughs, congestion, indigestion, or gas, consider using this medicinal herb.

Educational Resources http://www.herbsociety.org/ http://extension.illinois.edu/herbs/directory.cfm Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, Second Edition James A. Duke Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine, Second Edition Manuchair Ebadi This websites as well as the books talk about the medicinal purpose of herbs.

Recommendations Before buying or even using herbal supplements for medicinal purposes, ask these questions before: Are the supplements safe to use? How do you know what is in the herbal supplement? How do you know the claims are true? Ask your doctor or pharmacist Contact manufacturer Follow instructions of the herbal supplement Keep track of the amounts you are taking Check alerts and advisories before taking product ttp://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/herbal-supplements/art-20046714?pg=2 Extra information: RESULTS: About a third (206 of 626) of the physicians in the Centre participated. Only nine of the 215 approached refused to participate. Forty physicians (19%) recommended herbal medicines to patients. Logistic regression modeling identified personal use, general interest, interest in receiving training, race and higher level of medical training as significant predictors of physicians recommending herbal medicines. Conclusion: Physicians' personal attributes and training influence their likelihood of recommending herbal medicines. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15153085

Precautions 1. Ingredients that are not understandable within the herbal supplement, the product might have an ingredient that your body is allergic to. 2. Some herbal products can be dangerous if you overdose. http://www.herbtreatment.com/herbal-product-precautions.html

References http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/herbal-supplements/art-20046714?pg=2 2. Centre for Evidence-Based Pharmacotherapy, Aston Universit. Herbal medicines: predictors of recommendation by physicians. 2004 Jun;29(3):241-6. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15153085 3. Manuchair, Ebadi. Pharmacodynamic Basis of Herbal Medicine. Second Edition. Taylor & Francis. 4. Duke, James A. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Second Edition. Taylor & Francis, (2002). 5. Reader’s Digest. Retrieved from: http://www.rd.com/health/conditions/medicinal-herbs/ 6. http://www.herbtreatment.com/herbal-product-precautions.html