Did you know that by making some modifications to your diet, you could alleviate many symptoms related to anxiety, panic and depression? Take a look at some simple ways to use your diet to improve your mental health today.
The B Vitamin Group
This group of vitamins can contribute significantly to your overall mental and physical health. Specifically, the following vitamins from the B group can help:
* Niacin (B3) - Niacin is a very important vitamin for energy production. Two unique forms of vitamin B3 are required for the body to convert proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into usable energy. Niacin is also used to synthesize starch that can be stored in the body's muscles and liver for eventual use as an energy source. Deficiencies in vitamin B3 are thought to be linked to depression and anxiety, as B3 helps to support the neurotransmission system of the brain. For this same reason, adequate levels of Niacin are also thought to help prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Foods rich in Niacin include chicken, tuna, salmon and mushrooms.
* Thiamin (B1) - Thiamin rich foods help your body by providing energy, coordinating the activity of nerves and muscles and supporting proper heart function. Low levels of thiamin in the body can cause restless nerves and irritability, like that seen by patients suffering from panic and anxiety disorders. While it is not believed that a lack of thiamin actually causes these disorders, recommended levels of thiamin in the body can help improve how a person with panic or anxiety disorder feels.
Foods rich in thiamin include tuna, sunflower seeds, black beans, and yellow corn.
* Vitamin B6 - B6 is one of the best vitamins for supporting the nervous system, so it can help support the body in warding off all sorts of feelings like sadness, depression, anxiety and panic. It is also helpful in the breakdown of sugars and starches in the blood, supporting proper insulin function, which helps provide energy and prevent fatigue.
Foods rich in Vitamin B6 include bell peppers, spinach, bananas and tuna.
* Vitamin B12 - Vitamin B12 is a critical nutrient in supporting the production of red blood cells, preventing anemia. In addition, it promotes proper development of nerve cells and helps your cells metabolize protein, carbohydrate and fat. Clinical depression and memory loss can sometimes be linked to a Vitamin B12 deficiency. In addition, heart palpitations and fatigue, just as often seen in anxiety patients, are side effects of being deficient in B12.
Foods rich in B12 include baked snapper, venison, scallops and yogurt.
In addition to these B vitamins, it is recommended that you ensure that your levels of Biotin, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, and Pantothenic acid, all B vitamin derivatives, is adequate, to support overall physical and mental health.
Foods such as Calf's liver, beans and sunflower seeds are all good choices to provide a wide variety of B vitamins.
Is That All You Can Do?
Making sure you eat all these foods rich in the B vitamins is not all you can do. There are two important natural substances found in certain foods that can help you boost your mood while relaxing your nerves and muscles - inducing a peaceful sleep. Visit the following site to learn about these key foods you don't want to miss and start feeling better today: foods that help anxiety and panic.
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Article written by Gail Kaufman and Monica Villarreal. For more information on vital foods for anxiety, panic and depression visit: foods recommended for anxiety and panic.
To discover natural alternatives to conquer anxiety visit natural remedies for anxiety.
** Attention Ezine editors. You can reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or website as long as you leave all links hyperlinked, do not modify the content and include our resource box.
Ponds skin care
Ponds skin care products have been around for a very long time. My grandmother used this brand and continues to use this line today. Considering that my grandmother looks a couple decades younger than she really is, I decided to adopt the habit of using Ponds skin care products as well.
While I was already quite aware of the well-known product when I was a child, I never used Ponds skin care. This was a line of beauty supplies that was designed for older people, or so I thought. I was actually introduced to using the Ponds skin care supplies when I was working in the theater.
The play I was in was Othello and I had a fantastic part. I also had to wear a lot of makeup to pull off the role. Anyone who has worked with theater makeup knows that the products can wreak havoc on your skin. This is especially true when you are 18 years old and still battling occasional bouts of acne breakouts.
I never would have thought that Ponds skin care products would work on me because I knew that the moisturizing beauty items would block my pores. At least this is what I thought I knew at the time. As it turned out, I really did benefit from using Ponds skin care while working in the theater.
The makeup artist put a layer of what she referred to as “cold cream” on my face before applying the heavy theater makeup. I was really relieved to find that the Ponds skin care formed a comfortable barrier between my skin and the harsh supplies. The product made a world of difference.
Before using the Ponds skin care supplies on my face prior to wearing the heavy theater makeup, I used to take a very long time to get the stuff off after the show. It was a great feeling to know that I would be able to celebrate at the cast party with a fresh, clean face. The Ponds skin care products also helped me remove the makeup, too.
I haven’t worked in the theater for year, now but I still use Ponds skin care supplies. I have done so since I was 18. This line of products is ideal for complexions of any age. I plan to keep using the items. Ponds skin care has stood the test of time by women of all ages.
David Inthee write articles all more information visit http://tips-answers.blogspot.com/2007/06/ponds-skin-care.html
Be Your Own Herbal Expert - Pt 2
Herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It is simple, safe, effective, and free. Our ancestors knew how to use an enormous variety of plants for health and well-being. Our neighbors around the world continue to use local plants for healing and health maintenance, and you can too.
In your first lesson, you learned how to "listen" to the messages of plant's tastes. And you discovered that using plants in water bases (teas, infusions, vinegars, soups) - and as simples - allows you to experiment with and explore herbal medicine safely.
In this lesson, we will learn how to make effective water-based herbal remedies and talk more about using simples.
TEA FOR YOU?
Teas are a favorite way to consume herbs. Made by brewing a small amount of herbs (typically a teaspoonful to a cup of water) for a short time (generally 1-2 minutes), teas are flavorful, colorful drinks.
Herbs rich in coloring compounds - such as hibiscus, rose hips, calendula, and black tea - make enticing and tasty teas. They may also contain polyphenols, phytochemicals known to help prevent cancer. Since coloring compounds and polyphenols are fairly stable, dried herbs are considered best for teas rich in these.
Herbs rich in volatile oils - such as ginger, chamomile, cinnamon, catnip, mint, lemon balm, lemon grass, lavender, bergamot, and fennel, anise, and cumin seeds - make lovely teas, which are effective in easing spasms, stimulating digestion, eliminating pain, and inducing sleep. Since much of the volatile oils are lost when herbs are dried, fresh herbs are considered best for teas rich in these, but dried herbs can be used with good results.
I enjoy a cup of hot tea with honey. But teas fail to deliver the mineral richness locked into many common herbs. A cup of nettle tea, for instance, contains only 5-10 mg of calcium, while a cup of nettle infusion contains up to 500 mg of calcium. For optimum nutrition, I drink nourishing herbal infusions every day.
INFUSION FOR ME!
An infusion is a large amount of herb brewed for a long time. Typically, one ounce by weight (about a cup by volume) of dried herb is placed in a quart jar, which is then filled to the top with boiling water, tightly lidded and allowed to steep for 4-10 hours. After straining, a cup or more is consumed, and the remainder chilled to slow spoilage. Drinking 2-4 cups a day is usual. Since the minerals and other phytochemicals in nourishing herbs are made more accessible by drying, dried herbs are considered best for infusions. (See experiment 2.)
I make my infusions at night before I go to bed and they are ready in the morning. I put my herb in my jar and my water in the pot, and the pot on the fire, then brush my teeth (or sweep the floor) until the kettle whistles. I pour the boiling water up to the rim of the jar, screw on a tight lid, turn off the stove and the light, and go to bed. In the morning, I strain the plant material out, squeezing it well, and drink the liquid. I prefer it iced, unless the morning is frosty. I drink the quart of infusion within 36 hours or until it spoils. Then I use it to water my houseplants, or pour it over my hair after washing as a final rinse, which can be left on.
My favorite herbs for infusion are nettle, oatstraw, red clover, and comfrey leaf, but only one at a time. The tannins in red clover and comfrey make me pucker my lips, so I add a little mint, or bergamot, when I infuse them, just enough to flavor the brew slightly. A little salt in your infusion may make it taste better than honey will.
Having trouble finding herbs in bulk at your local health food store? Try ordering online:
Mountain Rose Herbs - http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
Pacific Botanicals - http://www.pacificbotanicals.com/
Frontier Herbs - http://www.frontierherb.com/
Garden Medicinals - http://www.gardenmedicinals.com/
SIMPLE MESSAGES
When we use simples (one plant at a time), we allow ourselves an intimacy that deepens and strengthens our connections to plants and their green magic. There are lots of interesting plants, and lots of herbalists who maintain that herbal medicine means formulae and combinations of herbs. But I consider herbs as lovers, preferring to have only one in bed with me at a time.
When I use one plant at a time it is much easier for me to discern the effect of that plant. When I use one plant at a time and someone has a bad reaction to the remedy, it is obvious what the source of the distress is, and usually easy to remedy. When I use one plant at a time, I make it easy for my body to communicate with me and tell me what plants it needs for optimum health.
I even go so far as to ally with one plant at a time, usually for at least a year. By narrowing my focus, I actually find that I learn more.
COMING UP
In our next lesson we will learn more about the difference between nourishing, tonifying, stimulating/sedating, and potentially-poisonous plants; how to prepare them; and how to use them. In the following installments we will explore the difference between fixing disease and promoting health, how to apply the three traditions of healing, and how to take charge of your own health care with the six steps of healing.
EXPERIMENT NUMBER ONE
Make and drink a quart of nourishing herbal infusion made with stinging nettle, oatstraw, red clover, raspberry leaf, or comfrey leaf. If you wish, flavor it with mint. On the same day, make a tea from the same herb, using dried herb. Compare and contrast the colors, flavors, and sensations.
EXPERIMENT NUMBER TWO
Make an infusion of stinging nettle, oatstraw, red clover, raspberry leaf, or comfrey leaf, using one ounce of dried herb as usual. At the same time, make a quart of "brew" using the same herb, but fresh, not dried. To make it fair, use 4 ounces of fresh herb. After one hour of steeping, look at both jars, taste and compare/contrast. Repeat three more times at hourly intervals.
Minerals are released slowly into water. They darken the color of the water and give it a dense, rich taste. Oil-soluble vitamins float to the top and make a thin glaze of swirls.
EXPERIMENT NUMBER THREE
Buy, or grow, a tasty, aromatic herb, like ginger, peppermint, or rosemary. For this experiment you will need one tablespoon of fresh herb, and one teaspoon of the same herb dried. Place the fresh herb in a cup or mug and the dried herb in another. Fill both to the top with boiling water. After one minute, taste, smell, compare the teas. Wait another minute and compare again. Then wait five minutes and try each one again.
EXPERIMENT NUMBER FOUR
Make a tea with aromatic seeds - anise, caraway, coriander, cumin, fennel, or fenugreek. Use a teaspoon of seeds in a cup of water. At the same time, brew some using a tablespoon of seeds per cup. After a minute, taste, smell, contrast. Repeat in five minutes, then in thirty minutes, then after an hour, then after four hours. Teas and infusions of dried seeds are almost the same.
FURTHER STUDY
Drink 2-4 cups of nourishing herbal infusion for a month and see if your health changes in any way. Best if you don't drink coffee or tea during this month.
Choose a green ally to focus on this year.
Read Healing Power of Minerals by Paul Bergner.
Read about stinging nettle and oatstraw in my book Healing Wise.
Write out the botanical names of the herbs you used in making your teas and your infusions.
ADVANCED WORK
Learn more about essential oils in plants. Grow several plants rich in essential oils.
Learn more about tannins. Make an oakbark infusion.
If you want to be your own herbal expert then you may want to start a correspondence course! See www.susunweed.com for information on courses available.
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
Visit Susun Weed at: The Wise Woman Center;and Ash Tree Publishing
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.
Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world.
