What is Angelica?

Other Names: angelica archangelica, european angelica, garden angelica

The herb angelica was named, according to folklore, after an angel that appeared in plague-ridden Europe and showed a monk the angelica plant as a cure.

Why Do People Use Angelica

Angelica is used primarily for digestive complaints. Angelica's bitter taste is thought to improve digestion. 

Angelica also appears to contain substances that relax intestinal muscles, which can help relieve mild cramps, bloating, and gas. 

To make angelica tea, add one cup of boiling water to one teaspoon of dried angelica and steep covered for at least 10 minutes. Some alternative practitioner suggest drinking 1/3 cup of angelica tea 30 minutes before each meal.

Safety

Pregnant women should not use angelica.

People taking angelica should avoid excess sun exposure, because angelica can increase the sensitivity of skin to light.

In animal studies, compounds in angelica called furocoumarins have been linked with cancer.

What is Ayurveda?
Also known as: Ayurvedic medicine

Ayurveda is the traditional medicine of India, which originated there over 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda emphasizes re-establishing balance in the body through diet, lifestyle, exercise, and body cleansing, and on the health of the mind, body, and spirit.

In North America, Ayurveda is considered a form of alternative medicine. Like traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda is a whole medical system, meaning that it is based on theories of health and illness and on methods of preventing and treating health conditions.

How popular is Ayurveda in the United States?
In the last decade, Ayurveda has been growing in popularity in North America, partly due to the work of Deepak Chopra, M.D., a physician who combines western medicine with Ayurveda.

What does a typical Ayurvedic assessment involve?
An initial assessment with an Ayurvedic practitioner may last an hour or longer. The practitioner will ask detailed questions about your health, diet and lifestyle. He or she will listen to your pulse. Unlike mainstream medicine, 12 different pulse points are assessed in Ayurveda.

The Ayurvedic practitioner also examines the tongue; its appearance is believed to provide clues about areas of the body that may be out of balance. The appearance of the skin, lips, nails, and eyes is also observed.

After the assessment, the practitioner will determine an individual's unique balance of doshas, or metabolic types. One dosha is usually predominant and may be imbalanced, usually due to poor diet and unhealthy habits.

The practitioner also determines your prakuti, also called your constitution or essential nature. From there, the practitioner can create an individualized treatment plan, which often includes diet, exercise, herbs, yoga, meditation, and massage. The treatment plan generally focuses on restoring balance to one particular dosha.
 

What are the doshas?
According to Ayurveda, everything is composed of five elements: air, water, fire, earth, and space. These elements combine to form the three doshas, vata, kapha, and pitta, or metabolic types. In Ayurveda, doshas account for some of our individual differences.

The vata dosha is a combination of space and air. It controls movement and is responsible for basic body processes such as breathing, cell division and circulation. Vata body areas are the large intestine, pelvis, bones, skin, ears, and thighs. People with vata as their main dosha are believed to be quick-thinking, thin, and fast, and are susceptible to anxiety, dry skin, and constipation.

The kapha dosha represents the elements of water and earth. Kapha is believed to be responsible for strength, immunity, and growth. Kapha body areas are the chest, lungs, and spinal fluid. People with kapha as their main dosha are thought to be calm, have a solid body frame, and are susceptible to diabetes, obesity, sinus congestion, and gallbladder problems.

The pitta dosha combines fire and water. It is thought to control hormones and the digestive system. Pitta body areas are the small intestines, stomach, sweat glands, skin, blood, and eyes. People with pitta as their primary dosha are thought to have a fiery personality, oily skin, and are susceptible to heart disease, stomach ulcers, inflammation, heartburn, and arthritis.

An imbalanced dosha is believed to interrupt the natural flow of prana, or vital energy. The disrupted energy flow is then thought to impair digestion and allow the build up of body waste, or ama, which further impairs energy and digestion.

What might an Ayurvedic treatment plan involve?
Diet: Recommendations are individualized to a person's dosha and the season. Foods can either balance or cause imbalance to each dosha. See a list of foods thought to balance each dosha.
Cleansing and detoxification: This may be done through fasting, enemas, diets, and body treatments.
Herbal medicine: Examples of Ayurvedic herbs are triphala, ashwaghanda, gotu kola, guggul, and boswellia.
Yoga
Meditation
Exercise: Individualized to a person's constitution
Massage: Medicated herbal oils are often used.
 

How are Ayurvedic practitioners trained?
In India, there are many undergraduate and postgraduate colleges for Ayurveda, where the training can involve up to five years of study.

Outside of India, some people who have been trained in another health profession (e.g. medical doctor, nurse, naturopathic doctor) study Ayurveda before or after their training. Other practitioners attend Ayurvedic college only.

Currently, there are no national standards for the certification training or licensing Ayurvedic practitioners in the United States or Canada.

Are there any potential concerns with using Ayurvedic medicine?
According to NCAAM, in 2004, 14 out of 70 Ayurvedic herbal remedies tested were found to contain lead, mercury, and/or arsenic at potentially harmful levels. All products were manufactured in South Asia.

In the same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received 12 reports of lead poisoning linked to the use of Ayurvedic herbal products.

A lack of research exists on the effectiveness, safety, side effects, and potential drug interactions of Ayurvedic herbal products. Although some research has been done, there have generally been problems with the design of the studies.

In North America, the use of traditional Ayurvedic practices, such as emesis, enemas, and blood cleansing, is considered highly controversial and the safety of such practices is unknown.

What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects the knees, hips, back, and small joints in the fingers. 

Osteoarthritis affects over 20 million people in the United States, a figure that is expected to double in the next 20 years.

Avocado/soybean unsaponifiables are one of the most promising arthritis remedies. Four high-quality clinical trials suggest that avocado/soybean unsaponifiables, an extract made from avocado and soybean oils, can improve the pain and stiffness of knee and hip osteoarthritis and reduce the need for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It appears to have decrease inflammation and stimulate cartilage repair. 

In France, avocado/soybean unsaponifiables have been approved as a prescription drug. In other countries, it is available as a supplement in some health food stores or online. 

A typical dose is 300 milligrams per day. It usually takes between two weeks and two months to take effect. Studies have found no additional benefit with higher doses. 

Eating avocado and soy, even in large amounts, will not provide enough of the unsaponifiables to have a therapeutic effect. Only 1/100th of the oil is the unsaponifiable portion. 

The safety of avocado/soybean unsaponifiables has not been established in children, pregnant or nursing women.

2) Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate

At least 5 million people in the United States take glucosamine or chondroitin alone or in combination. Glucosamine is used to make a molecule involved in the formation and repair of cartilage, the rubbery substance that cushions joints. Although it's still not clear exactly how glucosamine in pill-form works, it's believed to allow more of cartilage building blocks to be made. Chondroitin sulfate appears to to block cartilage-destroying enzymes and help joint cartilage remain elastic and supple.

Studies with glucosamine have found a reduction in the pain, stiffness, and swelling of arthritis. It is also thought to prevent structural damage to joints. In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, participants took glucosamine or placebo for three years and were x-rayed each year to assess structural changes. Participants who took the placebo had progressive joint space narrowing, a sign of cartilage degeneration, but those who took glucosamine had no significant narrowing of joint spaces.

The dose used in studies is 1500 mg glucosamine sulfate and 800 to 1200 mg chondroitin sulfate. It's important to choose glucosamine sulfate, rather than hydrochloride, because many of the clinical studies have used the sulfate form. It usually takes 1 to 3 months to take effect. Side effects may include mild stomach discomfort, which can be alleviated by taking glucosamine with meals. Some glucosamine supplements are derived from the shells of crabs and other shellfish, so people with shellfish allergies should ensure they use synthetic glucosamine.

3) Acupuncture

The World Health Organization has identified more than 40 conditions that acupuncture can treat, including osteoarthritis. Acupuncture involves the insertion of hair-thin needles into acupoints in the body. It is believed to rebalance the flow of energy, or qi, in the body. Studies have found that acupuncture releases natural pain-relieving substances such as endorphins and serotonin.

A study involving 294 people with osteoarthritis knee pain found that after eight weeks of treatment, participants who had acupuncture experienced a significant improvement in pain and joint function compared to those who had sham acupuncture or placebo.

4) Yoga

Although many people think yoga involves twisting your body into pretzel-like poses, yoga can be safe and effective for people with osteoarthritis. Yoga's gentle movements can keep build strength, flexibility, and balance and reduce arthritis pain and stiffness. 

A pilot study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine examined one type of yoga, Iyengar yoga, for people with osteoarthritis of the knee. After an 8-week course of weekly 90-minute beginner classes, there was a statistically significant reduction in pain, physical function, and mood.

If you have osteoarthritis, it's important to take some simple precautions before trying yoga. Talk with your doctor and ask about any restrictions.
Look for a teacher who has worked with people with arthritis and can suggest modifications for you. Some hospitals and community centers offer yoga classes geared to people with arthritis.
Visit the Yoga GuideSite on About.com5 to find out where to begin.
Talk with your doctor and ask about any restrictions.
Look for a teacher who has worked with people with arthritis and can suggest modifications for you. Some hospitals and community centers offer yoga classes geared to people with arthritis.

5) Massage Therapy

Massage can help to relieve muscle tension associated with osteoarthritis. Joint pain can cause surrounding muscles to become tense. Massage boosts circulation to the affected joint, which decreases joint stiffness and promotes cartilage repair. Massage therapists do this not by directly massaging an inflamed joint, but the muscles surrounding the joint.

Massage can also prevent muscle spasms in other parts of the body. Osteoarthritis is usually one-sided, which can make muscles elsewhere tense as they try to compensate for the weakened joint.

What is Guggul Extract?

A yellowish resin secreted by the mukul myrrh tree (Commiphora mukul), guggul has been used for thousands of years in ayurveda (the traditional medicine of India). Practitioners of ayurvedic medicine often blend guggul extract with other natural substances to heal health problems such as arthritis, hemorrhoids, and urinary tract infections. Guggul is also touted as a remedy for acne, as well as a weight-loss stimulant.

Guggul for High Cholesterol

Although guggul is widely used in India to combat high cholesterol, research on the extract's cholesterol-lowering effects has yielded mixed results. A 2009 study of 43 adults with moderately high cholesterol, for instance, found that those who took 2,160 mg of guggul in capsule form daily had a greater drop in total cholesterol levels than those who took a placebo pill. However, the study members who used guggul showed no significant reduction in their levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

Another study (published in 2003) assigned 103 adults with high cholesterol to take 1,000 mg or 2,000 mg of guggul daily for eight weeks, and found that the extract actually raised levels of LDL cholesterol.

More Guggul Benefits

Preliminary research suggests that guggul extract may help fight tumors. One 2007 study on human cells found that guggulsterone (a compound found in guggul) induced the death of prostate cancer cells, while a 2008 report revealed that guggulsterone thwarted the growth of skin tumors in mice.

Other research shows that guggul extract may help reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee.

Guggul Side Effects

Although it's generally considered safe, guggul extract may trigger side effects like headache, nausea, and skin irritation (usually in the form of a rash) in some individuals. Since guggul has also been found to stimulate the thyroid, anyone with a thyroid condition should consult a physician before using guggul extract.

In a 2004 study, scientists discovered that guggulsterone may inhibit the action of drugs that are metabolized by the body's CYP3A enzymes. These drugs include Lipitor, cyclosporine, and quinidine.

There are numerous ways to stop hiccups. Here we are going to list some of the traditional customs applied by people worldwide: