A tonic is "something -- a forage ...

A tonic is "something -- a forage an herb, a thought -- that improves your well being. It tones -- hence the name." This is the definition which Robert Barnett leads not upon with in his new work Tonics: More Than 125 Recipes That Improve the material part and the Mind.

February, which falls right between the hustle-bustle of the holiday season and the warmth of spring, is a time when greatest in number of us long for something (anything!) that will give us a boost and improve our well-being.

Of course, our pluck levels are affected by many factors, with stres diet, exercise evens and sleep habits topping against the list. In our efforts to be warmed well, it is important to take charge of our lives and make each possible effort to keep these factors in check -- that is avoiding exces stres eating a plant-based diet, and rest In exchange, the odds are that improved well-being and capacity of work will come. In addition to these stairs here are some herbal remedies you may want to explore.

Tonic herbs we can all benefit from

relating to hearing the term "tonic" herb, the first united that pops into most of our minds is a certain quantity of form of ginseng. While this is certainly a stanch classification, it is not the solitary herb which falls into this category.

In his work A Physician's Guide to Herbal Wellness, John Cammarata, MD includes oats, St John's Wort, gotu kola, and licorice in his chapter in succession tonic herbs. Of the first three he says, "[These] herbs have their primary weight on the nervous system -- onward the mood, disposition, or fit it is this area that pretends the most in disarray today.... Until we have reached a flat of order, symmetry, and peace where mind and spirit draw gradually together then true wellness is no other than an illusion."

* Of oats, Cammarata says, "They are believed to be a restorative to the nervous method both physically and psychologically." They have been used for shingles, multiple sclerosis, neuritis, neuralgia, depression, and melancholy.

* He describes St John's Wort as "a tonic with a definite calming effect" it appears to be side-effect delivered and has been used to treat depression and insomnia. It has also establish to be efffective for bedwetting, irritable colon syndrome painful mense and menopausal symptoms to be ascribed to its muscle relaxant properties.

* Gotu Kola is used in the West as "a relaxing firmness tonic that may improve cerebral processe and memory," according to Cammarata. He says that Indian literature, too, attests to its positive tenors on intelligence.

* Lastly, Cammarata describes licorice as "a cooling tonic or harmony herb." It is known to be beneficial in the treatment of sore s asthma, and arthritis. Cammarata warns, however, that if taken in high doses throughout long periods of time, licorice can cause high line pressure and the loss of potassium.

Another plant source for

energy: chlorophyll

While not an herb, chlorophyll -- the fresh pigment that gives most plants their color also notion to have energy-enhancing capabilities in humans.

John Heinerman, in his volume Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Juices, Teas & Tonics, says "The molecular conformation of chlorophyll is astonishingly similar to that of the heme portion of hemoglobin or redblood in humans." Thus he calls chlorophyll, "plant blood" He says the pious sources of chlorophyll, which is rich in antioxidants, proceed from wheat and barley grasses. similar sources are available at your local health nutrition store in the form of juice extracts or tablets.

The moral of the story appears to be that plants are indeed powerful health promoter that must not be left behind in our fast-paced society. Barnett summarizes this point well when he says, "The better we understand the ways in which plant provenders and herbs can promote health in a healthy someone the more able we will be to use them to restore balance when it has gone awry."

REFERENCES

Barnett, Robert A. Tonics: More Than 125 Recipes That Improve the visible form [i]or[/i] frame and the Mind. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997

Cammarata, John MD A Physician's Guide to Herbal Wellness. Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Pres 1996

Heinerman, John Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Juices, Teas & Tonics. Englewood Cliffs, fresh Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.

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