Beat the Winter Blues With These Natural Cures
Natural Supplements to Treat Anxiety, Depression, and Beat the Winter Blues
Natural supplements have become an increasingly popular alternative way to treating depression and anxiety. While prescription medications are effective, there are several side effects, such as addiction or dependency, that steer people more towards natural supplements. While these natural alternatives can work, research should be done before starting them. There are several different natural supplements that can be taken for depression or anxiety, but it is important to remember that since the Food and Drug Administration does not really evaluate them, and some may not work for you.
How Much Valerian Should You Take for helping with Sleep
Valerian dates back to the times of ancient Greece and Rome, and was often used to treat insomnia. It is a perennial flowering plant that blooms in the northern hemisphere. The root of the plant goes through a process, is put into capsules and used as a sedative, which can be used to treat anxiety. A part of the reason it works for anxiety is because it works quickly, sometimes kicking in under an hour. Many people say another benefit to Valerian is you do not get the “ groggy hungover” feeling as you do with prescription medications such as Valium.
Tea’s with Highest Level of L-theanine
L-theanine is also a common herbal supplement used to treat anxiety. It comes from an amino acid found in Green Tea. It is not addictive or habit forming, so it is a good alternative to prescription medication. Something to watch for with L-theanine, which is also known as Suntheanine, is making sure it is at least 98\% pure L-theanine. Another benefit of L-theanine is that it does not make you feel as drowsy as some prescription medications for anxiety do.
The Natural Version of Prozac or Paxil
A great natural supplement that has more evidence to support its effectiveness is St. Johns Wort. St. Johns Wort is a yellow flowering herb found in Europe. Research shows that St Johns Wort can be as effective as prescription medications such as Prozac or Paxil, however it must contain 3-5\% hyperforin. Also, it is key to know that St. Johns Wort may take three to four weeks to really begin working and to feel its full effects.
5-htp Natural Depression Cure
Another natural supplement that has more clinical research to back it up is 5- hydroxytryptophan. It is also known as 5-HTP and is an amino acid found in Griffonia simplicifolia plant. Research shows that 5-HTP actually increases serotonin levels in your brain, which is what most anti depressant prescription medications do as well. Studies say that it works well alone and as quickly as just a few days, but also can be combined with St. Johns Wort to treat depression.
Ginseng and Ginkgo Help with Depression
Ginseng and Ginkgo are also well known amino acids used to treat depression. While there is not as much scientific research that shows they work as well as some of the other natural supplements for depression, it has several other uses like controlling blood- sugar levels.
Natural supplements have many benefits over prescription medications such as side effects and addiction factors. While there are many other natural supplements that can be used to treat depression and anxiety over prescription medications, it is important to do your homework before making that decision.
For more great tips on health, life, and entertainment please visit the GKhealth web page.
Read More»Benefits of Unsweetened Chocolate
Eating Chocolate Can Reduce Stress Levels
Men who take to the gym to pound away at punch-bags to relieve stress may be better off sitting back and experiencing the benefits of unsweetened chocolate.
Scientists in Holland and Switzerland gave a group of volunteers a 20g piece of dark chocolate in the morning and the evening.
They then monitored their stress hormone levels and found that the treat cuts stress levels and rebalanced body chemicals at times of high anxiety.
It took just two weeks for the cocoa-based “medicine” to have a positive effect.
The study, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, found that there was “strong evidence that a daily consumption of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) during a period of two weeks is sufficient to modify the metabolism of healthy human volunteers”.
Nestle researcher Sunil Kochhar, who lead the study, said that reduction of stress levels had long-term benefits for people’s health.
But before you cancel your gym membership and throw out your running sneaker, be aware that dietitian spoiled the news by reminding people that chocolate, which is high in sugar and fat, should only be eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet.
For more great news on mental and emotional health please visit our Mental & Emotional Health section on GKHealth.
Read More»Enjoying Your Dreams
Not many people believe they can control their dreams. But studies show lucid dreaming is real. A person who controls their dreams is in better control of their mental health. Much of our reactions to people and stimuli comes from our reactions in dreams.
Lucid dreaming is the ability to train the mind to be conscious that it is dreaming during the process of dreaming. No, this is not science fiction, it’s scientifically proven by study after study.
Lucid dreams not only help people remember their dreams, but makes their dreams more pleasant. When a person is in control of their dreams, they have limitless possibilities. The benefits of lucid dreaming are abundant:
• Lucid dreaming helps people conquer their fears. A person wracked by nightmares can gain control of their dreams to overcome their fears. Additionally, a person can overcome a fear of heights by being bravely climbing a steep hill in their dreams that in their waking life they wouldn’t have gone near.
• Being able to control a lucid dream makes dreaming more pleasurable. A trip to New York City in your dreams becomes a trip to your favorite Italian restaurant or to see your friend who moved away.
• Lucid dreams allow creative thinkers to explore their creative side in unfathomable ways.
• Lucid dreaming improves your health by teaching you to recognize and cope with stressors in your life.
Before lucid dreaming takes place, people must train their minds to recognize a lucid dream.
I ask you to keep an open mind before you read the rest of this article. It’s possible, even if it doesn’t seem plausible.
Step 1: Believe in your dreams
Make a conscious effort to acknowledge the difference between reality and dreaming. Do this by pinching yourself, jumping in place or just affirming to yourself that you are not dreaming during the day. This trains the mind to know the difference.
Step 2: Record your dreams
Whether it be dream diary or just a few scribbled notes, a record of your dreams is essential. A dream diary trains your mind to regularly remember even the most mundane dreams. This effort trains your brain to consciously remember your dreams, so the brain works harder during the dream process.
Step 3: Take in the world around you
To remember a dream, a person needs to focus on the details. Training the mind to focus can be an arduous task. However, dreams often reflect our daytime habits in some form or another. So focus in the daytime at the objects around and your mind will carry on the process during dreams.
Step 4: Take a nap
Napping during the day is the best time to experience a lucid dreams. Short power naps contain lucid dreams because the dreaming starts prior to the mind ceasing alertness.
Step 5: Stay calm
Lucid dreams tend to be chaotic, especially when a person is about to leave the dream state and wake. Therefore a person should practice being calm and focused during the dream so once they’ve achieved the lucid dream state, it can be maintained. This keeps them in the dream longer and eventually leads to sustained control.
Read More»Healthy Relationship Central to Well-Being
A healthy relationship is important to a person’s physical health and psychological and emotional well-being, a psychotherapist has claimed.
Paula Hall, a relationship psychotherapist in private practice, said that marriage can improve people’s health as it provides the security which is an essential part of well-being.
She explained: “When we feel secure we feel free and motivated to explore and expand into the world and seek fulfillment.
“This goes right back to basic survival psychology,” Ms Hall added.
The comments follow research by the American Cancer Society health journal, Cancer, which showed that the highest survival rates of those people diagnosed with the disease were married.
Ms Hall added that “few people take divorce lightly” as the emotional impact can be “devastating”.
Linda Waite of University of Chicago recently said in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior that divorce is bad for health.
Divorced or single people were more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
Read More»British University Unveils Depression Test
A new depression test has been unveiled by University College London (UCL) which promises to raise the standard of health advice given to sufferers of psychological illness.
The educational institution explains that the test has been devised to predict more accurately the likelihood that any given individual will develop depression at some point in their life.
Professor Michael King of the department of mental health sciences comments that UCL hopes to ensure medical professionals can tailor their health advice to take such risk factors into account.
In the creation of the algorithm, researchers took their lead from similar frameworks which exist for forecasting the risk posed by heart disease to individuals based on different characteristics.
After testing the new tool over a 12-month period, it was found to function comparably for depression as its heart disease counterparts within the European medical community.
Health articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association note that the two conditions are not entirely independent of one another.
Rather, researchers from the VA Medical Center, San Francisco, found that depressed patients often do not adhere to guidance on diet, exercise and medication.
As such, they are seen to experience a greater number of cardiovascular events than would typically be the case.
Read More»Huntington’s ‘Clue’ Revealed by Research
Health care articles from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research indicate the existence of a “clue” to help identify individuals at risk from Huntington’s disease.
Researchers from the organization explain that they have discovered a mechanism that could trigger early cell death.
They add that studying the condition is made easier as the misfolded protein responsible for Huntington’s disease has already been identified.
However, the stages which lead it to result in cell damage and death have previously been unknown.
Now, in health care articles published in Genes & Development, the institute has shed some light on the process.
Martin Duennwald, principal scientist at Boston Biomedical Research Institute, explains that the issue relates to the body’s ability to rid itself of proteins.
Usually these are degraded within the endoplasmic reticulum – but when a mutated gene associated with Huntington’s is present, such degradation is inhibited.
The researcher explains that this leaves the body overloaded with unwanted proteins – which may result in damage or death of cells.
Previous health care articles published by Temple University identified a new family of genes which could be responsible for triggering cell death.
Novel Structure Proteins were singled out as potentially beginning the process of cell death known as apoptosis.
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