Natural Health Journals

By Susun S. Weed ©

For thousands of years knowledge of the herbs and wild plants that could increase fertility were the secrets of the village wise women. But after the holocaust against European Wise Women (the “burning times”) and the virtual extermination of Native American medicine women, this knowledge virtually disappeared. In fact, many people erroneously believe that “primitive people” had no means of controlling the likelihood of pregnancy. Nothing could be further from the truth.Many common plants can be used to influence fertility, including red clover, partridge berry, liferoot, wild carrot, and wild yam. Some of these grow wild, others are easy to cultivate, and, with the exception of wild carrot, all are also readily available at health food stores.One of the most cherished of the fertility-increasing plants is red clover (Trifolium pratense). Common in fields and along roadsides, it has bright pink (not really red) blossoms from mid-summer into the chilly days of fall. A favorite flower of the honeybees, the tops (blossoms and appending leaves) are harvested on bright sunny days and eaten as is, or dried for medicinal use. The raw blossoms are delicious in salads and nutritious when cooked with grains such as rice or millet.

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Copyright 2010 – Joe Smulevitz

You’ve probably heard the news. More and more research is showing that chocolate is good for your health, especially the heart. However, only certain forms such as unadulterated chocolate from pure, ground, roasted chocolate beans provide heart healthy benefits. Did past generations know that less processed chocolate is better for their health? For centuries it was identified as a beneficial food for circulatory problems and reducing angina. By the 1800’s, much of its connection to health was lost, with the industrialization of chocolate production that led to the addition of milk and sugar. This ended the perception that chocolate is healthy for the heart. Recently the health association with chocolate has come full circle.

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Choosing dietary supplements can be overwhelming for many of us. Regardless of whether you look for supplements at a health food store or your local drug store, the choices are plentiful and at times confusing.

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By Jamell Andrews

While it is not possible to control all of the factors that contribute to the development of breast cancer such as age, genetics, and being female, it is possible to make choices that will put you at a much lower risk of developing the disease down the road.

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By Cyndra Neal

Bursitis is an inflammation of the bursa, a small fluid-filled sac that works to reduce friction between the tissues of the body. When functioning normally, the bursa slips and glides smoothly, but when it becomes irritated and inflammation sets in, every movement is painful.

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By Jamell Andrews

Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness that is usually very difficult for physicians to diagnose because of the vagueness of the symptoms that generally exist in patients.

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Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease, and it is the most common type of arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when there is a breakdown of cartilage in the joints. It can affect any joint in the body, but it usually occurs in weight bearing joints such as the hips, knees, and spine. In addition, it also routinely affects fingers, thumbs, toes, and the neck.

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By Marc Courtiol

About 40 million people in the United States suffer from hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, on a regular basis. For many people, these types of allergies have become a regular nuisance to deal with year round and are not just a temporary inconvenience that they have to deal with for a few months each year in the fall or spring.

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By Andrew V.V.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that carries potentially serious health problems along with it. Essentially, this disorder is best defined as when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep. For most people, breathing is interrupted dozens of times each night, and not simply one or two times.

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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, but the exact cause of it remains unknown. There are, however, certain triggers that researchers have identified that cause asthma in some people. What happens is that when triggers come into contact with the airways, the airways become narrow and inflamed and begin to fill with mucus.

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