Overview:

Valerian Root:

This herb has a long history of being used for as an herbal health supplement.

Valerian Root was used by Greek Physicians like Dioscordes and Galen.  It was apparent to them that Valerian Root had many health benefits.

The most common historical use for Valerian was to support a healthy nervous system. There are current studies that are testing the efficacy of Valerian Root.

As early as  the 16th century Valerian was recognized as an herb with great potential for supporting healthy nervous systems and assisting with moods.

Most studies seem to indcate that Valerian has two active componants that contribute to its effectiveness.

First is valerenic acid and its derivatives.

And second are the iridoids, which include the valepotriates. Valepotriates and their derivatives.

Both of these seem to interact and support the nervous system.

A possible mechanism by which Valerian Root effects the nervous system by being a precursor of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter). GABA is released into the cerebellum and becomes available in the synaptic cleft. GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Studies are still needed to prove or disprove this theory.

St John's Wort:

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), a plant that grows in the wild, has been used for centuries. It’s widely used by health care professionals in Europe.

The possible mechanism that causes St John's Wort to be a note worthy herbal supplement is a rare combination of active compounds that may prevent or delay the re-uptake of the hormones serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

St. John's Wort's two main active compounds that are responsible for the re-uptake of seritonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. They are hypericin and pseudohypericin. Both active compounds in St. John's wort that have been determined to be very effective for promoting healthy nervous system function.

Hypercin is not the only active compound in St. John's Wort. Recent information suggests other compounds called hyperforin and adhyperforin may also play a role in St John's Wort's popularity. It is believed that hyperforin and adhyperforin act on chemical messengers in the nervous system that regulate mood.

Research:

What are the best herbs to use when one needs a calm clear and focused disposition?

St John's Wort:

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), a plant that grows in the wild, has been used for centuries. It’s widely used by health care professionals in Europe.

The possible mechanism that causes St John's Wort to be a note worthy herbal supplement is a rare combination of active compounds that may prevent or delay the re-uptake of the hormones serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

St. John's Wort's two main active compounds that are responsible for the re-uptake of seritonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. They are hypericin and pseudohypericin. Both active compounds in St. John's wort that have been determined to be very effective for promoting healthy nervous system function.

According to an article posted by Healthline E-magizine; Jeremy Wolf, a licensed naturopathic physician, explained that St. John’s wort creates many actions in the body.

It is a mood leveler in individuals with mild to moderate nervousness.

He notes that St. John’s wort is not recommended for individuals with severe depression.

He cautioned that the herb is not a fast-acting. It may take weeks or months before any differences are noticed.

Valerian Root:

This herb has a long history of being used for as an herbal health supplement.

Valerian Root was used by Greek Physicians like Dioscordes and Galen.  It was apparent to them that Valerian Root had many health benefits.

The most common historical use for Valerian was to support a healthy nervous system. There are current studies that are testing the efficacy of Valerian Root.

As early as  the 16th century Valerian was recognized as an herb with great potential for supporting healthy nervous systems and assisting with moods.

Most studies seem to indcate that Valerian has two active componants that contribute to its effectiveness.

First is valerenic acid and its derivatives.

And second are the iridoids, which include the valepotriates. Valepotriates and their derivatives.

Both of these seem to interact and support the nervous system.

A possible mechanism by which Valerian Root effects the nervous system by being a precursor of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter). GABA is released into the cerebellum and becomes available in the synaptic cleft. GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Studies are still needed to prove or disprove this theory.

PassionFlower: 

Passionflower is a climbing vine that is native to the southeastern United States, and Central and South America. It was used as a food plant and an herb for health.

Passionflower is classified as a nervine herb and is used to support nerves and moods during times of stress.

In 1569, Spanish explorers discovered Passionflower in Peru. They believed the flowers symbolized Christ's passion.

Passionflower contains GABA Gamma-AminoButyric Acid (GABA).

GABA is produced by the body and is also able to be consumed orally as it is bioavailable in certain plants.

GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that counters neurotransmitters that cause excitement, and so it may have a calming effect.

Some researchers believe that PassionFlower may be useful for people who experience anxiety, restlessness, and have a hard time relaxing before going to bed. 

PassionFlower may increase levels of GABA available in the brain. It is a chemical used by the brain to help regulate mood.

The information above is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect or relate to the performance or purpose of any products that contain similar materials.

* "Herbal supplements are not drugs. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."*

Help Me Choose:

Is Anxiety Causing You Stress?

What is stress?

Stress; difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; force or outside influence that produces or causes strain;

There are many definitions of stress. Some of them deal with the syllable of a word that is accented; some of them deal with the amount of force applied to a physical structure. It doesn’t matter which definition of stress we refer to, stress either tests the physical or mental capacity of the subject. Today I want to deal with the stress that we feel in our everyday lives. The fast pace that people live with causes undue pressure and emotional stress. Stress comes from issues in our lives like; schedules that are too busy, overdue bills, work related issues, bad relationships. Stress can even come from other family members who have some out of control issues going on in their life. Anything that causes worry creates stress. Stress can cause fatigue, behavioral changes, relationship issues and even bouts of depression.

Some Stress is Inevitable & Even Healthy.

There is no such thing as a stress free life. Sometimes we look at someone else’s life and see it as stress free. You should know that, that is simply is not true. Everyone has some stress in their life. Just because someone you know doesn’t have the same stresses as yours does NOT mean that they do not have stress in their life that is equal to yours. Trying to remove stress from your life completely is impossible. A certain amount of stress actually helps in maximizing performance in specific situations. During times of stress, the human body reacts by releasing hormones and enzymes to reduce digestive secretions, increase heart beat and contract blood vessels. This state is called by various names like hyper-arousal, or the fight or flight response. It is necessary that these changes in physiology are temporary in nature. They are designed to help you to handle the stressful situation that you are in. After the situation is calmed down or resolved your body then needs to calm down to a relaxed state as well. It is the constant stress caused by certain life circumstances that will eventually wear you down and be damaging to your health and well being. The human body is not designed to be in a constant physiologically stressed state. Being overly stressed for long periods of time can have a significant negative impact on your overall health.

Symptoms of Stress

Most of us don't realize there is a problem until relationships begin to suffer or performance at work slips. At this point, many turn to either alcohol or non-prescription drugs as a way to escape from the stress. Alternatives to dealing with this stress and anxiety in a productive way are often difficult to consider in the midst of such crisis. Unfortunately, self-medicating often makes the problem worse and may become addictive.

Modern life brings in its wake a fair number of situations that create stress and anxiety. The pace of life is more demanding and the requirements of modern day are far higher than they used to be. Sometimes the physiological and psychological stress can get too difficult to manage. Therefore, the need to be aware of the various ways in which stress can be managed and controlled is imperative.

Like I mentioned before in small doses stress is a good thing. It gives you the push that you need and keeps you alert. It is stress that drives you to stop being a couch potato and prepare for the upcoming events like tests or competitions and keeps you fully focused. The emphasis, however, is "stress in small doses". Constant stress has a negative effect on your overall health.

To be able to manage stress efficiently and adequately, you need to first be aware of the various manners in which stress can be manifested. This is essentially to avoid a situation where you are suffering from stress related symptoms while being unaware of the real cause of the condition. Stress can affect your mind, your body and your behavior. The manifestation of these symptoms differs among individuals.

Generally, stress symptoms can be classified as under:

Cognitive symptoms

Emotional symptoms

Physical Symptoms

Behavioral Symptoms

While the manifestations of stress may vary, the root cause of all symptoms are the physiological changes triggered by the fight or flight response. When you face a threat to your physical safety or emotional equilibrium, the body triggers various automatic processes that are part of the body's natural defense mechanism.

Normally, when you are in a relaxed and un-stimulated state, the nerve impulses from neurons are minimal. Any perception of danger or even an environmental stressor like elevated sound levels or excessive illumination relays a new stimulus from the sensory cortex of the brain through the hypothalamus to the brain stem. This leads to a flurry of nerve impulses that are meant to prepare the body to meet the new perceived or real situation. There is a sudden increase in heart beat, the muscles tense up and all the senses are on high alert. In fact, all body systems except those that are necessary to sustain life are kept on hold for as long as the threat is perceived.

If the body does not return to its normal relaxed state in due course of time, it can be detrimental your overall health. This is mainly because various other systems like the digestive system are kept functioning at a basic minimum level. This interferes with the normal metabolic process and disrupts processing of nutrients. With a relatively higher heart rate, the heart is prone to get exhausted and the possibilities of a heart failure increase. The blood vein constriction might relate to high blood pressure. Finally all of the hormones that are being dumped into your system may manifest in the restless or the loss of sleep. 

The bottom line, however, is that the fight or flight state of alertness can only be switched off when you perceive that there is nothing alarming in the situations, events and circumstances that surround you. Stress is a personal experience and stress symptoms depend largely on your perception of vulnerability. Life situations cannot be expected to be always favorable. What you can do is to manage stress is to take a look at the situation and make a conscientious observation of your current situation.

How to Cope With Stress

Please understand is that stress can be manageable. We should also keep in mind that stress and anxiety are experienced on an individual level. This basically means that the situations that cause anxiety are different for different people. While some people may not get worried about a work-related issue, others may get extremely worried in that that same situation. The opposite may be the case if the stressful situation were at home. The circumstances that cause anxiety are based on individual perceptions. It is thus incumbent upon you and you alone to manage your stress in YOUR way.

Since the stress that you are feeling is so individualistic, the first step that you need to take towards managing it is to identify the cause of the stress. This needs a fair amount of introspection so that you can objectively and correctly identify the cause. Please do not pretend that something that makes you uncomfortable will be resolved all by itself. This is commonly referred to as denial. Denial of a situation is something that needs to be avoided. Fooling yourself into believing that you are not worried about something, while in fact you are, will only make matter worse. Once you have identified the cause, it is also important to understand the various manifestations of the stress. Do you come home and abuse a family member or the dog because something at work has you a little irritated? This would be one of those identifiers that you need to pay attention to. Then it is important to find the real cause of your irritation. Below is a short list of “TO-DO’S” if you find yourself lashing out at friends or family members unnecessarily.

Managing Stress Basics

There are many techniques that you can use for managing stress. If you know that a certain event stresses you out, you can de-stress by indulging in fun activities or by taking up a hobby, going on a walk, run or bike ride or listening to some soothing music. Some people may need other methods of stress management. Practicing yoga, learning breathing techniques, meditating, laughter therapy and the like can be helpful in such cases.

“TO DO’S” (Things To Do If You Are Feeling Stressed)

Be Aware of Your Actions

Being aware of your actions is a step in stress management. Try to bring consciousness in your daily life. Your awareness will go a long way to prevent the negative effects of stress. When you are aware of how stressors affect your emotional well being and physical health, you are better placed to analyze and understand how to react.

Just Change the Way You See Things!

The most permanent and conclusive manner in which you can prevent and get past the anxiety caused by stress is to change the way in which you perceive things around you. Think positive and discard negative thoughts. Let go of age-old biases and subjective assessments of things and look at the circumstances from a new perspective. See beauty in little things and you will realize that we often make mountains out of mole hills and stop enjoying the life that we have. My family always talks about looking for the silver lining. I feel that this is an important perspective. There are always some little positive things that surround the "dark clouds" threatening to rain on our parade. Find the little positive things! You'll be surprised to see how many good things are happening in and amongst the storm.

Find a Distraction

One of the most common ways to deal with stress is to find an outlet. It doesn’t have to be much it just has to be something. I know people who like to go for a bike ride. Some of them jump on their comfort bike and go for a short whimsical ride while others have to be on a monster mountain bike and really challenge themselves. Then there are people who build stuff like model ships or cars. These same types of people might start something crafty like scrap booking, photography or painting. Another great outlet would be reading a great book or listening to your favorite music. Whether you like calming or exhilarating distractions doesn’t really matter. In fact a combination of both is probably the best. The important thing is that you recognize the fact that you are stressed and you do something that will help you to sort out the cause and deal with it rather than take out your aggravation on some poor undeserving soul.

Summary

If you find that you are ALWAYS overly anxious, you might do a self examination. Try to determine whether or not you are overly stressed and easily irritated. Ask yourself if you have moments that you can relax or if every waking moment is full of aggravation and anxiety. If you determine that your life is more full of anxiety than is healthy, ask yourself what needs to change. Ask yourself what would take enough off of your plate that your stress would be manageable. Then do something about it! Try new perspectives, try looking for the little positive things, try starting a new hobby or exercise routine. Take a deep breath and make a change.

If none of that works SEEK SOME HELP! There are a number of counselors that will help you before your chronic stress becomes a health hazard.

The information above is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect or relate to the performance or purpose of any products on this website.

* "Herbal supplements are not drugs. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."*

Health Information:

Many people today suffer from stress, anxiety, nervousness and tension from today's modern lifestyle. The workplace, the home, the 24 hour news cycle and its constant barrage of stressful world events all contribute to feeling over burdened.

The information above is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect or relate to the performance or purpose of any products on this website.

* "Herbal supplements are not drugs. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."*

Ingredients:

St John's Wort (herb), Valerian (root), Skullcap (herb), Cedar Berries, Black Root (herb), Blue Vervain (herb), Mistletoe (herb), Passion Flower (herb), Wild Yam (root), Peppermint (leaf), Chamomile (herb), Hops Flower (herb), Bladder Pod (herb), Wood Betony (herb), Feverfew (herb), Blue Cohosh (root), Cascara Sagrada (bark), Cayenne (fruit 40 HU)

Instructions:

2 Capsules 1, 2, or 3 times a day as needed.

What’s Included:

1 Bottle of NaturALL-Calm* - Herbal Remedy for Calm, Clear Focus - 100 Capsules - 500 mg.

Features:

Grandma's NaturALL-Calm is formulated to support a healthy nervous system.

Promotes a healthy attitude and outlook.

NaturALL-Calm contains St John's Wort, Valerian Root and Passion Flower. These herbs may promote quiet and peaceful feelings.

NaturALL-Calm works well with Grandma’s Herbs Nervine formula or B All Calm formula. 

The information above is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect or relate to the performance or purpose of any products that contain similar materials.

* "Herbal supplements are not drugs. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."*