Tag Archive | "plants"

Common Aromatherapy Uses

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


Aromatherapy as used today originated in Europe and has been practiced there since the early 1900s. Practitioners of aromatherapy believe that every oil has a vibration or note, which can be used for different therapeutic applications.

Aromatherapy can be used to relax and soothe the mind and body, to energize or even to arouse. Aromatherapy derived from the use of essential oils to solicit specific emotions. Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for their health supporting properties. The powerful aromas of essential oils affect your moods and feelings through your sense of smell.

By selecting a particular scent, you can encourage a state of relaxation, romance, healing or comfort. Essential oils can be used in Aromatherapy, to scent potpourri, lotions, cosmetics, perfumes, food flavorings and medicinally.

Additionally oils can be used in creating sachets, potpourri, reviving potpourri, and for light bulb scenting. Essential oils can also be used via the bath, diffusion, massage, or compress. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use.

Essential oils can be mixed in a cream essential oil combinations are applied directly to the skin for beauty care or treatment of sores or irritations. By using different essential oils, you can control the nature of those benefits.

A unique property of plants is that many contain natural fragrance or perfume-like scents known as essential oils. Essential oils come from plants while fragrance oils are artificially created and often contain synthetic chemicals.

Essential oils are taken from a plant’s flowers, leaves, stalks, bark, rind, or roots. The yield of essential oil differs with individual plant species-ranging in most cases from about 0.2 to 2.0. That’s why literally tons of plant material are required for just a few hundred pounds of oil.

In some cases different organs of a single plant may contain essential oils of different chemical composition. In the end, even the smallest bottle of essential oil can create a lot of powerful solution. It is important to note that the benefits of aromatherapy do depend on the unique nature of each person’s response to an aromatic stimulus.

Award Winning Aromatic Plants

Tags: , , , , , , ,


I recently was involved in the exhibition of a show garden at the 2006 Garden Heaven exhibition. I worked along with Terra Garden Ireland based in Claregalway on the bronze medal winning Malaysian themed garden Neo Nusantara. The garden combined wood, stone, earth and planting with two unique water features. The design aimed to appease and rejuvenate the five senses. Sight, touch, sound, smell and taste. Beautiful dark woods and running water used in the construction were a delight to the senses of sight, touch and sound. I used carefully selected planting to arouse the sense of smell. Here are two of the plants I used to add scent to the garden. Use them to add scent to your garden as well.

Sage, for scent and flower

Salvia x sylvestris Mainacht commonly known as May night sage is a hardy perennial native to Western Asia and Europe. This sage is a colourful plant with indigo-blue flower spikes throughout June and July. In order to achieve this prolonged flowering you must remove the flower spikes as soon they start to fade. The striking flowers are held above the plants wrinkled and aromatic grey-green leaves. As well as exciting the gardeners sense of smell, this plant will also excite and attract plenty of butterflies and bees. These visitors will add an extra and welcome visual element to your garden. You need not worry that Salvia x sylvestris Mainacht is going to engulf or overpower you planting areas. It only grows at a moderate pace to height of 60cm 2ft, with a similar spread. Position this reliable perennial in the front or middle of a well-drained border. It does really well in sun or dappled shade where the bright blue flowers will add a colour boost to green leaved plants.

English lavender for scent and butterflies

The second scented plant is Lavandula angustifolia Hidcote commonly known as English lavender. This small evergreen shrub some people say herb originated in Europe and Asia and grows to a height of 0.6 metres 2ft; with a similar spread. Growing in many gardens throughout the country, its long stalked deep purple flower spikes wave gently above narrow grey-green aromatic leaves. These blooms will last for many weeks to come whilst on the plant, when cut for indoor display these flowers will last up to 10 days. I suggest you cut back the flower stalks after flowering to maintain the plant’s compact shape. Care must be taken not to cut into old wood as this can cause large areas of the plant to die back. The oil of lavender extracted from this frost hardy shrub is used to this day in the production of soaps, scented candles, perfumes and making potpourri. Lavender copes well with free draining or sandy soils and is an ideal container plant in full sun due to its drought resistance. I would recommend this scented plant for edging walkways or simply if you want to attract some butterflies into your garden space. Another great lavender for this purpose is Lavandula angustifolia Munstead

Hoodia is a medicinal plant noted for its appetite-suppressant qualities.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Hoodia Gordonii contains a molecule that is predicted to be up as potent as glucose in sending signals to the brain that the body is in a state of satiety, or tells the brain that it is not hungry. Manufacturers stress that Hoodia has proven so promising as the Millennium weight loss miracle drug, with its natural appetite suppressant properties.
The plants active compound in Hoodia is called “the P57″, and its main effect is it makes you feel full. P57 works by mimicking the effect glucose has on the nerve cells in the brain, which in effect tells you that you are not hungry, effectively curbing your appetite.

The reported key effects of Hoodia Gordonii include a reduced interest in food, delay in feeling the need to eat again, a feeling of fullness, and a general feeling of well-being. Hoodia is not a stimulant. There are no known side effects of using Hoodia. The use of this appetite suppressant began in early 2004 and the results have proven promising and were found it to be of tremendous help to the overall approach to weight loss.

While there are presently no known hoodia side effects, daily use of hoodia diet pills may prove to be dangerous in the long term as we learn more about them and their effects on dieters. If one could recall, when ephedra was first introduced it was considered completely safe until adverse side effects were discovered and it was ultimately banned. Granted however, hoodia is much different than ephedra since ephedra is a stimulant. The point is that it could prove to be harmful in the future. However, this fear would still seem unlikely today, but hoodia supplements haven’t been around long enough to say that they are completely safe for long-term use.

Hoodias negative effects on women who are pregnant or nursing have not yet been fully established. If you are pregnant or nursing, you should probably avoid ingesting any products that contain it. However, if you insist on trying any hoodia products, you should exercise extreme caution and preferably should consult a physician first.

At present, there are only two known potential hoodia side effects at this time, which would be the loss of money and loss of appetite. Authentic hoodia gordonii diet pills cost around 60 per bottle and lasts two to three weeks if taken regularly. One could readily spend up to 120 for a one-month supply, and prices are unlikely to come down anytime soon.

It is also important to keep in mind that some medical weight loss experts remain unsure and would not recommend Hoodia gordonii to obese or overweight patients. According to Adrienne Youdim, MD, medical director of the Comprehensive Weight Loss Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Michael Steelman, MD, chairman of the board of trustees for the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, they infer that there is no published scientific data to support its use.

In light of a number of reports of the proliferation of fake or sub-standard Hoodia products, consumers should also look for a certified copy of a CITES and USDA permit from manufacturers and distributors of Hoodia products, or they could also ask for a report from an independent testing lab which has conducted scientific analysis on the product, to attest that they have been able to authenticate the presence of Hoodia gordonii.

Currently, there are four independent labs which are conducting tests to verify Hoodia gordonii levels in consumer products. The American Herbal Products Association AHPA is also formulating a Hoodia Standard, which is in response to further scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission of the Hoodia industry and complaints by customers of fake Hoodia products being sold in the market.

Hoodia Gordonii Can Give You Better Weight

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


If you want to lose weight, there are lots of products that are available in the market. But of course, you do not simply use a product that claims to make you lose weight.

Yes, each of us wants to have great body in order to feel better and great since being obese or overweight can make a person shy to mingle with others. Obese or overweight soon lack their confidence and tend to be alone and changes the way they relate with others.

If you are in search for a product that you can use in order to lose weight, you have to be careful though since each product are claiming that they can aid one to lose weight. But definitely, not all products works, there are some that can waste money and cant make you lose weight.

You can check out products on the internet, magazines, television and you can find lots in the market. In order to find the product that will work effectively, you have to do some shopping or research so to have the right product for you. There are lots of websites that offer such products, so you have to check out the website and make sure that it is a reliable one.

A reliable website can give you lots of information that you need to have about the product. Take time in searching for the right site; make sure it is a good one.

If you are in search for the right product, hoodia gordonii is one of those products that are designed to make you lose weight naturally, which means it is known without any side effects.

Hoodia gordonii is an appetite suppressant comes from the extract of a cactus-like plant which is a cucumber like looking and can be found in Kalahari Desert of South Africa. This plant takes its maturity after about 5 to 7 years. The plant was used by San people to suppress their hunger and thirst for centuries now. These people remove the skin and spines and chew it especially when they are out for long hunting.

Hoodia gordonii was been proven and tested that is can effectively make one lose weight since it has a miracle molecule which can trick the mind by signaling that you are full and have eaten even if not. So you can use it if you want to lose weight.

But do not rely everything on losing weight, you have to help out as well and you can do it by associating hoodia gordonii with eating healthy and making physical activities.

You have to watch the foods you eat, make sure it has the proper nutrients that can help the body and never eat too much. You have to give at least 30 minutes to an hour of your spare time everyday in doing physical activities or exercise.

Indeed, in taking hoodia gordonii and using the right dosage can make you lose weight effectively.

Hoodia Gordonii Popular Appetite Suppressant

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


If you are a dieter certainly you have heard about hoodia gordonii. Yes, hoodia gordonii is very popular as an appetite suppressant nowadays.

A lot of people out there who are gaining so much weight, obese or overweight are finding way to lose weight effectively. Yes, there are heaps of ways that you can use in order for you to gain the weight that you desire. There are pharmaceutical medications that can make you lose weight but these medications can have risks of having side effects, reason why lots of dieters do not want to make sure of these medications and rather look for alternatives.

When in terms of healthy alternatives that is known without any side effects, hoodia gordonii is one of the best. Yes, more and more people are turning to hoodia gordonii when they want to lose weight effectively and naturally since it is unlike pharmaceutical drugs that can bring side effects to users.

Hoodia gordonii was been known as an appetite suppressant in just few years now, but this hoodia gordonii which is a cactus-like plant was been used by tribemens for centuries in order to suppress their hunger and thirst. This amazing plant was part of their lives; they remove the skin and spikes and chew it when they go out for long hunting. This plat is cucumber looking plant and has slightly bitter taste.

Due to the test and research conducted by lots of scientists several years ago, this plant was found to have a miracle molecule that works by tricking the brain in signaling that you are full and satisfied. This result was found when they tested this molecule to rats.

So if you are looking for healthy alternative that is proven and tested, then you can take hoodia gordonii. Yes, hoodia gordonii can make you lose weight effectively.

But in taking hoodia gordonii, you should follow the program or instructions provided to you by the company or manufacturer; this can help you find great results. Do not overuse it; just take the right dosage given to you.

Hoodia gordonii takes it maturity after about 5 to 7 years and it come in Kalahari Desert of South Africa, due to this, there are lots of manufacturers out there make products that do not have the hoodia gordonii ingredients or have lesser hoodia ingredients just to supply the wants and needs of consumers. So in terms of purchasing, you have to be alert and careful in order to have the real hoodia gordonii and to prevent the fake ones that can bring harm to your health.

For you to have the real hoodia gordonii, you have to purchase the product with reliable and reputable companies. Make sure to look for certifications that can guarantee that you are having the real hoodia gordonii.