A Leaf from Nature's Book: Tea Therapy

From cleansing the colon to detoxifying the body to soothing anxiety, herbal teas offer a variety of powerful health benefits and healing properties. Which herbal infusion is right for you?

This week a leading study from Queensland University, in Brisbane, Australia, revealed that drinking three cups of green tea a day for eight weeks may lower blood pressure and shrink fat cells, confirming the long-held belief of herbalists in the therapeutic effects of a warm brew.

Indeed, there are hundreds of different concoctions on the market, which claim to help treat everything from stress to digestive problems. But which one is right for you? Read more

Treat Depression with Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is an alternative theatment that uses the highly concentrated essential oils that are extracted from plants to treat symptoms and assist in the healing process. Green Herbal Remedies explains how aromatherapy can be particularly effective in dealing with stress, depression and stress related disorders.

To feel depression you don`t necessarily have to shut down yourself in a bed room and cut all con-tacts with social world. Depression also means condition in which you feel low with or without any reasoning. May be your day didn`t go that well. May be you have had a long and stressful week. May be you have been getting more moody than your regular self. All these symptoms point out that you are facing depression of varied degrees.

The good news is you can sit home and treat yourself out of depression with aromatherapy. Aromatherapy has showed positive results for depression. Though the root cause cannot be com-pletely treated but you will experience relaxation for mental fatigue. The aroma or the fragrance of various ingredients has a soothing effect on your mind and this will help you fall asleep. Read more

Intimacy Fights Stress

Researchers have found that the more physical affection couples engage in, the lower their level of the "stress" hormone cortisol.

Couples who hug, kiss and otherwise find ways to get close everyday may have fewer stress hormones coursing through their bodies, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, point to one potential reason that close relationships -- and marriage, in particular -- have been linked to better health.

Researchers found that among 51 German couples they followed for one week, those who reported more physical contact during a given day -- whether it was sexual intercourse or just holding hands -- generally had lower levels of the "stress" hormone cortisol.

This was especially true of couples who reported more problems at work, suggesting that some physical affection between mates may be a buffer against work stress. Read more

Using the Powers of Hypnosis to Heal Body and Mind

Jane E. Brody tells how the powers of hypnosis can heal the body and mind.

My husband, Richard, smoked cigarettes for 50 years, having failed several attempts to quit on his own. When a friend told him in August 1994 that hypnosis had enabled her to quit, he decided to give it a try.

"It didn't work; I wasn't hypnotized," he declared after his one and only session. But it did work; since that day, he has not taken one puff of a cigarette. Read more