Abigails Herbs

Out of curiosity, I wanted to know how many unhealthy ingredients are in  cigarettes. Too many people are are addicted, sadly.  My daughter got out her favorite science books and together, we found out that there are 599 poisons in each cigarette. I was totally and utterly shocked! The extremely toxic chemical substances in cigarettes are as follows:

Ammonia: Household cleaner
Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals
Arsenic: Used in rat poisons
Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber
Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
Cadmium: Used in batteries
Cyanide: Deadly poison
DDT: A banned insecticide
Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
Lead: Poisonous in high doses
Formaldehiyde: Used to preserve dead specimens
Methoprene: Insecticide
Megastigmatrienone: Chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice
Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics
Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984
Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element 

Nicotine is highly addictive. Smoke containing nicotine is inhaled into the lungs, and the nicotine reaches your brain in just six seconds.

Nicotine in small doses acts as a stimulant to the brain. In large doses, it’s a depressant, inhibiting the flow of signals between nerve cells. In even larger doses, it’s a lethal poison, affecting the heart, blood vessels, and hormones. Nicotine in the bloodstream acts to make the smoker feel calm.

As a cigarette is smoked, the amount of tar inhaled into the lungs increases, and the last puff contains more than twice as much tar as the first puff. Carbon monoxide makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Tar is a mixture of substances that together form a sticky mass in the lungs.

Most of the chemicals inhaled in cigarette smoke stay in the lungs. The more you inhale, the better it feels—and the greater the damage to your lungs.Ask anyone with a medical lab technology degree. They will be able to tell you what damage smoking does to the lungs.

Filters Don’t Work
Filters do not remove enough tar to make cigarettes less dangerous. They are just a marketing ploy to trick you into thinking you are smoking a safer cigarette.

The burning of tobacco generates more than 150 billion tar particles per cubic inch, constituting the visible portion of cigarette smoke. The lungs of smokers, puffing a daily ration of 20 to 60 low to high tar cigarettes, collect an annual deposit of one-quarter to one and one-half pounds of the gooey black material, amounting to a total of 15 to 90 million pounds of carcinogen-packed tar for the aggregate of current American smokers. smoke of the 600 billion cigarettes consumed annually in the U.S. In addition, 2.25 million metric tons of sidestream smoke chemicals pollute the enclosed air spaces of homes, offices, conference rooms, bars, restaurants, and automobiles in this country.

Think about substituting cigarettes for damiana. Damiana is an herb from South America which is all natural and organic. Damiana leaves can be rolled and smoked or drank as a tea. As an herb, damiana has the ability to soothe, calm and relax your mood. It is also a sexual stimulant and is sometimes used as an aphorodisiac. It is much healthier too.Many people use damiana herb as a replacement for cigarettes; especially when they are trying to give up their nicotene habit. I hope this article has been enlightening and helpful.

There are a host of  foods and herbs which serve as natural aphrodiacs. I will present some of them to you, just to increase your awareness of them. Nobody needs to buy expensive over-the-counter remedies or costly prescription drugs to enhance sexual appetite when these substances are in your own refrigerators and cupboards. Just to expound on some:

• First of all, bananas enhance the male libido. Due to their bromeliad enzymes and chelating minerals, the bananas boost male sexual strength and they taste good too.
• Oysters – because of their high zinc content, oysters increase male sexual performance and boost sexual energy. It speeds up the blood flow to the genitals.
• Asparagus – this vegetable has been used in France for many years as a sexual stimulant. It has high levels of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, A and C.
• Almonds – just the aroma of almonds arouse passion in females. This healthy nut has protein and is a great source of Vitamin E, magnesium and fiber.
• Avocados – the shape of this plant alone arouses sexual awareness. The Aztecs called it “ahuacuatl” meaning the “testicle tree.” It improves the sexual energy for both males and females and has extraordinary levels of healthy potassium, B6 and folic acid. The Spanish religious clergy considered the plant to be so obscene that they banned it from growing in Spain for many years! Most importantly, avocados contain healthy doses of  fatty acids for a good lipid profile.
• Damiana – damiana is an herb that resembles the flower of the chamomile plant. It is a pretty yellow flower when in full blossom. The scent of damiana even smells like the chamomile plant which is used as a tea to enhance relaxation and to boost the immune system. The active psychoactive compound in damiana is called damianin. This chemical compound is essential to the plant’s structure and it affects our central nervous system in that it helps us to de-stress and it generates sexual libido for males especially; however, females derive great benefit from damiana, as it is known to stimulate the sexual energy of females too. There is more information forthcoming in future articles concerning natural aphrodiacs.

Damiana grows in warm regions of Central America and Mexico. It is found growing in parts of the Carribean. It is picked in the summer months. It is a very aromatic plant which produces pretty yellow flowers. It reaches heights of up to six feet. The Mayans used it as an aphrodisiac. Damiana’s scientific name is Turnera diffusa or Turneraceae. It is also known as T. diffusa.

Some native peoples drink it as a general health tonic. It can be made into a pleasant tea. Some people use damiana to flavor alcoholic beverages. The active plant compounds found in the damiana leaf are as follows:

• Arbutin
• Cyanogenic glycoside
• Delta – cadinene
• Thymol

Due to its strong antiseptic qualities, it is used to treat urinary tract infections and discomfort. It is a strong diuretic also. For sexual health, it is used to prevent premature ejaculation and to help treat impotence. Primarily used for men’s sexual health, women use damiana successfully to relieve painful cramping due to periods and monthly menses.

Damaiana is also used as a laxative; it improves the functioning of the bowel muscles and helps to calm the colon and small intestine. Due to its’ stimulative properties, damiana is used to treat symptoms of depression. It takes the edge off of anxiety caused by external stressors.

This herb has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so if you use it, use it in moderation. Always consult your physician before adding new herbs to your already existing  pharmaceutical routine.

There are some herbs which can naturally enhance sexual stimulation and improve the sensual experience. These herbs are called aphrodisiacs. Damiana is one of the favorite herbs for stimulating sexual appetite in both males and females. Damiana can be smoked or drank as a tea. It is also found in pill or capsule form. It comes in a powdered or leaf texture. Unlike Viagra and other prescription medications, damiana has not been found to have any side effects unless taken in high doses in an excessive frequency.

Herbal preparations, sensual essential oils, intimate massage and the right environment can greatly increase the arousal levels of both partners. There are several herbs which are available in the world market which are capable of increasing sexual arousal. Many of these arousing herbs are found in the form of common spices which we use for cooking. Examples of arousing herbs are ginseng, roseroot, cinnamon, cayenne, cardamom, ginger, damiana, horny goat weed, catuaba, maca, muira pauma and cuscuta. The herbs can stir up a healthy sexual appetite by their taste, their scent and by a physiological stimulation on the nerves and the blood circulation.

The herbs create a general sexual mood in your mind and intimate or errogenous zones and they make these zones more sensitive stimulation, rendering more intense sexual responsiveness. Most herbal preparations are to be taken as a single dose each day. It is also a good idea to spice up your food with some of these herbs each and everyday that you wish to have a more intense, enjoyable sexual and sensual relationship.

The libido-enhancing power of damiana herb hasn’t ben tested on human subjects yet, although a damiana liquor; also spelled as damiana liqueur, has long been used as an aphrodisiac in Mexico. The liquor is produced from the damiana leaves . In animal studies, extracts of the damiana herb produced the benefit of accelerating the mating behavior of “sexually slow” or impotent male rats. It was found to have no effect at all on sexually potent rats. It is possible that this herb has other benefits to humans that may be uncovered with further research.

The flavonoids present in the active damiana leaf extract may be responsible for speeding sexual behavior in fatigued male subjects. This pronounced sexual response is similar to yohimbe, however, yohimbe starts in one-to-two hours after ingestion to produce heightened sexuality. Damiana, on the other hand, takes three-to-five days in which to see results of sexual stimulation.

When dmaina extract was given to sexually sluggish and/or impotent rats (orally), there was a large improvement noted in the copulatory behaviorof the sexually sluggish rats. This study was conducted by Arletti, R. at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Damiana seems to be safe when taken occasionally as a sex booster. It is a relatively mild herb, however, long-term studies of  the effects of damiana on humans have yet to be accomplished.

If you are ever alone and snowed in, (just like I was this whole weekend when it snowed for a continous 24 hours), don’t eat any hot peppers. Whether they are chile, jalapeno or habanero peppers, these vegetables contain capsaicin, a plant chemical that helps speed up blood flow and spur an endorphine release similar to what the body experiences when sexually aroused. Cayenne,  jalapeno, chile and habanero peppers can all heat up your sex drive right away. Therefore, that is why I advise everyone to stay away from these “hot” spicy babies unless you can reach out and touch your significant loved one in intense moments of passion. The capsaicin in these peppers also wards off  infection and boosts your immune system.

Another powerful botanical remedy for a flailing libido is damiana leaf. It comes from a shrub which is native to Mexico and has been used by the Mayan population to enhance relationships by improving sexual responsiveness. Certain plant compounds in the damiana leaf may offer libido-boosting effects much like those of progesterone, a female hormone involved in regulating sex drive.

Damiana may decrease blood sugar and deliver low levels of cyannide-like compounds, so avoid high doses of damiana and stick to short-term use until researchers find out more about damiana’s safety. We do not know much about any side effects of this powerful herb. Damiana does help reduce anxiety levels and lift  mood to  more positive elevations.

Always check with your primary care physician before you start using this and other herbs on a regular, ongoing basis. This information has been taken from the book entitled “The Inside-Out Diet”, written by Dr. Cathy Wong, a naturopathic doctor. Resource: Body and Soul Magazine, September, 2009 edition. A Martha Stewart publication.

Damiana may enhance sexual stimulation in both sexes. It may counter impotence for men and frigidity in women. Damiana can be consumed as a tea. It is also found as a potent extract in capsule form. Its scientific name is Turnera aphrodisiaca. Damiana has an aroma similar to chamomile.

Damiana has several other benefits:

• it increases energy and fights lethargy.
• it fights asthma.
• it balances mood swings and fights depression.
• it counters neurosis.
• it lowers blood sugar.
• it helps ease menstrual disorders.
• it helps to suppress coughs and it may help in fighting bronchitis.

As a psychoactive substance, damiana contains the following bio-chemical properties:

• volatile oils
• flavinoids
• gonzalitosin
• arbutin
• tanins
• damianin
• thymol
• cyanogenic glycosides
• essential oils
• trace amounts of phosphorous

Many content and happy couples continue to use damiana for a life of shared  intimacy and closeness.

Frigidity is defined as the inability to experience pleasure from sexual intercourse. It is characterized by a lack of sexual desire and  a general lack of responsiveness during sex. Frigidity is a term used most often to describe sexual dysfunction in women. Frigidity is often a result of psychological origins; rampant with anxiety , fear, guilt and depression about sex. Chronic illness, certain medications, low testosterone levels and specific medical conditions can also greatly diminish sexual desire.  The following herbs can help restore sexual function:

• Wild yam conatins a natural steroid known as DHEA that rejuvenates and brings excitement to love making. It should be taken for two weeks, then stopped for two weeks, with repetition of this pattern.
• Chives contain minerals necessary for the manufacturing of sex hormones.
• Kava Kava has a deeply mellowing effect and can be effective for decreasing anxiety and symptoms of nervousness.
• Damiana is one of the most popular of plant aphrodisiacs. It is known as the women’s sexual herb. It’s scientific name is Turnera aphrodisiaca. It contains important alkoloids that directly stimulate the nerves and organs and it acts almost like testosterone. Damiana is excellent for enhancing sexual pleasure because it supports the sexual organs and their functions. To use damiana properly, place a dropful of damiana extract under your tongue an hour or two before sexual activity. It can take several days until one feels the difference.
• Some other herbs which are great for promoting increased sexual energy include fo-ti, gotu kola, sarsaparilla, saw palmetto and Siberian ginseng. Take caution never to use Siberian ginseng if you have hypertension, hypoglycemia or a heart condition. *Pregnant and nursing mothers should avoid damiana and all other herbs.

One of the newest products to hit the natural remedy market is Damiana, but many people are still unfamiliar with its basic characteristics. In its most basic, natural form, Damiana is a shrub that can be found everywhere from the Caribbean and Mexico to Central and South America. The shrub itself produces flowers followed by fruit that has often been compared to the fig. In today’s market, it is most often presented as Damiana leaf, which is then made into a tea. This practice, however, is nothing new.

For centuries, the native communities of South America as well as Central America have been reported as drinking this Damiana tea for its purported properties as an aphrodisiac. As an alternative medicine (or herbal supplement), it has been said to help alleviate some of the ill effects associated with depression, common coughs, constipation, and more. Damiana is also known as an ingredient in Triple Sec, and some people even report smoking Damiana to achieve a relaxed state.