What's in it?

Chamomile has been taken for digestive problems since at least the 1st century AD.  Gentle and efficacious, it is very suitable for children. The herb is valuable for pain, indigestion, acidity, gas, gastritis, bloating, and colic.  It is also used for Hiatul hernia, peptic ulcer, Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Very strong antispasmodics, relax tense, aching muscles and eases menstrual pain.  It also appears to have relaxing action on the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract. Chamomile also may help prevent stomach ulcers and speed their healing.  It also relieves irritability and promotes sleep, especially in children. Chamomile is a good remedy for all cramping pains, especially for abdominal cramping in children.  In pediatric medicine, chamomile is used as a tea or syrup.  It is an excellent treatment for nausea, vomiting, indigestion, and loss of appetite.  By stimulating digestive secretions and relaxing the muscles of the gut, it helps normalize digestive function.  Chamomile may also be taken for headaches and migraines, even by children.   Lemon Balm calms a nervous stomach, colic, or heart spasms.  The leaves are reputed to also lower blood pressure.  It is very gentle, although effective, so is often suggested for children and babies.  The herb has also been shown to inhibit the division of tumor cells.  Studies indicate that the herb slightly inhibits the thyroid-stimulating hormone and restricts Grave's disease, a hyperthyroid condition.  Lemon Balm's antihistamine action is useful to treat eczema and headaches and accounts for the centuries-old tradition of placing the fresh leaf on insect bites and wounds.  Lemon Balm has antipyretic, refreshing, cholagogic and stimulating properties. Some research has clearly demonstrated the plant's ability to impact the limbic system of the brain and protect the brain from the powerful stimuli of the body and should be part of any ADHD formula.   Catnip has long been used medicinally as a tea, juice, tincture, infusion and poultice.  Catnip is used for headaches, stomach upset/aches, colic and sleeplessness in children.  It has also been used to treat cancer, insanity, nervousness, nightmare, scurvy and tuberculosis, while a root extract served as a mild stimulant..  Catnip has been employed orally to treat colic, diarrhea, flatulence, hiccups, whooping cough, the common cold, measles and chicken pox (reduces the eruptions), asthma, yellow fever, scarlet fever, smallpox, jaundice, and to induce nutrition and encourage menstruation. The fresh leaves can also be chewed for headache.  It's an old home remedy for colds, nervous tension, fevers and nightmare.  It is diaphoretic and antispasmodic.    Fresh catnip leaves are preferred for infusion or tincture.   Passion Flower leaves are an ingredient in many European pharmaceutical products to treat nervous disorders, such as heart palpitations, anxiety, convulsions, epilepsy and sometimes high blood pressure.  They have been shown to make a non-addictive sedative that relaxes the nervous system. Passion flower seems especially helpful when physical or mental strain results in insomnia or stress.  While it is not a strong pain reliever and it may take a while for its effects to be noticed, it seems to have a lasting and refreshing effect on the nervous system.  It is used to prevent spasms from whooping cough, asthma, and other diseases.  The dried herb is also used for Parkinson's disease, hysteria, and shingles.  The unusual fruit has been historically considered to be a sedative.   Nutmeg calms and helps lower blood pressure and soothes digestive upset. Mixed with a neutral oil and used in a massage, it eases joint pain and inflammation. Nutmeg also provides fast relief for diarrhea and toothaches. The therapeutic effects of nutmeg stimulates the cardiovascular system, promotes concentration, acts as an expectorant, reduces joint inflammation and helps also with the liver to remove toxins. Regular nutmeg consumption can relieve joint pain and gout.   Cinnamon raises vitality, warms and stimulates all the vital functions of the body, counteracts congestion, is anti-rheumatic, stops diarrhea, improves digestion, relieves abdominal spasms, and aids the peripheral circulation of the blood.  Cinnamon is the second most widely used warming stimulant in Chinese medicine, used by Chinese herbalists  It is also thought to reduce blood pressure and fevers.  One German study showed cinnamon suppresses completely the cause of most urinary tract infections and the fungus responsible for vaginal yeast infections..  It helps break down fats in your digestive system, possibly by boosting the activity of some digestive enzymes.   Lavender In the past, lavender has been used as a folk remedy for numerous conditions, including acne, cancer, colic, faintness, flatulence, giddiness, migraine, nausea, neuralgia, nervous headache, nervous palpitations, poor appetite, pimples, rheumatism, sores, spasms, sprains, toothache, vomiting and worms.  Used to relieve muscle spasms, nervousness, and headaches, it originally contained over 30 ingredients.  Tests show that lavender's essential oil has the potential to destroy a wide range of bacterial infections, including Staph, strep, pneumonia, and most flu viruses. It is also strongly anti-fungal.   Licorice Since Hippocrates' day, licorice has been prescribed for dropsy because it does, indeed, prevent thirst--probably the only sweet thing that does.  The chief medicinal action of licorice is as a demulcent and emollient.  Its soothing properties make it excellent in throat and chest complaints and it is a very common ingredient in throat pastilles and cough mixtures.   Medicinally the dried peeled root has been decocted to allay coughs, sore throat, laryngitis, and urinary and intestinal irritations. The root is expectorant, diuretic, demulcent, anti-tussive, anti-inflammatory, and mildly laxative.  It has proven helpful in inflammatory upper respiratory disease, Addison's disease, and gastric and duodenal ulcers.  In the 1940s Dutch physicians tested licorice's reputation as an aid for indigestion.   Horsetail The astringent, healing stems check bleeding in wounds, nosebleeds, and heavy menstruation. A strong diuretic for urinary tract and prostate disorders, they also tonify the urinary mucous membranes, can control bed-wetting, and help with skin problems. The other main use is for deep-seated damage in lung disease.  Horsetail absorbs gold dissolved in water better than most plants, as much as 4 ounces per ton of fresh stalks. The amount of gold in a cup of horsetail tea is quite small, but small amounts of gold are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, and the Chinese used horsetail for this.   Alfalfa The whole herb is used medicinally to help stop bleeding to benefit the kidneys and as a general tonic.   It is a good laxative and a natural diuretic.  It is a folk remedy for arthritis and is reputed to be an excellent appetite stimulant.  Alfalfa possesses extremely high nutritional value.  An excellent source of vitamins A and D, alfalfa leaf is used in the infants cereal pablum.  Also rich in vitamin K, alfalfa leaf has been used in medicine to encourage blood clotting.  Alfalfa also lowers blood cholesterol.  Other recommended uses for alfalfa are for asthma and hay fever.   Milk Thistle is a flowering plant of the daisy family, a thistle topped by a prickly purplish flower containing seeds, packed with potent medicinal benefits for the liver. It is a popular natural remedy for liver problems.  Silymarin, a complex antioxidant bioflavonoid, is the active ingredient in Milk Thistle. This unique antioxidant complex exerts its curative powers by stimulating a regeneration of injured and damaged liver cells, according to studies. Silymarin protects the outer receptor sites of cells, barring toxins from breaking through fatty cell membranes and entering cell interiors. It also neutralizes toxic substances that manage to go inside the cells.   Skullcap is used in alternative medicine as an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, slightly astringent, emmenagogue, febrifuge, nervine, sedative and strongly tonic. Some valuable constituents found in the plant are Scutellarin, Catalpol, other Volatile oils, bitter iridoids and Tannins. Scientific studies are proving this to be a valuable plant in many areas for mental disorders. Skullcap is used in the treatment of a wide range of nervous conditions including epilepsy, insomnia, hysteria, anxiety, delirium tremens, withdrawal from barbiturates and tranquilizers. A medicinal infusion of the plant is used to promote menstruation, it should not be given to pregnant women since it can induce a miscarriage, the infusion is also used in the treatment of throat infections. The infusion is given for nervous headaches, neuralgia and in headache arising from incessant coughing, pain, and inducing sleep when necessary, without any unpleasant symptoms following. Skullcap is currently being used as an alternative medicine to treat ADD and a number of nerve disorders. Should be used with some caution since in overdose it causes giddiness, stupor, confusion and twitching.   Oat straw Known scientifically as avena sativa, or green oat, it is a pale green grass cultivated for its edible grain.  Avena sativa has many medicinal purposes, and has been shown to be a nutritive and tonic for the nervous system, thus reducing stress, exhaustion and nervousness.  Oat straw can also improve mental function, concentration, as well as sharpen focus.  Another oat straw benefit is helping with alcohol, cigarette and drug detoxification. Avena sativa provides a "boost" that invigorates and provides a natural substitute for drugs and alcohol.  One of the most popular applications for oat straw, however, is in sexual enhancement supplements, as it has aphrodisiac-like effects on the body.  Avena sativa can enhance libido by reducing stress and easing the mind, much like ginkgo and damiana.   Peppermint has long been known for both its great taste and its soothing medicinal properties. Many people use peppermint leaves, brewed in tea for example, to soothe stomach ailments and other mild illnesses. Fresh peppermint and peppermint leaves have long been used for these purposes, both in traditional medicine and in modern terms. In addition to soothing the digestive tract and limiting indigestion, peppermint leaves have been shown to help alleviate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Fresh peppermint and peppermint leaves have long been used to treat stomach conditions like IBS. Peppermint has also been shown to retard the growth of many varieties of bacteria and fungi. It's thought to help relieve symptoms of allergies and asthma as well.