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Four Herbals for Seasonal Health

© Kathern Welsh

What is one of your main concerns for the upcoming holidays? If you're like most of the women I've polled on this subject recently, it's "staying well." As the holidays roll unflinchingly toward us with the heavy demand of planning, gift giving, party going, and visiting relatives, the stress is beginning to mount already. Many are able to take it all in stride and accomplish every extra task with a minimum of effort.

Others of us, though, begin feeling the stress about this time of year and by the time Christmas comes, we're a tightly wound ball of nerve endings. What can we do to ease this stressful time and keep our immune systems fully primed to fight off the seasonal illnesses?

A number of nutrients have been suggested, as in last week's article, but the four which have received the greatest number of votes are the following.

Green Tea: this soothing drink is fantastic! It possesses very strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. It is especially good for combating cold and flu, as it kills apparently all strains of viruses and germs. It is loaded with antioxidants, more than Vitamin E and C and is wonderful for teeth as it contains fluoride. It's also a great relaxing drink.

St. John's Wort: I take this every evening and it seems to help me relax and get better rest during the night. When extremely stressed, I take it throughout the day. St. John's Wort can be used in many ways. The leaves make an interesting salad herb. Infused flower oil helps healing of bruises, wounds, varicose veins, ulcers and sunburn. Flowers have been infused as a pain-reducing sedative tea for anemia, rheumatism, headaches and nervous conditions. Some now consider it unsafe, so it is best to use caution. It is said to sometimes cause photodermatitis.

Vitamin B Complex: take this as a megadose in one pill. We are never without it. Great for stress and energy, it helps us to get through each day. The B Complex is still a great mystery to nutritionists and there are probably many more B vitamins as yet undiscovered. In future years we may find that many conditions classified today as "diseases" may simply be deficiency states of one kind or another of the unknown B vitamins. As the science of nutrition continues to make such great strides, we may be sure that many of today's mysteries will be solved in the near future.

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