7 Amazing Health Benefits Of Consuming Herbal Supplements
Herbal supplements have been used in traditional healing systems for thousands of years. Modern science confirms the many positive health effects these plant-based remedies can provide. Extracts, tinctures, capsules, and teas made from herbs, spices, roots, leaves, seeds, berries, and flowers offer an array of benefits with minimal risks. Learn about seven science-backed ways herbal supplements can improve your health.
1. Reduces Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is linked to numerous diseases and joint pain. Herbal supplements like turmeric, ginger, boswellia, garlic, and green tea have potent anti-inflammatory properties that can curb swelling and inflammation when used regularly. Curcumin in turmeric, gingerol in ginger, Boswellia acids in boswellia, allicin in garlic, and EGCG in green tea are compounds that exert natural anti-inflammatory effects on pathways in the body associated with chronic inflammation. Herbal anti-inflammatories provide relief without the side effects of NSAIDs.
2. Strengthens Immunity
Herbs like elderberry, echinacea, garlic, and astragalus contain unique polysaccharides, glycosides, and other compounds that studies demonstrate can enhance immune cell activity and boost infection-fighting capacity. These immunomodulator herbs help activate and regulate immune function to ward off pathogens. A daily herbal immune supplement makes you less susceptible to illnesses like colds, flu, and other viral or bacterial infections. A stronger immune system also lowers your risk of more serious infections.
3. Improves Digestion
Poor digestion contributes to many annoying symptoms like bloating, cramps, and irregularity. Herbal digestive aids can relax the gastrointestinal tract, reduce gut inflammation, ease cramps, eradicate harmful bacteria, and improve regularity. Herbal organic supplements containing carminatives like peppermint, ginger, and fennel offer antispasmodic effects to relax the bowels. Demulcent herbs like slippery elm and marshmallow root coat and soothe the gut lining. And antimicrobials like oregano and goldenseal balanced gut microflora.
4. Regulates Hormones
Herbs like maca, chaste berries, black cohosh, red clover, and ginseng have adaptogenic properties that may help regulate hormonal fluctuations in both men and women. These herbs contain unique glycosides, flavonoids, and other plant compounds that moderate key hormones. They may improve estrogen balance in women and testosterone function in men. Herbal hormonal support is instrumental during major transitions like puberty, pregnancy, and menopause in women, and andropause in men.
5. Promotes Heart Health
Certain herbs and spices are cardioprotective, meaning they improve several heart health parameters. Garlic, hawthorn berry, ginkgo biloba, turmeric, ginger, ginseng, and saffron have been shown to boost circulation, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, prevent blood clots, stabilize heart rhythm, and protect arteries through their nutrient density and antioxidant effects. Adding these herbs to your diet or taking them in supplement form benefits cardiovascular function in numerous ways.
6. Detoxifies The Body
Herbs like milk thistle, dandelion, ginger, burdock, and reishi mushroom help flush toxins from the liver, kidneys, colon, lungs, and skin. They contain specialized phytochemicals and minerals that enhance the body’s natural detoxification systems. Regular use of these herbs may protect organs from toxin damage, facilitate waste elimination, and purge heavy metals that accumulate in tissues. Herbal detox supplements support your body’s purification processes.
7. Boosts Brain Function
Lastly, herbs like ginseng, ginkgo, Gotu kola, and bacopa provide brain-boosting benefits that enhance cognition, memory, focus, and concentration while possibly delaying age-related decline. These nervine herbs increase cerebral blood flow, neurotransmitter activity, and neuroplasticity through their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilating effects in the brain. Added mental sharpness, quick thinking, and expanded memory capacity are just some of the cognitive upsides of supplementing with these intelligent herbs.
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