In order to enter the contest post this to your blog, with the links clickable. Then post a comment under this blog entry-

About Catnip

Catnip is another aromatic which many parents have found beneficial for their children. It also stimulates the body, settles the stomach and soothes the nerves. One famous herbal team is the combination of Catnip with Fennel which has long been used as a remedy for colic, gas, and indigestion in children.

• A common ditch bank weed loved by cats.
• Used effectively for fevers and to alleviate the symptoms of childhood diseases.
• Good for stomach gas or cramps, aids in digestion.
• Used for babies and young children for colic, stomach pains, teething and fevers. Helps clean out mucus in the body.
• Used in enemas to bring down fever, eliminate mucus, relax the colon and ease colon cramping. Catnip enemas also help relieve the aches of flu.
• A very effective enema combination is catnip and garlic together in the same bag. Catnip's usefulness in an enema has been explained, with the powers of garlic (fights infection, eliminates mucus, kills bacteria, viruses and parasites, and improves peristaltic action) the two are a powerful enema combination.

Has been used in the following:

• Acid stomach
• Acne
• Chicken pox
• Childhood diseases
• Colics
• Digestion
• Enema
• Fevers
• Flatulence-gas
• Flu-influenza
• Measles
• Miscarriage
• Mumps
• Relieves pain
• Relaxant
• Upset stomach

Catnip is one of the traditional cold and flu remedies. It is an excellent diaphoretic, and its ability to induce sleep while producing perspiration without increasing the heat of the system makes it a valuable drink in every case of fever.

As a carminative with antispasmodic properties, the herb also eases any stomach upsets, dyspepsia, flatulence, and colic. Its sedative action on the nerves adds to its generally relaxing properties.

Owing to its gentle nature, catnip is highly prized in the treatment of children's ailments. It is good in colic, anxiety, and nervousness, and is used as a mild nervine. Catnip is an ideal remedy for the treatment of diarrhea in children.

Indicated Usages - Internal:

• Anxiety, Nervousness
• Bronchitis
• Colds, Flu
• Colic
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Gas, Bloating
• Headache
• Indigestion
• Insomnia
• Menstrual Difficulty
• Morning Sickness
• Stomach cramps
• Toothache

Indicated Usages - External:

• Sore Eyes
• Swollen Glands

Catnip is a sedative in humans and has traditionally been used to treat insomnia, indigestion, nervousness, amenorrhea,flatulence, coughs, colds and fevers.

Catnip is one of the most popular herbs in stress formulas where it is included for its sedative effect. Perhaps the most popular use of catnip is as an herbal tea consumed just before bedtime. It has a very long list of folk uses which is understandable since it is often difficult to get a good night's sleep in today's fast paced world.

Contains aromatic compounds that have a sedative effect, relieve smooth muscle spasms and induce sweating. It has been used to treat coughs, colds, anxiety, colic, fevers, influenza, lung congestion and nausea.

About Wormwood

If anyone has heard of Vinegar of Four Thieves you know that you need this herb!

Though the root is rarely used for medicine, it is extremely powerful, especially for hot, sore infections of the throat and lungs. It numbs pain from infection in the throat and bronchial tubes and is exceptionally cooling to the throat and lungs. It is also highly antibacterial, being exceptionally effective topically. The leaf of above-ground plant is generally used for malaria, for intestinal worms, as a liver and digestive tonic, and for colds and flu. Water infusions of the leaf have been shown to produce 89 percent inhibition of malaria at 1 part in 35. Regular use as a tea s a preventative was found to prevent acetaminophen-induced liver disease in mice and rats. Some herbalists do not recommend the use of this herb because of its thujone content. However, it is one of the most powerful herbs for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant disease available. Millennia of traditional use support its continued place in the herbal dispensatory.

Inevitably, medical researchers have insisted on isolating a chemical component of wormwood, called artemesinin, for use in treating malaria. Artemesinin has been further processed into a specific drug, artemether. Clinical trials have shown that artemether is as effective as quinine in treating both resistant and nonresistant strains of malaria; trials in Gambia and Vietnam showed similar results. In the Vietnamese study, malarial symptoms cleared in 30 hours with artemether, 33 hours with quinine. Parasite clearance was markedly shorter with artemether in all trails; in the Vietnamese study it was 48 hours, versus 60 hours with quinine. However, patients given artemether experience several unpleasant side effects from the drug (as is often the case with pharmaceuticals). As with all searches for “active constituents” there is some question about its necessity. Taiwanese researchers have found the whole herb to be as effective with fewer side effects than the isolated component. Furthermore, extracts of Artemisia annua that contained no artemesinin were just as effective an antimalarial (though at twice the dosage for artemesinin).

Wormwood is excellent to expel intestinal worms, stimulate the appetite and liver, and also the uterus. Two of its phytochemicals stimulate digestion and the extract improves liver and gallbladder function in people with liver disease. It is also an effective external antiseptic. Compresses soaked in wormwood tea are recommended for irritations, bruises, and sprains.

• Avoid using it internally during pregnancy.
• This is a very potent herb. Use caution when taking it internally.

Taken as a strong tea it can expel parasites from the bowels. Use it for 10 days a couple times a day.