Good sleep is essential to good health. And yet so many of us struggle to get a good night’s sleep. Improving your quality of sleep can not only make you feel more alert and energetic, it can also improve immune function, mood, digestion, healing time from injuries and illness, and stress response.
Holy basil, or Tulsi, is one of the most revered herbs in Indian medicine. It has been used medicinally in India for many thousands of years. Nowadays, Western scientists are beginning to uncover the brilliance of this powerful herb. Holy basil can effectively aid in a wide range of illnesses and discomforts. A member of…
In the words of herbalist David Hoffman, “Skullcap is perhaps the most widely relevant nervine available to us in the materia medica.” This beautiful member of the mint family is native to North America and has a long history of use in this area. Herbalists today favor it as a powerful nervine, sedative, painkiller, and…
Raw honey is unprocessed honey straight from the beehive, and it is a nutritional wonder. Real raw honey is never heated, never strained, never pasteurized, and never processed in any way. Make sure you read your honey labels carefully to make sure you’re getting the good stuff! Here are just a few of the many…
One of the first medicinal herbs many people encounter is German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla syn. or Matricaria recutita). It is a ubiquitous tea herb with a history of use going back thousands of years, found on shelves of supermarkets and referenced in both Peter Rabbit and pop music. For such a well-known herb, however, in…
Passion Flower Passion Flower has been shown in small scale studies to Compare very well to Drug Therapy for Anxiety without gross side effects. By Tom Wolfe R.H (AHG) Tom is a Smile Herbalist and gardener for “PassionFlower Farms”, Smile Herb Shop’s Small Farm Business. ♦Note: R.H. means Tom is a Registered Herbalist with the…
Last week I shared some herbs that may be supportive in more acute anxiety situations, including insomnia. We all want (immediate) relief when we are suffering with pain, whether it be physical or emotional! But with complex mental conditions such as anxiety, there is almost always more to them than meets the eye, and simply…
Anxiety is a word that we hear quite a lot these days, and with good reason: there is plenty of it to go around! We use “anxious” to describe a whole range of feelings, from nervousness to paralyzing panic attacks, from back-to-school to global events. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety this way: Anxiety…
by Susan Wolfe and Tom Wolfe R.H. (AHG) are both Smile Herb Shop Herbalists What a 2024 world we live in … I cannot speak for you, but I certainly appreciate any herbal help in safely reducing anxiety and helping sleep. Let us begin with an Ashwagandha story from the history of Smile Herb Shop. Back…
In the words of herbalist David Hoffman, “Skullcap is perhaps the most widely relevant nervine available to us in the materia medica.” This beautiful member of the mint family is native to North America and has a long history of use in this area. Herbalists today favor it as a powerful nervine, sedative, painkiller, and…
You may know of Passionflower as a premier herb for stress, anxiety, and insomnia. This gorgeous flowering vine relieves pain, calms the mind, and relaxes the muscles. You can often find bees drowsing in the beautiful blossoms, proof of the passionflower’s soporific effect! Passionflower was used by tribes in the Americas for millennia before making…
According to author Susanne Fischer-Rizzi, lavender oil has 167 medicinal uses that have been tested! Today we’ll talk about just a few of these uses and why lavender oil is so good to have around. If I had to sum it up, I would say lavender oil is the most valuable, versatile oil because there’s…
Passion Flower’s fantastic beauty is a medicine in itself, but this lovely vine has much more to offer than its stunning, dramatic blooms. This time of year in the garden, Passion Flower vines are 4-5 inches tall with a few tiny leaves. But given time, sunlight, and water, they will climb as high as any…
Sleep. It’s such a basic and important part of life, we could fill volumes with all there is to say about it. The whys and wherefores behind sleep disorders are often highly individual and tied in to one’s own personal history. But for today, let’s keep it basic. This list of do’s and don’t’s applies…
Warning Signs You Are Deficient In Magnesium Magnesium is a mineral that is necessary for nearly every bodily function, yet some people are deficient in it. Pre-existing conditions such as alcoholism and the use of some prescription medicines can reduce the body’s stores of magnesium. Magnesium deficiency in healthy people is relatively rare, but becoming more common…
Rhodiola Herb Benefits You may not have heard of the plant Rhodiola rosea, and that’s a shame, because this is a powerful and beneficial herb for the body. Commonly known as golden root, or rose root for its lovely color, it is native to areas like Russia and Scandinavia. The herb is so tough, it…
Benefits of Magnesium Magnesium Is Considered a Necessary Daily Mineral Magnesium is considered a necessary daily mineral, which means the body depends on proper levels of it for functioning. It also has several health benefits. The general benefits of magnesium include a steady heartbeat, it helps to strengthen bones and it assists in keeping the…
Feeling stressed? With the temperatures heating up, Skullcap is a good herb to know. American Skullcap, Scutellaria laterifolia, is a soothing, cooling nervine. It eases tension, relaxes the muscles, and acts as a general anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Skullcap has a rejuvenating effect on the entire nervous system. It is often used in cases of…
Holy basil, or Tulsi, is one of the most revered herbs in Indian medicine. It has been used medicinally in India for many thousands of years. Nowadays, Western scientists are beginning to uncover the brilliance of this powerful herb. Holy basil can effectively aid in a wide range of illnesses and discomforts. A member of…
Lemon Balm Lemon Balm is a member of the mint family. The leaves of the herb have a mild lemon aroma and flavor, but despite its mildness it has powerful healing action. It can be used by itself, or blended with other herbs and vitamins for calming and soothing effect. Lemon Balm can be taken…
