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The Eclectic Physician
Natural Health Care
by Beth Burch N.D.
Stress & Tension-
Stress, especially in our modern lifestyle is unavoidable. In fact a certain
amount of eu-stress (good stress) is important for a sense of well-being.
However, many people often take on too much in their lives, eat and sleep
poorly, have little or no recreation or quiet time and end up feeling stressed
out and tense. Certainly much of modern life while providing many comforts,
also contributes to stress and tension. Noise, pollution, lights, traffic,
demanding jobs and home life, isolation, crime, etc. all can keep us from
enjoying those comforts.
The body responds to stress with an outpouring of hormones which prepare
us for "fight or flight". This was helpful when we lived in the jungle
and needed to either run from a tiger or kill it. Now we live in a different
"jungle" and the "tigers" may be our boss, the rude driver on the freeway
or the loud noise of the city. Our body still responds with the same outpouring
of hormones, but fleeing or fighting are not options. We are left with
the physical reactions of increased heart rate and breathing, increased
blood pressure, and decreased digestive function.
Stress relates to our life challenges and our resources to handle them.
If the challenges of life are more than our abilities and resources to
deal with them, then we experience stress, if our abilities and resources
are greater than our challenges then we also experience stress. Ideally
for our health, we should be in a balance or just slightly on one side
or the other.
Siberian ginseng-has been
shown to inhibit the "fight or flight" response. Studies with humans have
shown it to effective in increasing ability to handle a wide number of
stressful situations.
Dose- Liquid extract- 1 teaspoon three times a day.
Dry herb in capsules- 1000 mg three times a day
Standardized extract-100 mg three times a day
Caution: If you have heart disease or hypertension, consult with your health
care provider before using ginseng.
* The information presented in this web site is intended to inform and educate.
It is not intended replace a qualified medical practitioner to diagnose or treat medical conditions.
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