If you aren't working with an herbalist, or someone educated in herbology, you will need to experiment somewhat on how many herbs your body needs to get results. Larger people sometimes need larger doses, and smaller people need smaller doses. Children usually need very little amounts and respond quickly to herbal remedies.

If your are especially sensitive to medications of foods it is best to start out with smaller doses than what is recommended on a label. It's always best to get little or no results and work your way up than to boombard yourself with too much, which can bring on an uncomfortable cleansing.

Sometimes it takes a couple days to feel the effects of an herb. This is especially true with the cleansing-type-herbs, so it's a good idea to take the recommeded dosage for a few days and wait for any changes. If you are not seeing a change, increase what you are taking daily until you start seeing changes in your body.

To get the right synergy and energetic combination, consider the nature of your symptoms. You can use four general descriptions−hot, cold, wet, and dry−to categorize your illness, and these can be matched to four general effects that herbs have on the body.

You can determine whether an herb is hot, cold, wet, or dry by its taste, smell, touch, and sometimes just by its appearance. For instance, slippery elm, when tasted, will have a slippery feel on your tongue. This means that the herb has a wet characteristic that can be used for dry conditions in the body.

The slippery elm, being mucillaginous, is soothing to the body tissues; I use it if I get a dry, scratchy throat from taking too much! An example of the hot category is the herb capsicum, which is the fruit of the cayenne pepper plant. Capsicum is a very hot herb indeed−and one taste on the tip of your tongue will prove it!

Another clue that capsicum is hot is its red color. If you are cold and lacking circulation, capsicum would be great herb to help generate some heat. A dry herb in energetics is an herb that causes your tissues to dry up. Most of these herbs are reffered to as astringents or sour herbs.

A good example is white oak bark, which is used to tighten and dry up swollen tissue and blisters. An example of cooling (cold) effect from an herb is aloe vera, which is also mucilaginous herb. This herb has both a cooling and moistening effect on the body. If you were hot and dry, drinking a little aloe vera in your water would help you cool down and would moisten your tissue.

Try your own taste test with each of these herbs and see for yourself the effect it has on you. Open a capsule of capsicum and dab some on your tongue. It won't be long before you'll be reaching for that cooling sip of aloe vera! You will feel the white oak bark tighten your tongue, and you'll sense the sliminess of the slippery elm when you moisten it. This experiment will really get you in touch with energetics.

How do you know what combinations of herbs to choose? Don't worry−that's probably why you read this blog, and it will be spelled out for you. Combinations are excellent because you can take just one pill that contains several different herbs for a spesific body system.

For instance, instead of purchasing fenugreek and thyme separately to helo you eliminate mucus and boost the immune (many take these herbs when suffering from bronchitis), you can obtain one combination pill that constains both these herbs. Hey, it saves space and allows you to take some other herbs without having a bottle of every single herb you need filling up your countertops!

Taking combinations can save you money also since you only need to buy one bottle and not two or more to get the same synergistic effects one bottle of a combination provides. When you see a combination of two or more herbs together in future tables, it's because the combinations are working synergistically and usually serve a few different purposes to help you with an ailment.

If you cannot find a combination that I suggest in future tables then don't hesitate to combine your own using singles or bulk herb's. Let's look at some other combinations that work synergistically.

Lobelia and St. John's wort is one combination that many smokers use to help them quit. The lobelia is calming and has an effect similiar to nicotine in the body. St. John's wort has been used to fight mild depression sometimes associated with breaking an addictive physical habit.

Capsicum with garlic and parsley is another synergistic combination utilized for its positive effect on the circulatory system. The parsley serves as a deodorizer that helps mask the unpleasantness of garlic breath! Combination are excellent; nevertheless, each person is chemically a little bit different, so some will respond better to a few single herbs and others to combinations.

The possitive affirmation you made by purchasing and reading this article lone proves you are ready to continue learning and take more responsibility for your health and life. Although the road to total health through natural means is not necessarily a piece of tofu cake, the rewards you earn are vitality, clear thinking, emotional control, vibrancy, and energy−well worth working for, wouldn't you say?

Once you begin using herbs, you instantly become more aware of your body and you will feel how herbs can enhance your life and health. If you are interested in studying herbology, start studying now because it's a vast and wonderful journey−oh, and don't forget to take your ginkgo biloba to boost your memory while you learn!