How Herbal Remedy for Hair Loss Works
May 25, 2008 by
Filed under Diseases And Conditions
Patricia Hammond asked:
Herbal remedies are useful and effective ways to help people suffering from hair loss. Since herbal remedies are natural, they are generally considered safe and free from side effects, although there may be isolated cases once in a while. Each herbal remedy for hair loss are believed to provide hope for people experiencing hair loss. Below is a list of herbal remedies for hair loss that have been proven to be effective.
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba is a potent herbal remedy for hair loss with medicinal properties that showed efficacy in improving blood circulation to the scalp and head and to other parts of the body. It is believed that the increase of blood to the brain and skin provides more nutrients to the hair follicles, causing hair to grow back.
Saw Palmetto (Seranoa Repens)
Saw palmetto is also an herbal remedy for hair loss that is currently the treatment of choice of several men because of its capability to slow down hair loss and stimulate new hair growth. Tinctures and extracts from this herb block the receptors on cell membranes for dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the main cause of hair loss in many patients. Also, this herbal remedy for hair loss prevents the formation of DHT the way that FDA-approved hair loss treatment medication finasteride does. This ability makes saw palmetto an effective treatment for hair loss.
Stinging Nettle (Urtica Diocia)
Stinging nettle is an herbal remedy for hair loss that has long been preferred as a means of curbing balding. This herb slows down loss of hair by preventing testosterone from being converted into DHT, allowing stimulation of hair growth. Stinging nettle is more effective when used together with pygeum and saw palmetto.
Pygeum (Pygeum Africanum)
Pygeum is an herbal remedy for hair loss that has the capability to inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, an enzyme that regulates the production of DHT. Pygeum also prevents loss of hair by slowing down the conversion of testosterone to DTH, thereby preventing hair follicles from weakening.
Green Tea (Camellia Sinesis)
Camellia Sinesis is another herbal remedy for hair loss considered an effective cure for male pattern baldness. Green tea contains components called catechins that help in preventing hair loss. These catechins prevent the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase from converting male hormone testosterone to DHT.
He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum)
He Shou Wu is a Chinese herbal remedy for hair loss. It has been traditionally used as a remedy for hair loss. It has also been used in many commercial preparations that reduce loss of hair. In its processed form, He Shou Wu delivers nourishment to the liver. Blood in the liver nourishes the head and the hair, thus, promoting growth of hair and preventing hair from becoming gray.
Gotu kola
Gotu kola is a herbal remedy for hair loss that works by stimulating and increasing blood circulation throughout the brain and the scalp, which then revitalizes the hair follicles. When hair follicles have sufficient blood flow, they are protected from the harmful activity caused by DHT. Gotu kola extract also purifies the blood and improves the growth and the health of hair. Several herbal products that use gotu kola as a base promote hair growth and fortify collagen and the blood vessels.
Herbal remedies are useful and effective ways to help people suffering from hair loss. Since herbal remedies are natural, they are generally considered safe and free from side effects, although there may be isolated cases once in a while. Each herbal remedy for hair loss are believed to provide hope for people experiencing hair loss. Below is a list of herbal remedies for hair loss that have been proven to be effective.
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba is a potent herbal remedy for hair loss with medicinal properties that showed efficacy in improving blood circulation to the scalp and head and to other parts of the body. It is believed that the increase of blood to the brain and skin provides more nutrients to the hair follicles, causing hair to grow back.
Saw Palmetto (Seranoa Repens)
Saw palmetto is also an herbal remedy for hair loss that is currently the treatment of choice of several men because of its capability to slow down hair loss and stimulate new hair growth. Tinctures and extracts from this herb block the receptors on cell membranes for dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the main cause of hair loss in many patients. Also, this herbal remedy for hair loss prevents the formation of DHT the way that FDA-approved hair loss treatment medication finasteride does. This ability makes saw palmetto an effective treatment for hair loss.
Stinging Nettle (Urtica Diocia)
Stinging nettle is an herbal remedy for hair loss that has long been preferred as a means of curbing balding. This herb slows down loss of hair by preventing testosterone from being converted into DHT, allowing stimulation of hair growth. Stinging nettle is more effective when used together with pygeum and saw palmetto.
Pygeum (Pygeum Africanum)
Pygeum is an herbal remedy for hair loss that has the capability to inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, an enzyme that regulates the production of DHT. Pygeum also prevents loss of hair by slowing down the conversion of testosterone to DTH, thereby preventing hair follicles from weakening.
Green Tea (Camellia Sinesis)
Camellia Sinesis is another herbal remedy for hair loss considered an effective cure for male pattern baldness. Green tea contains components called catechins that help in preventing hair loss. These catechins prevent the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase from converting male hormone testosterone to DHT.
He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum)
He Shou Wu is a Chinese herbal remedy for hair loss. It has been traditionally used as a remedy for hair loss. It has also been used in many commercial preparations that reduce loss of hair. In its processed form, He Shou Wu delivers nourishment to the liver. Blood in the liver nourishes the head and the hair, thus, promoting growth of hair and preventing hair from becoming gray.
Gotu kola
Gotu kola is a herbal remedy for hair loss that works by stimulating and increasing blood circulation throughout the brain and the scalp, which then revitalizes the hair follicles. When hair follicles have sufficient blood flow, they are protected from the harmful activity caused by DHT. Gotu kola extract also purifies the blood and improves the growth and the health of hair. Several herbal products that use gotu kola as a base promote hair growth and fortify collagen and the blood vessels.
Be Wary of Free Trials of Acai Berry Products
May 22, 2008 by
Filed under Nutrition
vanalli asked:
Online scammers have been setting up websites to lure consumers in with free trial offers of various acai berry products. With demand for acai berry supplements constantly rising, so has the number of people looking to cash in on the trend. The best way to avoid being scammed when it comes to acai is to stay away from free trial offers and stick with reputable dealers, said Bryan Nettles of Bryan Nettles Pure Acai Products.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have been ripped off by companies who claim to offer free trials, tarnishing the good name of what is still a wonderful health food. As a general rule, people should stay away from any company offering free trials. We see these scammers putting up dozens of new websites everyday offering the free trial offers. Of the hundreds we have looked at, we have yet to find a single one that is a legitimate business, said Nettles.
Although Pure Acai Products has never offered free acai trial, the company receives dozens of emails every day from people who have been scammed by tricksters. Many of these emails are mistakenly directed at Pure Acai Products because buyers have been unable to contact the companies they originally made orders with.
These people email us thinking that we are the ones who stole their money because theres no way to contact the con artists, added Nettles.
One bemused customer wrote, I was charged $89.31 for renewal on the acai berry vitamins and I never even received the sample of vitamins I had requested. I want my account refunded and I want nothing else to do with your company.
The acai berry is touted as being the worlds newest superfood. Native of Brazil, the berries are said to contain high levels of fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants and other nutrients. The popularity of acai berry products is partly due to stars such as Rachel Ray and Oprah Winfrey featuring acai on their shows. Interest levels spike after each mention on television, but unfortunately the scammers are always aware of this.
On January 6, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued a warning about acai free trial offer scams. Tricksters tempt customers with offers of free trials, but problems ensue when people find out they are signed up for all sorts of products and subscriptions they dont want.
Steve Cox, spokesman for BBB, said, “Many businesses across the country are using the same selling model for their acai products: they lure customers in with celebrity endorsements and free trial offers, and then lock them in by making it extremely difficult to cancel the automatic delivery of more acai products every month.”
There are hundreds of company names that people have filed complaints about. One of the most common is FX Supplements, which supposedly offers risk-free trials that involve buyers paying for nothing but shipping.
Customers have until the end of their trail to cancel their subscription or else find themselves lumbered with monthly charges of $85.90. What most people miss is that the trial begins from the day of the order.
Another company in the firing line is Central Coast Nutraceuticals, which again offers free acai trials of everything from acai supplements to acai tea. Buyers who dont act quickly enough to cancel their subscriptions are then charged $40 a month.
So why dont people just cancel their subscriptions? Likely they would if they could ever get hold of the companies they ordered from. Customers who phone the hotlines are put on hold for anything up to 75 minutes and even then there is no guarantee that they wont be disconnected.
Dozens of new acai websites are unleashed on the Internet daily. Scammers move from one domain to the next, using pay-per-click advertisements to generate traffic. In November 2008 Google recorded more than 1.5 million searches for acai products. Sales of acai products were more than $15 million last year.
Nettles continued, “Sales of acai berry products are still growing. People haven’t been dissuaded from the actual products, but now they understand they have to be a bit more careful where they order from.”
Any offer of a free trial of acai products is likely to be a scam and hundreds of thousands of people have already fallen victim. Acai products come in various forms juices, powders, capsules, jams and so on and their popularity is showing no signs of slowing, despite the presence of fraudsters.
If you want to order acai products, find a reputable source that doesnt push any too-good-to-be-true offers on shoppers.
Online scammers have been setting up websites to lure consumers in with free trial offers of various acai berry products. With demand for acai berry supplements constantly rising, so has the number of people looking to cash in on the trend. The best way to avoid being scammed when it comes to acai is to stay away from free trial offers and stick with reputable dealers, said Bryan Nettles of Bryan Nettles Pure Acai Products.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have been ripped off by companies who claim to offer free trials, tarnishing the good name of what is still a wonderful health food. As a general rule, people should stay away from any company offering free trials. We see these scammers putting up dozens of new websites everyday offering the free trial offers. Of the hundreds we have looked at, we have yet to find a single one that is a legitimate business, said Nettles.
Although Pure Acai Products has never offered free acai trial, the company receives dozens of emails every day from people who have been scammed by tricksters. Many of these emails are mistakenly directed at Pure Acai Products because buyers have been unable to contact the companies they originally made orders with.
These people email us thinking that we are the ones who stole their money because theres no way to contact the con artists, added Nettles.
One bemused customer wrote, I was charged $89.31 for renewal on the acai berry vitamins and I never even received the sample of vitamins I had requested. I want my account refunded and I want nothing else to do with your company.
The acai berry is touted as being the worlds newest superfood. Native of Brazil, the berries are said to contain high levels of fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants and other nutrients. The popularity of acai berry products is partly due to stars such as Rachel Ray and Oprah Winfrey featuring acai on their shows. Interest levels spike after each mention on television, but unfortunately the scammers are always aware of this.
On January 6, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued a warning about acai free trial offer scams. Tricksters tempt customers with offers of free trials, but problems ensue when people find out they are signed up for all sorts of products and subscriptions they dont want.
Steve Cox, spokesman for BBB, said, “Many businesses across the country are using the same selling model for their acai products: they lure customers in with celebrity endorsements and free trial offers, and then lock them in by making it extremely difficult to cancel the automatic delivery of more acai products every month.”
There are hundreds of company names that people have filed complaints about. One of the most common is FX Supplements, which supposedly offers risk-free trials that involve buyers paying for nothing but shipping.
Customers have until the end of their trail to cancel their subscription or else find themselves lumbered with monthly charges of $85.90. What most people miss is that the trial begins from the day of the order.
Another company in the firing line is Central Coast Nutraceuticals, which again offers free acai trials of everything from acai supplements to acai tea. Buyers who dont act quickly enough to cancel their subscriptions are then charged $40 a month.
So why dont people just cancel their subscriptions? Likely they would if they could ever get hold of the companies they ordered from. Customers who phone the hotlines are put on hold for anything up to 75 minutes and even then there is no guarantee that they wont be disconnected.
Dozens of new acai websites are unleashed on the Internet daily. Scammers move from one domain to the next, using pay-per-click advertisements to generate traffic. In November 2008 Google recorded more than 1.5 million searches for acai products. Sales of acai products were more than $15 million last year.
Nettles continued, “Sales of acai berry products are still growing. People haven’t been dissuaded from the actual products, but now they understand they have to be a bit more careful where they order from.”
Any offer of a free trial of acai products is likely to be a scam and hundreds of thousands of people have already fallen victim. Acai products come in various forms juices, powders, capsules, jams and so on and their popularity is showing no signs of slowing, despite the presence of fraudsters.
If you want to order acai products, find a reputable source that doesnt push any too-good-to-be-true offers on shoppers.
Florida: The Underwater Kingdom
May 13, 2008 by
Filed under Advertising
Gail Nettles asked:
It’s a place of shimmering water, of tropical breezes, of underwater fantasies. It’s living rock, and animals that look like plants. It’s a statute with its arms raised to they sky, yet still beneath the sea.
Welcome to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in the Florida Keys.
Kingdoms of the Sea
Pennekamp State Park is mostly under the waves, so the big draw is definitely on the watery side. Being the only living coral reef in the United States, Pennekamp is a mecca for divers from all over the world. And what a reef it is! It’s a watery kingdom, with thrones of coral and guardian fish patrolling about.
Snorkel and Dive Tours
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park offers both snorkel and dive tours from its dive center. The main reef is about four miles offshore, so you are spirited away in a catamaran for your trip (the Spirit of Pennekamp).
Tours run around two hours of actual water time, and by all accounts they are very much worth it.
Glass Bottom Boats
If you aren’t into getting wet but still want to see the reef, how about a glass-bottomed boat tour? You can relax in air-conditioned comfort and discover your own Atlantis.
What Else?
How about camping, fishing, swimming and canoeing? All this and more can be found at Pennekamp State Park. Come on and visit another world, just beneath the waves.
It’s a place of shimmering water, of tropical breezes, of underwater fantasies. It’s living rock, and animals that look like plants. It’s a statute with its arms raised to they sky, yet still beneath the sea.
Welcome to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in the Florida Keys.
Kingdoms of the Sea
Pennekamp State Park is mostly under the waves, so the big draw is definitely on the watery side. Being the only living coral reef in the United States, Pennekamp is a mecca for divers from all over the world. And what a reef it is! It’s a watery kingdom, with thrones of coral and guardian fish patrolling about.
Snorkel and Dive Tours
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park offers both snorkel and dive tours from its dive center. The main reef is about four miles offshore, so you are spirited away in a catamaran for your trip (the Spirit of Pennekamp).
Tours run around two hours of actual water time, and by all accounts they are very much worth it.
Glass Bottom Boats
If you aren’t into getting wet but still want to see the reef, how about a glass-bottomed boat tour? You can relax in air-conditioned comfort and discover your own Atlantis.
What Else?
How about camping, fishing, swimming and canoeing? All this and more can be found at Pennekamp State Park. Come on and visit another world, just beneath the waves.
Natural Hair Loss Remedies
May 7, 2008 by
Filed under Relationships
bivan asked:
There is again no sure-fire way to prevent all hair loss; however, there are some methods that have been used that work on some people.
Massage and aromatherapy have been used with some success. In minor cases of temporary hair loss, hair growth can be stimulated by massage, since blood and oxygen flow to the scalp must be healthy in order for hair to grow.
A blend of six drops each of lavender and bay essential oils in a base of fourounces of either almond, soybean or sesame oil massaged into the scalp and allowed to sit for 20 minutes has been used by aroma therapists to stimulate the scalp.
Once the mixture is in the scalp for 20 minutes, wash your hair and scalp with your normal shampoo mixed with three drops of bay essential oil. Massaging the scalp in general for a couple of minutes a day can stimulate blood flow to the hair follicles and in mild cases stimulate some hair growth.
Studies have shown Saw Palmetto extract is an effective anti-androgen and therefore there is promise for its effectiveness as an effective treatment for hair loss prevention. Women who take Saw Palmetto should cease doing so when taking oral contraceptives or hormone therapy.
Nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, several key minerals and lipids that can be beneficial to the hair. Nettle Root Extract has been used successfully in Europe as an inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase in treating BPH. As mentioned earlier, 5-alpha reductase is a key component in turning testosterone into DHT, the substance that causes the atrophy of hair follicles. Therefore there is great promise in its use as a component in natural hair loss treatments. Nettle Root Extract is available at health food stores over the counter, and has few side effects.
Rosemary and sage are two herbs that have shown benefit traditionally when used externally. It is suggested that to promote a clean scalp, stimulation of the hair root, and thickening hair one should boil together in water rosemary, sage, peach leaf, nettle and burdock. Then strain the loose herbs from the liquid and use the liquid to wash the hair daily.
Aloe Vera has been used by Native Americans, Indians and many in the Caribbean to promote healthy hair and prevent hair loss. Aloes positive effects on the skin are well known, and likewise it can help the scalp by healing it and balancing the pH level of the scalp while cleansing the pores. A common preparation of Aloe Vera gel with a small amount of wheat germ oil and coconut milk is used as a shampoo and has traditionally shown great benefit.
Of course, if you do not want to go through the trouble of concocting your own formulas, similar products, or products containing these ingredients, may be found in the health food store if one does some searching.
Article written by Ken Shorey.
There is again no sure-fire way to prevent all hair loss; however, there are some methods that have been used that work on some people.
Massage and aromatherapy have been used with some success. In minor cases of temporary hair loss, hair growth can be stimulated by massage, since blood and oxygen flow to the scalp must be healthy in order for hair to grow.
A blend of six drops each of lavender and bay essential oils in a base of fourounces of either almond, soybean or sesame oil massaged into the scalp and allowed to sit for 20 minutes has been used by aroma therapists to stimulate the scalp.
Once the mixture is in the scalp for 20 minutes, wash your hair and scalp with your normal shampoo mixed with three drops of bay essential oil. Massaging the scalp in general for a couple of minutes a day can stimulate blood flow to the hair follicles and in mild cases stimulate some hair growth.
Studies have shown Saw Palmetto extract is an effective anti-androgen and therefore there is promise for its effectiveness as an effective treatment for hair loss prevention. Women who take Saw Palmetto should cease doing so when taking oral contraceptives or hormone therapy.
Nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, several key minerals and lipids that can be beneficial to the hair. Nettle Root Extract has been used successfully in Europe as an inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase in treating BPH. As mentioned earlier, 5-alpha reductase is a key component in turning testosterone into DHT, the substance that causes the atrophy of hair follicles. Therefore there is great promise in its use as a component in natural hair loss treatments. Nettle Root Extract is available at health food stores over the counter, and has few side effects.
Rosemary and sage are two herbs that have shown benefit traditionally when used externally. It is suggested that to promote a clean scalp, stimulation of the hair root, and thickening hair one should boil together in water rosemary, sage, peach leaf, nettle and burdock. Then strain the loose herbs from the liquid and use the liquid to wash the hair daily.
Aloe Vera has been used by Native Americans, Indians and many in the Caribbean to promote healthy hair and prevent hair loss. Aloes positive effects on the skin are well known, and likewise it can help the scalp by healing it and balancing the pH level of the scalp while cleansing the pores. A common preparation of Aloe Vera gel with a small amount of wheat germ oil and coconut milk is used as a shampoo and has traditionally shown great benefit.
Of course, if you do not want to go through the trouble of concocting your own formulas, similar products, or products containing these ingredients, may be found in the health food store if one does some searching.
Article written by Ken Shorey.