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Natural uses of Lavender Oil

Lavender oil is one of the most popular essential oils. It also frequently used in perfumes, potpourri and various scents. But there are other more intensive uses for Lavender oil. In fact, this essential oil can also be used for medicinal purposes.

Lavender has many health benefits. It can be used to help individuals relax, get rid of tension, alleviate pain and increase blood circulation. It also can be used as a disinfectant agent and can help with respiratory problems.

Lavender oil can be quite effective in treating the nervous system. It has a calming effect is great to be used by individuals who want to relax or calm their nerves. It can also be used to treat migraine headaches, depression, stress and tension. Lavender oil is also good to help encourage mental alertness.

For individuals who suffer from insomnia, lavender oil can also be used to help them relax and go to sleep. It is also highly effective for relieving pain. Individuals who suffer from achy muscles, back pain, rheumatism, sore muscles, sprains and joint pain, may find that lavender oil allows them to treat their pain without the use of costly medication.

Lavender oil is a very powerful and lovely smelling, essential oil that has many fantastic uses. It can be used to treat tired, sore and tense muscles, as well as help one relax. Its’ tension reducing qualities have long been touted. Individuals that are familiar with essential oils, count lavender as one their favourites. The oil’s versatility means that the user can use the oil to treat a wide range of ailments or to prevent them from ever developing.

Lavender oil comes in various forms. The most common ones’ include oil (in its raw form), lotions and gels. You can find it at various specialty stores or online. An online search will yield you plenty of affordable lavender oil.

Individuals that want to use lavender oil can use it in a number of ways. They can apply it directly to the skin, it can be inhaled and it can be placed in one’s bath.

Lavender oil is one of the most popular and widely used essential oils. It is effective for treating a number of ailments including depression, stress, back, joint and muscle pains as well headaches.

It is a safe essential oil and can be used and mixed with other essential oils. This means that you can mix your favourite oils and create a customized scent. Because the oil comes in different forms, you can choose the one which you feel most comfortable with.

Reference: George Key

The Facts about Glucosamine

What is Glucosamine?

Glucosamine is made of an amino acid and a sugar molecule and is a raw material for making connective tissue in joint cartilage. In supplement form, it is derived from chitin, the hard material in crustacean shell. It can also be made from plant material such as corn, known as vegetarian glucosamine.

How does it work?

Glucosamine feeds and stimulates cartilage repair. It’s one of cartilage’s key building blocks and also encourages self-repair by stimulating the process that creates moisture-holding molecules.

Uses for Glucosamine

As we age, the body’s ability to produce glucosamine can decrease and this causes joint cartilage to lose it water holding capacity. The cartilage breaks and becomes less effective as a shock absorber, leading to joint stiffness. Supplementing the body’s natural glucosamine production has been shown in clinical trials to repair and rebuild worn or damaged cartilage. As the condition of the joint cartilage improves, pain is reduced and mobility increased.

What are the key benefits?

  • Helps repair and rebuild damaged cartilage
  • Can improve joint mobility and flexibility
  • Symptomatic relief of osteoarthritis
  • Helps reduce further cartilage damage
  • Temporary relief of joint inflammation
  • Temporary relief of joint pain

How does it compare?

Conventional osteoarthritis treatment involves anti-inflammation medicines. While they can be effective in relieving pain, they do not address the cause of the problem. Unlike these medicines, glucosamine has been demonstrated to effectively act on the cause of osteoarthritic pain – cartilage breakdown. By addressing the root the problem, osteoarthritis joint pain can also be relieved.

Where’s the evidence?

Given glucosamine works mainly as a structural compound to maintain cartilage, it’s more sensible to measure changes in joint structure, than pain reduction, to quantify glucosamine’s effectiveness. A review of a number of clinical trials that used X-rays to measure improvement concluded glucosamine can reduce the risk of osteoarthritis progression by 54%.

Glucosamine has also been shown in some clinical trials to work as effectively, if not better than some other commonly used arthritis medicines. Some studies show that it relieves pain and this is more marked in people with moderate to severe symptoms.

Does it really work?

Aside from the functional evidence above, thousands of glucosamine users are benefiting from the effects of glucosamine with about 400m tablets a year being consumed. In fact Choice Magazine found about 75% of their online members who were arthritis sufferers claimed they were experiencing a benefit from using glucosamine.