Get Allergy Relief with Nettle Leaf

With spring in full force and summer on the way, many people are in the middle of another season – allergy season. At best, allergies can be annoying and at worst, they can keep you trapped inside on sunny days, unable to enjoy the warm weather with your family and friends.

If you’re one of the 50 million Americans who experiences allergies every year, nettle leaf may help! Known for many natural healing properties, nettle leaf has long been embraced for its ability to provide temporary relief from allergy symptoms. Keep reading to learn about the little plant that may make a big difference in fighting allergies this spring and summer.

What is Nettle Leaf?

Before they are broken down into a natural health supplement, nettle plants are those pesky plants that sting your legs as you walk by them on a hike through the woods. This herbaceous perennial is originally native to Europe, but is now prevalent throughout Asia, Africa, and North America as well. Used for thousands of years as a traditional medicinal herb, both the root and leaves of nettle plants are embraced for potential benefits related to everything from healthy pregnancies to joint mobility. Of course, nettle leaf is perhaps best known for its support in the relief of symptoms related to allergies.

How Can Nettle Leaf Help with Allergy Relief?

As you may already know, seasonal allergies are often a result of the body overreacting to its outside environment, causing the pathways in your immune system to become inflamed and blocked. Thanks to both the anti-inflammatory and hypoallergenic properties of nettle leaf, this little plant can be a powerful supporter of your immune system in the middle of allergy season, helping your body find balance in its reaction to nature without going crazy.

Nettle leaf is also a great alternative to over-the-counter antihistamine medications. While these mainstream products are effective in helping you to stop sniffling and sneezing, chemicals that block the histamines that your body naturally creates in order to flush out an irritant could actually make you sicker. By switching your mainstream allergy drug with a natural nettle leaf supplement instead, you can let your body do what it needs to do in order to flush out irritants, while still experiencing temporary relief from allergy symptoms.

How Can You Use Nettle Leaf for Allergy Relief?

There are multiple ways that nettle leaf can be used to combat allergies. From teas to powders to tablets, nettle leaf makes it easy to get allergy relief naturally. Here are a few of our favorites.

Nettle Leaf Capsules

Perhaps the most common way to see the full benefits of nettle leaf for allergy relief is to take the same dose everyday in capsule or tablet form. Vegetarian and gluten-free Nettle Leaf capsules can be taken once or twice daily to promote natural levels of histamine and help your immune system balance its reaction to allergens.

Nettle Leaf Tea

If you’re looking for quick relief from allergy congestion and symptoms, nettle leaf tea is a great option. Dried nettle leaves and flowers make up teas like Nettle Leaf Organic Tea by Alvita Teas, providing a soothing tea and an effective natural combattant against allergies. And bonus – this tea supports joint health and mobility as well!

Nettle Leaf Extract

Nettle leaves and roots can also be turned into liquid extracts to support a healthy immune and respiratory system during allergy season. Simply mix 30-40 drops of an extract like Certified Organic Nettle Leaf from Gaia Herbs with water on a daily basis or as needed. The anti-allergen properties in the nettle lead will get to work and have you breathing easier in no time!

Are you ready to fight your seasonal allergies the natural way with nettle leaf? Take a look at all the amazing products available and Natural Healthy Concepts and let us know which nettle leaf supplement you choose!

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Photo by Paul M on Unsplash

4 Ways to Relieve Stress with Ashwagandha

Whether it’s from work or personal life, stress is often an everyday reality of life. We stress about overflowing schedules and looming deadlines. We stress about the health of our families and how our kids are doing at school. We even stress about good things like summer travel plans and if we’ll take that promotion at work. Stressors come in many shapes and sizes. But just because we all experience stress, that doesn’t mean we have to succumb to it. That’s where ashwagandha comes in. This ancient medicinal herb can help alleviate some of the most common symptoms of stress, helping you get on with your day and be joyful about it!

What is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha has been used for thousands of years as part of traditional Ayurveda medicine. Translated to mean “smell of a horse” ashwagandha actually gets its name from the fact that the fresh root of this universal herb smells like a horse. But while the name may make you laugh, ashwagandha has some seriously beneficial qualities for everyday life. Embraced for its positive effect on everything from immune functionality to joint mobility, ashwagandha is a powerful adaptogen that also interacts with receptors in the brain to regulate the hormones responsible for physiological and psychological triggers that can lead to stress.

4 Ways to Relieve Stress with Ashwagandha

1. Ashwagandha to Calm Anxiety

Ashwagandha is widely embraced for its adaptogen properties, which means it can actually help block pathways in the brain that promote anxiety by regulating these signals in the nervous system. In this way, ashwagandha is an effective tool in reducing the symptoms of stress and anxiety. In fact, one study showed that individuals who used ashwagandha reported a 69% average reduction in anxiety, and another found 88% of participants who took ashwagandha report a reduction in their anxiety.

2. Ashwagandha for Sleep Support

The relationship between stress and sleep is a vicious cycle – stress makes it hard to fall and stay asleep, while lack of sleep turns into a source of near constant stress. Thankfully, ashwagandha plays double duty as well, helping to calm anxiety as noted above and promote restorative sleep. The natural properties of this ancient herb balance the energy in your body without the intense and sedative effects of an over-the-counter sleeping pill.

3. Ashwagandha for Energy and Stamina Support

Sometimes the best way to combat stress is to be active and ashwagandha can help with that too. Multiple studies have shown that ashwagandha may support energy and stamina for workout performance, as well as promote energy for the heart so that it can function at tip-top shape.

4. Ashwagandha for Mood Support

Although research linking ashwagandha to the alleviation of symptoms related to depression is somewhat limited, at least two studies have reported its effectiveness. One 60-day study actually found that stressed adults who took ashwagandha daily experienced a 79% reduction in severe depression symptoms.

How to Use Ashwagandha for Stress

There are multiple ways to take ashwagandha for stress relief. Natural Healthy Concepts boasts a wide range of ashwagandha supplements, including capsules, powders, and even oral sprays. You can also take a daily dose of 1-2 teaspoons (or 3-6 grams) of dried ashwagandha root powder to help alleviate stress.

Of course, don’t forget to combine your ashwagandha supplement with a healthy lifestyle as well! Creating healthy habits related to food, exercise, and sleep are the most important factors in alleviating the effects of stress on everyday life. Combine those elements with ashwagandha, and you’ll be ready to take on whatever stressors come your way with energy, poise, and joy!

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Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

Best Perennials for the Season

A beautiful garden has a collection of many different types of plants. They all contribute in various manners to ensure that the garden remains beautiful and appealing. For perennials, there are different reasons why they are a must have in a garden. First, they are hardy and low-maintenance plants. They also come back season after season, even when you do not replant, giving your garden resilience and consistency. Thinking of the best perennials to plant for the season? We will look at some really great plants that will offer maximum benefits. Here are seven of our favorite perennials.

7 Perennials to Plant in Your Garden

Astilbe

Astilbe is one of the easiest plants to grow, and its presence in your garden will be properly rewarded. It is one of the longest flowering plants, offering months of graceful colours in your garden. The blooms of astilbe can be white, purple, apricot, red, deep pink, or lavender. The foliage may be a bronze or purple. 

Catmint – “Walker’s Low”

This is another hardy plant that will add so much to your garden. It has a remarkably relaxed and trouble-free growth habit. It can bloom from late spring to mid-autumn, blessing your garden with rich purple-blue spikes. 

Coneflower – “White Swan” and “Magnus”

Coneflowers are some the most wonderful perennials that can bloom for months, even when the conditions are hot and dry. From early summer into mid-autumn, these amazing coneflowers bloom. Magnus is a purple-flowering coneflower, while White Swan has white petals and orange-copper cones. 

Coreopsis – “Full Moon”

This is another flower that can really tolerate drought. The Full Moon boast of large, soft yellow flowers that can grow up to 3 inches. Its flowering season stretches from early summer to early autumn.

Geranium – “Rozanne

This is one of the hardiest garden plants. Once it is properly propagated and established, maintenance is almost not required as it can survive some of the harshest weather conditions. It also brings beauty to the garden, blooming from early summer until the first frost with violet-blue flowers that are generally 2 inches wide.

Purple Flame Grass

You should definitely consider purple flame grass to add form and texture to your garden all summer long. It is a maiden grass that can grow up to 4 feet tall.

Yarrow

Yarrow is among the longest flowering perennials that beautifies the garden. It does better with full sun and well-drained soil, blooming in the summer and producing flat-top flowers that stay for 6 to 8 weeks.

Which ornamental perennials will you plant this season? When you have the right ones in place, they will save you money, time and energy. Enjoy your beautiful garden!

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Photo by Lisa Olson on Unsplash