Brain and Memory Herbal Remedies
Here is a selection of herbs that can help with your brain and memory. Each one comes with a brief description - click on 'More..' for more information about the medical uses, other uses and dosage!
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a herb with an interesting history. It was used to make wine for Alexander the Great and has appeared in herbal remedies for centuries. It even has a place in Greek mythology, as a gift given by Apollo to his healer, Aesculapius.
These days it is used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine and herbology, with its use concentrated in the Asian nations where it grows. More...
Chamomile
Chamomile
is one of the safest and most popular herbs around. As one of the
world’s favorite teas, its soothing aroma can be found in restaurants, supermarkets and many homes.
Chamomile has a variety of effects on the human body, but generally it is used as a calming or soothing agent. Chamomile can have a relaxing effect on the mind, stomach and bowels, plus it is a handy natural sleep aid. It is often used by mothers looking for a safe way to help their child get to sleep. More...
Damiana
Damiana has a long history of use as an aphrodisiac, with the first users widely thought to have been the Aztecs and Mayans in Central America. It has actually been used for a variety of sexual-related conditions, from menopause to male infertility.
Interestingly, Damiana has a mildly euphoric effect on the brain that has led to its inclusion in a Mexican liqueur. However, Damiana is not as varied a herb as others such as Aloe or Ginger, and is mainly used for medical conditions. More...
Dandelion
Some people
think of it as a weed, whereas it reminds others of a childhood spent outside playing in the grass. For herbologists though, Dandelion is a powerful
remedy that has been registered as a drug in Canada.
Dandelion is a prodigious multiplier, but the real reason why it has become so widespread is more to do with its use as a medicine and source of important nutrients.
Dandelion's high Vitamin C content made it a vital food for settlers, armies and ship crews anxious to avoid Scurvy, the disease brought on by Vitamin C deficiency. More...
Dong Quai
Dong Quai is another star of Chinese traditional medicine. True to the principles of Oriental herbology, it has a balancing effect on the entire body and is more of a holistic remedy for the female body than a specific cure.
The 'female ginseng' has been used for more than 2000 years in the traditional medicine of China, Japan and Korea. Although studies on the effects of Dong Quai are few and far between, the anecdotal evidence of centuries of use is compelling. Dong Quai has been used as a cure for conditions ranging from the menopause and PMS, to heart disease and stomach ulcers. More...
Feverfew
Feverfew
is one of the most popular herbs on the market right now, thanks to its remarkable properties in soothing headaches and migraines.
As its name suggests, it was first used in traditional herbal remedies as a cure for various non-specific fevers, before finding
a place in modern herbology from around the 1970s.
Feverfew has one of the longest histories of any herb. Its first recorded use (to be taken with a pinch of salt) was to save the life of a Greek construction worker who fell off the roof of the Parthenon. This explains the derivation of its technical name, Parthenium. More...
Ginkgo Biloba
The Ginkgo
tree holds a special place in Chinese culture, and especially in Confucianism and Buddhism. Its presence today, after upwards of 150
million years on earth, owes much to careful nurturing of the tree by Buddhist monks. It is now cultivated more widely, but no longer
exists in the wild.
Ginkgo is used primarily as an aid for memory and mental clarity, but is also effective for vertigo and tinnitus. Some find that it delays the effects of aging, improves mood and lifts energy levels. It is commonly taken by elderly people in China. More...
Gotu Kola
Gotu Kola is a staple of Indian Ayurvedic medicine, where it taken as a tea during meditation practices to increase psychic sensitivity and achieve a higher state of spiritual being. It is also a tremendous natural source of vitamins and minerals.
It has been used for thousands of years in Oriental medicine and features in many local legends and folklore. A Sri Lankan King named Aruna, living some time around 900 AD, reputedly used Gotu Kola as an aphrodisiac to keep his 50 wives happy. Another Asian herbalist, Chung Yun, apparently lived to 256 with help of herbs such as Gotu Kola and Fo Ti. More...
Green Tea
Green Tea is one of those herbal remedies whose benefits are so numerous that they are hard to even list. It has been used as a traditional medicine for more than 4,000 years in Indian and Chinese culture, and is even more popular today.
Traditionally, green tea has been used to treat everything from headaches to depression. More recent studies have found it to be helpful in conditions like cancer, arthritis, high cholesterol and heart disease. More...
Kava Kava
Kava Kava has been an important part of various ceremonies and rituals amongst the South Pacific cultures for thousands of years, and has both a cultural and recreational significance there. Medicinally, it is used to promote relaxation, reduce stress and increase mental activity. It is also used by mothers to calm difficult children and put babies to sleep.
In the late 1700s, returning from an exploratory voyage to the South Pacific Islands, Captain James Cook introduced this calming herb to the Western world. He is also credited with giving the botanical name ''piper methysticum'', directly translated to "intoxicating pepper". More...