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In the history of our blog dedicated to the world of herbs, spices, teas, and natural remedies, we have often talked about plants and herbs capable of taking care of us: from purifying herbs to those recommended for taking care of colds, coughs, and sore throats. Today, however, we want to address a topic that is particularly dear to us: anti-inflammatory plants and herbs.
It is common for many of our customers to often ask for information on what the most powerful natural anti-inflammatories are and what other remedies nature offers to treat joint, intestinal, and tendon inflammations, among others. Therefore, we wanted to respond to all of them in this article dedicated to foods, spices, and anti-inflammatory plants.
What are the main natural anti-inflammatories? Among the most powerful herbs and plants and herbal products, we find:
Before delving into our list of anti-inflammatory medicinal plants, it is important to understand what inflammation is and what it represents for our body.
Inflammation can be considered a protective action by our body against traumas, or attacks by viruses or bacteria, or by irritating substances. The defensive response that the damaged tissue puts in place to protect itself aims to restore, through repair processes, the affected part.
In this case, we are talking about acute inflammation: when we undergo trauma or an attack from an external agent, our body responds with a rapid onset and a relatively short duration of the defensive action, which can last from a few hours to several days.
But what represents a real health risk for people is chronic inflammation, which has a much longer duration than the first. Its cause is a low-grade but constant inflammatory process over time, to which our body responds similarly to acute inflammation, the problem is that chronic inflammation persists over time. The normal mechanisms of the inflammatory process are stimulated at a low intensity, remaining active for a long time: the recruitment of leukocytes and macrophages, the proliferation of blood vessels, fibrosis, and tissue necrosis.
This situation entails a prolonged and exhausting commitment of our defense systems that are employed in this action and therefore taken away from others, resulting in a lowering of immune defenses. In addition to this, endocrine-metabolic alterations can be observed, partly responsible for the typical pathologies of the Western world:
In recent times, the relationship between inflammation, nutrition, and the use of plant products - the anti-inflammatory herbs that we will see shortly - has become increasingly evident. It has been demonstrated that the intake of macronutrients, refined foods, excessive use of direct and indirect antibiotics (through the consumption of animal meat that has taken them) can contribute to this inflammatory response, turning it into a pathology: silent low-grade chronic inflammation (ICSBG).
The result is an unregulated and constant inflammation over time that wears down the body, leading to other pathologies.
Through numerous studies, it has been observed that some dietary polyphenols are capable of reducing the incidence of such inflammations. An adequate daily intake of polyphenols ranges from 0.1 to 1.0 g per day, which can come from fruits and vegetables, but also herbs, spices, coffee, and tea.
Epidemiological studies suggest that long-term consumption of a diet rich in polyphenols can provide protection against the development of major cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases precisely due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, specifically blocking pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Over the last decade, studies on in vitro and in vivo models have led to the identification of a variety of plants with proven anti-inflammatory activities.
Now let's see the most recommended and powerful anti-inflammatory foods, spices, plants, and herbs.
Conventional medicine and herbal medicine use extracts of olive leaves to treat and prevent high blood pressure. Many studies have shown that its leaves can lower blood pressure in animals, as well as increase blood flow through the coronary arteries, slow down heart rate, and normalize intestinal muscle contractions.
For this reason, organic olive leaves are one of the main ingredients of our liver detox tea: a mix of anti-inflammatory and detoxifying herbs, spices, and plants that will help you and your body!
Since ancient times, extracts of the resin of frankincense have been used in traditional Ayurvedic and Arab medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases including osteoarthritis and chronic intestinal diseases. Recent research has shed more light on its mechanisms and confirmed its properties.
The main action of tea leaves is antioxidant and free radical scavenging thanks to its most famous catechins. Important studies justify its use in diseases such as cancer, osteoarticular problems, rheumatoid arthritis, ischemia, and neurological pathologies. Moreover, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) prevent inflammation by reducing macrophage infiltrations, also inhibiting the pancreas, suggesting its use in diabetes to increase insulin sensitivity. This process makes tea one of the most effective natural anti-inflammatories. In particular, high-quality, fresh, leafy green teas serve this purpose. Low-quality green tea does not possess the same properties. To obtain the mentioned benefits, you should drink from 2 to 4 cups a day.
Inside our shop of high-quality loose leaf tea, you will find hundreds of tea varieties from all over the world, selected during our travels. There is something for every taste: pure teas for the "tea nerds" who are always looking for a new rarity to taste; and flavored teas for those who appreciate the pleasure of a hot cup of tea with friends or at work. Visit our online shop of loose leaf tea and choose your favorite!
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The main constituents of curcumin - one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory plants - are curcuminoids (3-5%) like curcumin, responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of this plant, usable in various conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, various types of intestinal inflammation, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis.
The main components of ginger are the essential oil zingiberene, gingerols, and shogaols. Oral administration of ginger (340 mg of extract) in patients with osteoarthritis was as effective on pain as 100mg of diclofenac (voltaren etc), but without its side effects. In patients with type 2 diabetes and low-grade inflammation, after 2 months of ginger treatment, they saw a significant decrease in their inflammation levels, also having significant improvements in diabetes-related issues.
The Infiavin, although not being an anti-inflammatory plant, is a truly effective natural anti-inflammatory product. That's why we wanted to include it in the list of the most powerful anti-inflammatory foods, spices, and herbs, after already including it among the natural remedies for cystitis.
It is indeed a perfect mix of medicinal herbs from African tradition like devil's claw, from Indian tradition like frankincense, and European plants like willow and feverfew, all anti-inflammatory remedies widely used in the herbal tradition that, after years of empirical use, have shown their beneficial effects, now confirmed by scientific studies. These anti-inflammatory plants allow to intervene in a physiological way in all those cases where the body's mucous membranes are exposed to stressful agents (redness, burning, etc.), mitigating and alleviating inflammations.
TRY THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES OF INFIACIN
The devil's claw is one of the most powerful and well-known natural anti-inflammatories, often used by athletes to alleviate painful conditions such as tendonitis, back pain, and muscle aches. It is a herb native to Africa, used for centuries for the treatment of inflammations and pain. It has no particular contraindications, and thanks to its active ingredients, Harpagosides, it is useful in the presence of arthritis, cervical pain, sciatica, bruises, osteoarthritis, but also headaches. It can be taken in the form of mother tincture in case of trauma to the osteo-articular system.
TRY DEVIL'S CLAW BY TERZA LUNA
