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Angelica
From TipThePlanet
- Angelica archangelica (Linn.) (Apiaceae/Umbelliferae) is also known as Angelica officinalis and is differentiated from other popular species in use as the European Angelica. The other two most commonly used species are called Angelica atropurpurea (American) and Angelica sinensis (Chinese), known as dong quai. In English it is simply called Angelica. In China and Asia use of angelica species are second only to ginseng.
Angelica Tree
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[edit] History
- Its name was derived from a monks dream in which St. Michael the Archangel appeared telling the monk what herb to use to help victims of the bubonic plague that was decimating Europe in 1665. (Grieve 36) When it was discovered that this herb was helpful in protecting and healing those that had the plague the country side was very nearly stripped of the plant by peasants and nobility alike. Old chronicles report that anyone who kept a piece of angelica root in their mouth all through the day would be preserved from the plague. This herb blooms about May 8th, (old calender) St. Michael's feast day and is so named in his honor. Even though this herb is named in honor of a Christian angel many angelica festivals are held in Livonia, East Prussia and Pomerania and celebrated in the pagan manner with dance and chanting of ancient ditties in languages no longer understood. European angelica has been viewed as a magical herb for more than 1000 years. Peasants made angelica leaf necklaces to protect their children from illness and witchcraft.
[edit] Other names for Angelica
- Other names for Angelica include angelica root, angelique, dong quai, engelwurzel, garden angelica, root of the Holy Ghost and wild angelica.
[edit] uses
[edit] Who shouldn't use this herb
- Contradictions - Do Not use Angelica or Dong Quai if: Women who bleed heavily during a normal menstrual period or who's blood does not clot easily should avoid using Angelica species, including Dong Quai. If you take blood thinning agents like aspirin or other pharmaceutics, using Dong Quai maybe dangerous, clotting may be impaired and hemorrhage may result.
- If you are experiencing abdominal congestion and bloating, you should avoid using Dong Quai.
- If you have endometriosis or fibroids, you should avoid Angelica and Dong Quai.
- Women who are pregnant and wish to remain so should avoid using Dong Quai or other Angelica species.
- I also found a website cautioning people who have diabetes to avoid dong quai because it can elevate blood sugar levels. I'm not sure if this is true, as I have not see this caution elsewhere, and some of the claims made on the website I question the validity of - so investigate further if you are diabetic.
- People with a history of cancer or who have had or are at risk for a heart attack. People who use blood thinning medications, or if your blood has difficultly clotting. If you are 6 weeks or more pregnant.
- It can cause an increase in sugar in the urine.
[edit] Possible Side Effects
- The one I'm most concerned with is the tendency to increase bleeding. For women who normally have heavy menstrual periods Dong Quai and Angelica can make bleeding even heavier. This raises concern when this herb is used to end pregnancy as it can increase the risk for hemorrhage. If you decide to use this herb, pay attention to how much you are bleeding. When ending pregnancy it is normal for bleeding to be heavier than a normal menstrual period, and for it to be more crampy, and clottier than normal. But profuse bleeding is not part of herbal abortion, it is the sign of a problems. If you need to seek medical help, tell them you think you are miscarrying, and they will take care of it from there. To decrease the risk of hemorrhage, discontinue use of Dong Quai or Angelica once bleeding has been established. Other noted side effects for Angelica include, peeing a lot, irritation, allergic reaction.
- Symptoms of toxicity have been reported when dosage is too high. These are usually headaches and dizziness, sometimes strong cramping. If you experience any of these, discontinue the dong quai, and or resume at a lower dosage that your body tolerates better. The idea is not to poison yourself, just to make conditions unsuitable for a fertilized eggs.
[edit] Oil
- The health benefits of Angelica Essential Oil can be attributed to its properties like anti spasmodic, carminative, depurative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, hepatic, emenagogue, expectorant, febrifuge, nervine, stimulant, stomachic and tonic.
- Before we proceed to the medicinal properties of Angelic, let me tell you that it is also widely used as a flavouring agent in the food & beverage industries, due to its sweet, spicy aroma. Angelica, botanically known as Angelica Archangelica or Angelica Officinalis, is believed to be basically an African herb which made its way into Europe in the 16th Century, to gain tremendous popularity as a treatment for Plague which was a frequent and dreaded visitor of Europe in those days. It thrived well in Europe and later its other medicinal properties were discovered. The medicinal properties of Angelica come mainly from its essential oil which is composed of constituents like alpha pinene, camphene, beta pinene, sabinene, alpha phellandrene, bornyl acetate, beta phellandrene, beta bisabolene, copaene, cryptone, cis ocimene, humulene oxide, limonene, myrcene, pentadecanolide, para cymene, rho cymenol, trans ocimene, terpinolene, terpinenol and tridecanolide and is extracted through steam distillation of its rhizome (root nodules), seeds and the whole herb.
- Now, let us get ourselves acquainted with some of its renowned medicinal properties before we actually use it.
- Anti Spasmodic: Where there is spasm, there are cramps, coughs, aches, diarrhea and nervous afflictions and convulsions. What actually is spasm? It is involuntary and out of the way contraction in the respiratory tracts, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and internal organs resulting in severe coughs, cramps, convulsions, obstructed blood circulations, aches in stomach and chest and other symptoms. The only way out is to induce relaxations in the affected parts which this Essential Oil of Angelica is capable of doing. This oil clears spasm and gives relief from the painful symptoms discussed above.
- Carminative: This relaxing effect of Angelica Oil is beneficial in driving out gas from the intestines too. This relaxes the intestinal and the abdominal muscles and lets the gases pass with a downward passage. This gives an immense relief from troubles related with gas, such as indigestion, stomachaches, headaches, cramps, flatulence, nausea, rise in the blood pressure etc.
- Depurative: Depurative means an agent that purifies blood. The Essential Oil of Angelica does this with great efficiency. It is diuretic (promotes urination) and diaphoretic (promotes sweating) and thus it speeds up removal of toxins like uric acid and others, excess salt and water, fat & bile etc. from the body through urine and sweat, thus giving relief from ailments associated with their accumulation. Thus, it also lowers blood pressure and reduces fat (protecting your heart) apart from giving relief from troubles like rheumatism, arthritis, gout, renal calculi etc.
- Diaphoretic: Sweat may be the cause of annoyance for the majority of us, but believe me, it is one of the most beneficial things for health. This is natural method for removal of toxins and waste products from the body. Sweat is not just saline and foul smelling water. Apart from water and salts like sodium chloride, magnesium chloride etc., sweat also contains sebum, fats, uric acid, bile and other toxic elements which are not welcome in our body. So, sweat performs this important task of disposing them off our body. This helps lower potassium content in the blood and thereby reduction in the blood pressure, lower fat content and decrease weight, remove uric acid and other toxins and give relief from rheumatism and arthritis etc.
- Digestive: Angelica Essential Oil also promotes digestion by stimulating secretion of digestive juices like acids and bile into the stomach. It also promotes proper movement of the food through the intestines and absorption of the digested food by intestinal villi.
- Diuretic: This property may be bliss for those suffering from chronic renal failure and accumulation of water in the body or those who are suffering from renal calculi, overweight, hypertension and symptoms associated with accumulation of toxins in the body, such as rheumatism, arthritis and gout. Being a diuretic, Angelica Essential Oil increases frequency and quantity of urination which helps remove excess water, salts, fat (urine contains fats up to 4% of the total urine) and toxins like uric acid. This gives effective protection from the symptoms discussed above.
- Hepatic: The Essential Oil of Angelica gives a good protection to liver and makes it function well by stimulating secretions from the liver. It also protects liver from infections and helps heal wounds in it, if any.
- Emenagogue: This oil also trigger opens the obstructed menstruations and makes them regular. As bonus, one gets relief from the other symptoms associated with periods such as headache, abdominal cramp, nausea, vomiting, fatigue etc.
- Expectorant: Being an expectorant, the Essential Oil of Angelica clears accumulation of phlegm in the respiratory tracts and also fights the infection causing cold, thereby giving relief from cough, cold, sinusitis, congestion in the lungs etc.
- Febrifuge: This essential oil is also capable of reducing fever by fighting the infections causing fever. The diaphoretic and the diuretic properties of this oil also contribute to this effect, since removal of toxins and wastes from the body speeds up recovery from infections and perspiration helps reduce fever.
- Nervine: This oil acts as a tonic for the nerves. It is effective in treating nervous afflictions and disorders and in strengthening nerves. This, being a relaxant and a stimulant at the same time, sedates the nerves afflictions and relaxes them in cases of shock, hyper-reactivity etc. as well as stimulates them to make us more active and alert.
- Relaxant: This oil has a relaxing effect on the body, the mind and the nervous system. This becomes particularly beneficial in situations of shock, depression, anxiety, anger, hypertension etc.
- Stimulant: In contrary to its behaviour as a relaxant, it is a stimulant for the systems functioning inside the body. It stimulates blood circulation, secretion of hormones, enzymes and other juices and also stimulates metabolic processes including digestion & absorption and excretion. This way, in total, it stimulates growth.
- Stomachic: The simplest sentence that can best describe its stomachic property is that it is good for stomach. It maintains stomach in a good shape by maintaining proper balance of acids and bile in it and by protecting it from infections. It also helps heal any sort of wound or ulcer in the stomach.
- Tonic: This oil promotes all round development of health, boosts growth and strengthens immune system of the body.
- Other Benefits: It is good for the lymphatic system and provides effective treatment for bronchitis, asthma, sciatica, headache, infections, anorexia, anaemia, psoriasis etc.
- Few Words of Caution: It should be avoided during pregnancy and by diabetics. It can cause skin irritation in higher concentrations and also photo toxicity. It higher dosages, it can cause excessive stimulation or hyper activity of the nervous system.
- Blending: The Essential Oil of Angelica blends fine with the basil, chamomile, geranium, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, mandarin and patchouli essential oils.
[edit] Tea benefits
- Angelica Tea Benefits are quite well-known in the field of herbal medicine for some time now. In fact, the Angelica plant has a long folk-history of use as a medicinal herb, in particular for the treatment of digestive disorders and problems with blood circulation.
- Angelica is a flowering plant that's related to carrots, dill and fennel. Angelica has an intense yet sweet aroma. It is the European cousin of the more familiar Chinese plant dong-quai.Angelica Tea is typically made by adding one cup of boiling water to one teaspoon of dried angelica roots and steeping the mix for at least 10 minutes. Some suggest drinking 1/3 cup of angelica tea 30 minutes before each meal.It is advised that pregnant women should not use angelica. People taking angelica should also try to avoid excess sun exposure, as angelica can increase the sensitivity of skin to light.
- Here are some of the health benefits of angelica tea:
- Angelica Tea may help improve digestion.
- Angelica Tea may also help relax intestinal muscles, and can help relieve mild cramps, bloating, and flatulence.
- Angelica Tea may help treat the pain of hacking cough, menstrual crams and urinary tract infections.
- Angelica Tea may help in treating tumors, boils and furuncles.
- Angelica Tea may help alleviate swollen gums.
- Angelica Tea may help treat anorexia nervosa, cystitis and bronchitis.
[edit] the health benefits and medicinal herb
- Angelica effectively treats indigestion, gas and stomach cramps.
- It improves cardiovascular and bronchial disorders
- The leaves and root used as a tea treats insomnia, fevers, tooth aches, nervous headaches and rheumatism.
- One can see several species of angelica. American angelica (A. atropurpurea) and European angelica (Angelica archangelica) have been traditionally used for treating colds, headache, lung and bronchial disease. Chinese angelica (Angelica sinensis) popularly known as Dang gui and Dong quai is used to relieve menstrual cramps, to regulate menstrual periods and to reduce the symptoms of menopause. No scientific evidence supports this medicinal value of angelica, but it has been used in oriental medicine to treat these health conditions.
- Today angelica is used as a main ingredient in various herbal formulations that are designed to balance hormones in women.
- Commission E, an organization of Germany that studies the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine recommends angelica for the treatment of flatulence and indigestion.
- Even German studies also found angelica relaxes the windpipe and can effectively treat colds, bronchitis, flu and asthma.
