After reading Dr. NV Perricone’s book for the second time “The Wrinkle Cure”, I’ve decided that I would buy a lot of the supplements he recommends for anti inflammation and anti aging, both for the skin and overall health since the supplements are designed for cell protection. 

This means that they are supposed to protect the cells from free radical damage at both the entrance of the cell (the membrane), and on the inside of the cell.  Because they protect these cells from free radical damage, he concludes that this will help your skin look younger and more radiant, and stave off future wrinkles. 

Dr. Perricone does sell his own line of natural topical anti aging and wrinkles creams as well as natural skin care products designed to help fight rosacea and acne, but they do cost quite a bit and are a small investment for your skin, so I decided to go online and try to find comparable supplements with simliar ratios of the vitamins and compounds he suggests, such as DMAE, a substance found in the skin of fish, Alpha Lipoic acid, an antioxidant, and Vitamin C Ester, a form of vitamin C that is supposed to absorb better and be more stable than regular ascorbic acid.

I also purchased a natural anti aging serum with similar ingredients as well, for topical use, so I’m hoping that my little experiment will result in better looking, less wrinkles and more radiant skin within about one month of use, since it is a fairly intense regimen.  I will report the results back to you.  Dr. Perricone’s products are excellent though, I can say that. 

I purchased one of his starter kits a few years ago, and the product’s abilities to absorb into the skin are really good, plus they seem as though they are pure and do make your skin look better, but I figured buying all the products he recommends separately through his website, in his brand, would end up costing me a small fortune, so I insstead decided to go with reputable brand names that are different.  We’ll see if the results are worth it! 

Phytoestrogens are plant extracts that contain specific, naturally derived biochemicals which act in the woman’s body as a synthesizer, or copycat of natural estrogens.  For this reason, phytoestrogenic plants and herbs are used in products like Menocore, the herbal remedies for menopause that we’ve talked about here on HerbalNews before, and other popular female hormone regulators that are meant to curb the nasty side effects of menopause.

Black cohosh plays an important role as a natural alternative in smoothing the transitional challenges of PMS and menopause for women.  Black cohosh is one of the active ingredients in products such as the Menocore herbal menopause remedy that are designed to minimize symptoms of perimenopause. 
 

Black cohosh has an estrogenic effect to help minimize hot flashes, irritability and mood swings associated with the menopausal years.  Since black cohosh is noted for it’s antispasmodic action, it is used for relief of muscle spasms and cramps.  Another quality of this herb is that it has an anti- depression effect.
 

Black cohosh helps to stimulate vaginal rejuvenation during the menopausal years.  This herb has been found to be effective in improving vaginal dryness.  For women who are at high risk for breast cancer, due to personal or family history, hormone replacement therapy is contraindicated. 
 

Phytoestrogens such as black cohosh make sense for this group of women as scientific studies are indicating they are effective in controlling menopausal symptoms.  Black cohosh has no specific side effects or contraindications, so it should be safe for most women.
 

Fennel is another useful phytoestrogen source that may be used to smooth the menopausal years.  Dong quai is also beneficial as a natural remedy for balancing hormonal activity in women.  If black cohosh alone doesn’t relieve menopausal symptoms, supplements with a combination of dong quai, fennel, licorice root, vitamin E, boron and soy can be used or added.
 

I remember reading up on natural diuretics once and reading about dandelion root as a great naturally mild diuretic. I was interested in shedding some additional water weight that I always seemed to put on around the menstrual cycle, as well as some additional water I felt I was retaining from being on a new birth control pill (yuck, believe me, I hate being on the pill - it’s so unnatural, but it’s the only way now I know to prevent pregnancy that works for me).

A family member introduced me to this coffee alternative. I say it’s a “coffee alternative” because it offers a pick me up that is not quite as strong as coffee and doesn’t seem to also let you down as hard as coffee does. I am not much of a coffee drinker, but I would turn to coffee many days when I was falling asleep at work, for an energy fix.

What is the echinacea plant?  Echinacea is a beautiful purple coneflower, a perennial, that is lovely to look at.  Not only is echinacea  visually a treat to see, but it also may be useful in boosting our immune system and shortening the duration and severity of the common cold.

The herbal medicines derived from echinacea are prepared from the above ground parts of the plant and sometimes the root.  Echinacea is herbally thought of as nature’s antibiotic and is believed to increase resistance to not only colds but also flu and ather infections.  Scientific studies on echinacea vary widely on results of the infection fighting ability of this herb.  

The studies seem to lack consistency.  More clinical studies using the same species and dosage of echinacea at the first onset of symptoms consistently should be done to attain more clear cut conclusions.
Echinacea is commonly available at drugstores and health food stores.  Sales of echinacea remain brisk for treatment of upper respiratory infections.  As with any herbal product, there are warnings not to take this product if you are allergic to plants of the asteraceae or compasitae family such as ragweed, marigolds or daisies.   Use of echinacea is not recommended for people with immune system conditions such as HIV or multiple sclerosis.   Pregnant or breastfeeding women are also advised not to take echinacea.
 Echinacea is available for use in the form of capsules, juice, extract, tincture or tea.  As a topical treatment, echinacea is available in a semisolid preparaton for use to treat wounds or skin ulcers.  Besides also taking an excellent Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement, echinacea is probably a good idea to help boost immunity, especially in the winter months when germs seem to spread and people are more susceptible to actually contracting bugs and flus.