Healthy Beat

Headaches are very common and almost every person suffers from some type of headaches from time to time. Also, anxiety is a common mental health issue as well.

These problems are treated with various medications, but these often fail to deliver a positive outcome and bring about numerous adverse side- effects.

Lavender lemonade is one of the most delicious natural ways to treat headaches and anxiety.

If you spice up your lemonade with lavender, you will enjoy its medicinal properties and its pleasant aroma that relaxes the senses. You can use the flower or lavender oil, which is an extremely healthy essential oil. It is potent but gentle, so people who have tried it love it!

Its chemically complex structure consists of more than 150 active constituents. It has powerful antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antidepressant, antiseptic, detoxifying, analgesic, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, hypotensive, and sedative properties.

A study conducted in Florida has shown that lavender oil soothes anxiety and lowers pulse rates in nursing students before taking stressful tests.

Moreover, in hospital settings, lavender aromatherapy has been found to lower pre-surgery distress and to be even more calming than a massage.

Lavender essential oil helps in the case of insomnia, labor pains, hangovers, sinus congestion, and depression.

“Much prior research on lavender has focused on the administration of lavender via an olfactory route. The anxiolytic activity of lavender olfaction has been demonstrated in several small and medium-sized clinical trials. The efficacy of aromatherapy of lavender is thought to be due to the psychological effects of the fragrance combined with physiological effects of volatile oils in the limbic system.”

Due to these calming effects, lavender has been traditionally used for centuries.

The following examples contain findings from clinical trials on lavender aromatherapy:

1. Lavender aromatherapy, with or without massage, lowers the perception of pain and the need for conventional analgesics in adults and children.

2. People who were receiving lavender oil (10%) olfaction for 3 minutes felt greatly more relaxed and their anxiety levels were lowered, their mood improved, and their scores of alpha power on EEG (an indicator of alertness), and speed of mathematical calculations were enhanced.

3. Studies have shown that lavender oil aromatherapy has anxiolytic activity in patients in intensive care units. Patients were given at least 1 session of aromatherapy with 1% lavender essential oil.

In the first treatment, researchers noticed significant anxiolytic effects.  Yet, it was not that effective in the following two treatments.

4. A study of lavender oil in burner use on staff mood and stress in a hospital setting found that 85% of respondents believed that lavender aroma improved the work environment.

5. Studies have also shown that people claim that the aroma of lavender is very pleasant and is linked to changes in the autonomic nervous system.

A study which involved the effects of aromatherapy with lavender oil effects on depressed mood and anxiety in female patients treated with chronic hemodialysis.

They estimated the effects of aromatherapy using the Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD) and the Hamilton rating scale for anxiety (HAMA). Lavender aroma significantly reduced the mean scores of HAMA.

Here is how to prepare the lavender lemonade and enjoy its taste and health benefits:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dried lavender. dried, organic culinary lavender  ( or 1 drop lavender essential oil)
• 6 lemons, peeled and juiced
• 1 cup raw honey
• 5 cups pure water
• Lavender sprigs for garnish

Instructions:

Boil half of the water in a pan, and then remove it from heat. Add the honey and the dried lavender. Leave it to steep for 20 minutes, strain, and pour it into a larger container.

Next, add the lemon juice and the rest of the water, and stir. Keep the lemonade in the fridge.

You can use lavender in other ways and improve your health as well:

• Add 2 drops of Lavender per ounce of your favorite unrefined organic oil, and prepare a natural body oil which will relax your mind, keep insects at bay, help you sleep better, and improve your skin.
• Add 5 to 6 drops of lavender essential oil to your bath water and hydrate your dry skin.
• To naturally relieve stress, diffuse 10-12 drops of lavender into the air.