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Picture of Bitter Orange
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Bankoro, Noni, Immune System Builder |
Bitter Orange is an herbal remedy
for nausea and indigestion. Bitter Orange has also been used for the remedy of
heartburn, loss of appetite and weight loss.
Bitter Orange:
The
bitter orange tree is native to eastern Africa and tropical Asia. Today,
it is grown throughout the Mediterranean region and elsewhere, including
California and Florida. Bitter orange oil is used in foods, cosmetics, and aromatherapy products. Bitter orange oil from
the tree's leaves is called petitgrain, and oil from the flowers is called
neroli.
The oil extracted from the peel of
the bitter orange gives a strong odor and flavor. The bitter orange oil is used
a remedy for a variety of health problems. Only the peel of the bitter orange
has medicinal value. Mostly used for digestive problems. The oil from the flower
of the bitter orange (neroli)
is also used as medicine to treat gastrointestinal
disorders.
Common Names--bitter orange, Seville orange, sour
orange, Zhi shi
Latin Names--Citrus aurantium
- What Bitter Orange Is Used For
- Bitter orange has been used in traditional Chinese
medicine and by indigenous people of the Amazon rain forest for nausea,
indigestion, and constipation.
- Current uses of bitter orange are for heartburn, loss of
appetite, nasal congestion, and weight loss. It is also applied to the skin
for fungal infections such as ringworm and athlete's foot.
Try our Herbal Remedy:Use
Triple Complex Digestion Tonic to:
- Ensure balance of biochemic tissue salts in the digestive system
- Maintain healthy, trouble-free digestion
- Support health and functioning in the entire digestive tract
- Promote healthy metabolism
- Soothe the digestive tract and support routine systemic cleansing and
detox through liver support
- Optimize the therapeutic effects of other remedies by improvig
systemic functioning and metabolism
How Bitter Orange Is Used
The dried fruit and peel (and sometimes flowers and leaves) are taken by
mouth in extracts, tablets, and capsules. Bitter orange oil can be applied
to the skin.
What the Science Says about Bitter Orange
- There is not enough scientific evidence to support the
use of bitter orange for health purposes.
- Many herbal weight-loss products now use bitter orange
peel in place of ephedra. However, bitter orange contains the chemical
synephrine, which is similar to the main chemical in ephedra. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration banned ephedra because it raises blood
pressure and is linked to heart attacks and strokes; it is unclear whether
bitter orange has similar effects. There is currently little evidence that
bitter orange is safer to use than ephedra.
Side Effects and Cautions about Bitter Orange
- Because bitter orange contains chemicals that may
speed up the heart rate and raise blood pressure, it may not be safe to
use as a dietary supplement. There have been reports of fainting, heart
attack, and stroke in healthy people after taking bitter orange
supplements alone or combined with caffeine. People should avoid taking
bitter orange if they have a heart condition or high blood pressure, or
if they are taking medications (such as MAO inhibitors), caffeine, or
other herbs/supplements that speed up the heart rate.
- Due to lack of safety evidence, pregnant women should
avoid products that contain bitter orange.
- Bitter orange oil used on the skin may increase the
risk of sunburn, particularly in light-skinned people.
- Tell your health care providers about any
complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full
picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure
coordinated and safe care.
An herb is a plant or part of a plant used for its flavor, scent, or potential
therapeutic properties. Includes flowers, leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, stems, and
roots. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take
to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed
health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and
fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems, some are not
effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.Dietary
supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other
botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to
supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special
labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods,
not drugs.
To use an herbal product as safely as possible:
-
Consult your doctor first
-
Do not take a bigger dose than the label
recommends
-
Take it under the guidance of a trained
medical professional
-
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or
nursing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Why should I use herbal products?
The decision to use herbs to improve your
health is, as with all health decisions, a personal one. There are, however,
many good reasons to consider herbal products to complement your own
health care methods. One of the best reason, however, may be the fact that
herbs and herbal products, continue to provide real health benefits while
maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Readily available natural
substances were the first medicines used by humans. Primitive and ancient
civilizations as well as contemporary cultures throughout the world have
always relied on herbs to provide the benefits that have been observed with
their use. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80
percent of the world's population continues to use traditional therapies, a
major part of which are derived from plants, as their primary health care
tools. In our own time and culture, most herbs are available in the form of
"herbal supplements." These products are found in the form of teas, tablets,
capsules, liquid extracts, and others. We now have ready access to products
that bring the herbal traditions from all over the world in a variety of
convenient forms. In addition, scientific inquiries continue to develop our
knowledge of the benefits of plants, and often validate the observations
made over the past centuries.
Are herbs safe?
Plants that enjoy broad culinary and
therapeutic usage are generally safe. We can flavor our food with any number
of herbs to make a meal more flavorful. We can appreciate a delicious cup of
peppermint leaf or ginger root tea, or benefit from the soothing properties
of marshmallow root or the bark of slippery elm. We can take an herbal
supplement containing dandelion root or saw palmetto berries, or any number
of the other herbs. Although allergies and reactions have been recorded for
a few herbs that are widely used in foods and supplements, such individual
concerns are also seen with many foods, and do not diminish the safety
profile of the many herbs that are generally recognized as safe. On the
other hand, and as everyone knows, there are any number of plants that are
highly toxic, even deadly.
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