Hops

Hops come from the large perennial vine Humulus lupulus. This plant is native to North America and Europe, but is cultivated in many other places. The vine grows to a height of 25 ft (8 m). It has heart-shaped dark green leaves and yellowish green flowers. Each plant produces either male or female flowers. Only the female flowers, called strobiles, are used medicinally. Strobiles are picked in autumn and either used fresh or dried.

General use

Hops have been cultivated to be used in the brewing of beer since at least A. D. 1000, but they also have a mixed history of use in healing. Ancient Hebrews used hops to help ward off plague. In North America, several Native American tribes independently discovered the healing properties of hops and used them as a sedative and sleep aid, to relieve toothache, and to improve digestion.

By the end of the 1800s, hops were being routinely used in mainstream medicine in the United States as a sedative and digestive tonic. Although hops were sometimes used as a sleep aid in Europe, until relatively recently their major use in Europe was in the brewing of beer, to which they add a bitter flavor and act as a preservative.

Horehound

Horehound (Marrubium vulgare L.), commonly known as white horehound, is a European native of the Lamiaciae or mint family. Other names for this ancient remedy include houndsbane, marrubium, eye of the star, seed of Horus, marvel, bulls’ blood, and houndsbane. Horehound is a hardy perennial that has naturalized throughout North America; it may be found in sunny, wayside places, thriving even in poor, dry soil.

The common name horehound comes from the Old English words har and hune, meaning downy plant. This descriptive name refers to the white hairs that give this herb its distinctive hoary appearance. Another suggested derivation is from the name of the Egyptian god of sky and light, Horus.

Horehound is one of the oldest known cough remedies. It was one of the herbs in the medicine chests of the Egyptian pharaohs. In Roman times, Caesar’s antidote for poison included horehound. The generic name is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word marrob, meaning bitter juice.

Horse Chestnut

Horse Chestnut

The European horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, is the horse chestnut most frequently used in herbal medicine. It is a member of the Hippocastanaceae family. Horse chestnuts are in an entirely different botanical family from the well-known sweet chestnut tree, Castanea vesca. Horse chestnuts exist in nature as both a tree and a shrub, and are found in all temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.

There are 15 recognized species of horse chestnut. The European horse chestnut is believed to have originated in the Balkan region of eastern Europe but is now grown in every country in the Northern Hemisphere.

The name Aesculus is actually a misnomer, coming originally from the word esca, meaning food. It was applied by ancient peoples to a certain species of oak; somehow the name was transferred over the years to the horse chestnut.

Horsetail

field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Horsetail is a perennial plant that is found in or near watery areas such as marshes, streams, or rivers. Horsetail grows in temperate northern hemisphere areas of Asia, Europe, North America, and North Africa. It flourishes where it can root in water or clay soil.

Horsetail is a derivative of larger plants that grew 270 million years ago during the carboniferous period. It belongs to the Equisetaceae family and is a relative of the fern.

There are over 20 species of horsetail. The species most commonly used medicinally is field horsetail (Equisetum arvense). E. arvense grows up to 1.5 ft (0.5 m) in corn fields and wet meadows. Wood horsetail (E. sylvaticum) grows in copses and on hedgebanks, usually to a height of 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m).

Hot Flashes

Hot Flashes

Hot flashes, experienced by large numbers of women and some men as a result of surgical, chemical, or age-induced changes in estrogen levels, are characterized by a rapid rise and discharge of heat with perspiration, discomfort, and possible redness.

Ranging from mild to severe in intensity, they may be preceded by an “aura-like” experience, and may be followed by a subsequent feeling of chill. With natural age-related menopause, hot flashes may begin as early as two years prior to the cessation of menses and continue as long as five or more years afterward. Statistically, the average experience is approximately four years of hot flashes of varying intensities.

Approximately 20% of women without breast cancer and 50–75% of women taking tamoxifen subsequent to breast cancer will reportedly seek a doctor’s advice for the management of hot flashes.

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, or water therapy, is the use of water (hot, cold, steam, or ice) to relieve discomfort and promote physical well-being.

The therapeutic use of water has a long history. Ruins of an ancient bath were unearthed in Pakistan and date as far back as 4500 B.C. Bathhouses were an essential part of ancient Roman culture. The use of steam, baths, and aromatic massage to promote well being is documented since the first century. Roman physicians Galen and Celsus wrote of treating patients with warm and cold baths in order to prevent disease.

By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, bathhouses were extremely popular with the public throughout Europe. Public bathhouses made their first American appearance in the mid 1700s.

Hypercortisolemia

Hypercortisolemia

Cortisol is an essential glucocorticoid hormone, a subgroup of steroid hormones, the major hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. Hormones are messenger substances, substances produced in one gland or area of the body that move through the blood and stimulate activity in other glands or areas.

Glucocorticoid hormones affect carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Steroid hormones are hormones related to cholesterol. Hypercortisolemia refers to high amounts of circulating cortisol and may be a pathological or non-pathological condition.

Pathological hypercortisolemia, or Cushing’s syndrome, named after the United States surgeon, Harvey Cushing (1869–1939), may result from a lung cancer, tumor of the pituitary or adrenal glands, or from kidney failure.