Getting into Monday mode after a weekend of fun-filled activities can sometimes be a challenge, especially when those activities have centered around drinking. A healthful way to start the week is by using herbs to help relieve headaches, speed hangover recovery, and boost energy and cognitive functioning. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Studies published in the British Medical Journal say that taking feverfew regularly has been found to prevent migraines. The easiest way to take feverfew is in capsules, although pregnant or nursing women should not take it.
- You might also try setting aside time for an early morning herbal soak. "Taking a bath with rosemary essential oil on Monday morning will help relieve hangover exhaustion and nausea," says licensed herbalist and acupuncturist John Holmstrom III, who practices in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.
- Holmstrom also says, "A tea made of the ayurvedic herbs bala and ashwagandha, which is known as winter cherry in English, is also good for hangovers."
- Ginger tea helps invigorate you enough to face a challenging week. "In a cup, pour boiling water over a couple of tablespoons of fresh shredded ginger root, and sweeten it with honey," advises Holmstrom. "Ginger has been used for centuries by Eastern and Western herbalists to treat anxiety and depression."
- For those who feel sluggish, "brain-fogged" or just want a quick and healthy energy boost, Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., of Tucson, Ariz., suggests starting Monday with a chlorophyll-rich green juice. Typically, green juice products in health food stores contain wheat grass juice, barley juice and nutrient-rich algae such as blue-green algae, spirulina and chlorella.
Khalsa, the author of "Brain Longevity" (Warner Books), says, "Many of the green drinks are enhanced with various other natural brain tonics, such as the Chinese herb astragalus, ginkgo and green tea extracts." The amino acids present in many such drinks help create foundations for the vital neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine. This may account for why people feel energized and alert after consuming a green juice drink.
