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 For ages, tea has been the beverage people turn to for health problems, stress, and all manner of ailments. As an herbal remedy, it is perhaps one of the most widely used and broadly successful. Tea can help you relax, it can give you energy when you're flagging, and it can settle your nerves.  Almost all forms of tea come from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis plant. Only some forms of tea, like Rooibos and herbal teas, don't come from this plant. Even the relatively new purple tea is just a crossbreed of the same tea plant, with...

Among the many forms of physical, mental, and spiritual healing to come from eastern and ancient cultures, none is so widespread as meditation. The earliest records of meditation as a practice come from ancient Hindu self-actualization practices. In the millennia since those mentions, some form of meditation has been practiced in every country and in most every religious tradition. Meditation is connected with a variety of different end goals. Some forms of meditation focus on mental relief, while some focus on bodily improvement through sustained and concentrated breathing. Some emphasis self-reflection and focus on your place in the world and...

Cosmetic dentistry is a huge industry. As humans, all we really need is enough orthodontic work to keep our teeth relatively straight so they don't cause damage to surrounding tissues, and enough dental care to avoid cavities that lead to dangerous infections. And yet we have a culture obsessed with perfect teeth, not just carefully lined up like soldiers in a parade, but a perfect, brilliant shade of white. Trying to get whiter teeth isn't unusual. There are dozens of toothpastes with promises of whitening power, chemical-laced strips you place over your teeth to whiten them, mouthwashes to bleach them,...

If you remember your grade school science, you'll recognize chlorophyll as the compound present in most plants that is responsible for their green color. Indeed, chlorophyll is an important part of photosynthesis; it's what allows a plant to convert sunlight into energy and the nutrients it needs to survive. Chlorophyll has long been thought to have some measure of benefit when consumed. It's hard to tell, though, what benefits come from the chlorophyll and what benefits come from the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals already present in the various green vegetables we eat to get it. The green substance certainly has...