St. John's Wort: All-Natural Way to Quit Smoking

For thousands of years, people have enjoyed the health benefits taken from a wide variety of medicinal plants. Garlic, ginger, and willow bark are just a few of the natural remedies that have been used by people all around the world in an effort to fight off illness and preserve health. Like our ancestors, we too can find remedies within our natural surroundings. Herbs offer solutions to some of modern society's most pressing problems, which includes quitting smoking. Being aware of the dangers of smoking is an effective way to motivate a smoker to drop this habit. The first danger of cigarettes is nicotine addiction. Many harmful elements are contained within a single cigarette stick, and the most damaging of these is nicotine. When an individual smokes frequently, his body develops a dependency to the said substance, which becomes harder to break over time. This primary effect of smoking in turn paves the way for other dangers to occur. Once a person becomes addicted to cigarettes, he will be at risk of acquiring numerous short- and long-term health problems such as emphysema and bronchitis.
Aside from the said ailments, other equally foreboding dangers of cigarettes are various types of cancer. Cigarettes contain more than fifty chemicals, all of which have been found to increase the risk of developing cancer of the lungs, bladder, kidney, throat, and the mouth.
The dangers of cigarettes affect not only the person using the said product but the people around him as well. Those who are exposed to second-hand smoke may suffer from the same illnesses. Fortunately, there is a powerful herb called St. John's Wort that can help stop smoking naturally. “Wort” is an Old English word for plant. St. John's Wort increases levels of dopamine to counteract cravings to smoke cigarettes. Known botanically by its Latin name, Hypericum perforatum, for its seemingly perforated leaves, it may have gotten its common name because it blooms around June 24, the Feast of St. John. It is native to many parts of the world, including the United States. The ancient Greeks utilized this herb for everything from the healing of wounds to the treatment of melancholy. St. John's Wort is one of many herbs used by holistic, alternative medicine practitioners to demonstrate the healing powers of Nature.
The herbal medicine is commonly used for treating certain kinds of mild to moderate depression. Advocates of using St. John's Wort claim that it is non-addictive and free from the usual side-effects of conventional antidepressants. Indeed, many general practitioners prescribe and actually prefer it over many synthetic drugs.
Researchers suspect that St. John's Wort might help restore the balance of the neurotransmitter serotonin and dopamine during the time when smokers have their first craving of the day. This would help them replace the morning coffee and cigarette with a hearty breakfast and so ensure sufficiently high blood sugar levels to avoid mood swings later in the day. Women, in particular cite mood swings as one of the major reasons for not giving up.
St. John's Wort is uniquely formulated to help smokers “kick the habit.” It helps quench the desire for tobacco, stimulates circulation and respiration, expels phlegm, calms the nerves, and relieves withdrawal symptoms. It is also effective for addressing symptoms of anxiety, depression, nervousness, and insomnia.
Even though clinical studies to support the effectiveness of St John's Wort for smoking cessation therapy is still deemed insufficient, many already consider it to be a viable treatment option. Instead of taking prescribed drugs, it is worth trying to stop smoking naturally by using St John's Wort, and alternative that is safer and cost-effective.
Sometimes, choosing to stop smoking naturally by using alternative means such as St. John's Wort means going against a doctor's advice. However, it is always best to consult your doctor first if you plan to use St John's Wort to kick the smoking habit.