The Health Benefits of Hops

You will notice in a majority of grocery food stores around the nation, that an entire aisle is dedicated to beer from many brewers. If you are familiar to beer brewing, you most likely will know that hops are an ingredient used in the production of the alcoholic drink. It is the ingredient that gives beer it bitter flavor which helps offset the sweetness of the malt that is used during production. How can there be health benefits to drinking beer when there are so many health risks when people over-consume alcoholic beverages? Believe it or not hops have many health benefits and you do not even have to drink beer to take advantage of these. The use of hops dates back to the ancient times and was used before they were used in beer production.

“Hops are the female flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus" (Wikipedia). It is a climbing vine that, when they are commercially grown, wires or strings are used to train these plants to grow up. The male plants have seeds, where the female ones do not have them. The male plants are removed and destroyed to prevent pollination. Then the female plants are cloned with other female plants.

Did you ever notice when you buy beer, you can keep it for ages in the refrigerator and it seems to stay fresh? The hops used during the brewing process helps keep it a long period of time without spoiling. That is because of the strong antibacterial properties of this flower. These properties help prevent cuts, burns, scrapes, bee stings and mosquito bites from getting infected. You can also use it to treat skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis and cold sores.

Hops can be used to help individuals with relief from problems with their stomachs because they contain anti-viral properties. It is an excellent remedy to relieve stomach ailments such as:

• Gas
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Motion and Morning Sickness
• Stomach Cramps Due to menstruation

If you suffer from insomnia, or just do not get between six and eight hours a sleep a night, drink a cup hot water that is steeped with a teaspoon of hops just before you go to bed. The calming and relaxing properties of this will help you body relax and ease you into slumber land. These properties are also effective if you suffer from stress, anxiety and depression since this plant also contains relaxant and sedative properties. It is even safe to use hops with a combination of natural sleep aids such as melatonin, passion flower, lemon balm or Valerian. There are no side effects that usually come from chemically made sleep aids and are not addicting.

Hops contain diuretic properties. It is very effective in treating and preventing urinary tract infections, kidney infections and stones. The next time you suspect you have a urinary tract infection, rather than running to the doctor, go to your local health food store or beer brewery and get some hops.

Hops are a natural pain reliever because of their anti-inflammatory properties.

Black cumin seeds contain analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Use this in place of your synthetic medications tofind relief for:

• Headaches

• Sinus Pain

• Migraines

• Menstrual Cramps

• Muscle Spasms

• Toothaches

• Arthritic Pain

• Gout Attacks

• Sprains

• Joint and Muscle Pain

Many females who are either going through menopause or are menstruating have drops in their estrogen levels. The symptoms of insufficient estrogen levels include:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Anxiety
• Vaginal dryness
• Loss of libido
• Mood swings (natural-hormones)

Hops play a role in balancing hormones in women, helping relieve them of these symptoms.

You can purchase hops at a beer brewing supply store. With more and more microbreweries popping up in local areas, you should not have any problem finding this wonderful ingredient. Your local health food store may carry this as well. You can purchase a wide variety of products including:

• Tinctures
• Extracts
• Powders
• Herbs
• Teas

You can also purchase hops online through sites such as EBay and Amazon