Hops gives beer its distinctive taste and prevents bacterial growth. It is also valuable as a food. The young shoots are eaten like asparagus in many countries. Hops is valuable in the world of nutritional herbology for its sedative effect and by its ability to help induce sleep. Hops has traditionally been used for insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, anxiety, hyperactivity, and to decrease the desire for alcohol.
Many people find it useful as a natural sleeping aid.
Black Currant Oil Black Currant Oil has traditionally been used as a nerve tonic. These essential fatty acids are precursors of prostaglandins, which must be present for functions involved with dilating blood vessels, regulating arterial pressure, metabolizing cholesterol, normalizing T-lymphocytes, protecting against platelet aggregation, controlling abnormal cell proliferation, and other functions. There is a lot of evidence that GLA may be helpful for people with autoimmune diseases. For people who suffer from an autoimmune disease that destroys the myelin sheath of nerves, this may be of particular interest. The two herbs ginkgo biloba and gotu kola, both described previously, make an excellent combination to help feed, protect, and increase circulation to the brain.