Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Laxative

    Promotes evacuation of the bowels. An agent that acts to promote evacuation of the bowel; a cathartic or purgative. Or aperient, a substance that helps the expulsion of food residues from the body. If strongly laxative it is termed purgative or cathartic. Dietary fibre and cellulose function because they retain water and add bulk to…

  • Latex

    Latex

    Sticky white or yellow juice released when plant part is broken, e.g. Dandelion leaf (Taraxacum officinale). Milky juice, often sticky. A colorless, white, yellow, or reddish liquid, produced by some plants, characterized by the presence of colloidal particles of terpenes dispersed in water. Milky fluid found in various plants and trees. Sap produced or exuded…

  • Inhalation

    Breathing of medicinally infused steam or liquid through the nasal passages. The action of breathing in a medicinal substance as part of a treatment. Act of breathing in, whereby air or other gas or vapor (e.g., anesthetic gas) is taken into the lungs. The act of breathing in air. Inhalation therapy is the breathing in…

  • Immuno-suppressant

    Inhibits or blocks the body’s normal immune defenses.  

  • Immune stimulant

    Stimulates the body’s immune defenses to counter infection. A substance capable of improving the immune system.  

  • Fixed oil

    A non-volatile oil (plant constituent). An oil produced by hot or cold infusion (preparation). These are lipids, esters of long-chain fatty acids and alcohols, or generally related oily stuff. If you drop some fixed oil on a blotter, it just stays there-forever. (Example: olive oil.) The name given to a vegetable oil obtained from plants…

  • Essential oil

    Aromatic oil distilled from plants containing volatile oils. Natural oils that have been isolated and concentrated for use as in perfumes, foods, and beverages. Quickly evaporating and odoriferous oil produced in the seeds, flowers, leaves, stems, and roots of many herbs. Mixture of volatile terpenoids responsible for the taste and smell of many plants, especially…

  • Detoxification

    The process of aiding removal of toxins and waste products from the body, especially via liver and kidneys. The process of providing medical care during the removal of dependence-producing substances from the body so that withdrawal symptoms are minimized and physiological function is safely restored. Treatment includes medication, rest, diet, fluids, and nursing care. Treatment…

  • Cream

    Cream

    A mixture of water with fat or oil that blends with the skin. (Colour) white with a faint tinge of yellow. To make soft, smooth and creamy by rubbing with back of spoon or by beating with mixer; usually applied to fat and sugar. Any fluid mix that is very thick. Creams are often used…

  • Counter-irritant

    Irritant to the skin used to relieve more deep-seated pain or discomfort. An agent producing counter-irritation, so that less pain at a particular site is experienced. Applications to the skin that relieve deep-seated pain usually applied in the form of heat. An irritant used to relieve another irritation. It is usually an agent applied to…

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