Brain Health Support

Hop Flakes Background and Benefits

The hop plant is botanically known as Humulus lupulus. The female flowers of this plant are also known as hops. The best-known use of hops is to flavor and stabilize beer, but they are also widely used in herbal medicine.
The hop plant is a climbing, herbaceous plant that must be grown vertically for commercial cultivation. It is native to Europe and western Asia, although hop plants are now grown all over the world. There are many varieties, and beer is often classified according to the hop variety it contains.
 
The first known use of hops in beer production dates back to the ninth century. Prior to that, beer was flavored with other bitter herbs such as burdock root, dandelion, ground ivy, heather, horehound and marigold. Hops quickly became the most popular flavoring for beer, and villages in the Middle Ages usually had a barley field and hop garden specifically for this purpose.
 
Hops have a bitter taste that is primarily used to balance the sweet taste of the malt in beer. It also has an antibacterial effect that favors the growth of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms that would otherwise spoil the mash. The reduction of spoilage is the most important reason for the preference of hops over other flavoring agents.
  

Possible uses of hop flakes

The main benefits of hop flakes in dietary supplements are related to the brain and nervous system. The active components of hops may also have a weak estrogenic effect.

Signs of the need for hop flakes

A need for mild sedation in a condition which include insomnia, anxiety, nervousness, restlessness and tension is common signs that you may benefit from hop flakes. You may also benefit from taking hop flakes if you have a loss of appetite, difficulty urinating, and indigestion due to insufficient gastric juices. Other reasons for taking hop flakes are menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and the need to form breast milk.