Working late, got a deadline to meet? Reach for the ProPlus, caffeine tablets that equal instant energy boosts for as long as you care to keep going. Wake up with a killer headache after a night out with one too many? No one is a stranger to dissolving a paracetamol and wincing the pain away until mid afternoon. Hangovers, late nights and even love handles are unwanted traits that modern over-the-counter medicine claims to cure. Britain’s first legal over-the-counter weight-loss aid alli was in the news recently with evidence showing some that of those taking the drug have consequently suffered from liver damage. At a pound a pill, the cheater’s way of losing weight does not come cheap, and with the added risk of long lasting damage, alli looks to be an unwanted last resort.

Solar's Female Multiple vitamins are a popular choice.

Natural remedies can work just as well as pharmaceutical brand pills and, instead of damaging your body, can aid it. Let’s begin with a bit of number crunching; Apparently out of a survey of 21,600 people, 100% of people were not getting the full vitamins that their bodies ideally needed. But which herbal remedies can provide the solution to every modern girl’s body qualms? If you look hard enough, the natural health market can offer a cure for any ill in the form of liquid, powder or pill, internal or external supplements that can aid your body’s well being. With so much on offer, it’s not surprising that many people don’t know where to start.

To begin with, despite common preconceptions, you do not actually need to have anything wrong with you to take extra supplements.

“Advancing Wellness Since 1947”, Solar is one of the pricier supplements available, but one of the most reputable. Their multi vitamins for women – ‘’Female Multiple’ – is one of the most popular. In their gold bottles, they have a designer look. Complementing every diet, each pill contains calcium, magnesium, Vitamin E and C, and claims to reduce chocolate craving, symptoms of PMS and that bloated feeling that no normal woman is a stranger to. Averaging about £12.60 for a month’s supply, they aren’t particularly inexpensive, but those who begin taking them seem to notice the effects and tend to come back for more.

Never fear, hypochondriacs, there’s more where that came from. Most chemists as well as health food stores sell basic tablets to aid the growth and restoration of healthy, skin and nails. Add these tablets to a good multi vitamin and you’re half way to being Cheryl Cole. So what about all other ailments? Common cold? Hangover? Varicose veins? Try Echinacea and manuka honey for colds, sore throats and tickly coughs as they both boost the immune system and clear symptoms in a quicker and healthier time than anything prescribed by a GP. Pre-big night, take a couple of Milk Thistle tablets (there are weirder names about, try Cat’s Claw and Gingko Bilboa) with water. An antioxidant that works by protecting the liver from the poison in alcohol, Milk Thistle can help minimise the headaches and sick feelings that come from an excessive night out. Green tea, as well as being full of antioxidants, is a favourite morning-after drink, so go easy with the coffee and get the tea on.

If you’re not keen on taking pills, try the tea version. Many supplements can be taken in tea form, and vice versa. If you’re one of those people who has problems sleeping, Valerian can help ease you into sleeping more easily and quickly.

People are turning to herbal remedies to cure everyday illnesses

Expecting mothers who want to speed the process up can rely quite safely on raspberry leaf, rather than curries. Taken both in tablet or tea form, neither is harmful to mother or baby and can both speed up and ease the process of labour. This being no word of a lie, a friend’s sister took a sachet of tea and had her baby the next day, so make sure you’re prepared when drowning yourself in raspberry liquid.

Many people are sceptical about the benefits and indeed reliability of herbal remedies, myself being one of them before encountering many people of all ages who claim they work. The effect of the media like most things has increased the sale of various products, recently especially. In a time of apparent economic recession, one would assume that small businesses specialising in products that only a select few are interested in would go under, but health food shops seem to be standing the test of time. With various articles in national British newspapers, one serving of 30ml Cherry Active juice is equivalent to one of your 5-a-day fruit and vegetable servings. Containing nothing but 100% Montmorency cherries, it is one of the most potent and popular concentrates available, even more so due to the amount of press it has received. When it comes down to it, advice and information on health supplements are not as rare as one would imagine. In a time of financial instability, people seem willing to spend their money on their health, rather than material possessions. With the aid of the right supplements and nutrients for your own diet and lifestyle, you might find yourself replacing your entire medicine cabinet and fridge with tablets named after flowers and organic dried berries.