Health benefits of common herbs we all use.

[Trellum]

Claudine, I didn't believe in aromatherapy at all until I tried this! This thing is a real insomnia cure! I sometimes had trouble falling sleep, but now I can't even remember when I felt asleep! No matter how worried or stressed I am! I'm sure you can find something similar over there, not the exact thing tho, because this is made by a national company and as far as I know they are not exporting anything to Poland... yet! But you can find something similar there, if you have any stores specialized in natural medicine you should look in there!

 

[claudine]

Thank you for the information. I'll look for something similar.Yesterday, my poor boyfriend slept only for three hours, even taking melatonin doesn't help him.
I think I saw somewhere Melissa scented candles, but I'm pretty sure they contain harmful substances. Why is it so hard to find natural products?

 

[Momhardatwork]

I have first hand experience using some of these herbs. Also as a pharmacist, I have grown to actually dislike using OTC and prescription drugs unless it is absolutely deemed necessary. I have received arthritis pain relief from parsley with garlic and olive oil and tumeric works well for my husband's gout. He has been able to stop his prescription meds with the use of this, celery root tea, and vitamin C tablets. When I have had flare ups of arthritis pain, I find that ginger works very well and actually has helped to relieve my back spasms. I use cinnamon regularly to regulate blood sugar (even though I do not have diabetes but it does run in my family) and sage as a mouthwash. Thanks for your wonderful list, there were some properties of some of the herbs that I did not know about.

 

[helagumamela]

Thanks for this very informative post! Aside from those, here are some of their other benefits that I know. Oregano can help cure coughs when boiled like tea leaves. Ginger can soothe sore throats. Singers also drink ginger tea (salabat) to make their voices sound better! Turmeric, on the other hand, can help relieve muscle pains.

 

[claudine]

Ginger has been efficacious in palliating inflammation and pain, and it can avail alleviate the pain associated with menstrual cramps. Ginger additionally is utilized for nausea and an upset stomach, symptoms that sometimes accompany menstruation. I have been drinking the tea many times for menstrual cramps and stomach aches resulting from gas. Drinking ginger tea has helped me a lot and I can't recall when last I had any menstrual cramps.

I'll definitely force myself to try it. My menstrual cramps are awful. I drank lemon balm tea to relieve the pain. Unfortunately, it didn't help at all. Usually, I take paracetamol, but I'd be much happier if I could find a natural remedy for this problem.

 

[Momhardatwork]

I definitely agree that of all the natural things I have taken for menstrual cramps (when I would have them), ginger root was the most effective. I used to wonder why all of the older women in my life when I was growing up used to give me ginger snaps when I was cramping. They must have known! It is just such an effective muscle relaxant and works so well against nausea that I would forget about OTCs or prescription meds. They cause so much damage to our bodies overtime, like our liver and kidneys. Anyone ever try basil or sage tea. It is also very good for overall relaxation? Basil will help to prevent urinary infections as well.

 

[Twinsmommy31]

This is a great list to have on hand in the home. I am planning on growing my on herbs so now I know which are most important and the uses they are good for.

 

[JessiFox]

I knew some of these but not all of them- what a great resource to keep handy . Thank you for sharing this one...it's amazing the health benefits we can find in our diets, with very few side effects to wreak havoc on our health.

 

[Krrizal]

Awesome lists! Thanks!

 

[kammy]

This list of herbs and their medicinal uses is just awesome...i had high blood pressure and i had no idea that cinnamon could be used to lower it..this list is a definite keeper.

 

[kevinkimers]

Great pic. Where did you find it? I usually grow all those herbs, the list is not fully descriptive but it does show its basic properties. Some of them work for other things as well and you can combine some to help with other problems also. Still, its a great pic and I would love to get a poster size of it to hang on my kitchen wall.

 

[IcyBC]

I love that chart of herbs and their health benefits! I love basil, mint, rosemary and thyme and grow these in the summer. Ginger, onion, and garlic are the stables in my cooking every day! Amazing what these herbs can do to help us maintain a healthy living.

 

[kevinkimers]

Here is a little unknown fact though. When you cook with many of these herbs, you kill its effects. If you eat them raw, the properties are not damaged. Heat (especially heated water) saps out the properties of the plants we eat, most especially herbs, or it changes its chemical properties. I always suggest that when you eat vegetables and herbs, switch it up. Cook some and eat some raw. For example.... a meal for us always includes a salad.... so when I make our meals, I cook up some vegetables as side dishes and then I make a salad with other vegetables in it. We make our own vinaigrette dressing which we load with herbs and sometimes I will sprinkle extra fresh herbs on top of the salad. In the morning for breakfast we either have with breakfast a drink we make that contains apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and honey in it or I make toast with cinnamon and honey on it. Cinnamon is good for high blood pressure which is what I have and honey is a good immune booster.

So if you want the best benefit to your vegetables and herbs, add a salad to all your meals and put raw vegetables and herbs on it.

 

[Cereus]

Depends on the herbs and the temp of the heat honestly. Those more potent in oils aren't nearly as affected by heat than others. However generally with cooking you're supposed to add herbs after the dish has cooled some, that way the flavor can leech in. Tea leaves for example are activated by hot water for diffusing medicinal effects.

Yes heat will alter properties, but most aren't affected until very very high temps. Lots of chemicals/vitamins found in plants have pretty high heat tolerances. What causes leeching and loss is actually water solubility of a lot of different vitamins and oxidation which is why foods are processed and preserved the way they are. For example unwashed rice has a ton of vitamins and essential nutrients but one rinse at home (post processing) can effectively wash away something like 30% of its nutritional value.

I was taught to wash rice constantly until the water was clear because in Asia it wasn't uncommon to find bugs or small bits of rock in rice stores. A lot of parents who grew up during the modernization of the region were used to washing and passed that habit down to their kids. My mother was the same way, but I learned quickly in class that washing rice causes a ton of nutritional loss to rice which is why US companies often enrich (add the vitamins back in) their crops before putting them on store shelves because washing rice is necessary after harvesting.

Enriched white flour's the same way. After washing and bleaching the flour, nutritional value is lost so companies have to re-add said vitamins back in.

 

[Jessica Alinari]

I completely agree that every remedy we need is available in our gardens. It's a pity not to use the healing power of this natural pharmacy. My favourite herb is thyme. It is rich in thymol, which has anti-tumor properties. Chive and dill can help you reduce extra pounds. Tarragon, on the other hand, stimulates the appetite. Here is an article with more detailed information → http://www.spundge.com/story/52392/