What’s the deal with medicinal herbs?
What are they and what should you be using?
What are the best ones?
So; in this article, we will be putting together medicinal herbs and their health benefits, what they are and what is the difference between medicinal herbs and spices. Which ones are researched and proven to have medicinal and healthy benefits?
Now let’s dive into it. What is a herb? Herb is really a fancy word. Which herbs have culinary value and which ones that have medicinal value?
What is composed of Medicinal Herbs?
Herb is a plant
- Tree
- Shrub and a sub-shrub
- Vines
- Woody-stemmed perennials
- Herbaceous
- Ferns
- Fungi
When we talk about herbs these could be roots, flowers, leaves, barks or seeds. All these are in the compound of herbs. Also as mentioned earlier; spices used in cooking are actually dried herbs. Examples of spices include things like garlic, turmeric, cayenne etc. These are common herbs that we use to spice up foods.
This is important to understand because humans throughout history, have been using some of these herbs in foods for thousands of years to add flavour into their diets. But in some cases, the original uses of these herbs were for preservation purposes. So, herbs are an important part of our lives in spicing up foods and for medicinal purposes.
This is a fact that we can incorporate medicinal herbs into our daily diet. When you go back in the bible you will notice in the book of Genesis that man’s original meal was a plant-based diet. There is also this quote from Hippocrate a Greek physician “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” To know these medicinal herbs and their health benefits so that we can improve our overall health and this is phenomenon research.
Let us now look into two categories of herbs. The culinary, the medicinal herbs and their health benefits and we are going to discuss both of them in this article.
The first category is the culinary herbs which example include garlic, rosemary, ginger etc. This does not mean because they are culinary; they do not have any medicinal value. Let us take rosemary in our example, if you take rosemary and rub it on your fingers it produces oil; this oil is very essential in the improvement of memory. This is research-backed stuff.
These are anti-microbial they can kill bacteria in our food and can also help improve our digestion. The herbs that we put on our food; have some health benefits. So, it is important to include edible herbs in our diets daily.
Now I will give you two classes of herbs that we do not use quite often. The first one is:
St. Johns’ Wart
The herb modulates neurotransmitter levels in the brain. This is the reason why people use the herb as an antidepressant and mood stabilizer. It increases serotonin. Using this herb with your pharmaceutical drugs is not always safe because some of these herbs are very powerful.
The second one is Kava
Kava is a very powerful herb that people have used to deal with anxiety. But taking high doses of this herb is very toxic. So, the herbs that we should take in our day to day life are the ones we are sure of their safety. You should not mess with all the plants that you come across some of these are very powerful and even poisonous.
11 favourite medicinal herbs and their health benefits
Now let us look into some 11 favourite medicinal herbs and their health benefits that are safe to take for our body. The first herb that one should be having in the diet is;
Ginger
Ginger is a herb that has amazing health benefits. Perhaps when you are a kid and had a stomach upset; your mum could prepare ginger oil. This is because ginger is an anti-nausea herb. It helps calm the stomach down. Ginger is one of nature’s anti-inflammatory herbs. Ginger can be used in our daily meals.
Lavender
The second on the list is lavender. Research has shown that lavender can massively help relax your brain. Lavender can help an overactive mind at night and therefore help in better sleep. You can incorporate this medicinal herb in your drink as you should already know that sleep is fundamental in your daily health routine.
Garlic Is Listed As One Of The Medicinal Herbs
The next herb on the list is garlic. There is a reason why we should be using garlic in our diet. Garlic is a very powerful herb. The first thing about garlic is that this herb is anti-microbial. These are the health benefits of garlic.
- Kills urinary tract infection
- Kill kidney infections
- Kills cancer cells
- Treat acne
- Kills strep throat
- Kills cold sores
- Lowers cholesterol
- Strengthen immune system
- Removes heavy metal from the body
- Helps in weight control and weight loss
- Reduce and regulate blood sugar
- Increase production of insulin
- Kills and expel worms
- Inhibit Leukemia
- Kills athletes foot
- Soothes psoriasis
- Reduces high blood pressure
- Cures yeast infections
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil smells a little bit like eucalyptus. This is an anti-microbial herb. It is much like garlic. This herb is very effective in killing fungi. Here are some of the health benefits:
- Boost immune system
- Reduces dandruff and hair loss
- Helps in fast healing of wounds
- Stimulate blood circulation and hormone secretion
- Gives relief from coughs, colds and congestion
- Effective against viral and fungal infections
Caution may cause rashes, indigestion and weakness.
Peppermint
Peppermint has a very good digestive tonic. After the meal, peppermint is very good in helping digestion.
Cayenne
Cayenne is essential in reducing pain
Echinacea
Echinacea is an amazing herb that stimulates and increases the body immune system. Drinking it as tea or syrup is a good provider of immunity.
Dandelion
Dandelion is powerful for liver and digestive health. It helps the liver to produce bio. It also helps in the detoxification of the liver and in prostate health.
Chamomile
This herb sound similar to lavender. Nighttime supplements have something like chamomile and lavender in them. Chamomile has relaxing properties which help calm your mind at night. If you have an overactive mind at night this is another solution.
Turmeric
Turmeric is one of nature’s best anti-inflammatory herbs.
- It has anti-cancer properties.
- It helps the brain function better.
- It also helps boost the immune system.
Passion Flower
Passion Flower is popular in the treatment of anxiety and symptoms related to it like insomnia. It is also used by some people to treat haemorrhoids and inflammations.
Conclusion
Cooking some of these herbs may lower their effectiveness. Some herbs may be taken raw. Others can be steamed into boiling water and taken as a drink.