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 few years ago I was introduced to Ayurvedic medicine, a 2000 plus year old system of healing from what is now India. I noticed that many common herbs and spices were used as medicine either by being incorporated into daily food or in special preparations such as teas, ointments etc. A short while ago I decided to look into my pantry and refrigerator to see what might be of medicinal value among the herbs and spice that most Westerners know and love. I came up with some 40 items. It's not surprising many of them are useful for digestive disturbances, their initial introduction into our favorite foods may have been to prevent these problems from happening in the first place, then we simply got used to those flavors and for the most part the knowledge of their healing properties was forgotten. What is surprising is that along with the digestive qualities found among my parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, are herbs for colds, flu and a variety of respiratory problems, muscle spasms, headaches, menstrual concerns, skin conditions, rheumatic pain, insomnia, anxiety, tonics, etc. Herbs to treat just about any uncomplicated ailment the average human may encounter over the course of a life time.It seems that with almost every passing month some new herb becomes the latest cure all. A great boon to the burgeoning herbal industry, a great drain on our pocket books. While it is true that there are some useful herbs out there, the lack of reliable information combined with fervent sales pitches and conflicting studies makes it difficult to know what works for who and when and what doesn't. Do we really need these "exotic" herbs from far away places? In most cases the answer would be no. What follows is but a brief foray into "kitchen medicine." The medicine of our grandmothers, tried and tested over thousands of years, is as affordable and easily available as the nearest kitchen garden or natural food store. There are a couple of reasons for buying kitchen herbs at natural food stores. First since they are available in bulk you can get as much as you need and it costs less since you're not paying for the glass bottle and the name on the label. Second in most cases the herbs will be fresher because of a high rate of purchase and a greater attention to the quality of the product. Make sure the herbs have a good color and a strong scent. Avoid purchasing pre-ground herbs. Herbs and spices should be bought whole and ground or crushed as needed, that way the easily lost oils, which in the case of kitchen herbs, contain many of the healing properties, are not damaged by excessive exposure to light or air. Using kitchen herbs for medicine requires a more deliberate use than in cooking. A sprinkle here a dash there is not going to make a big difference to one's health. In the same vein, herbs that can promote menstruation in medicinal doses, several cups of infusion a day, are not going to cause problems for pregnant women when used in usual amounts in cooking. However a woman with a high risk or history of miscarriage would be better off avoiding tabouleh, a Middle-Eastern grain based salad containing large amounts of fresh parsley. |
