Common Culinary Herbs and their Medicinal Uses
Not only do these herbs add spice and flavor to our favorite dishes, they have powerful medicinal properties too! Unsurprisingly, all of these classic culinary herbs aid in digestion, but here are some of the other health benefits you can receive from using these herbs medicinally.
Oregano
Origanum vulgare
Oregano is an antimicrobial herb particularly useful for sinusitis. Oregano tea will help kick cold, flu, and other infections to the curb. It can help you avoid getting sick in the first place, and it shortens recovery time. Oregano helps break fevers and promote sweating, especially when combined with other immune-boosting herbs such as Echinacea and Garlic.
Oregano is a great herb for the lungs, helping to clear and disinfect the bronchial passages. It has a high essential oil content, which means that it will relieve gas, bloating and indigestion. Oregano is also a classic emmenegogue, helping to bring on menses and relieve menstrual discomfort.
Oregano success story: One of our herbalist’s fathers suffered for years from chronic sinus infections that gave him devastating migraines. His doctors weren’t able to help, but when he heard about oregano for sinus issues, he took a bunch of fresh oregano from the garden, ate it, and his infection cleared up in 24 hours. Steeping the herbs for tea might be a more palatable solution than eating raw oregano, but we admire his tenacity.
Sage
Salvia officinalis
Sage has sometimes been called “internal deodorant”. Taking Sage internally cools the body and inhibits perspiration. Sage is a great boon to menopausal women who suffer from hot flashes.
Sage’s best known medicinal benefits are for the mouth. It makes an excellent anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial mouthwash. It soothes inflammation of the mouth, throat, tongue, gums, and tonsils. A gargle of Sage can alleviate laryngitis and tonsillitis. Sage’s high essential oil content also makes it helpful for gas, indigestion, and for fighting off unfriendly pathogens.
Basil
Ocimum basilicum and spp.
Like many culinary herbs, Basil has a high essential oil content and is therefore a powerful anti-microbial and helpful for gas. Basil is effective as a diaphoretic and febrifuge, helping to break fevers and treat colds and flus. It is another excellent respiratory herb, clearing, opening and disinfecting the bronchial passages. Basil is also a nervous system tonic; in addition to making delicious tomato sauces, it promotes memory, concentration and mental clarity.
Essential oil of Basil is an excellent bug repellent. The juice of Basil leaves makes an effective anti-fungal treatment for topical use.
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
Next time you pick up a bottle of mouthwash, look for Thymol in the ingredients list. Thyme is a potent antiseptic with a high content of essential oil, and it is often found in mouthwashes and disinfecting sprays.
Like most of the other herbs we discussed today, Thyme tea is excellent for coughs and colds. It breaks up mucous in the lungs and helps us expel it, and it soothes and moisturizes lung tissue irritated by dry coughs. It also acts as an anti-spasmodic for coughing. Thyme’s high essential oil content also makes it a useful stomachic and digestive aid.
You can also use Thyme topically to clean wounds and kill surface bacteria and parasitic fungi on the skin.
Rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosemary essential oil is very effective as a tonic for hair growth. It stimulates the hair follicles and helps in cases of premature baldness. Just as it stimulates the scalp, Rosemary also increases circulation to the brain and improve memory. “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance,” as Shakespeare says. Rosemary is especially helpful for calming the mind and can soothe mild cases of depression. It’s also effective for headaches, especially tension headaches.
In general, Rosemary is a great circulatory and nervous system tonic. It is highly anti-inflammatory and is used both internally and externally for easing muscular pain. Rosemary oil is often found in massage oils for neuralgia and sciatica.
Rosemary is both stimulating and soothing to the digestive system. Its high essential oil content makes it helpful for dyspepsia and digestive discomfort. The essential oils in Rosemary also make it an effective antiseptic. There are reports of Roman medics washing their hands and surgical tools in rosemary water to avoid infection. Like most other common culinary herbs, Rosemary can be used by itself or with other herbs to treat coughs and colds.
Come back next week for part 2 of Medicinal Kitchen – Spices!
For More Information:
Smile Herb Blogs: Food & Culinary Herbs
Culinary Herbs and Spices: Their Bioactive Properties, the Contribution of Polyphenols and the Challenges in Deducing Their True Health Benefits
Bioactives from culinary spices and herbs: a review
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