Still a lot of people wonder if Herbs and Spices are actually working. I can say from my personal experience, “yes they do work”. It’s been since ages ago that the healing properties of herbs are written in texts and documents, and Herbalists these days study and research this to get the best healing benefits from it and to be able to help people in the best tailored way.

Herbs strengthen digestion:  

Most chronic disease starts with poor digestion. Many culinairy herbs have been used for thousands of years, not only for the good taste but also to help with digestion. More than often people have had poor digestion for so long that they assume it’s a natural part of life. Herbs and spices can help strengthen the digestion and often people experience that other complaints disappear.

The following symptoms are related with poor digestion: bloating, gas, indigestion, heartburn, constipation, nausea, poor appetite, recurring diarrhea and ulcers.

Herbs are high in anti-oxidants: 

Anti-oxidants are an important key to limiting the damage done to the body by oxidative stress, which has been linked to heart disease, liver problems, arthritis, premature skin ageing and eye damage. It occurs when the body is overloaded with free radicals. The formation of free radicals is a natural part of living but can be dramatically increased by stress, eating processed foods, consuming overheated oils, breathing air pollutants or cigarette smoke, being sleep deprived or eat charred meats. To minimise oxidative stress, it’s important to limit these negative influences and regularly include high anti-oxidant foods, such as Herbs and Spices in your meals.

Herbs support the nervous system:

We live in quite a stressed culture, people are always “busy” when you ask them how they are doing. Excessive stress is so common these days that it almost seems “normal” to start your day with little sleep and be rushed, overworked and overcommitted. Our bodies are more and more showing the effects of constant exposure to chronic stress.

Chronic stress has been linked to six leading causes of death: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide.

Herbs will not let you run on no sleep, rushing from activity to activity on your busy schedule and to-do list, but herbs ans spices can help us modulate the negative effects of stress. They can help shift us from the fight-or-flight response of our sympathetic nervous system to the sleep at night and reduce levels of anxiety during the day. In combination with fresh local food they offer us high amounts of the vitamins and minerals needed to support our nervous system, and so our mental health as well.

Herbs are anti-microbial:

Some herbs and spices offer a powerful defence against pathogenic bacteria. As a bacteria have evolved, they’ve adapted to the pharmaceutical antibiotics we use. After decades of overuse of antibiotics, more and more bacteria no longer respond to treatment using antibiotics, people get antibiotic-resistant.

Plants have been changing and evolving with bacteria for millennia, they have a very complex system that may make it harder for pathogens to adapt to them.

Although it can be necessary to use pharmaceutical antibiotic for certain conditions, doing so can have a far-reaching negative effects, particularly on our gut flora, which is the beneficial bacteria in our digestive tract. Pharmaceutical antibiotics act by wiping out all bacteria, even the beneficial ones. Antibiotic after all means “anti-life”.

Spices can be strongly anti microbial without being “anti-life”, instead of “knocking out” everyting they come in contact with, plants can be chosen for the specific type of infection. Plants can also be very effective against viruses and fungal infections. Herbs can go beyond simply “killing” a pathogen and also support the ecosystem of the body, they can restore integrity to mucous membranes and support healthy gut flora.

Herbs support the immune system:

Herbs can reinforce our health during times of infection by strengthening or modulating our body’s own immune system, which is our best defence against pathogens that leas to illness.

Immune system dysfunction can increase our risk of infection and is also implicated in cancer, autoimmune disorders and seasonal allergies.

Herbs and spices aid your health in myriad ways including strengthening your digestion, supporting your immune system and awakening your senses and bringin joy to your life.

To get the most benefits from herbs you’ll want to use them every day in good amounts, not just sprinkling a little bit of herbs and spices into your foods but rather using it as an opportunity to get an abundance of herbs into your life as a powerful way to bolster your health.

This is food as Medicine at its’ best!

Source: Alchemy of Herbs by Rosalee De La Foret