Posts filed under 'Herbs'
Ginger
- Young ginger rhizomes are juicy, fleshy with a very mild taste. They r often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can also be stewed in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added as a sweetener; sliced orange or lemon fruit may also be added.
- Mature ginger roots are fibrous & nearly dry. Their j is extremely potent.
- Ginger ale & ginger beer considered stomach settlers, also to avoid heat cramps.
- As flavoring in coffee, tea.
- It is contraindicated in people suffering from gallstones as promotes bile release.
- Stimulant, carminative
- Used freq’tly for dyspepsia, colic.
- Thins blood, lowers cholestrol.
- Effective for treating nausea.
- Ginger paste applied to temples to relieve headache
- Consumed when cold.
- Perennial with yellow flowers.
- Galangal, called thai ginger is used in cooking
Add comment October 8, 2007
Garlic-Allium sativum
- Belongs to onion family
- Garlic infused oil shd be refrigerated & used within 1wk to prevent risk of botulism.
- Store in warm, dry place to prevent sprouts.
- Treatment for intestinal worms & parasites.
- As remedy for infections of chest, dig disorders, fungal infec’s like thrush.
- Allicin in it is a powerful antibiotic, antifungal.
- When u eat more, smell is evident in sweat & breath the following day.
- Garlic breath alleviated by eating parsley.
- Garlic may cause abortion if eaten lot.
Add comment October 8, 2007
Mint
- Perennial.
- Fast growing extending through a network of runners.
- Dont mix with other plants, lest mint takes over.
- Common mints like spearmint & peppermint, r considered good to grow among tomato & pepper plants, where they enhance flavor, repel aphids, attract parasitic wasps to eat caterpillars, provide “living mulch” ground cover, etc
- Oil used as flavorings in breath freshners, drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste etc.
- Mints characterstic smell is from menthol.
- For stomach ache, chest pains.
- Powder used to whiten teeth.
- Mint tea is strong diuretic.
- Aids digestion.
- Repels mosquitoes.
- Mint oil kills pests like wasps, ants, cockroaches.
Add comment October 8, 2007
Lavender
- Popular ornamental plant with colorful flowers, fragrance, ability to survive with less h20.
- Lavender oil when diluted with a carrier oil, used as relaxant with msg therapy.
- Herbal tea is for relaxation too.
Add comment October 8, 2007
Coriander
- Used for relief from anxiety, insomnia.
- Seeds r boiled with equal amounts of cumin, cooled, consumed as diuretic.
- As digestive aid
Add comment October 8, 2007
Turmeric- Curcuma longa
- Plants r gathered annually for their rhizomes & re-seeded from some of those rhizomes.
- Rhizomes r boiled for sev hrs, then dried in hot ovens & ground into orange yellow powder used in curries, for dyeing.
- Antiseptic for cuts, burns.
- Flouride in it is useful for teeth.
- Anti bacterial.
- Pain reliever of arthritis.
- Being used in some sunscreens.
- Turmeric paste applied on face for glow & keeps harmful bacteria away from body.
- Excellent anti scarring agent when mixed with milk & applied on skin.
- Repels ants.
Add comment October 8, 2007
