All herbs and spices, culinary or medicinal are made of natural properties that have a compatibility with our bodies. Our bodies do not make everything that we need to sustain life and health, plants process these substances for us and make them more readily accessible to our body than any of the chemicals man-made today.
Medicinal plants include such things as minerals, vitamins and trace elements, all these materials are necessary for recovery and health. Medicinal herbs also include medicinal substances such as essential oils, bitters, alkaloids and tannins that have natural affinities for certain organs and systems in our bodies that have therapeutic actions to heal and sustain us.
Herbal remedies, by definition are any plants that have a therapeutic action, which also includes vegetables and fruits and even some spices. Once such example would be celery seeds which have a cleansing action upon the urinary tract system as well as being an aide to arthritis, while the essential oils of the peppermint herb helps to relieve the pain of headaches and aides in the digestive process.
Peppermint leaves can also be used as an addition to salads, to flavor water or make tea, while celery seeds are often used for cooking such food as a roast as well as an addition to salads and many other uses. Cinnamon is more often used as a spice, but also has many medicinal properties as well.
From ancient times through the present-day we have eaten plants and our bodies have responded through the millennia in a way that can not be matched with any synthetic drug in spite of all the advances of modern medicine.
Spices, like herbs may be dried from seed, fruit, root or bark. They are used in nutritionally insignificant quantities for flavor, color, food additives and even as a preservative. Spices in ancient times as in today are also used in cosmetics and perfume, as well as medicine.
A few examples:
A compress is sometimes made up to help relieve a headache using combination of herbs
Soak a wash cloth in as hot water as you can stand, apply 2 drops of therapeutic essential oil of peppermint and 1 drop of therapeutic essential lavender, place compress over forehead, sit back and relax. This has worked well for a sinus type headache.
To relieve anxiety and stress
Lavender, like many other herbs has many good properties for relieving stress; try this recipe below.
Lavender tea
1 tsp of fresh lavender flowers (1/2 tsp of dried lavender flowers can be substituted)
1-2 tbsp of fresh mint leaves
1 cup of boiling water
Combine lavender flowers and mint leaves in a teapot, pour boiling water over the herbs and let steep for about 5 minutes. Strain liquid into a teacup and enjoy.
Pepper
Pepper has been used as a spice since prehistoric times and appears to have originated in India. Black pepper is produced from the unripe drupes of the pepper plant, while white pepper consists of the seed of the pepper plant. Many spices were used not only for seasoning but also for medicine. Black pepper was thought to aid with indigestion, joint pain and liver problems. Today its use is more common for sore throats and coughs.
Understanding the difference between herbs and spices is just a matter of knowing your botanical plants and their properties. As spices like cinnamon, peppermint and even celery seeds cross over into culinary and medicinal use, they all are plant-based, but their inherit constituents decide how they best are used and the quantities needed.
Your friendly avid herbal and nutrition enthusiast.
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