Healing you find in your Kitchen A-D

Introduction to Simple Healing

Did you know you owned and operated a Drug Store right in your own Home?

Most well-stocked Kitchens also have the ability to provide you with basic First Aid and healing powers. Things like your Ginger powder or your dried parsley will come handy. How many time have you stood in the drugstore or grocery store and have tried to figure out the fine print on some over-the-counter drug? I know, with all the choices you have it is hard to find the right thing there and then there are the side effects. You ask yourself if you buy that pain medication, should you also buy that stomach aid? Yeah, and what about the price difference between the different Medications offered there? What makes them so different that one cost you $12.00 and the other sitting right next to it on the shelf is only $4.00?
Then there are the prescription drugs. Your doctor prescripts one and the side effect will lead you right back to the doctor to have another prescription to battle the first one. I am not even going to touch the cost of all of that. It will sky rocket and you wonder if there is no end to the medication intake or if there was another way to battle that common cold, those muscle pains or that high blood pressure. A way without the side effects and the next prescription.
The good news is that most times there is and the remedy is right in your kitchen, on your spice rack or in your cupboards. You may already practice Herbal Medicine without knowing. If you add Fennel or Basil to any fatty foods, you may think it is the taste; Italian and Greek Cooks of long ago found that Fennel is a very effective digestive aid and added it to sausages and other fatty foods and Basil not only tastes good in certain foods, it also prevents that nasty heartburn. They learned to battle the effects of the fatty food on the stomach with Fennel, Basil and many other herbs, before it even started.
An old European practice is, to bring Oranges to a patient that has a cold. That was not only a gesture of gift giving, but also for the sake of healing. Oranges have Vitamin C and are known to shorten the duration of a cold. So, it was and still is a method to help healing.
In this article, we will explore some basic kitchen Herbs and Spices that will help with your health and welfare.

Almond

Almonds are generally thought of as nuts one puts in cookies and cakes at Christmas time. The hard little brown nut has several healing properties most people are not aware of and well worth keeping in your kitchen as a healing remedy.
Grind a handful of Almonds up and steep them in a pint of cold water over night and you will have a nutritious drink to battle fever and soften a cough.
You need to be careful though with this sort of infusion, it will also act as a laxative.
Almond oil is used for aroma therapy massages. It softens the skin and the senses in one massage. All in all, it is a useful little nut.
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Allspice

Allspice is also known as Pimento or Jamaican Pepper. Allspice is classified as an aromatic, but is also very useful to get lazy stomachs moving. It removes gases from the upper intestinal tract and is very useful in the battle with chronic indigestion.
The amount used for most healing purposes will be powder, equivalent to a seven grain tablet. You can take it straight, in a warm glass of milk or just add it to a favorite snack.
Allspice is not related to the Spice bush our Settlers used to favor, but it has similar taste and properties.

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Anise

Anise has been around for a long time. Around 1500 BC, the Egyptians cultivated it for food, drink and medical supplies. Ancient Romans had a cake with Anise that was generally handed out after a feast to battle stomach complains due to fatty foods and over indulgence and Anise baked into cookies and cakes serve the same purpose to this day.
Tea made from Anise seeds is a comforting remedy for coughs and colds.

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Basil

Basil is a native of India and has become a very important part in our cooking. Like Any Herb, it has been around and known as a healing herb for a very long time. Basil was found growing around Jesus Christ tomb after the resurrection and some Greek Orthodox churches used it to prepare Holy Water.
A Basil Plant on your window sill will deter Flies and give the kitchen a nice soft aroma.
Basil's many uses in aroma therapy is well known to Herbalists around the Globe.
Steep a few leaves in wine for several hours and you will have an excellent digestion aid.

Bay Laurel

Bay, also known as Sweet Bay or Laurel is found in just about every kitchen. A leave of Bay included in a bouquet and simmered in a pot of stew is the thing to do. You can add Bay to marinades, potato soup, stuffing's and broth. Remove leave before serving, it is very bitter and not palpable.
Make a tea out of Sweet Bay and you have a digestive aid and an appetite stimulant.
Note: All Laurels are poisonous exempt Sweet Bay. For cooking and medical purposes, use only Sweet Bay!

Black Pepper

Black Pepper comes to us from the tropics and has become a non-replaceable condiment in our kitchens. Food without Pepper just will not do.
Black Pepper is known as a anti-bacterial and is used in food preservation. Black Pepper also aids as a appetite stimulant, a diuretic, an anti-flatulence and as a digestive remedy.
Black Pepper will also aid in constipation, nausea and vertigo. People with arthritis that use a lot of Black Pepper in their food will notice a difference in the pain level in their joints.

Caraway

Caraway has been found in the remains of Stone Age meals, Egyptian Tombs and all along the Silk Route at ancient Caravan Stops.
In medieval times, Caraway was credited with magical powers and was used in love potions to hold on to a lover.
Today we sprinkle Caraway over rich foods to aid with the digestive system.. We also use it in soups, breads cakes, cookies, apple pie, baked apples and cheese. The roots can be cooked by itself as a side dish.
Chewed raw or used as a tea, Caraway Seeds are a digestive aid, they promote appetite, sweeten your breath and relieve flatulence.

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne Pepper is one of those Herbs that are in your Kitchen and you may not even know it. If you have a Bottle Tabasco in your Fridge, you have a powerful healing tool in there also.

Cayenne 's official name is Capsicum and it literally means:" To Bite", derived from the Greek. It will do it's name proud if you over do it, a little goes a long way in case of Cayenne.

Cayenne Pepper is an Herbal Remedy for a variety of ailments, you can grow it in a pot, in your yard or you can import it to your kitchen. The best Capsicum comes from Sansibar, but Louisiana grows a very good version of it.
This pungent herb was brought to Britain in the late 1500s from India and was an instant hit as a condiment. The Ayurvedic Medicine in India has long used Cayenne as a medicinal herb and that use came with the condiment to Europe.

It is used as a stimulant, a digestive Herb, a nutrient source, to combat sore throats and laryngitis, as a concoction to battle flu ( before-during and after),chronic rheumatism, bleeding, toothaches, a remedy for hang-overs after to much alcohol consumption, cold feet, and many other ailments.

I will go in to the use of Cayenne more in my article about it. Read about it in my chapter titled:" Cayenne Pepper"

Chamomile

Chamomile is one of the most known and benign of all Herbs and also the most versatile of them It has been known and revered by the ancient Egyptians and Greek's. They used it to cure female disorders and relieve fevers. It was also smoke to relive asthma and cure insomnia. Beauty salons still serve chamomile tea to relax their customers.
Infusions can be used to sooth sunburns, chaffed skin and regular burns. The anti-septic properties of chamomile will help with healing and stop infections.
As a healing herb for all digestive and stomach problems, the herb is invaluable. It heals and aids in just about anything that ails you in that direction.
It is also a great help for insomnia and children that can or will not sleep. It will sooth nerves and settle a persons down to a peaceful sleep. It is an old Gypsy believe that a cup of chamomile tea before bedtime will keep nightmares away.
Children's summer diarrhea will get a soothing relieve also by given the child a cup of chamomile twice a day.
Chamomile's use as a bath water additive is well know to Herbalists all over the world. It soothes broken and hurt skin at the same time the aroma soothes the senses. Sun and wind burns are healed by dipping in a bath with chamomile added. Aches and pains from strains and over worked muscles will also be relived this way. Chamomile baths are deep cleansing at the same time.
Some people swear by Chamomile tea splashed on their face and open skin to keep mosquitoes and gnats away.
Chamomile should be in every kitchen cupboard as a stable.

Chives, Garlic and Onions

All three of them belong to the Allium family. Though different in appearance, they all have wonderful healing powers and health giving properties. The stronger the smell, the more affective is their healing power, was an old saying in Europe. No-one can deny the smell of onion or garlic. There are 4000 year old reports from china that chives was then a stable of their food. Today we eat chives sprinkled on salad's, in sandwiches, in soups or added to butter and cream cheese. Chives contain Iron and Vitamine's that help prevent the common cold. Garlic and onions are found to lower serum cholesterol levels and stimulate fibrinolytic activity.
Extracts of garlic contain Allicin. Allicin is a powerful antibacterial and in a pinch garlic powder can be used on a wound as an antibiotic.
Use a slice of onion or garlic on ant bites and bee stings to balance the acid.` Roasted Onion on minor frostbites, or if the skin is not broken even raw onion slices, can be used as a poultice. A tincture made out of three to four garlic buds in steeped several days in brandy, is a very effective remedy for coughs or asthma. Garlic capsules, or if you can get over the fact of smelling like garlic even tea twice a day, will cure and control Cystitis. High blood pressure will also be controlled by garlic intake. Eating lots of garlic will prevent you from having those conditions in the first place and if you do already have them it will bring the pressure down. A person that eats a lot of garlic will not come down with worm affection.
Onion soup is an welcome and effective aid in the common flu. Place fresh slices of onions on bumps and bruises, as well as elbow and ankle sprains and you have a very effective pain reliever.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is another one of those little kitchen wonder drugs. It acts in a local way on a body and therefore can be used a a target remedy. It is a powerful stimulant that eases stomach pains and relieves spasm's.
Five drops of cinnamon oil added to a tablespoon of water, taken daily at the onset of the flu, will help with healing and preventing a re-occurring bout. Yo can also create the same effect if you do not have cinnamon oil by bruising a cinnamon stick and steep it in simmering water or cold brandy. This concoction also is used to make a mild herbal tea to act as a pregnancy aid. Drink one tablespoon full, one hour before bedtime and morning sickness will go away. Use this small amount first to check for possible sensitivity, then go to half a cup.
For people that have an affliction to nausea and/or digestive problems make a compound powder of three small cinnamon sticks, one tablespoon of cardamom seeds and one tablespoon of nutmeg. Grind together and save it in a jar labeled ANTI_NAUSA. Use 1.4 teaspoon to a cup of water for an adult dose.
Cinnamon is now also known to lower blood sugar levels in diabetic patients. You can buy the capsule or take the straight powder, the amount equal to a capsule, to lower the blood sugar.
As an aid for weight loss, cinnamon is helpful to control sugar intake. It speeds up metabolism and burns unwanted carbohydrates.
A pinch of cinnamon on top of ground coffee in a coffee maker will also offset the acid in the coffee for sensitive stomachs.
Cinnamon is recognized by German the Food and Drug Administration as an anti-fungal. A strong solution of cinnamon tea may relieve rash on other skin problems.

Clove

During the Han Dynasty in ancient China (207 BC to 220AD), court visitors were required to hold cloves in their mouth while addressing the Emperor - presumably to not offend him with bad breath.
In the 17th and 18th century, the competition for clove import was very heated between the Dutch and Portuguese, the two major importer for spices in Europe at that time. Cloves became a rather sought after commodity for spices and medicinal purposes.
Cloves posses both antiseptic and anodyne (painkiller) properties and have long been known in folk remedies. Dentists and healers have used cloves to relieve toothaches for generations.
Clove tea can be made by steeping the buds in boiling water to cure nausea and rid the stomach of intestinal gases.
Tinctures also are used to cure athletes foot and other disease causing fungi.
Pomander's to repel insects in the house, inside a clothes closet or any other closed off room are made by studding an orange with cloves and hanging it up. The strong aroma of this spice impregnated fruit will last for a lifetime and can be revitalized by steaming it over a hot pot till the skin of the orange is softened again.
Bruised Cloves can be a powerful anesthetic. Be careful on how you handle the bud, some sensitive people can be highly allergic to clove oil.
Boiling cloves for a very short time in water will also produce a sleep aid. Caution will also have to play a big roll in taking this. Start wit a teaspoon full of it and work up to where you are comfortable with the effects.
Cuts, specially paper cuts can be very painful and by wetting the cut and dipping it in clove powder, you will get rid of the pain.
Clean clothes dipped in a strong tea and applied to arthritic parts of the body, will relieve some of the pain. It also is a big help with neuralgia.

Dill

Dill is a Saxon word and means: " to lull". Dill has many tranquilizing abilities.
In Biblical times Dill was also known and priced. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites! For ye pay tithe in mint and dill and cumin and have omitted the weightier matters of the law. (Matthew 23,v.23)
To make a dill tea you can simmer a teaspoon full of seeds in a cup of water, use the strained tea to overcome hardened bowl movements, colic's and wind. The boiled seed can be eaten on bread or in salads for the same purpose with a somewhat stronger result.
Dill is rich in mineral salts and therefore can be used in salt-free diets. A infusion out of Crushed seeds can be used as a nail bath to strengthen fingernails.

Disclaimer and Warnings

Please read before using any of these Remedies

Disclaimer:
The Herbal Remedies within these pages are safe to the best of my knowledge!, if used in moderate and controlled environments. Hazards and contradictions are noted where they are needed. Please use common sense, moderation and knowledge of the plant material when involved with self medication. It is always wise to get advise from an Herbalist or other Herbal professional before starting any Herbal remedy. These pages are for informational purposes only and not indented to diagnose and treat any ailment. I can not be held liable or responsible for misuse or inappropriate handling of the information I am giving here.

Warning:
Only use Herb material that you are 100% sure is the herb you are looking for!
Consult your health practitioner, your herbalist or any knowledgeable person if you are ill or have any health concerns.
Under no circumstances should you use any herbal infusion over a long period of time.
Be very aware that herbal remedies can be extremely powerful and should you have any side effects stop using the remedy immediately and consult your health practitioner right away.