5 Medicinal Plants that can Benefit Your Health
There are varieties of plants that serves a medicine to us in our environment but below is an excellent starting point to learn how to control and support the power of medicinal plants in our environment.
These are definitely not all the list of plants that benefits the health, but these are the important ones you need to know and start making use of and once you get your feet wet, you’ll likely be inspired to explore more and more uses for these healing wonders.
1. Garlic
Many of garlic’s therapeutic effects are derived from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin, which are also what give it its characteristic smell.
You could possibly keep your doctor away for sometime if you constantly have an intake of a clove or two of fresh garlic a day, because it has immune-boosting, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal effects.
Generally, we can say the benefits of eating garlic is splitted into different categories:
– Improving cardiovascular health and circulation (it helps in protection against clotting, retards plaque, improves lipids, and reduces blood pressure)
– Reducing inflammation (it helps in the reduction of risk of osteoarthritis and other disease associated with inflammation)
– Boosting immune function (antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antiparasitic properties)
– Toxic to at least 14 kinds of cancer cells (including brain, lung, breast, gastric, and pancreatic)
However, Research has revealed that as allicin digests in your body, it produces sulfenic acid, which is a compound that reacts with dangerous free radicals faster that any other known compound and also garlic may be effective against drug-resistant bacteria. This is one of the major reasons why garlic is been classified as one of the top seven anti-aging foods you can consume.
Note: the fresh clove must be crushed in order to stimulate the release of an enzyme called alliinase which in turn catalyzes the formation of allicin and also in order to get the health benefits. It also rapidly breaks down to form a number of different organosulfur compounds. So one need to compress a fresh clove with a spoon prior to swallowing it, or put it through your juicer to add to your vegetable juice in other to “activate” garlic’s medicinal properties.
Black garlic, which is basically fermented garlic, and sprouted garlic may contain even more antioxidants than regular garlic. Allicin’s active ingredient could be destroyed within one hour of smashing the garlic, so garlic pills are virtually worthless.
2. Ginger
There are a lot of medicinal properties in ginger, which is one of the major reasons most mothers always have it with them while cooking because it serves as one spice that they will always recommend to all.
It’s best known that ginger has a huge effect on antinausea and also has a broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-parasitic properties, to name just several of its more than 40 scientifically confirmed pharmacological actions. It is valuable for pain relief for joint pain, menstrual pain, headaches, and more because it is anti-inflammatory.
Ginger has been found to reduce the severity of migraine headaches as well as the migraine medication sumatriptan with fewer side effects, the potentials ginger has of relieving pain appears to be much along side with helping muscle and joint pain.
Ginger is proven to be the best natural remedy available for motion sickness or nausea from pregnancy or chemotherapy and it also helps in fighting cancer, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, asthma, bacterial and fungal infections and so on.
In other words, taking just one gram of ginger daily will go a long way in helping the pregnant women reduce nausea and vomiting, whereas those with migraines and ginger has been shown to work better than a place in relieving morning sickness.
Ginger contains powerful protein-digesting enzymes and helps to stimulate the emptying of your stomach without any negative effect, and it’s an antispasmodic agent, which may explain its beneficial effects on your intestinal tract.
Should incase you are struggling with indigestion, it’s a must you take ginger, and it does more than simply relieve pain.
Millions of people today are enjoying ginger tea everyday, I would advise against using it daily as it can lead to an allergy and is what happened to me about twenty years ago but and the simple way of using it is , having a simple chop off a couple of inches of ginger root and let it steep in hot water for fresh ginger tea.
You could also go by peeling the root first probably using a sharp object like a knife or any other equipment you feel can peel it e.g grater etc and then add it to the tea you made or any food you are about cook. It is so common among people in using it for boiling chicken, you can’t go wrong while adding ginger to stir fries or even your stew, it;s a very good one tho and a natural health care provider can help you get the maximum therapeutic benefits of ginger.
3. Thyme
Thyme contains health-boosting flavonoids including apigenin, naringenin, luteolin, and thymonin, and has been shown to protect and increase the percentage of healthy fats found in cell membranes.
Thyme is rich in antioxidants and it’s a fragrant herb that makes a wonderful addition to your cooking.
It was also confirmed by researchers that the amount of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid) in brain, kidney, and heart cell membranes can be increased after dietary supplementation with thyme.”
Thyme can be also said to by nutrient dense i.e it contains vitamin A, vitamin C iron, manganese, copper, and dietary fiber where by when used in cooking it might help inhibit glycation and the formation of dangerous advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in your food.
Also thyme is a potential prevention of heart disease and premature aging. Due to thyme oil’s antibacterial, antispasmodic, antirheumatic, expectorant, hypertensive, and calming properties, it’s uses around the world is quiet lengthy and few are stated below:
– Hair product: It is said that thyme oil can prevent hair loss. It is used as a treatment for the scalp and is added to shampoos and other hair products.
– Home remedy: Thyme oil is used to relieve and treat problems like gout, arthritis, wounds, bites, and sores, water retention, menstrual and menopausal problems, nausea and fatigue, respiratory problems (like colds), skin conditions (oily skin and scars), athlete’s foot, hangovers, and even depression.
– Mouthwashes and herbal rinses: Like peppermint, wintergreen, and eucalyptus oils, thyme oil is used to improve oral health.
– Aromatherapy oil: The oil can be used to stimulate the mind, strengthen memory and concentration, and calm the nerves.
– Skin product: Thyme oil can help tone aged skin and prevent acne outbreaks.
– Insecticide/insect repellent: Thyme oil can keep insects and parasites like mosquitoes, fleas, lice, and moths away.
4. Lavender
The Lavender oil is said to be rich in esters which are aromatic molecules with antispasmodic (suppressing spasms and pain), calming, and stimulating properties because it has a chemically complex structure with over 150 active constituents.
Other constituents in lavender oil that are responsible for its antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties include cis-ocimene, lavandulyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, limonene, and geraniol.
This oil has been proven effective for nearly all kinds of ailments, from pain to infections. It is also known for its extraordinary properties of calming and relaxing, and has been used aroma therapeutically for alleviating insomnia, anxiety, depression, restlessness, dental anxiety, and stress.
lavender oil’s potential in fighting antifungal and resistant skin nail infection has fascinated a lot of people around the world. Scientists all around the world has found out that lavender oil is lethal to skin-pathogenic strains known as dermatophytes, as well as various Candida species.
The oil also serves as pain reliever which ease sore or tense muscles, joint pain and rheumatism, sprains, backache, and lumbago. After applying a small amount of lavender oil onto the affected area, it lessen pain following needle insertion which can also be applied on any part of your body, it treats various skin disorders like acne, psoriasis, eczema, and wrinkles.
Surprisingly is helps in stimulating urine production, which helps restore hormonal balance, prevent cystitis (inflammation of the urinary bladder), and relieve cramps and other urinary disorders.
5. Peppermint
peppermint oil is an effective alternative to drugs like Buscopan for reducing colonic spasms, it also offers benefits to the respiratory system, including for coughs, colds, asthma, allergies, and tuberculosis.
When it comes to the digestion part of one’s health, peppermint oil capsules could be recommend as the first drug to heal one of any pain.
It also give relaxation to the muscles in the intestines allowing free flow of gas to pass and easing abdominal pain.
It’s also surprising that the inhaling of peppermint aroma may offer memory enhancement and stress relief, and also acts as an expectorant and decongestant, and may help clear your respiratory tract.
Peppermint as the name implies also keep one warm in time of cold, when rubbed on the palm, or on the chest…..then inhale it into your nasal congestion, and through this it will definitely help in cough.
The oil is good for muscle and chest rubs, headache pain, dental care, and aromatherapy.