Sunday, February 11, 2007

Everyday herbs that benefit us...

When we go to fancy restaurants and even the not so fancy restaurants, food is served to us in a very artistic manner with many garnishes and herbs that decorate the plate. To me these garnishes and herbs just look very "pretty" and are another was of making the food look more appetizing. I have never once thought about eating any of these garnishes, shoving them to the side I never gave them a second thought. Some of the herbs are just thought of adding flavor to a meal.

Little did I know that these garnishes might benefit us a lot more than the whole meal itself. A sprig of parsely usually garnishes a steak or fish, it is not only edible but highly nutritious. Parsely is made up of upto 22% protein, has calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, several vitamin B's, vitamin A and more vitamin C by volume than an orange. Parsley has a unique ability to mask strong odors, chewing a fresh sprig of parsley helps freshen breath and has been used for centuries as a herbal remedy to cure bladder, kidney and menstrual disorders.

Rosemary is a a great tasting herb, used to flavor plenty of foods. Rosemary has many medicinal attributes, rosemary is used for relieving tension, headaches, depression and indigestion. Rosemary is full of antioxidants and has analgesic properties. Rosemary oils are applied externally to treat rheumatism and improve circulation. Rosemary tea is used to treat colds and flus, rheumatic pain, athritis, aching muscles, muscles, muscle spasms, indigestion, and fatigue. Rosemary is also used as a mouthwash , dye, preservative and in shampoos to combat dandruff and thinning hair and balding.

There are plenty of herbs out there, all of which have there uses in our everyday lives. We know so little of all their uses and its interesting to find out that something we take for granted could help us out so much.

2 comments:

Daphne said...

Interesting post! I often read about herbs used in cosmetic products and am curious how the results could be verfied.

Also, the sustainable foods garden at the Depot will have one small bed that contains herbs and berry shrubs. The larger bed will be vegetables. Anyone who wants to join the garden group is welcome! Just talk to me after class and I will give you details.

Mrinal Shukla said...

Another great example is cilantro, which my mom uses with Indian food. It makes her dishes taste really good but eating a leaf alone is an awful idea. However, cilantro has folic acid and is known to help nausea and rheumatoid arthritis. It is also known to help with intestinal gas, which may be useful with certain foods.