The holiday season is full of amazing baking with delicious spices and we thought we’d share with you a little bit about the medicinal uses of some of these great herbs. We’ve featured ginger, cloves, cinnamon and anise seed below and we guarantee you will see these all of these spices as much more than great addition to cookies and cakes but also as medicinal allies in your quest to stay well.
Ginger
A Christmas time favourite, Ginger is one of the most popular herbs in the world. Native to the coastal region of India, it has been cultivated there since before written history. Ginger is one of the earliest oriental spices used in the Western World and it was particularly popular in Medieval and Tudor times in England when it was valued equally as a medicinal and culinary spice. Gingerbread was a favourite treat, stamped with a pattern and often decorated with gold leaf, and sold at fairs up and down the country by special gingerbread vendors.
Ginger is an extremely versatile herb and has a wide range of uses. It has a long reputation as an anti-emetic herb and is used for motion sickness, nausea, and vomiting. In fact studies show it to be as effective as the drug, Gravol for treating these conditions. It is also widely used for inflammatory joint diseases like rheumatism, arthritis, fibromyalgia, sciatica, and muscle strains and sprains. Ginger is a warming herb that improves circulation and helps to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure. In the respiratory system, it can be used for sore throat, laryngitis, colds, influenza, coughing, and fevers. One of the best things you can do at the first sign of a cold is drink 2-3 cups of ginger tea with honey and fresh-squeezed lemon then go to bed; it really works! You will likely sweat a lot but the next day you should feel much better. Another great action of ginger is its ability to reduce indigestion, bloating and flatulence. A perfect herb to have after a big Holiday Dinner!
Cloves
Whether it’s pumpkin spice, apple pie, or mulled cider, this wonderfully sweet and spicy herb becomes an essential at this time of year. While it is delicious and reminiscent of happy times during the holidays, you might not realize what a powerhouse clove bud is for relieving many ailments. The plant’s dried flower bud is the part used for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It adds heat to dishes and beverages and it has the same effect on the body. As a warming herb it is able to stimulate circulation and digestion. It has a long history of use as a natural preservative when added to food. It even aids in the breakdown and assimilation of food for easier digestion. When taken internally as a beverage or other preparation, clove can help warm up the body from the core when suffering from chills, cold weather and poor circulation.
This herb is also a wonderful pain-reliever with its natural anesthetic properties. The constituent, eugenol is responsible for these effects on the pain receptors. A topical preparation of clove may be applied directly to an area of poor circulation or pain by infusing an oil with the clove bud or simply diluting clove essential oil in a carrier such as olive oil. When added to a massage oil or liniment, it can provide relief from nerve and muscle/joint pain such as in neuralgia or rheumatoid arthritis. Essential oils are not recommended to take internally (i.e. as a preparation to swallow). However, applied directly to the tooth or gums for short duration is not known to be harmful and clove oil is one of the most common remedies suggested for relief of toothache. It has the ability to numb the pain in the tooth and gums and it is still important to dilute the pure essential oil in a carrier to avoid burning the mouth. Clove oil is also often added to toothpaste blends for its abilities to inhibit dental plaque formation.
Clove happens to be a natural disinfectant and in vitro studies have shown it to be effective against E. coli, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Pneumococci. When battling a common cold or flu, adding some clove bud to a nice ginger and lemon tea adds the benefits of antibiotic properties while also improving appetite. It is often used in blends to rid the body of parasites, particularly in the intestinal tract. With its natural anesthetic properties is helps with easy removal of the intestinal parasites by sedating them while killing them off. The essential oil of clove bud is even an effective insect repellant. It’s obvious there’s just so much to love about the amazing-tasting and –smelling clove bud all season long!
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of the world’s most familiar spices and has been used as a herbal medicine in China for at least 4,000 years. Traditional Chinese Medicine still uses cinnamon as a “warming” agent to fight infections occurring when there is cold or fatigue and to increase the activity of the digestive tract. It warms and stimulates the digestive system, and is useful in weak digestion, colic, cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, gas and distension (great for after Christmas dinner!). A hot drink of cinnamon will stimulate circulation and cause sweating, preventing and resolving flu, colds, and it can be used as a steam inhaled for head colds and chest infections. Cinnamon acts as a relaxant, reducing anxiety and stress, and relieves spasm and cramps. The tannins in cinnamon have an astringent action, stemming bleeding in nosebleeds, heavy periods and resolving diarrhea and catarrhal congestion. Cinnamon antioxidants may also fight bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, especially yeast infections of the mouth (oral candidiasis) in people with compromised immune systems. There are also some scientific indications that cinnamon relieves the pain of ulcers and kills H. pylori bacterium which has been associated with duodenal ulcers.
And finally – one of the most widely researched actions of cinnamon is its effects on blood sugar levels in the body where it has been shown to regulate the activity of insulin and is often used as a natural treatment for diabetes, weight control, and hypoglycemia. So if you are worried about your blood sugar this Christmas and have an upset stomach from overindulging then cinnamon just might be the answer!