Using Herbs and Spices for Treatment
With the advancement in medical science, it has been proved that various herbs and spices of day-to-day use have definite medicinal value. This is why most of these are being used in different medicines all over the world. Their use is very vast, not limited to flavor or treatment of only a few ailments.
The spices, herbs and minerals that are commonly used in food items are generally meant to add flavor and taste. Different recipes are made to change the taste but somehow their medicinal value is generally ignored. Most common of these items are cinnamon, clove, garlic, ginger, anise, black tea, cardamom, chilies, coffee, common salt, coriander, green tea, honey, lemon, menthol (fresh), olive oil, onion, pepper, thyme and turmeric etc. etc. There may be more items in use in different parts of the world according to their availability and culture of the area.
These items are in use since thousands of years. When human beings added them to their kitchens, they must have done so on some solid bases after experience, not for flavor or taste alone. People of the ancient times probably knew their effects but with the passage of time, the use became a routine losing sight of what they are actually meant for. Now the frequency of their use has made them almost essential part of our daily meals but most of us do not tend to give a deeper thought to why a particular item is being used, should be or should not be used.
Our bodies are though used to these spices and herbs, yet their incorrect or overuse can lead to many problems. For example, incorrect and overuse of common salt can disturb the blood pressure. This is why patients of hypertension are advised to cut down its intake. On the other hand, persons having low blood pressure may not use too much of salt to raise the blood pressure because it will only create problems rather than helping them. Similarly other items have their effects; salt is just one example.
These are safe as long as their use is in a specific way, not excessive and uncontrolled. In addition to using them just for flavor, they can be used to treat certain ailments at home. Best of all, these are very handy, available in the kitchens anytime, anywhere. If you know how to use them, you can get the real benefit. If you are really clued up in their use, you can safely treat even high blood pressure (hypertension), low blood pressure (hypotension), hemorrhoids (piles) especially the bleeding type, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and a lot more.
I use various combinations of these items for different ailments. Here are two tips of common interest:
- Watery diarrhea, vomiting, common fever, common cold
Use black tea. Prepare black tea from tealeaves in usual manner but do not add milk, sugar, salt or anything else; just the water and tea leaves will do. A cup of this tea should give good relief in about an hour, check diarrhea and/or vomiting and lower the fever in most cases. If required, second cup may be taken an hour after the first cup. For the children, you may cool it down to room temperature before using. Do not add ice to cool it. Please note that it is meant for watery discharges only. If the discharges in vomiting and diarrhea are thick or pasty, this tip may not work. Use it as emergency (first aid) treatment only to be followed by proper treatment. - Hypertension
Take 10 grams of fresh garlic, peeled off, and 5 grams of pepper. Grind them together or individually and mix them up. Using half teaspoon of this mixture thrice a day should give good relief. This ratio would need to be changed according to condition of the patient. This tip is of general nature. If hypertension is due to dysfunction of kidneys or some thing else, it would be better to consult the doctor.