If you have culinary herbs and spices in your kitchen, you have the right ingredients to create infusions that can be used medicinally to heal what’s ailing you.
An infusion is medicine that is delivered via a liquid (water base).
A great example of an infusion is tea prepared with herbs and/or spices that have a variety of healing essential oils.
Below are three herbs/spices you can use as medicine as we head into flu and cold season.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a member of the mint family. It is antispasmodic, a natural carminative, circulatory stimulant, and anti-inflammatory.
Rosemary is pungent, resinous, piney and highly aromatic. Rosemary is so fragrant, I love it!
You can use this Rosemary herbal infusion to promote blood flow to the heart and the brain, improve memory and clear upper respiratory congestion. It’s very easy to prepare…. rosemary, hot water, done!
Thyme Tea with Honey and Lemon
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is not only delicious in food recipes, you can also use it in tea to expectorate chest congestion and relieve coughing and bronchial spasms.
Going through the past couple of C0vid years, people have told me that this homemade thyme, honey and lemon infusion helped them to clear lung congestion and breathe easier.
This Thyme Tea with Honey and Lemon is a good one to keep in mind whenever your chest feels thick and heavy with mucus.
Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) is a must have in any healing kitchen.
Not only does it improve digestion, it also reduces fever, lifts the spirits, and relieves depression.
Plus, it can nip a cold or flu in the bud, before it has time to bloom in your body and turn into a nasty respiratory infection.
Take this Ginger Slurry tea at the very first sign of a tickle in your nose or throat, or even if you are feeling lethargic and run down. It’s a health-saver!
Drink 3-4 cups per day, of any of the above teas to help alleviate your condition.
Something to keep in mind is that culinary medicine is gentle, but that does NOT mean it is ineffective. Gentle means that it won’t contribute to negative side effects like prescription medications does.
It also means that it may take a little longer for the medicine to kick in. Remember to be patient with herbal remedies.
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Andrea Beaman is an internationally renowned Holistic Health Coach, Natural Foods Chef, Speaker, Herbalist and best-selling author. Named one of the top 100 Most Influential Health and Fitness Experts, she is also a recipient of the Natural Gourmet Institute’s Award for Excellence in Health-Supportive Education and a Health Leadership award from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Since 1999, Andrea has been teaching people how to harness the body’s own preventative and healing powers using food, herbal remedies and alternative medicine.
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