In traditional cultures, plants and herbal medicine were an integral part of daily living. Medicinal herbs and plants were either wild harvested or cultivated, prepared and added to most meals or taken as tea. In Ayurveda there’s no real distinction between foods and medicine.
In our market driven economy, we are quick to hype things up if there’s a profit to be made. One example are “Superfoods” and turmeric or curcumin* (the extracted compound) being heavily promoted, these and other herbs are really just regular foods. This however, doesn’t take away from their health promoting compounds, vitamins and minerals. *Note: According to herbal medicine practitioners, the effect of the whole plant is greater than its parts.
Many pharmaceutical medications are based on man-made versions of naturally occurring compounds found in plants. For instance, the heart medicine digitalis was derived from the foxglove plant.
Ways to Eat Herbs and Spices Daily
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Sprinkle powdered cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of cardamom on oatmeal or mix into pancake or bread batters.
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Add grated or finely chopped fresh turmeric and ginger root to stir-fries, soups and stews
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Add to oatmeal or stir into applesauce: Slippery elm powder, astragulus powder, ashwagandha powder or shatavari powder.
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Soak and eat-as-is dried Goji berries, longan berries, jujube dates, mulberries
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On a toasted Ezekiel English muffin, spread with ghee or coconut mana or almond butter and sprinkle with cacao nibs, cinnamon powder, and sea salt.
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Add chopped fresh herbs to salads, stir-fries, cooked grains, soups and wraps like: Cilantro, parsley, mint, rosemary, marjoram, moringa, Thai basil, Italian basil, lemon thyme, oregano, dill, chives, etc.
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Add noni juice to LemonAid
Note: More specific and higher doses of these plant-based foods are used to treat various imbalances
Daily consumption of herbal foods does more than add flavor to meals som benefits include:
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Provide anti-inflammatory compounds
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Provide easily assimilated vitamins and minerals
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Support body to protect against pathogens
