"Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I'm taking with me when I go."
--Erma Bombeck
It is true that there are more female herbalists than male herbalists. I do not know which medicinal spice I would want in my casket. Oh-- I can't do that because I want to be cremated. If I was to be buried I would want to have garlic and tumeric, as well as Lilly of the Valley with me.
I am a garlic man. I like the taste and the smell of it, as well as the memories of the past they recall. Garlic always reminds me of my grandfather Poppy, chopping it so fine for the brocade, the vegetables, the meat and especially the pasta with pesto.
Last week I spent four days in the Black Mountains of North Carolina among colleagues, mentors, friends and of course, plants. It was a reminder to me that I am doing the right thing in my life. It was a reminder to protect Mother Earth. It was a reminder that beauty does exist in nature. The Black Mountains in western North Carolina are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Blacks are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States. The range takes its name from the dark appearance of the Red Spruce and Fraser Fir trees on the upper slopes which contrast with the brown (during winter) or lighter green (during the growing season) of the deciduous trees at lower elevations.
The Green Pharmacy is a must book for anyone interested in herbs. The pharmaceutical industry along with the insurance companies are ruining medicine. The country doctors no longer exist. Time with patients is limited if a physician takes insurance due to the low reimbursement. It is only getting worse. There are anywhere from 100,000 to 700,000 unnecessary deaths due to pharmaceutical medications each year. Four years ago in the New York Times it was cited by Hurley that fewer than 30 deaths have been attributed to herbs/supplements and vitamins. Herbs are safer and cheaper.
So are there medicinal spices that we all have in our kitchens that can replace some conventional medicines. Oh course there are.
To name just a few...
Botanical Name -Common Name -Disease used for -Replaces conventional Rx
1. Allium cepa- Onion- Osteoporosis -Caltrate
2. Allium sativum -Garlic -Hyperlipidemia- Lipitor/zocor
3. Anethum graveolens- Dill -Gas -Mylanta
4. Carum carvi- Caraway- Cancers- Tamoxifen
5. Lamus nobilis -Bayleaf -Migraine -Imitrex
6. Nigella sativa Black Cumin Asthma Albuterol inhaler
These are just a few. The list is remarkable. Milk Thistle for Hepatitis C, Saffron for depression, Lebanese Oregano for backaches, Cinnamon for diabetes. There will be a paradigm shift in how we as health professional think. There must also be a shift in how the public views integrative/herbal/botanical medicine.
My little action in writing this blog is to inform you.
Until tomorrow...
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