GARDEN REMEDIES
Grow herbs and stay healthy
How did you get into making remedies? Kim’s mother and grandmother used herbal remedies mixed with conventional ones and were a great influence. We started by treating our own health issues and our family with easy-to-find remedies, which led us to getting degrees in herbal medicine and a better understanding of the body and how to use herbs to keep it in optimal health.
Can garden herbs and spices really cure you? Yes! Herbs and spices gathered from the garden can help you with lots of everyday ailments such as colds, sore throats, PMS and headaches. All the aromatic herbs we use in cooking are, at the very least, high in antimicrobial oils and antioxidant plant compounds that, when eaten regularly, can help work towards better health. Dried herbs from the supermarket are not very medicinal by the time they hit the shelves, so fresh or freshly dried are better. You can start by growing your own basic garden of sage, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary. What secret health-giving properties might everyday ingredients have? Garlic is a good medicinal herb. People shy away from it because of the smell, but chomping on lots of garlic when a cold threatens can increase protection from lung infections. Eucalyptus essential oil is undervalued and a great antiseptic – dilute five drops in half to one teaspoon of olive oil to treat minor cuts and grazes. It can also be painted on toenails to treat fungal nail infections, and a few drops added to creams and massaged onto sore joints can ease aches. Which essential ingredients should every home have and why? A bottle of lavender or eucalyptus essential oil for a start! Good-quality organic camomile tea bags are also a good all-rounder – take an infusion to aid sleep, ease upset tummies and calm mild anxiety. Camomile’s also a great anti-inflammatory. Don’t they all just have a placebo effect rather than being ‘real’ medicine? A major aspect of any medicine, whether herbal or conventional, can be credited to placebo. Herbal medicine has a physical e ect on the body. The chemical compounds found in herbs act much like some of our pharmaceutical drugs – for instance, aspirin originally came from willow trees, while morphine’s still extracted from poppies.
See handmadeapothecary.co.uk