Join Basmati.com every week for a Q&A session with one of Basmati’s practitioners, Melissa Hill (FDN-P)! We know that there is a lot of confusing information out there, which can make applying health advice overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s best to ask a practitioner directly, so each week we’ll cover a common health question!
Wood Betony (Stachys betonica or Botanica officinalis) is an edible herb that’s packed full of alkaloids, tannins, saponins and several medicinal healing benefits. Wood Betony has been a part of traditional medicine for centuries. In fact, during the Middle Ages it was considered to be one of the cure-all herbs. It was once one of the most used medicinal herbs by the Anglo-Saxons.
There are many forms of therapy out there that do not involve lying on a couch in a stuffy office lined with bookshelves. Salt therapy is one of them. Designed to treat skin and respiratory problems, salt therapy can heal the body and restore balance.
Brown rice is believed to have first been cultivated in China about 9000 years ago. Arab travelers brought the grain to the Middle East and subsequently rice traveled throughout the world. The whole grain is known as brown rice – it contains the inner grain, the hull and the germ. Together, they are a rich source of minerals, vitamins, and proteins.
Stinging Nettle Leaf sounds a little scary, but never fear — all it wants to do is take care of you. Here is why you need this all-purpose herb in your life.
Almost every house has a kitchen cabinet or a rack designated just for their cooking spices. Did you know that a majority of those spices contain beneficial healing and medicinal properties? Many spices can be used for both healing and preventing ailments.
Topping off your bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon in the early morning sure is pleasurable to the palette, but it is also great for aiding in proper brain function. There are so many edible medicines – whether they’re used to heal, cure or to simply prevent health issues that taste delicious.
Ayurveda is one of the most ancient of the healing arts that considers the body, the mind and the spirit. Its philosophy is the basis of other eastern healing methods and also includes several holistic healing methods. Ayurveda states that disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract when the system is out of balance and food is not digested properly. It uses foods as a treatment based on six tastes of sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent.
Peppermint is in the genus Mentha which includes more than one hundred species, and is thought to be a natural hybrid of spearmint and forest mint. Its origin is believed to be in North Africa and the southern Mediterranean basin, and has been used in recipes and as a medicinal herb since 1500 B.C.E. It found its way as far north as Scandinavia and was mentioned in the Icelandic Pharmacopoeias in the mid-13th Century.
Kale is a member of the species Brassica oleracea, which includes cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower and broccoli. It has been cultivated for more than 2000 years and though originally found wild in the Mediterranean region it is a cold climate tolerant plant. The term kale is derived from the Scottish word “kail” and the word was used in the 19th Century, referring to dinner.
