Essential oils are immensely useful and are loads of fun to work with, sniff, and collect. I usually have about 80 of them at any given time! Essential oils are very concentrated aromatic oils that are distilled or pressed from plants. Similar oils, called absolutes, are obtained via solvent extraction from more delicate botanicals like tuberose and jasmine (more on these in a future article).
As a writer, and as a health enthusiast, I have learned about a great many supplements, treatments, and healing modalities in my lifetime.
Kitchen Witchin’ Part 1 shared valuable medicinal uses for kitchen herbs and spices that many folks have on hand. For part 2, let’s continue unleashing that inner witch by bringing some botanicals out of the medicine cabinet and into the kitchen!
Turmeric, botanically known as Curcuma longa, has long been revered as a sacred plant for healers of many traditions. Used as food, medicine, and in ritual, this rhizomatous plant holds a well-respected power.
My naturopath recommends castor oil for everything from dry eyes to sore joints to digestive issues. I took her word for it and every time I would use it, it would work — but I wasn’t sure if it was all in my mind or if there really was something special to this sticky, slippery stuff that I just didn’t know about yet.
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!
Ladies: although our beautiful breasts come in many different shapes and sizes, we all need to keep them as healthy as we can. Performing regular breast exams can help ensure your breasts are healthy and cancer-free. Along with performing regular exams, you can also help to promote breast wellness with certain herbs.
Check out these 10 herbs for boosting breast health!
You likely learned about zinc – a type of metal – in chemistry class when you memorized the periodic table. Or maybe you have slathered on some thick, white sunscreen with zinc oxide in it? (Zinka sunscreen was all the rage in my middle school!) Perhaps you reach for a zinc supplement when you feel a cold or flu coming on?
A reddish brown lobe that sits on your body’s right side, the liver is a multifunctional organ and one we cannot do without. It helps convert the nutrients from the food we eat into essential components of the blood, stores vitamins and minerals for later use and also produces proteins and enzymes vital to maintain the hormonal balance in our bodies. Not just that, the liver is the defacto protector of our immune system and helps our bodies fight off infections and also makes bile, essential for digestion.
