Did you know that most of the drugs we currently use in the practice of modern medicine were derived from or copied from herbs, spices and plants. Before doctors or drug stores, every culture had its healers, medicine women or grandmothers who administered special teas, tinctures or rubs drawn from the earth’s bounty to cure what ails us.
We’ve come a long way and I’m very grateful for many of those medical innovations, but I need more. I’ve decided it’s time I join the wise people who are putting the Farmacy before the Pharmacy to prevent or cure illnesses instead of just treating the symptoms. Case in point, at my age arthritis is a fact of life, but does it need to be? It may be possible to halt the damage to my bones and joints, while building back healthy bone in its place. So, I’m being careful to include lots of vegetables that support a healthy skeleton and I’m spicing my food with things shown to aid in my quest. I frequently choose strawberries as my daily berry and reach for ginger when the arthritis is especially painful. Sesame seeds have been suggested to reduce the inflammation as well giving license to try new recipes that highlight ginger and sesame seeds. Teriyaki tofu any one?
A good example of spices known to reduce inflammation and in particular help with arthritis is turmeric. I love it in curry, but I was surprised at how easily I’ve grown to love it in my morning oats. I wonder if just knowing its health benefit changes my palate or if I simply had a mental block on when a certain spice was right. There is just so much variety that I am certain I will never run out of new flavors to try. And if they turn out to have healing properties, then I’m ahead of the game.
Right now, our daily regiment includes doses of turmeric (accelerated by a pinch of black pepper) for inflammation, cinnamon to control our cholesterol levels, garlic for its super hero cancer preventing properties along with his side-kick onions, amla for its antioxidant attributes, flaxseed as another anti-inflammatory, and fenugreek to help these tired old muscles stay strong. This quote frequently attributed to Hippocrates has never been more relevant. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food!”
“Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt…” (Colossians 4:6 NASB)
“Roman soldiers were paid a salarium of salt, the derivation of the modern ‘salary’. Covenants in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible were often sealed with salt, the origin of ‘salvation’.” (John A McDougall, M.D., The Starch Solution)
“In Ancient times and for centuries to follow, spices were often more precious than gold.” (Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD – Healing Spices)
Yours for a Joyful Journey,
Joyice