It’s a long proven fact that common spices and herbs used in everyday cookery have its medicinal advantages. Here are a few examples:

1. Asparagus

Use: Kidney problems, dissolves uric acid deposits, promotes urination

Preparation: Boil in water and drink.

2. Black Pepper

Use: Take at first sign of any disease: Pain relief from toothache, brings down a fever.

3. Cinnamon

Use: Diarrhoea, dysentery, general indigestion, yeast infection, athlete’s foot, reduces cancer-causing tendencies of many food additives and cold.

Preparation: Cinnamon ground or taken with milk is a good balance after a heavy meal or dessert. Simmer sticks with cloves for 3 minutes, add 2 tsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. honey, 2 tbs. whiskey as cold medication. Boil 8-10 sticks in 4 cups water, simmer 5 minutes, steep 45 minutes, and then douche or apply to athlete’s foot.

4. Cloves

Use: Toothache, nasuea, vomiting, sore gums, topical pain relief of arthritis, antiseptic mouthwash, alcohol-craving suppressor.

Preparation: Chew for toothache, nausea or vomiting. Use oil for pain relief for sore gums and toothache. Add clove oil to neutral oils for topical pain relief of arthritis. Small amounts of clove in a tea for nausea. Three cloves in two cups of boiled water, steeped for 20 minutes, as an antiseptic and mouthwash. Former alcoholics can suck on one or two cloves when the craving strikes to curb the desire.

5. Garlic

Use: Chronic and acute bacterial cold and flu, bronchitis, asthma, whooping cough, high and low blood pressure, removing parasites and infections, sexually transmitted diseases, hypoglycemia, diabetes, destroys intestinal parasites, reduces cholesterol, repels insects and reduces sting effects of insects and red ants.

6. Ginger

Use: Cold/flu, suppressing cough, cramps, nausea, stiffness, detoxify meat, blood thinner, ease bruises and sprains, stimulate delayed period, break up congestion and fever.

Preparations: Ginger prepared in tea form is useful for cramps, nausea, thinning blood, as a substitute for coumadin, break up congestion and fever.

Use externally for stiffness

Add in cooking to detoxify meat, especially chicken. Boil 2/3 cup of freshly chopped root in 1 gallon water, wrapped in cheesecloth (or old nylon stocking) until the water is yellow. Then soak towel and lay on bruises and sprains while still hot, to ease them.

7. Mint (Peppermint)

Use: Migraines, nervousness, stomach disorders, heartburn, abdominal cramps, stomach ache and herpes.

Preparation: Herpes sufferers can take 2 cups of tea a day to ease the symptoms when the virus is active. Mints are used to buffer the action of other herbs that have uncomfortable effects on the stomach and intestines. Can be used in any combination for flavour.

8. Mustard

Use: Sprained backs, deep rattling coughs.

Preparation: 1 ½cups of dry yellow mustard in a bathtub of water for sprained backs.

Make a paste with water and apply to knee and elbow sprains till blisters appear! One tsp. each mustard and ginger powder mixed with 2 ½tbs. of olive oil for deep rattling coughs. Rub over chest and back and put on an old T-shirt (or cover with cloth diaper).

9. Onion bulb

Use: Cold, cough, life prolonger, dressing for burns, bee and wasp stings and asthma.

Preparation :Interviews with hundreds of people who lived to 100 plus all indicated a heavy intake of onions in the diet. Onion is an excellent dressing for burns. Crush sliced onions with a little bit of salt and apply to burns. Apply sliced onion to bee and wasp stings. For asthma, puree an onion, cover it with brandy and let sit overnight, strain it, filter it through a coffee filter, and refrigerate. Take 2 tbs. 20 minutes before expected onset or before going to bed.

10. Spearmint

Use: Cold, flu, mild fever, antispasmodic, prevents vomiting, relieves stomach and intestinal gas.

11. Vinegar

Use: Blood cleanser, arthritis cure and reduces inflammation.

Preparation: Naturally brewed apple cider vinegar is one of the finest blood cleansers and arthritis cures known. Take 1 tbs. per day of equal parts vinegar and honey in water to taste to cleanse the blood and reduce inflammation from arthritis.