6 ANTI-INFLAMMATORY HERBS AND HOW TO USE THEM

If you do not use herbs and spice in your cooking, you are missing out. Herbs are not only useful for adding flavor to your meals, they offer a wide range of amazing health benefits, including the ability to help improve your immune system.
Here, you will find a selection of the best herbs that you can include in your diet to strengthen your immune system, along with a juicing recipe that includes two of the most beneficial herbs.

Juicing provides an effective way to get nutrients and minerals from fresh produce and herbs. Most food items, when cooked, begin to lose some of their nutritional value, which is not an issue with juicing recipes.

Look for the various herbs that are most useful for boosting your immune system and then try out the juice recipe below that includes some herbs.

1. Peppermint

Peppermint packs an abundance of minerals, such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Magnesium is needed for the healthy production of any type of cells within your body.

Peppermint is often used to treat digestive issues like gas/bloating, IBS, and reducing gastritis-related symptoms.

It may protect against DNA damage and cells degeneration caused by chemotherapy and radiation.

As an expectorant and decongestant, it is useful for clearing nasal congestion and relieve respiratory inflammation.

Read about the health benefits of peppermint tea.

2. Echinacea

Echinacea is a great source for vitamins A, C, and E, as well as potassium and copper. It also has a good amount of phytonutrients, such as vanillin, betaine, and kaempferol. All parts of the Echinacea plant are edible and full of nutrients.

Drinking echinacea tea or including the herbs in your juices helps to reduce inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, eye inflammation, and gout.

It works as a great pain-killer and reduces various kinds of pains: stomach aches, headaches, sore throats, tonsillitis, toothache, and muscles ache.

3. Thyme

Thyme is a herb from the mint family, used for both cooking and for medicinal reasons. It has a great variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K, manganese, dietary fiber, and calcium.

Thyme has a unique quality that makes it beneficial for lowering high blood pressure normally, treat acne and boost the immune system.

Its fungicidal properties make it useful to be used as a disinfectant, and for alleviating cough and other respiratory problems.

Thyme is best used raw. Add to your salads or green smoothies.

4. Rosemary

Rosemary contains iron, vitamins A, B6, and C, folate, and phosphorus. As with thyme and peppermint, use rosemary fresh, to preserve the nutrients.

Rosemary has memory and mood enhancing properties that improve mental health and elevates mood.

It is an anti-inflammatory that reduces pain, helps clear the lungs, throat, sinus and respiratory conditions.

Consuming rosemary fresh in tea infusion has proven beneficial for the digestive system, treating upset stomach, constipation, indigestion and excellent for boosting the immune system.

5.  Ginger

Ginger is common herb with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. With ginger, you get phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, thiamine, and magnesium, just to name a few.

Ginger has antibacterial properties that make it beneficial for healing of digestive disorders such as IBS, gas/bloating, indigestion, nausea, and diarrhea. At the same time, it strengthens the immune system, preventing common cold, cough and fever.

Like most herbs, ginger has high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to help relieve various inflammatory disorders, provide substantial relief in pain, and help reduce swelling and morning stiffness.

Add fresh ginger to all your juices to benefit from all it has to offer. Only use ginger powder if you don’t have access to fresh ginger.

6. Turmeric

The super food of herbs and spices, turmeric is one of the most beneficial spices for strengthening your immune system and improving your health.

It contains potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, vitamins C and K, as well as lycopene, selenium, and manganese.

The high content of antioxidants helps neutralize free radicals and reduce cellular damage. It has curcumin, a phytonutrient that is beneficial for destroying mutated cancer cells and retards tumor growth.

Turmeric can also be used as a natural pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory for relieving aches, pains, headaches, stiffness and swelling. Add turmeric in your juicing and use turmeric powder only if you can’t get the fresh ones.

HEALTHY JUICE RECIP

The following drink is great for strengthening the immune system, beat inflammation, increase energy, and improve eyesight and skin.

This juice recipe makes a great green juice that is delicious, and a good way to include at least two herbs for their excellent anti-inflammatory benefits.

1 cup of pineapple
6-8 leaves of kale
1 green apple
½ lemon
A bunch of mint leaves
1-inch piece of ginger root
Make conscious efforts to include any of the above herbs in your juices, and find other creative ways to include them in preparing your daily meals. The more of a variety that you include in your diet, the more benefits you will get.



References:
www.steadyhealth.com/articles/herbs-to-boost-and-build-a-healthy-immune-system
http://justglowingwithhealth.com/fibro-fighter-juice/


Source by: http://juicing-for-health.com/6-anti-inflammatory-herbs-and-how-to-use-them.html

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The Health Benefits of Cloves

Sourced from an evergreen tree that grows in Asia and South America, clove is a natural substance said to offer several health benefits. The tree's leaves, flower buds, and fruit also produce clove oil, which is widely used in aromatherapy. Clove's health benefits are thought to result from its purportedly pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects.

Uses for Cloves

In alternative medicine, clove and clove oil are typically touted as natural remedies for the following health problems:

allergies
arthritis
colds
dry socket
fever
impotence
migraines
nausea
vomiting

The Science Behind Clove's Health Benefits

In Germany, a governmental regulatory agency known as German Commission E has approved clove for use as a topical antiseptic and anesthetic. However, research on clove's health benefits is limited.

Here's a look at several findings from the available scientific studies:

1) Dental Pain

In a 2006 study of 73 adults, researchers found that clove-based gel was comparable to benzocaine (a local anesthetic) in its ability to ease pain resulting from injections in the mouth.

See Natural Remedies for a Toothache.

2) Food Poisoning

In lab tests published in 2009, scientists found that clove bud oil (as well as essential oils of cinnamon and allspice) may help protect against food poisoning. After adding clove oil to an edible apple puree, the scientists observed that clove bud oil helped suppress the growth of listeria (a type of bacteria known to cause food-borne illness).

3) Cancer

Preliminary research suggests that clove holds promise as a means of protecting against lung cancer.


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In a 2006 study on mice exposed to carcinogens, scientists discovered that animals treated with clove were less likely to develop lung cancer. However, since researchers have yet to test these findings in clinical trials, it's not known whether clove could have the same effect on human lung health.

Caveats

Cloves may cause allergic reactions and certain adverse effects (such as a burning sensation, increased risk of bleeding, and lowered blood sugar levels) in some individuals.

Using Cloves for Health

Given the lack of science behind clove's purported health benefits, clove cannot currently be recommended as a standard treatment for any condition. If you're interested in using clove for health purposes, make sure to consult your physician before beginning treatment. Self-treating and avoiding or delaying standard care can have serious consequences.

Source by ; http://altmedicine.about.com/od/completeazindex/a/clove_benefits.htm

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