Herbs as Digestive Aids
Before we had modern science to prove the digestive benefits of herbs and spices (which it clearly has), history and culture, through recipes and stories, told us this. It’s no accident that even in our modern-day recipes, pork is often coupled with fennel, lamb with rosemary, beef with pepper, fish with dill, and chicken with sage. The presence of herbs and spices adds more than flavour, these aromatic herbs and spices help us digest heavier foods like meat, dairy and dense carbohydrates.
Some of the oldest recorded recipes from Ancient Rome and Greece are variations of sausages and meatballs that heavily incorporate herbs and spices like bay leaves, parsley, rue, pepper and cumin. Herbs and spices like turmeric, tulsi, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, sage, withania and ginger juice have in many cultures traditionally been added to milk, yoghurt, lassi, labneh, butter and ghee.
Where do I source good quality herbs and spices?
As I mention in my Kitchen Remedy course, the best herbs and spices to use are the ones growing in your own backyard. Herbs and spices will be more medicinal and nutrient dense if they’re local, chemical free and grown in healthy living soil.That said, it’s not always possible to use herbs and spices you’ve grown yourself for a variety of reasons. When local and homegrown isn’t an option, I would strongly encourage you to source organically grown/ spray free when you have the option. This is because the heavy metal residues, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides found in non-organic herbs and spices can be harmful to health, and these chemicals are released into our kitchen remedies when they’re infused in water, honey, alcohol or vinegar.
For sourcing botanical medicines, bulk online spices and supplies, here is a list of some reputable places:
For central QLD locals, Soltree Wholefoods.
Bottom Line
For more information on creative and fun ways to add more herbs and spices to your life, click here.
If you’re wanting to learn more about how to optimise digestion and microbiome health, join me in my upcoming Regen Program, where I cover this and soooo much more!
Until next time,
Stacey.
