Essential Medicinal Herbs You Need To Have At Home

The Greeny Short Medicinal Herbs That Are Forgotten

Run…Run… We run to the doctor’s place whenever we see our kids suffering from Cold and Fever. A higher percentage of us parents do not allow the cold and fever to go naturally. Instead, try to get rid of it from our kids at a much faster rate with medicines. Some medicines come with a lower impact and some of them with higher impacts for example Antibiotics. In the above line, if you notice, I had mentioned lower and higher impact and that is because I do not believe that modern medicine comes without any side effects if taken for a longer duration. We knew about the leaves of the medicinal herbs that can help cure the minor illness but we still prefer the labeled bottle with sugary syrups.

Why are we not allowing the fever to drop down naturally in Kids?

Below are the points that struck my mind. Maybe some parents who are reading this blog might relate to it and another group might not be able to agree. Whatever may be being a parent I think I fall under the first category.

1. The first is universal – we do not want to see our kids suffer.

Other two main factors that contribute to our speedy recovery mindset are,

2. Work – sometimes we would not be in a position to avail leave especially when there is a need. Even if we avail, not more than 2 days. This is very much applicable when both the parents are working. The work from home option is not always fruitful as they sound mainly because they do come with a lot of limitations and conditions in most of the workplaces.

3. Family Background – there was a time when the term joint family sounded very common. The term that is almost nearing the Nostalgic section in our lives nowadays. So, to be precise we do not have anyone at home to look after the kid. The schools and the daycare centers are not going to welcome the regular kid when he/she is sick.

As We Sow, So Shall We Reap

We had already done enough sowing to mother nature and we had started reaping the outcomes as well.

Starting from Air, Water, Sand, Trees what not?

Nowadays, even when we look for an apartment or a flat to buy/rent we see that there is a small balcony or a sit-out only to relax oops… sorry only to have a view of the damages we made to the earth.

Gone is Gone, we cannot heal nature overnight from the damages we made these many years to our environment. But, we can try to close the gaps slowly. We might not be able to utilize the outcome of it in full considering our age factor but our kids and their kids can.

In this blog, we are going to see some of the medicinal herbs, especially, the ones that can be grown in the flower pots or similar in our homes. These plants are a kind of hardy that we can grow in our terrace, balcony, walkways, and in a corner of our parking space too as they do not require much space. Some of these medicinal herbs are small and some are wide horizontally hence can be easily maintained. Also, note that some of these medicinal herbs are highly underrated and ignored irrespective of them being a powerhouse with a lot of benefits.

When you do not have space to grow a tree, start with a little plant. Dream Big, Start Small.

The Medicinal Herbs Underrated

These plants are not new to Indian culture as these are the medicinal herbs that were used by our grandmothers as a remedy to the general cold and flu.

1. Tulsi

Image Credit: justherbs

Called as a Holy Basil, this medicinal plant is Divine. Mostly seen in the temples and some of our homes as well as on the sides of the road/street with no one to care.

It is a powerful adaptogenic herb meaning it can reduce stress and increase energy. There has been a lot of researches conducted on this medicinal plant as the medicinal values are so high. It controls asthma, congestion, sinus, common cold, and cough.

It is also said that the regular consumption of 4 to 6 leaves of Tulsi is a preventive measure for many bronchial diseases, allergies and it is an expectorant (a medicine which promotes the secretion of sputum by the air passages, used to treat coughs).

Leaves of this medicinal plant contain Vitamin A Eugenol, Citronellol, and limonene which are very useful for anti-inflammatory purposes.

For Kids

Kids aged below 10 years can be made to drink a tea prepared out of tulsi, pepper, honey, and other herbs to reduce the cold.

For Adults

Tulsi tea is an alternative caffeine-free tea that is safe to consume more than 5 times a day.

2. Indian Borage / Ajwain

Image Credit: Youtube

Called as Indian Borage, this medicinal plant has got many other regionalized names too in India. For example, called as Karpooravalli or Omavalli in Tamil. A highly aromatic shrub and a kind of medicinal plant which grows very quickly. The Omega-6 content in these leaves is said to treat arthritis.

For Kids

For kids who could not bare its raw taste while chewing, we can grind this plant’s leaves with tulsi and betel leaves to make a fresh homemade syrup whenever needed. This provides instant relief in babies suffering from Fever and simulates urine thus keeps the kidney healthy.

For Adults

Easily chewable, it can be used for treating cold, cough, and throat infections.

3. Aloe vera

Image Credit: commons.wikimedia

A medicinal plant which is getting a lot of attention nowadays not majorly for its health benefits but for their usage in the cosmetic products. In India, you can find this plant hanging at the entrance of the houses as they are believed to attract good luck. This plant holds 99 percent of water inside in the form of a gel which we can also see people consuming them directly.

There is also another type of Aloe vera that appears red. This type is known to have cancer-curing capabilities and used in some of the cancer-curing hospitals in India that follow natural methods. On the other side, some studies had shown that the chemical Aloe has got anthraquinone which is linked to Carcinomas (a type of cancer that starts in cells). It is best to stay away from non-purified whole leaf Aloe vera extract.

For Kids

Aloe gel can also be used to heal wounds and reduce irritation caused by skin allergies. The best moisturizer for baby skin during winters instead of harsh chemicals.

For Adults

Helps a lot to treat skin-related issues like sunburns, dandruff, and reducing inflammation. If you are consuming it orally, then it is best to ensure that it is clean. Do not overdose.

4. Coriander

Image Credit: 123RF

A very common leaves used in Indian Cuisines. A favorite in most of the kitchens in India as not even a day passes without it. The fresh leafy part of a coriander plant is called Cilantro, also referred to as Chinese Parsley. Remember, the taste of coriander and cilantro differs. Syrups made out of this aromatic leaves with pepper and ginger powder is best for treating cold and flu.

For The Kids & Adults

The antiseptic property helps get rid of mouth ulcers. One teaspoon fresh coriander juice, mixed with 1 or 2 seeds of banana, given once daily regularly, for a week is a very effective measure against smallpox.

5. Bhumi Amla ( aka ) Kizhanelli in Tamil

Image Credit: Livercureworld

I still remember all the fuss I made when my mom and the neighbor aunt made me drink a glass of juice from this medicinal plant. This is when I was suffering from Jaundice.

The more it bitters, the better it is for the health, my aunt used to say this.

Very small and simple plant but comes with great benefits. Not just Jaundice, it also helps in treating Aenimic, and Dropsy. It also helps in breaking the kidney stones, hence called a stone breaker.

For The Kids & Adults

It is not advisable to drink the extract daily as they are too cold for the human body. Consider it in a very smaller quantity when you are normal and consider drinking daily when you are suffering from Jaundice.

I am still typing this sentence so I am alive even after drinking it daily until my Jaundice got cured. This happened when I was in my 8th grade at school.

Okay, let me stop here. I know how hard it would be to scroll down a lengthy article. I will connect with you all again in the part 2 section covering the remaining plants.

Stay Tuned…

Save & Plant Trees – Not for us but for our Kids.

References

httpss://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23500775

httpss://www.odishafdc.com/products_medicinal_plants.php

httpss://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19545969/aloe-vera-juice/