More Herbs and Spices From Traditional Medicine - Coriander, Cumin and Curry Plant Health Benefits

Like many English people, I love Indian spices. This week we mention some of the ingredients of curry mixes: curry plant,cumin and coriander.

1. Coriander

Coriander leaves and seeds both have uses in cooking, and have very different tastes and smells. It is easy to grow, in many parts of the world you can grow it in the garden. It is not a much studied plant as far as medicine goes, but in traditional fold medicine has been used for anxiety treatment, and in some places it has a reputation as an aphrodisiac. One researcher, Omura, has claimed coriander can be used as a chelator of heavy metals such as mercury. However, there has been no peer verification of that claim.

2. Cumin

Cumin is a delicious spice, but not for everyone's taste. My dishes with cumin were always appreciated in England, but when I prepared a dish with cumin in the Philippines when I first moved here, my visitors would not touch it.

However, cumin is not just for cooking, it reputedly has some health benefits too. Cumin seeds have traditionally been used for stomach ailments, and regular use is said to strengthen the stomach. It has also been used in herbal medicine as a stimulant, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.

3. Curry Plant

The leaves of the curry plant, so called because of its aromatic leaves, are said by some herbalists to have several medicinal purposes. Apart from being a herbal tonic, the curry plant leaves can be used as a gentle laxative and for keeping the digestive system in good order. It also has a reputation for being useful in preventing diabetes and in treating morning sickness.

More on herbs and spices next time.