Ginseng is a herb that has been attributed many, many powers. Many years ago, wars were fought defending ginseng lands. These days, products still line the shelves of pharmacies, promising all sorts of things – from virility to improved brain power. Some of these claims have been scientifically substantiated, others – well, they are just claims, and scientific proof is still lacking. Read more →
Echinacea has a colourful history. It was first used by American Indian tribes. Only the medicine man knew the secrets of the various plants which he would use to heal diseases. And he would only pass on these secrets to his successor when he felt himself to be near to death. So it was a very unusual yet lucky occurrence when a white doctor befriended a medicine man and learnt of the immense medicinal value of Echinacea, a plant belonging to the daisy family. Read more →
Garlic is one of the oldest herbs used medicinally by man. As early as 3000 BC Chinese scholars wrote of garlic.Ancient Egyptians worshipped it as a god. Garlic was of such value to them, that 15 pounds of it would purchase a healthy male slave. It was also reported that the pyramid builders went on strike when deprived of their daily garlic ration! Read more →
Fenugreek, with its aromatic odour and strong flavour is more commonly used in curry powders than as a medicinal herb. Read more →
A lot has been written about the dangers of feeding kelp (seaweed) to animals (and humans). To quote Owens & Huntington in “What’s in a Label”, seaweed contains “lots of iodine and precious little of anything else”. They warn of iodine toxicity, amongst other things. Read more →
