Herbal Household Remedies

This is not new, but probably good to remember anyway

The life of spices: Science finds medical promise in the kitchen cabinet

Getting spices into your daily meals can be a tasty way to get an antioxidant boost. Here’s four that have been the subject of research.

• Turmeric: Its active ingredient is curcumin, used in traditional medicine to treat ailments from gallstones to anemia, to heal wounds and treat arthritis.

• Ginger: Grown underground, but not technically a root. It is one of the most-studied plants in the world and is known as an aid to relieve nausea.

• Cayenne: Includes capsaicin, another antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and other pro-inflammatory diseases of aging.

• Cinnamon: A powerful antioxidant. A teaspoon of cinnamon has the same antioxidant power as a half cup of blueberries.

Read more about the four
In 1993, an eager biochemist at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center struggled to put the brakes on a protein he had discovered a few years earlier, a protein that can turn on cancers and inflammatory diseases.

Bharat Aggarwal knew that the protein, tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, could trigger a whole cascade of inflammation in the human body — a very bad thing. He also knew that turmeric, the yellow curry spice, was a potent anti-inflammatory in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

The next step, sprinkling some turmeric on a culture of TNF, may seem like a bit of a leap. But it didn’t feel that way to Aggarwal, a professor of cancer medicine at M.D. Anderson.

“In Ayurveda, it is nothing new,” he said. “And the beauty is that it is very, very safe.”

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cayenne, pepper

• To prevent frostbite on fingers and toes, sprinkle cayenne pepper into your socks and mittens before going outside.
• If it’s not cold in your part of the world right now, you might want to prepare this frostbite remedy well in advance of the next winter: Soak 2 tbsp of whole black pepper corns and 1 tbs of ginger roots and horseradish, both coarsely grated, in 1-1/4 cups of white wine for a week.  Filter, strain, and store away in a tightly stoppered bottle in a cool, dark place until the next winter.  In case of frostbite, apply the solution generously with a brush on affected parts.

Both peppers and tomato are helpful in fighting fatigue. The following recipe - Peppers stuffed with savory Spanish rice, topped with a mild tomato sauce - includes both vegetables.

Stuffed Peppers (serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 6 green peppers, medium size
• 3 cups savory Spanish rice (see below)
• 1 cup tomato sauce (see below)

Wash peppers, core them. Chop the pepper seeds finely and mix them with the savory rice (unless you are saving the seeds for next year’s crop). Steam peppers for 20 minutes, then fill them with savory rice, half a cup per pepper. Place in a casserole, top with tomato sauce, and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender, at 350F.

Savory Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 1/4 lb. lean ground round
• 1/2 cup raw brown rice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups of tomato, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Sautee onion and pepper, brown the beef and drain. Mix sauteed vegetables and beef, then add all other ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, stir, reduce heat, then let simmer for 40-60 minutes or until the rice is tender. Stir often as it will stick otherwise, and remove the bay leaf before filling the rice into the peppers.

Mild Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned or self made tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp onion, finely diced
• 3/4 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic clove, finely diced

Mix all ingredients and bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Top stuffed peppers with the sauce before baking.