I am sure you will take pleasure reading about them as much as I have had researching and writing about them. I encourage you to use them in order to discover their healing, relaxing, and energizing effectiveness and aromatic flavors. And, please don’t wait to fall ill to try them. Start using them today to season your dishes and as infusions and teas to relax alone or with friends. Allow me to proceed with the super-list I chose for you today.

Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, is a special herb. All its parts: Fruit, leaves, stems, and roots, have effective medicinal or culinary uses and sometimes both. Its potent antioxidants and nutrients are endless and curative. The multiple benefits comes from phytocompounds such as alpha-pinene, apigenin, apiole, beta carotene, benzaldehyde, bergapten, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, geraniol, glycol acid, kaempferol, limonene, linalool, lutein, myristic acid, myristicin, naringenin, p-coumaric acid, psoralen, quercetin, rosmarinic acid, rutin, and xanthotoxin. Its immune-boosting calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium and fortifying vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, C, and E give it a special status amongst dark leafy greens.

Traditionally, parsley dispels gastric gas; eliminates parasites; and normalizes gastric functions. The green strengthens the memory because of the rosmarinic acid and others. It produces good effects on the prostate and stimulates the reproductive system and sexual desire. The green freshens the breath after garlic and onion consumption.

Parsley’s diuretic effect relieves water retention, and lowers high blood pressure with the help of its high magnesium content. It assists bladder and kidney problems; eases the flow of painful urination; and expels stones. A big bunch of the green should be steeped in a liter of boiling water and left to cool or it can be blended with water as juice. Either way, it should be taken four times a day with meals to help the release or break up of kidney stones.

Parsley offers an amino acid called histidine, which has the ability to suppress the propagation of tumor cells. Its vitamin A and C components, which have recently been accepted as cancer-fighters, exceed the amounts found in any other vitamin-rich foods. Lutein like in other leafy greens is a powerful antioxidant, which protects from blindness due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Parsley’s bone-health benefits come from its richness in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C.

Parsley is a popular herb used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. It is chopped and added to salads, stews, soups, and vegetable dishes before serving to preserve its goodness, freshness, and aroma. The famous Lebanese taboule salad is basically made of finely chopped fresh parsley and mint leaves with diced tomato, cucumber, and onions. The dressing is simply made of lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. The salad is a very healthy filling starter, rich in nutrients and fiber, a nutrient that assists a weight loss program.

Olive leaf, Olea europaea, is the green leaf of the “blessed tree” as mentioned in the Holy Quran. We all know the many benefits of olive oil, the heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, but very few people outside the Middle East have heard of the health benefits of the leaf of the olive tree. This deep olive-green leaf reveals an abundance of phytochemicals such as apigenin, beta-sitosterol glucoside, cinchonidine, esculetin, kaempferol, mannitol, maslinic and oleanic acids, oleuropein, quercetin, rutin, and tannins. These powerful agents are at the spearhead of detoxifying antioxidants to neutralize and destroy free radicals, bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and parasites. They also boast strong immune effects.

In studies, the extract of olive leaf showed potency by decreasing high blood pressure plus relieving colds, influenza, sinusitis, pneumonia, most infectious diseases, and gastrointestinal disorders, while mitigating chronic fatigue and arthritis pains and psoriasis. The extract supplements taken in combination with fresh ginger give more effectiveness in lowering high blood pressure. Other nutrients like calcium also found in the green help build bones and nourish the body.

The other medicinal effect of the olive leaf is lowering blood sugar levels in insulin-dependent sufferers to the point of reducing insulin doses. A traditional recipe for diabetes is drinking half a cup of the boiled leaves before every meal. The drink is made with a big handful of the washed leaves by boiling them in a liter of water for three minutes. The solution should be left to steep for another 20 minutes; poured in a glass bottle (only); and stored in the refrigerator for the day. The potion appears to stimulate insulin and prevent blood sugar surges.

Alfalfa, Medicago sativa, is a potent alkalizing and detoxifying green plant. It acts against acidic conditions, yeast infections, and inflammation. Its powerful phytocompounds produce therapeutic effects by lowering cholesterol levels; balancing hormones; regulating blood sugar; enhancing the functions of the pituitary; relieving digestive disorders; alleviating arthritis pain; and improving skin conditions. The green leaves, flowers, petals, and sprouted seeds are used for their curative benefits. 

Alfalfa provides healing phytochemicals like alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-sitosterol, chlorophyll, coumarin, crypoxanthin, daidzein, fumaric acid, genistein, limonene, lutein, saponin, stigmasterol, and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants produce detoxifying properties, having anti-inflammatory and antifungal effects on the body. Lutein in the green protects the eyes from macular degeneration, a blinding disease.

Alfalfa’s exceptional abundance and combination of vitamins A, Bs, C, D, E, and K, protein, and minerals calcium, copper, folate, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc make it an ace of a supplement for deficiencies such as anemia, bones, joints, and problematic skin.  The chopped young green leaves are used directly on ulcerated open wounds and bed sores along with the consumption of fresh vegetable and fruit juices, resulting in successful healing. In its fresh and raw forms, the plant provides maximum healing nutrients. The sprouted seeds, which produce a very effective and energizing cure, should be thoroughly washed from clinging mold and bacteria. Alfalfa also comes in supplement form.

In Arabia, alfalfa, also known in Arabic as barseem, is the main feedstock for cattle. Due to its nutritional value, livestock feeding on the green produce superior meat, containing higher levels of the healthy omega-3 fatty acids, to the meat of grain-and-corn-fed animals, which contains more saturated fats. Due to its high nutritional value, modern herbalists branded the plant as “The Father of All Foods.”

The miracle of “live” aromatic plants is that their nutrients work synergistically and their therapeutic powers become even more effective when they are blended. These greens are very rich in digestive enzymes and amino acids, which also increase intestinal microflora, “healthy” bacteria, protecting from food poisoning and infectious digestive pathogens.

Their practical aspect is that the dried herbs, seeds, roots, and gums neither spoil nor have an expiry date. In fact, some act as preservatives. The other advantage is that they are easily available and can be stored in your kitchen, having medicinal and culinary uses with minimum side-effects on your health. Start enjoying them today!

I shall be back, inshallah, next week with more of my Pandora’s Box of remedial aromatic plants.