Herbal nutrition is simply about the use of plants, plant extracts, or plant preparations to help promote good health and well being. Herbs and plant-based foods provide a lot of nutrients and antioxidants. What we like about herbal nutrition and alternative therapies is that they help to enhance the body’s natural ability to fight disease and restore itself back to health.
Some of the easiest ways to benefit from the properties of herbal nutrition is by having a plant-based diet, herbal teas, culinary herbs and herbal dietary supplements.
The Advantages of a Plant-Based Diet
A plant-based diet mainly consists of foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seeds and nuts. The emphasis is on having these foods as the main or larger portion of your diet. Plant-based foods generally provide the best nutrition and contain the majority of antioxidants and fiber. The other huge advantage is that they contain a lot less fat and cholesterol. They also have fewer calories. These foods should form the foundation of a healthy eating plan.
When we mention a plant-based diet we don’t mean that you have to become a vegetarian, what it means is having the main portion of your diet as plant-based foods. We are semi-vegetarians, occasionally we eat small amounts of meat, mainly fish, but the main portion of our diet is plant-based.
Studies have shown that just by increasing the amount of plant-based foods in your diet and decreasing the amount of animal-based foods, can have a positive impact and be beneficial to good health and well being.
Herbs
Herbs, which are also known as botanicals, have a nutritional, therapeutic and medicinal value. Herbs have always played a key role in the health and well-being of people for thousands of years.
These days, herbs are used widely in all parts of the world by just about every culture. Herbs are used in a variety of ways to either flavor food, as herbal medicine, as scents, in essential oils or in our case herbal nutrition.
The definition of what makes up an herb has broadened over the centuries. Herbs may be defined as any plants that can be used for culinary, nutritional or medicinal use. These days the term “herb” not only includes the leaves of a plant but also includes the root, stem, flowers or fruit. The broader definition can include plants like aloe vera, spices like turmeric or fruit containing seeds like guarana.
Some vegetables can also be classified as herbs like rocket (arugula), alfalfa, baby spinach and watercress.
Culinary Herbs
Most people are familiar with herbs which are used in cooking like basil, coriander, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme to name a few. My family has been using herbs in cooking for generations, from basil and oregano in pasta sauces, to rosemary and sage in roasts and rocket (arugula) in salads.
Herbs in cooking can be used either fresh or dried. There are also herb infused oils for salad dressings and for cooking.
There is nothing like using fresh herbs straight from the garden for cooking. Instead of using a lot of salt and sauces in your cooking, try using some fresh herbs to season and flavor food.
Not only do herbs add delicious flavor to your food, they are also rich in nutrients. Adding herbs to your food on a daily basis helps to promote good health.
Our Herb Guide
There are literally hundreds of different herbs. Below are some of the common herbs that people are using either for cooking, nutritional or for medicinal purposes. We have used most of the herbs listed below either in our cooking, herbal teas and in herbal supplements.
Aloe Vera, Basil, Chamomile, Dong Quai, Echinacea, Fenugreek, Garlic, Ginger, Ginkgo, Guarana, Horsetail, Parsley, Rocket (arugula), Rosemary, Sage, Saw Palmetto, Schisandra, Thyme, Watercress
Important: If you are taking any medications, or have any medical condition, we recommend that you consult a nutritionally oriented physician or healthcare provider who is aware of herb-medication interactions.