Herbs and spices have been used for centuries as medicines in cultures from Asia to the Native Americans, from Southern Europe to the Aztecs. While, for thousands of years, herbal practitioners had no idea why or how herbs actually worked, they became extremely successful at identifying the right herb for the right aliment through trial and error.
More than 2,000 years ago, to reduce fevers and inflammation in his patients, Hippocrates used to offer bark from the willow tree, and instruct sufferers to chew on it. Then in 1897, the German pharmaceutical company, Bayer, developed a branded tablet called Aspirin from the very same bark. In fact, most pioneering Western pharmaceutical companies created their pills by extracting nutrients from herbs. Even today, more than 100 well-known pills, medicines and tablets still base their remedies on plant extracts. While Aspirin no longer comes from willow bark (it’s now synthetic), codeine and morphine are still made from opium poppy seeds
Today, the industrialisation of both isolating and then mechanically extracting micronutrients from herbs and spices happens en masse. However, it is so commercialised that it’s hard to believe that anything other than very little of nature’s remedies re- side in the final product. At Primal Cure, we passionately believe that the balance of nutrients and the power of the remedy is far better when consumed the way nature intended. Today, I believe, we are so brainwashed by pharmaceutical propaganda and misinformed doctors that we are more likely to pop a pill containing extracts from a herb than actually consume the fresh herb or spice as intended and supplied by Mother Nature.
But let’s return to herbs and spices as a prevention rather than a cure. What I love about using them in my cooking is that they add flavour to just about anything. And flavour is really important. As we start living Primally, there will undoubtedly be the odd occasion when we are going to miss our fast food or sugar-rich snacks. While it is okay now and again to fall off the wagon and have whatever we want (re- member we are not promoting a diet but a lifestyle change), ideally the more times we can stay true to what we were designed to eat, the healthier we will ultimately be. I recommend you experiment with as many herbs and spices as you can get your hands on. Even better still, get out in the garden and grow your own. There is no more a satisfying meal than one where we know the flavour was created in our own backyard.
Health Results: WHEN WE ARE NOT FEELING WELL, WE SHOULD FIRST LOOK FOR THE CURE IN OUR SPICE RACK AND NOT IN OUR MEDICINE CABINET.
Plus, when we are trying to encourage our family and friends into a more natural way of living, tantalising their taste buds with herbs and spices makes it easy in helping them convert to our healthier lifestyle. And for those that you know who pop too many over- the-counter pills, as you read through the following pages you will be able to amass enough knowledge to be able to advise them to close the door on their medical cabinet, and instead plant their way back to good health.
For better Health Results: THE STRONGER THE AROMA AND THE MORE PUNGENT THE TASTE, THE MORE DENSE ARE BOTH THEIR NUTRIENTS AND CUR- ING PROPERTIES.
