Holidays, Herbs and Health

December is finally here ladies and gents! And we all know what that means – its completely and totally the holiday season. The wait is over- cinnamon everywhere, red and green everything, GLITTER, and lots of joy and love and giving!

Something I love particularly about the holidays – no matter which ones you celebrate – are the interesting flavors that surface during the holidays. A huge variety of spices and herbs get their chance in the spotlight this time of year, and this once-a-year chance shouldn’t stop at the dinner table.

Rockin’ Rosemary

Herbs have a variety of uses, and the best part of about them is that they can be grown easily in your home. Rosemary, for instance, is nearly indestructible as far as plants go. It’s small, woody, and will stay happy as long as you water it at least once every two weeks.

It’s also insanely good for you in a variety of forms. Cooked into foods, it provides you with more than 16% of your recommended daily intake fo vitamin A, which helps keep your skin tight and your eyes keen. It also contains iron and potassium, which helps bring oxygen to your muscles and control blood pressure spikes.

On a related note, rosemary’s ability to help with blood circulation can help aid in hair growth when applied topically. Massaging Gemmotherapy rosemary oil into your hair after washing it can help stimulate your hair follicles, while simultaneously protecting your scalp from potential dryness and infection.

Boppin’ Basil

Basil is another plant that, once you get it growing in your home garden, it just won’t quit! Basil plants can be tricky to transfer into a larger pot and keep happy, but once they become acquainted with their new home, they’ll grow like crazy!

Basil is also a fabulous supplemental herb, taken orally or applied topically. When ingested, basil is an anti-inflammatory agent, contains lots of antioxidants, and is a natural adaptogen. An adaptogen helps our bodies deal with stress, and basil has been shown to have properties that allow our bodies to more readily adapt to the world around us. And, we all know the holidays never lack in the amount of stress they bring, so this is an especially fitting herb for this time of year!

Basil is also super useful for fixing problems like itchy, dry skin. This tends to come up after washing lots of dishes or produce, which is another frequent happening in the kitchen around this time of year. And we all know theres almost no avoiding cuts and burns at least once between holiday meal preparations. Herb Pharm basil essential oil can help ease the pain of all of these too when a few drops are applied to the irritated skin!

Poppin’ Parsley

Finally, parsley is another key player in the world of herbs. Another easily grown plant which will fill a kitchen with a fresh aroma, this herb can be used for so many wonderful things this holiday season.

Nutramedix parsley essential oil can not only help kill microbes that can infect open wounds, it can actually inhibit their growth. That makes it a great alternative to other antibacterial agents that are usually applied with bandages, and it comes with significantly less stinging!

Parsley is also loaded with vitamins C and K, which can help with boosting our immune systems (holiday season tends to align with flu season, sadly!) and promoting blood clotting to help heal wounds. Parsley also contains volatile oil components, which sounds bad but actually helps neutralize carcinogens!