How many times have we opened our spice cabinets and used the spices ginger, thyme, rosemary, or nutmeg? If you're like me, a lot. We do it because it changes the flavor and enhances our food. It hits our pallets and changes our perspective on a plain potato or pork chop. Sometimes, just the smell could trigger a pleasant memory. Maybe a memory of your grandmother's kitchen. What if I told you that your everyday herbs could do so much more?
Let's take ginger as an example. This root can help give your food a spicy flavor, but if you take in steam from boiling ginger root, it could help clear congestion, and if taken in a tea could steeped with ginger could sooth a sore throat. Ginger supplement taken could help ease your digestive issues.
By adding certain herbs into your diet, you are replenishing the things 6 are missing. Thousands of years ago, there were no pills for headaches; there were no Tums for heartburn. The people learned to live off the land not only to put food on their tables but also to use what nature provided to heal everyday issues. They would go to the woods and pick Yarrow, for example, to put on a wound that was bleeding because yarrow promotes blood clotting. They would harvest nutmeg, steep it water, and drink it at night to ward off insomnia.
In the world as a whole, we have learned to just accept the convenience of opening a can that has preservatives in it that are too hard to pronounce, let alone know what it does to our systems. We have accepted that our meats are filled with hormones so we can feed the population. Have you ever read the nutrition labels of even some of the healthiest food we microwave? Don't even get me started on the fast food we eat on a regular basis.
We have created a society of busy, nonstop people who don't have time to think. We are too busy to think healthy because society has created a substitute for whatever draws you away from doing are must do task and getting us back to our roots of a simpler, happier life.
I don't advocate for turning your life upside-down and going all organic or stopping fast food, but I do advocate for taking small steps that doesn't stop the busy all together but does allow you to be aware that being healthier isn't time consuming.
I learned not long ago that turmeric is a good spice that could help prevent cancer. Guess what I do. I cook just about everything now with a dash of turmeric. I have seasonal allergies and now instead of taking a pill that has who knows what in it to alleviate my symptoms I use natural homemade oils and essential oils to relieve those same symptoms AND I know what's in it. Yes, a pill is easy to take and quick, but my oils are just as effective and don't take any longer to apply. It doesn't take any longer in the morning to pack a healthy lunch for work than it takes to go through drive-through on your lunch break.
When you start to change how you are doing your busy life in a way that is better for you, then you're busy is not quite so crazy. You begin to feel better, and you actually start to enjoy making that lunch or drinking that tea before bed. You begin to be happy in your busy.