Home Pharmacy in Your Garden

When illness tries to affect us, we don't have to resort to pills right away. Often, our own garden can heal us, without unpleasant and unhealthy side effects.

By regularly using herbs, we can improve our immunity so much that no medication will be needed, or alleviate or eliminate chronic diseases.

And if you have a bad mood or depression, believe that many herbs can help you with that too.

Practically any herb or spice has healing effects. We have selected several commonly grown herbs with interesting effects that you may not even have known about!

In this article, you will learn about the healing effects of lemon balm, mint, oregano, sage, and marjoram.

Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is grown for its delicious taste, especially for drying into teas. However, we can also encounter it as a spice used in sweet salads or in combination with other herbs to flavor meat.

It is undemanding to grow, requires no specific conditions, and will thrive in sun or partial shade. Its effects on the human body and mind are interesting.

Healing abilities:
Lemon balm has a beneficial effect on the psyche, helps against insomnia and induces pleasant dreams. It relieves nervousness, anxiety and dizziness, and soothes migraines. It can help with mild depression and various mental disorders.

It can support digestion, especially the proper function of the gallbladder. Women will appreciate lemon balm if they have problems with painful menstruation. It also relieves cramps. Delicious lemon balm tea is also given for colds or viral diseases, and has proven excellent for treating and suppressing cold sores.

Externally, lemon balm compresses can be used on bruised, swollen areas or those affected by rheumatism. It also helps mothers with breast milk hardening problems.

Mint
Mint is a perennial, tall herb with a distinctive menthol taste and aroma. It is popular for preparing teas, alcoholic beverages and salads. It can also become an unusual, interesting spice for meat.

It thrives anywhere with plenty of light and at least some moisture. Often, the problem is limiting its vigorous growth rather than growing it. Excess mint can be used to make excellent syrup.

Healing abilities:
Mint is known primarily as a remedy for all kinds of disorders and stomach diseases. It is used for better digestion, flatulence, nausea, pain and cramps, especially of the digestive tract.

It also stimulates appetite and bile secretion, and helps dissolve gallstones. It refreshes breath and eliminates odor caused by poor digestion. On the skin, a stronger mint extract can cause temporary numbness.

Oregano
Many people use oregano on pizza without realizing it comes from the leaves and flowers of a fairly common plant in our regions. This plant prefers drier soil and plenty of sun - the more sun you give it, the stronger its flavor will be.

We most commonly use oregano on pizza or pasta, and it's also great in dishes prepared with tomatoes, cheese, or sautéed vegetables. Definitely try adding it to baked potatoes or meatballs. It pairs well with basil.

Healing Properties:
Oregano has mainly disinfectant effects. We use it for digestive problems, upper respiratory tract infections, coughs, cramps, or if you have trouble warming up at night.
It works excellently for mouth inflammations (as an infusion for rinsing) or for throat pain as a gargle. A compress soaked in oregano extract disinfects wounds and promotes faster healing. It can also be used in children's baths for strengthening.

As the name "oregano" suggests, it also affects the human psyche. Its effects are mildly antidepressant, helping to manage mental stress and anxiety. It relieves irritability and migraines, releases tension. It also helps against insomnia. It is a recommended herb for epilepsy.



Sage
Sage is a very traditional medicinal plant also used as a spice. It originates from the Mediterranean. In our region, you'll encounter not only medicinal sage, but many other species and cultivars that are grown mainly as ornamental flowering plants - however, these usually don't have medicinal effects.

In the kitchen, sage helps us prepare various types of meat, especially lamb, veal, or meat intended for grilling. It also excellently complements the taste of fish and vegetables.

Healing Properties:
Sage is an invaluable helper for all common bacterial and viral diseases, such as tonsillitis or flu. It helps with respiratory diseases and their symptoms (runny nose, cough, sore throat).

By rinsing your mouth with sage extract, you'll reduce bad breath and simultaneously disinfect, as sage also has strong anti-inflammatory effects.

It's also a suitable remedy for all kinds of digestive problems (slow digestion, flatulence, intestinal and stomach catarrh, diarrhea, food poisoning). Like other herbs, sage can also calm nerves, relieve stress, and aid sleep.

On the other hand, it will also help with learning, as it demonstrably improves short-term memory. At the same time, in combination with other medicinal herbs, it's a suitable plant for cancer treatment.

If you have problems with excessive sweating, definitely try sage - either drink cold tea in small doses throughout the day, or a cup before bed against night sweats.

However, you shouldn't overdo the dosage with sage. One or two cups of tea per day is the maximum dose. In higher concentrations, it has an intoxicating effect, and in extreme cases can cause poisoning. Sage is therefore not recommended during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Marjoram
Marjoram is a widely used spice, but its medicinal properties are little known. With its flavour, it perfectly complements fatty meat dishes.

We encounter it in goulash, when preparing game and often liver. However, it can also be part of salads, sauces and legume dishes. It's not just a spice though, marjoram also helps digest fatty and heavy meals better.

Medicinal properties:
As already mentioned, marjoram is a remedy for improving digestion and the overall condition of the digestive system. It can help with stomach troubles, intestinal colic and diarrhoea.

It increases the secretion of bile and gastric juices, and works against bloating. At the same time, it calms but doesn't cause drowsiness, quite the opposite. It can even chase away migraines if they have a nervous origin. Externally, marjoram compresses are used on areas affected by rheumatism.

Seeds of all these herbs and many others can be found in our online shop. Don't wait for spring, grow your own supply of spices and medicinal plants right on your kitchen windowsill!

Written by Eliška Kadlecová