Thyme: the fourth in the Scarborough Fair quartet, in addition to it’s culinary uses, has been used for centuries as a strewing herb, and to treat respiratory and gastro-intestinal ailments. Some of its properties include analgesic, expectorant, antiseptic antifungal, anti viral, and insect repellant.
Studies have proven it to be effective against many gram positive and gram negative bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

It has been used for decades for bronchitis, whooping cough, fungal infections, and has been used in toothpaste to prevent gingivitis.

In test studies thyme has been found to lower blood pressure and strengthen the heart functions in addition to it’s carminative and antispasmodic functions.

For an unrelenting cough try a cup of thyme tea sweetened with a little honey. Thyme not only will calm the cough and help expel phlegm, but will also open up the airways of the branchial tubes and lungs and is a wonderful respiratory stimulant.

To make thyme honey, loosely pack fresh or dried thyme in a jar and fill the jar with honey. Place the jar in a pan of water and allow the water to simmer for an hour. You may find it necessary to put a “grate” under the jar to prevent it from overheating. I use a canning jar ring for this purpose. Add hot water if necessary as the water simmers.

Remove the jar from the water and cap it tightly. Allow to set for 6 weeks. At this point you can either reheat the honey and strain, or leave the thyme in it. Add a spoonful of thyme honey to any herbal tea. While it is true that heating the honey will destroy some of its antibacterial properties, it will still make a wonderful addition to your herbal medicine collection.

Cold and flu season is upon us. It's time to start adding more immune building herbs to your arsenal. If you're not already taking Echinacea, now is a good time to start. Other good immune builders are Astragalus, Marshmallow root, garlic and beet roots and greens.

Beets are in season now and provide a wide range of nutrients and antioxidants as well as being an immune system builder. See previous post for more information on Beets. There are many, many ways to use garlic, and the recipes calling for it are plentiful. Try to get some garlic into your diet every day.

Although citrus fruits are commonly thought of as being helpful during the cold and flu season because of their Vitamin C content, take into consideration that broccoli contains more Vitamin C than citrus fruits. Add this to your diet at least three times a week. Apples, which are also in season during the winter month are also a good addition to the diet in order to bring extra nutrients and carry toxins out of the body quickly.

Of course don't forget to wash your hands often. A disinfectant soap isn't usually necessary if your wash properly using a rubbing action and rinse well. Disinfect door knobs, telephones, and any surface touched often by multiple members of the family. The handy disinfectant wipes are a favorite with busy Moms and Dads, but apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle kills 99% of bacteria and 82% other pathogens.
Just set the nozzle on the finest spray possible and mist surfaces lightly and allow to dry without wiping.

Beets aren’t an herb, but considering their powerful healing benefits they deserve a place in my healing arsenal. Beets help normalize the ph of the body and build the blood. In America and most industrialized nations the foods we eat have become so over processed that many people’s body ph is very acid which leads to not only digestive problems, but obesity and other diseases such as diabetes.

Beets have been used to treat acne, anemia, cancer, poor circulation, toxemia and a host of other diseases and afflictions. The root and greens are both powerful blood cleansers and builder. Betacyan is the property in beets that give them their deep amethyst color. Betacyan helps significantly reduce the homocysteine levels in the blood which reduces plaque buildup in the arteries and helps increase blood circulation.

Beets belong to the same family as chard and spinach and have the same bitterness as chard. They are richer in chlorophyll than most greens and are higher in nutrients than the roots. Other nutrients in beets are vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. The greens have a higher content of iron than spinach and are also contain calcium, magnesium, copper, phosporus and sodium.

The content of iron is not high, but coupled with all the other vitamins and minerals it is more bioavailable than many other sources of natural iron. The combination of nutrients also make beets and beet greens an amazing aid in treating may ailments that are caused by our toxic environment.