"Helping Others"

Plants-Herbs
 Legends:

• Black: My words
• Red: Borrowed words

"Herb Garden"

Photo by: OakleyOriginals

Found At: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/3621470678/

Nowadays, only a few people around the globe knows what herbs are and what their benefits are and I'm one of those. It isn't that surprising because as a Filipino, we're often using them as a substitute for medicine for hundreds and hundreds of years. This is most commonly used in remote areas where hospitals or markets are far and even if they do reach these places,  they're too expensive. But there are also some public health centres where they cure and give medicines for free.

For those people who doesn't know or needs further information about herbs, here's more information and and ways that tells us how herbs could help us.

According to the website Wikipedia and Healing Feats, herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, and in some cases spiritual usage. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, resin, root bark, inner bark (cambium), berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions of the plant. Culinary use of the term "herb" typically distinguishes between herbs, from the leafy green parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), and spices, from other parts of the plant (usually dried), including seeds, berries, bark, root and fruit.


In my opinion, herbs are a type of plant that are valued most for their medicinal properties, flavour, scent. Herbs are also the highest quality of  food known to man containing vitamins, minerals and trace elements in natural balance and harmony.It is our sincere belief that our Creator put herbs upon the earth to maintain and restore our health and for further reasons.


Herbs helps us in various ways:

• It's the best substitute for medicines: About a month ago, I and my family went to a family friend's house. There we celebrated a small family reunion and sort of get along with my cousins whom I didn't know that they were. Coincidently, my little brother, has a mild cough and cold and now, my aunt (she's kind of old) comes and brings us to their backyard and showed us her garden and it was full of plants like tomatoes, and oregano. She grabbed a plastic bag and picked some of those green, hairy leaves, which is the oregano and I was actually surprised by that because I didn't know that they would grow here too. Oreganos are usually boiled in water until its juice or extract, comes out and its really the water that you'll drink and it's really not that bad either, it's kind of minty.
• Food: Now, this is a common thing. Usually, when we are eating pasta delicacies, there's always a portion of a leafy plant or something, which is the basil. Plants of these kinds are adding spices to foods, giving it a stronger and excellent taste making the consumers, want more.
• Adds beauty to our surroundings: Whenever I'm strolling through the streets, I'm always looking at the houses' front lawn or windows where there are plants. It's amazing how they make me smile by just looking at them. I don't know, I'm just so amazed of their simple beauty and structure. I'm sort of concerned about plants and herbs. These are called "Ornamental Plants".
• Environment Friendly: Herbs are absolutely harmless, both to us and the creatures living around them. Animals are also a part of our eco-systems and they are taking-part with everything that involves plants -- herbs. They live there, they eat them, they make them grow.Herbs don't need animal testing which is a kind of animal cruelty. Herbs don't need processing too, it doesn't have harmful and toxic chemicals in it but just pure nutrients and minerals coming from the earth.
• Buisiness: A lot of people out there are smart enough to think of businesses that's totally beneficial. Selling these may not be a big source of income but it still helps you through a budget crisis and it doesn't need that much effort especially if it's coming from your own backyard. It just needs effort and patience in planting it. But more than worth-it when harvested.
• Protection: Herbs are also useful in means of pest-control. Just like "citronella", it keeps mosquitoes away for a certain distance. We tried it once, and it actually works.

In conclusion to that, I think that herbs are really useful in terms of medicinal properties. You'll be cured with no side-effects, full with no hunger left, your environment will look so nice, it's jaw-dropping without even worrying about the expenses for the fact that you'll earn more.


Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb#Medicinal_herbs
• http://www.gardensablaze.com/Herbs.htm
• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/herbs
• http://www.healingfeats.com/whatrhbs.htm
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/3621470678/

Works Cited

Wells, John. "Herb." Wikipedia. Longman Education, 18 November 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2011. .


Wolfe, Frankie. "Herbal Information."Healing Feats. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov 2011. .