What herbs and plants make the best home-grown medicines?
Many plants have unique qualities that can benefit our health, whether it be the calming scent of lavender or chamomile’s defence against allergies.
And a variety of these plants can be grown in your own backyard garden. It’s not just for those with green thumbs to grow their own medicine.
These natural treatments may be cultivated anywhere, as long as they receive enough light and water, whether you have a small balcony area or a garden patch.
Numerous health advantages are provided by the plants all around us, including relief from migraines, discomfort, and insomnia.
FOR PAIN RELIEF
Feverfew
This is a traditional medicinal herb commonly used to prevent migraines and headaches. It is also known as ‘medieval aspirin’ and is often dried to be used in medicine.
Turmeric
Turmeric has numerous medical advantages that have been verified by science, including the ability to stave off cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. It is a member of the ginger family and a native of the Southwest. It is praised for its wonderful advantages.
Rosemary
This perennial herb has many health advantages, including increasing memory and focus and enhancing digestion, in addition to its floral perfume and culinary uses.
FOR ALLERGIES
Holy Basil
Holy basil includes antibacterial qualities that serve to keep bacteria and germs out of your mouth and is excellent for fighting coughs and colds. This powerful cultivar, which also relieves joint pain and anxiety, is regarded as sacred in Hinduism.
Chamomile
Chamomile is excellent for indigestion and skin rashes, and it’s also used to promote sleep (such as drinking chamomile tea before bed). Additionally, it has a potent natural antihistamine, according to research.
Parsley
Best for bone health and cancer, parsley is effective in controlling allergic inflammation. It is also extremely easy to grow: simply sprinkle seeds on top of the soil and mist well with water.
FOR SLEEP
Lavender
Many different products, including bath salts, candles, soaps, mists, and pillow sprays, contain lavender. It is well-known for helping people who have trouble falling asleep, and its aroma helps promote deep sleep by lowering blood pressure and heart rate. Poor quality of sleep? Why not use lavender to cover your pillow at night? You can either cut some from a shrub or purchase some at a nearby market.
Aloe Vera
Due to its potent air-purifying abilities, aloe vera is frequently used to treat sleeplessness. It works best for skin irritation and constipation.
Valerian
For millennia, people have utilized the root of the valerian plant to cure various sleeping issues. Additionally, it helps with hyperactivity and heart health.
An Important Note
Be Careful. To minimize drug interactions and allergic reactions, do your homework and consult a doctor before ingesting therapeutic plants and herbs.
Women who are pregnant or nursing should abstain from using medicinal plants unless their doctor has given the go-ahead.
You do so at your own risk while using natural treatments for illnesses and disorders. Utilizing medicinal plants is not a replacement for seeing a doctor.
Always speak with your doctor before taking any additional supplements made from medicinal plants, especially if you are on any prescription drugs, have a medical condition that requires treatment, are pregnant, nursing, or have severe allergies.
Medicinal Plants: A forest that heals a community
As a prominent figure in the Kakamega community, Abraham is connected to many families, including the poorest. One of the major expenses amongst most communities in Kenya is health insurance and medical bills, something which many families simply do not have the money to afford.
Illness is common here, in particular Malaria. In Kenya, there are an estimated 3.5 million new clinical cases and 10,700 deaths each year, and those living in western Kenya have an especially high risk of Malaria.
Abraham and the team at KEEP knew that there were native plants growing within the Kakamega forest which treat many illnesses, including Malaria.
So they decided to put a plan together that would provide financial relief to the community, whilst encouraging an interest in nature and sustainability.
Leaning on the expertise and time volunteered by some of their community who have studied plant medicine, KEEP offers free workshops for the community which teach them about these plants. They are taught how to grow them, how to look after them and how to use them.
This has sparked great interest from the community who are now more interested in moving away from international foods and medicines, in favour of their indigenous culture which has been somewhat forgotten and left behind.
The medicinal plants workshop has been one of the most popular programs amongst the local community with more people growing these plants than ever before.
The workshops have provided a clear financial impact on this community, assisting them to break free from unaffordable medical bills and financial strain. The diversity of plants in the Kakamega forest also includes plants that are proven to treat Typhoid, Asthma and even Prostate Cancer.
We are proud to support Abraham and the work of the KEEP organisation, which is why we recently planted 2000 trees in the Kakamega forest for World Environment Day.
If you’d like to support Abraham and any of the initiatives he’s working on, head over to our projects page to find out how you can get involved.
Have you ever grown a plant specifically for medicine? Do you have a favourite healing plant in your garden, if so? Comment below and let us know!