Everyone knows that herbs make food taste better, but do you know that herbs are also great for your medicine chest? There are four herbs that are wonderful for natural herbal remedies that no medicine chest should be without, alfalfa, garlic, ginger and cayenne. I also like to encourage people to start using herbs on a small scale so that they don't get overwhelmed with trying to buy too many herbs in the beginning of their herbal journey.

Alfalfa has a nickname of being the king of plants because it is very rich in vitamins and minerals. Alfalfa contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, sodium, chlorine and trace elements. Alfalfa has the highest chlorophyll content of any plant. This herb as a medicinal herb can be used to prevent tooth decay, and even rebuild decayed teeth because it contains natural fluoride. Other medicinal uses for this herb are for allergies, anemia arthritis, morning sickness and digestion, just to name a few. I have found a lot of relief for my allergies and sinuses with alfalfa. When I take an alfalfa capsule, my sinuses clear up within 30 minutes.

Garlic is a definite must have in your herbal medicine chest because it has natural antibiotic properties. Garlic is effective against toxic bacteria and fungus and viruses, and also has an anticancer agent called germanium. There are so many ways to use garlic. You can chop it up, put it in a washcloth and steep in warm water to place on your chest back seat and throat to help with cold symptoms; you can take a peeled cloves and place it in your ear like a hearing aid to help with an ear ache; you can take two drops of garlic oil and put in your ear to relieve earache pain; you can even swallow a peeled clove whole to guard against infection. Garlic has been used for allergies, asthma, circulation, colitis, fever, flu-influenza, infections, with liver detox and many other things.

Ginger is a great spice that is used for upset stomachs, congestion in the sinus cavities, removing excess toxins from your body, circulation, sore throat and many other things. Ginger is great to make as a tea and even to nibble on when you have an upset stomach. Because it is so spicy you will not want to take a big bite, but just nibbling on a little bit of peeled ginger will calm down your stomach.

Cayenne is a very versatile herb and a very wonderful healer. It has been around for centuries and is one of the most popular herbs for the medicine chest. Cayenne acts as a catalyst. This means that when it is combined with other herbs, it brings out the best properties of that herb and distributes these properties very efficiently throughout your body. Cayenne is very high in vitamin C, therefore you should take it when you feel a cold coming on. Cayenne improves the entire circulatory system and feeds the cell structures of arteries and veins and capillaries, which helps them to regain elasticity. Cayenne has been known to normalize blood pressure. Therefore it is useful for high and low blood pressure. Some of the other ailments Cayenne is useful for our arthritis asthma, bronchitis, digestion, and increased energy.

I hope you have found this information helpful and that it will encourage you to look into herbs as a natural remedy for a lot of your ailments. I am not discounting medicine and you should never start taking herbs without consulting your doctor. But there are many little everyday symptoms that crop up in families that can be relieved quickly with natural herbal remedies