Page 32 - Cooking for Healing

Is It a Spice, Weed, or

Ayurvedic Herb?

There are over 600 Ayurvedic herbs! While Goats head (Tribulus terrestris) is considered
we are familiar with many of them, we may a weed that grows all over the U.S. The prickly
not exactly regard them as having medicinal burs of this plant commonly get stuck in the
qualities. It may surprise you to know that paws of dogs – ouch! Its Sanskrit name is
kitchen spices, weeds, and plants growing right ‘Gokshur’ meaning ‘cow’, because its spiny fruit

in your front yard also double as ayurvedic would pierce the feet of cows in India. Goats
herbs. Let’s take a closer look at a few and find head is an Ayurvedic medicine with diuretic,
out how they can help promote good health blood-sugar lowering, cardioprotective, and
and create immunity. even aphrodisiac properties. It is often used
to treat kidney stones, which bear an uncanny
Devadaru means ‘grows in the place of Gods’ resemblance to the gokshur fruit itself. It also
and refers to conifers like pine (Pinus longifolis) relieves many urinary disorders and improves
and cedar (Cedrus deodara) which are found urine flow. An old remedy was to mix 1
in the Himalaya mountains. Pine is a powerful teaspoon of gokshur powder with the juice of

detoxifier and makes an ideal aromatherapy to one lemon. After sitting overnight, the mixture
clear negative energies in a space. Its heating was filtered and consumed the next morning,
properties protect us from wind and cold. afternoon, and evening to treat kidney stones.
Adding a few drops of pine or cedar essential The next time your pant legs are full of burs,
oil to a hot bath makes for a soothing, aromatic look for the wonderful Goats head ‘weed’ it
soak, relieving aches and pains. The bark is used came from!
medicinally to treat asthma and neurologic,
urinary, and skin disorders. Enjoy a cup of pine Another lovely herb is flaxseed (Linum
tea this fall by adding boiling water to a large usitatissimum), referred to as ‘Devi’ in
sprig of pine needles, steeping for 5-10 minutes, Sanskrit, for female goddess. In olden days,
and drinking the hot liquid. It will remove flax linen clothing was worn to protect

toxins and gas from the body. The next time you from bad energies. In the 8th century, King
are surrounded by pine trees, breathe deeply Charlemagne even passed laws requiring
and take in the blessings from this sacred plant. people to eat flaxseed in France because he
32 myindigosun.com