Why Herbs Work

Herbs are powerful and they are fashionable - as remedies and medicines, as essential ingredients in modern cuisine, as decorative and useful plants for the garden. Herbs can cure headaches and heal wounds, add exciting or subtle flavouring to food, act as insecticides - and this book tells you how and why. Most popular herbals simply offer a range of recipes or remedies: Why Herbs Work explains the active ingredients in herbs and the effect of these on our physiology, for example the tannins in yarrow that can be used to heal wounds, or the salicylic acid in white willow, which forms the basis of the painkiller aspirin. Concentrating on the 150 most useful herbs, it takes a holistic approach, integrating all aspects of cultivation and use. With growing and preservation advice, precise recipes and useful tips, it shows how you can apply herbs: in cookery, to improve taste and maximise good health; in medicine, as first aid and to prevent and treat a range of common conditions, from sore throats to viral illnesses, and to boost the immune system; as natural cosmetics and as essential oils for relaxation or invigoration.