Herbs as Food and Medicine

Nowadays, people are more accepting of herbal medicine and its importance to one’s health. Herbs had been used thousands of years ago by many ancient civilizations not only for their medicinal purposes, but for their nutritional properties as well. Herbs like chamomile, acai berry, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, among others can now be used like the common herbs you see in your kitchen such as dill, parsley, garlic, turmeric, etc. as cooking ingredients.

 Photo: koreatimes.co.kr

Try cooking a chicken-ginseng soup by using 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 cups chopped onion, 2 tablespoon diced fresh ginger, 6 cloves of minced garlic, and a pound of skinless and boneless chicken breast, cut into inch-pieces. You will also need 3 cups water, 3 cans of fat-free sodium-free chicken broth, 3 cups of frozen or fresh corn, 4 bags ginseng tea or 2 sliced ginseng roots, ¼ tablespoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper.

To cook your chicken-ginseng soup, you need to heat the oil in the oven over medium-high heat, and then add the onion, ginger, and garlic cloves and sauté them for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and sauté for another 4 minutes, and then add the water and the broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 more minutes, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

There is no longer a difference between herbal medicine and herbal nutrition since most of the herbs today can now be used for these purposes for your health.