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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Cure is in the Cupboard


We were over at some friends' home this weekend and I spied this book laying under a coffee table.

Oooooh.  Yes, please.

Not wanting to seem overly weird, I casually asked where she got it and if I could borrow it.  She graciously let me take it home- even though it was her mother-in-law's- and so I read through it.

Oregano, hmm? I have some of that growing in my backyard.

But, I learned, it is not that oregano.

"Oil of wild oregano is an herbal oil derived from certain species of oregano plants.  The medicinal oregano is different from the type usually found in the garden.  It is also different than the commercial spice, which is often only a small percentage true oregano.

It is important to realize that wild oregano is not the same as the one found in the spice section of the grocery store or the type found in pizza...be forewarned that it would be difficult to accrue its curative powers by eating pizza and spaghetti.

Medicinal grade oregano arises from a unique species of plants which grow wild throughout the world.  The highest grades are found in the Mediterranean.  This "wild" oregano is rich in essential oils, which may be extracted by distillation...the result is an amber looking oil possessing a powerful and hot tasting flavor.  Its odor is similar to that of camphor.  The oil blends readily with fat in which its strong taste and odor is modified.  With time oil of wild oregano turns brown and may eventually develop a darn brown hue. "

Here is the most useful part for mommies:

"Researchers havec tested a variety of spices for purported antibiotic activity.  This research was performed in the hope of finding spices that could halt or impede the spoilage of food. Of all spices tested, oregano was the only one to exhibit significant antifungal and antibacterial activity.  The ability to destroy both bacteria and fungi makes oregano unique in the spice kingdom.  Finding it difficult to believe that a natural substance could be this powerful, the federal government also tested oil of wild oregano.  In an attempt to prove it didn't work, they found the opposite- oil of wild oregano killed every germ against which it was tested.  Nice pathogens succumbed, including salmonella, E. coli, listeria, staph, pseudomonas, and molds."

The oil can be taken, up to one drop an hour, until the cold or flu is gone.  Interesting.  I have been researching a bit and found that while I can buy it online, I will probably purchase mine through our local health food store, Cone's.  The book says to get a high-carvacrol (the medicinal compound) oil, which Cone's says they have. 

Apparently you can use it on athlete's foot, psoriasis, and ringworm, too. I will be keeping it in my ever-changing medicine cabinet and will report if I find it useful!


1 comment:

Brandy Vencel said...

Hm. I *think* I know who that book belongs to!

You must tell me if this works. I love odd remedies. They are my favorites. I almost makes being sick fun. :)

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