Kitchen Cures (Part 3)

LEMON BALM – heals cold sores

What it’s good for: Cold sores and stress.
Why it works: Packed with a variety of aromatic essential oils, it has anti-viral and sedative powers. Apply lemon balm extracts two to four times a day to heal cold sores and reduce eruptions. Squeeze the juice from leaves onto cold sores at the first sign or irritation. Use fresh or dried leaves to make a soothing tea. Take it in tablet form to ease stress – it’s known as 1the scholar’s herb”.
Where to get it: Buy tablets, about £7 for 30, or teabags, about 95p for 50g, from health shops; or as a cream from herbalists.

DANDELION LEAF – detoxes the liver

What it’s good for: The liver; water retention.
Why it works: Leaf and root extracts stimulate the liver and can improve digestion. The leaves are rich in potassium, which helps flush out sodium and fluid and can be a powerful diuretic.
Where to get it: Let it grow wild in the garden. Use the young leaves and wash thoroughly – add to salads, drink as a tea, around £1 for 100g, or take capsules, about £5 for 60.

FENNEL – soothes indigestion

What it’s good for: Tummy ache and trapped wind.
Why it works: Used in gripe water, fennel seeds contain essential oils that stimulate the gut and reduce spasms. Grind up three teaspoons of dried fennel seeds, add to boiling water, infuse for ten minutes and drink to relieve flatulence.
Where to get it: Buy the dried seeds from health shops.