Spices in Medicine

Traditional medicine is not complete without the addition of spices in one way or the other. Ancient people knew about the benefits of certain spices. Usage of spices in medicine is really extensive.

Cinnamon is used in a lot of ways, not only for flavoring food.

After all, the Egyptians used spices to embalm the mummies. Ancient Chinese had 1001 medicinal uses for ginger. Ayurveda practitioners used spices to treat a myriad of maladies.

It is apparent that the usage of herbs and spices after birth and during confinement is very good for nursing mothers. Many kinds of herbs and spices are also used as aphrosidiacs and for the well-being of men and women.

In Malaysia and Indonesia, the use of "jamu" among women is practiced as soon as they reach puberty. Jamu is a variety of herbs and spices prepared in traditional ways. They are consumed in powder form and in drinks. Nowadays, jamu is conveniently prepared in capsule form and mass manufactured following stringent standards in pharmaceutical laboratories.

Women who religiously consume jamu are well known for their beautiful skin, gorgeous hair, perfect complexion and shapely bodies. They follow strict lifetime routine, avoiding certain foods and observing some taboos to get that perfect external and internal Asian beauties look.

At home, household remedies using spices are also very common. It is useful because most people have some kind of spices readily available in their homes.

Do you know that the white paste dentists use to fill up the teeth contains clove? The resins of myrrh and similar agents are bacteriostatic - meaning the bacteria cannot grow in them. As a result, myrrh is used for this purpose in mouthwashes and toothpastes.

In modern medicine, spices are used in many pills and powder which we hardly notice because they are processed in modern pills or capsules forms.

Usage of spices are still being investigated in medical laboratories around the world as we speak.

Back to the top

Back to the page of Malay Spices

Back to Pickles and Spices Homepage

Back to the homepage