I have researched “Healing Spices” by the doctor at M.D. Anderson cancer center. The book says, “How to use 50 everyday and exotic spices to boost health and beat disease.”
None of the plants you listed are in this book. For insomnia, however, the below are listed with reasons why these are used for sleep. There is page after page about all these three and the research done to indicate they work. There is a scientific explanation about all the medical conditions listed for these individual spices
1. Lemongrass - (Lemongrass appears to me the easiest to prepare and use and maybe the best to use for sleep. Make a tea of the lemongrass and drink that before trying to sleep.) From the book:
Lemongrass may help prevent and/or treat:
Anxiety
Cancer
Cholesterol problems
(high total cholesterol, high “bad” LDL cholesterol, low “good” HDL cholesterol)
Diabetes, type 2
Epilepsy
Insomnia - the lemongrass extract works as a sedative drug - use the leaves to make tea.
Thrush (oral candida infection)
Triglycerides, high
vaginal yeast infection
Anxiety and insomnia description: Noting that lemongrass tea is used in Brazilian folk medicine to reduce anxiety, Brazilian researches tested an extract of lemongrass in mice. Using a standard maze device to measure the animals’ level of anxiety, they found the tea significantly calmed the mice. They also found that lemongrass extract reduced physical activity and induced sleep in mice as effectively as a sedative drug.
2. Coriander may help prevent and/or treat:
Bloating
Cholesterol problems
(high “bad” LDL cholesterol, low “good” HDL cholesterol)
Colic
Colon cancer
Constipation
Diabetes, type 2
Diarrhea
Eczema (atopic dermatitis
Flatulence
High Blood Pressure
Indigestion
Insomnia
Irritable bowel syndrome
Lead poisoning
Liver disease
Psoriasis
Stomachache
Ulcer
Vaginal yeast infection
Insomnia description: Coriander has been recommended for relief of anxiety and insomnia in folk medicine. A team of researches in the Journal of American Medical Directors did a study on laboratory animals and found the spice was a potent sedative and muscle relaxant. (The seeds stay fresh for a year or more but the ground seeds are only good for a few months).
3. Saffron may help prevent and/or treat:
Alzheimer's disease
Anxiety
Atherosclerosis
Cancer
Depression
Erectile dysfunction
Fatigue
High Blood Pressure
Infertility, male
Insomnia
Macular degeneration, age-related
Memory loss (age-related, mild cognitive decline)
Menstrual cramps
Multiple sclerosis
Parkinson's disease
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
About anxiety and insomnia description: Saffron is used for insomnia and anxiety in traditional medicine noted a team of scientists in Psychotherapy Research. In an animal experiment, they found saffron extracts reduced anxiety-like activity and increased total sleep time.
What about aloe vera? Because I officially have a butt-load of aloe vera now. These 13 plants (not all are shown) in half-gallon containers are from ONE of the mother pots that I finally divided and re-potted.
I wonder how much a 1/2 gallon aloe vera plant sells for these days?
/johnny
a little about passionflower:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/871.html
Re: Saffron, I doubt with the price of Saffron I could afford enought to be efficacious for any malady.
Does the MD Anderson Doc have vervain (verbena) listed?
Thanks for that. I copied it, saved and printed it for future reference. Maybe I can work it into a cup of tea.
What does the good Doctor say are the best spices for reducing High blood pressure and LDL, raising HDL and lowering Triglycerides?