Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Horehound
For Cough, Colds, and Flu
Family: Labiatae; (includes Mint)
Genus and Species: Marrubium vulgare
Also known as: Hoarhound, white horehound, marrubium
Parts used: Leaves and flower tops
Horehound has been a popular herbal expectorant and cough remedy for almost 2,000 years. Even herb-medicine skeptics grant its safety and effectiveness. Then out of the blue in 1989, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned it from over-the-counter cough remedies, claiming it was ineffective. The action left herbalists shaking their heads. Worse yet, the FDA decreed another expectorant “effective,” over the objections of many scientists.
Roman Poison Antidote and More
Horehound was first used medicinally in ancient Rome as an ingredient in the multi-ingredient (and ineffective) poison antidotes known as theriaca. Medieval Europeans generalized from this use and came up with the belief that the herb provided protection from witches’ spells.
The Roman physician Galen was the first to recommend horehound for coughs and respiratory problems, and it’s been used as an expectorant ever since.
German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen considered it one of the best herbs for colds.
England’s John Gerard wrote: “Syrup made of the green fresh leaves and sugar is a most singular remedy against cough and wheezing of the lungs.”
Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote that in addition to curing “those that have taken poison … a decoction of the dried herb taken with honey is a remedy for those that are short-winded, have a cough, or are fallen into consumption …. It helpeth to expectorate tough phlegm from the chest.”
Good for the Lungs
Early settlers introduced horehound into North America, where it was a popular cough, cold, and tuberculosis remedy. Folk herbalists also considered it a laxative, menstruation promoter, and treatment for hepatitis, malaria, intestinal worms, and menstrual problems.
America’s 19th-century Eclectic physicians prescribed it for coughs, colds, asthma, intestinal worms, and menstrual complaints.
Most contemporary herbalists recommend horehound only for minor respiratory problems: coughs, colds, and bronchitis.