The kitchen herb tied to memory since Shakespeare, used for centuries for digestion, sore muscles and the scalp. Here’s what tradition and research say.
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Celery Juice
The 16 oz morning celery juice habit is one of the best-known detox trends. Here is where it came from, what the research actually shows (no human trials of the juice itself), what is in a glass, and the allergy, sun-sensitivity, sodium, warfarin and lithium cautions.
Epazote (Safety Profile)
Epazote is a pungent Mexican kitchen herb traditionally stirred into a pot of beans, and it has a long folk history as a worm remedy. Its seed oil, though, is a known poison, so here's where the uses come from and what to know before you go beyond a sprig in the pot.
Rose Petal
Long before rose was a perfume, Persian, Greek and European healers used the petals for sore mouths, nervous hearts and slow bowels. Today the EU recognises rose flower infusions for mild mouth, throat and skin inflammation, and one study tested rose tea for period pain. Here's the tradition, the research, how to brew it, and the cautions that matter.
St. John’s Wort
A bright yellow summer flower named after St. John, gathered around Midsummer and steeped in oil until it turns blood-red. Europe has used it for low spirits, nerves and skin for centuries, and today it's one of the most-studied herbs for mood. It also has more drug interactions than almost any other herb, so this page starts its Safety section there.
Chaga Mushroom
Chaga is the black, crusty "birch conk" of the northern forests, brewed for centuries into a dark, earthy tea in Siberia, Scandinavia and Indigenous North America. Here's where it comes from, what the research actually shows so far, and the kidney caution everyone should know before trying it.
Cordyceps
A rare Himalayan fungus that grows out of moth caterpillars, cordyceps has been prized in Tibetan and Chinese medicine since at least the 1400s as an energy and lung–kidney tonic. Today almost all of it is grown in labs, and the research is far thinner than the marketing.
