Bay leaves are indispensable in pickling and in traditional dishes such as bean soup or baked beans. Bay leaves are also a real treasure for our health.
For example, if you place pre-warmed bay leaves onto your forehead, they will eliminate headaches and reduce fever. Bay leaves act as a medicine for many ailments such as bronchitis, laryngitis and severe migraines.
Bay leaves are often recommended in quite a number of recipes for fighting colds. Soak the peel of an orange and four bay leaves in a liter of water for four hours. Then filter the water and drink on an empty stomach.
If you suffer from sore throat, this miracle herb comes to help: place 10 bay leaves in 250 ml boiling water and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Gargle and then drink the tea lukewarm.
You can add bay leaves to chamomile and lemon tea as well. Drink this tea if you feel that your throat is becoming sore, if you suffer from a headache and fever or if you sweat profusely and then become very cold again.
Bay leaves can be used externally as well. For varicose veins, you need to keep your feet in warm water with 10 to 15 bay leaves added to it. Bay leaves also help regulate blood circulation. If your limbs or fingers feel numb, soak them in warm water with bay leaves added.
Here’s a list of other conditions in which bay leaves are helpful:
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Digestive problems (bay leaves speed up digestion and are useful in fighting flatulence)
- Memory loss
- Urinary conditions
- Gastric ulcer
- In the prevention of Parkinson’s disease and improvement in cases of Alzheimer’s disease
- Various types of cancer