The Kitchen, your First Aid Cabinet

Discover the curative properties of the food in your refrigerator

Fruit, vegetables and spices are not only for cooking delicious meals.
Their properties can also be curative for colds and sore throats.
And that is not all: sometimes they can even become a little 'first aid box', within arm's reach, that will help you treat cuts and burns.

Should you burn yourself, use a tea brew: boil the tea in water for about an hour.

Parsley, butter and tea for emergencies

The aromatic oils of parsley can help ease nausea and provide relief from renal colic too.

Whilst waiting for the doctor, you can prepare a warm drink aromatised with parsley: it helps diuresis and reduces inflammation.

If you have cut yourself with a sharp knife or similar, prepare a cream with four spoonfuls of butter and one of honey.
They will help the wound to heal.
If you are out of butter, you can also use vitamin-rich olive oil that help epithelial cells to regenerate.
Should you burn yourself, use a tea brew: boil the tea in water for about an hour.
Then leave it to cool, pour it onto a gauze and use it to dab on the burn. The tannins found in tea have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect.

Mint and bananas for everyday health

When we talk about the qualities of fruit, we all know about vitamin C in oranges and all red-orange or yellow fruits, but very few are aware of the properties of the banana.
This fruit contains latex and if eaten on an empty stomach it can help protect the intestine walls and stomach, relieving pain caused by nervous contractions.
If you suffer from poor digestion, mint helps conciliate sleep. In this case, we can use a brew prepared by boiling a few mint leaves in a cup of water for around twenty minutes.
Drink warm and it will take you peacefully into the land of nod.

Spices for seasonal disorders

Some spices can be very useful indeed during changes of season.
Pepper benefits respiration, which often suffers with changes of temperature: this spice is actually both a tonic and a natural anti-bacterial agent as it contains irritant ingredients that cause sneezes and, precisely by sneezing, the airways are freed from bacteria.
It is best to buy it in corns and grind at home before use: the ground versions contain a lower percentage of these properties.
Hot, spicy spices are also very good for the health.
Chilli pepper and paprika in particular contain capsaicin, an ingredient that stimulates the metabolism and allows us absorb less fat.
Finally, they can also strengthen the immune system and therefore help us fight off sore throats and colds.