You definitely don’t need a fancy herbal apothecary to start working with herbal medicine. Some of the most time-honored, well-researched medicinal herbs are already hanging out on your spice rack or in your fridge drawer. Across Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and other healing traditions, culinary herbs are used to warm or cool, dry or moisten, move or soothe. In other words, they’re chosen for their energetics just as much as their flavor. And, now, clinical trials back what ancient herbal wisdom has known all along: these everyday ingredients can quite literally act as medicine. So, here’s a round-up of some of our favorite pantry allies and how to fold them into your daily routine.
Ginger
Hot, stimulating, and circulation-boosting, ginger root is a fantastic herb for getting things moving – physically and energetically (as with qi). It’s especially supportive for cold or damp constitutions, like those of us who run chilly, feel sluggish, bloat easily, or struggle with slow digestion. Ginger ignites digestive fire, supports gastric motility, and has well-documented anemetic and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s the herb you need when your system feels stuck or unsettled, whether that looks like nausea, bloating, pain/swelling, or joint discomfort.
How to use it:
-
Slice up fresh ginger and simmer in water for 5+ minutes for a strong decoction. Add honey and lemon for an additional immune boost.
-
Grate it into stir-fries, marinades, soups, and broths.
-
Add powdered/dried ginger to stewed apples or pears.
-
Juice it into homemade ginger shots. Pro tip: freeze them in ice cube trays and thaw them when you need them!
Garlic
Garlic is THE quintessential kitchen medicine. Pungent, warming, and slightly drying, it “opens” and disperses stagnation, especially in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Energetically, garlic is bold and clearing. It’s what you reach for when something is brewing beneath the surface. Its sulfur-rich compounds (like alicin) are linked with antimicrobial, cardioprotective, and immune-modulating effects, which is why garlic has been used for centuries during times of illness and infection.
Note: To activate alicin, crush or chop your garlic and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before heating!
How to use it:
-
Roast a whole head of garlic until soft and caramelized, then spread on toast or crackers.
-
Submerge peeled cloves in honey, cap the jar, and let it infuse for several weeks. Take a spoonful of the garlic honey whenever you feel something coming on.
-
Pulse raw garlic into pestos, chimichurri, or creamy garlic-lemon-tahini dressings.
-
Make a fire cider with raw garlic, onion, ginger, and rosemary, and take a spoonful when you’re trying to stave off illness in the winter months.
Cinnamon
This sweet, aromatic bark is warming, grounding, and deeply comforting. Traditionally used as a carminative, cinnamon supports circulation and digestive ease, while modern research highlights its insulin-sensitizing and blood sugar-balancing effects when used regularly in modest amounts. Cinnamon just has a way of making your body feel held.
How to use it:
-
Add a pinch to your coffee before brewing.
-
Sprinkle onto nut butter toasts, oatmeal bowls, smoothies, or pancakes.
-
Toss with root vegetables or squash before roasting to bring out their sweetness.
-
Take via digestive bitters, like GlucoBitters, to support post-meal blood sugar balance.
A pre-meal herbal "metabolic vinegar" infused with bitter botanicals that help maintain healthy blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity.* STAR HERB: Gymnema
GlucoBitters
-
Simmer a cinnamon stick with cloves and orange peel in a pot of water for a house-filling aroma that beats any candle.
Rosemary
Piney and fragrant, rosemary is warming, clarifying, and gently uplifting. Considered a nervine and circulatory stimulant, it supports mental clarity, digestion, and blood flow.
Focus Juice is a powerful, revitalizing blend of herbs traditionally used to support m...
Focus Juice
It’s also rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds like rosmarinic acid, and its mild antimicrobial properties make it a beautiful ally for respiratory steams and hair/scalp treatments.
How to use it:
-
Roast with potatoes and chicken.
-
Add a whole sprig to soups and remove before serving.
-
Brew a strong rosemary infusion, let it cool, and use it as a hair rinse to support growth and shine.
-
Infuse into oil (like castor and olive oil) for a pre-shower scalp treatment.
Thyme
Often overlooked, thyme is a powerhouse for cold, damp, phlegmy states. This warming and drying, it acts like a furnace for your lungs and digestion. Plus, it’s strongly antimicrobial, antispasmodic, and expectorant, making it a go-to for coughs, congestion, and lingering respiratory infections.
How to use it:
-
Steep 1-2 heaping teaspoons of dried thyme in hot water for 10-15 minutes. Start sipping at the first sign of illness.
-
Add a handful to a bowl of hot water, drape a towel over your head, and inhale the steam deeply to soothe your airways.
-
Take as a cough syrup to encourage productive mucus clearing.
-
Use as a soothing throat spray to hydrate and comfort irritated tissues.
Turmeric
Warm, slightly bitter, and drying, turmeric is a classic mover of stagnation, especially in the liver, joints, and gut. Energetically, it “unclogs” stuck, inflamed places in your body. Rich in curcuminoids and other polyphenols, turmeric is famously anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, with a long history of use for joints, digestion, and liver support.
How to use it:
-
Stir into warm milk with a pinch of black pepper and cinnamon for a cozy golden milk (ideal before bed).
-
Add generously to curries, lentils, and stews. Always pair it with fat and black pepper to enhance absorption.
-
Blend into smoothies or juices with ginger and citrus for an anti-inflammatory kick.
Peppermint
Peppermint is cooling, aromatic, and dispersive, helping to move heat and tension upward and outward. It’s especially helpful for hot and stuck patterns in the head and gut. Think: headaches, tension, and overheated, crampy or gassy bellies. As a carminative, antispasmodic, and mildly analgesic herb, peppermint has an affinity for both digestion and the nervous system.
How to use it:
-
Brew as a tea (using fresh or dried leaves) to ease gas, cramping, and bloating.
-
Apply peppermint essential oil on your temples and neck to help with tension and headaches.
-
Chop up fresh leaves and add to salads, grain bowls, or fresh fruit for a brightening touch.
-
Simply add whole sprigs to water to make a homemade “spa water” that’s both refreshing and fun to drink.
