How can a spice when added to food enrich its flavour, but when taken as an oil in order to heal colds and improve digestion prove to be a horrid tasting biological alternative to synthesized medicines? This spice, oregano, has many uses – some proven, some suspected or alleged, some recent, and some ancient. Most recently the oil derived from its leaves has been scientifically studied and has been used for treating many different ailments that plague humankind. Personally, I have used oregano and its oil for both cooking purposes and for enabling the rebooting of my digestive system.
Oregano, as a spice, enriches the flavours of many foods that I enjoy, such as tomato sauce, pizza, and chilli con carne; thus, in my books, this spice lives up to being the creation of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, and is well worth the honor of either being worn as laurel crowns by brides and grooms during ancient Greek weddings, or being put on graves to bring peace to departing spirits. The strangeness of this spice is not only due to the Greeks thinking that the animals who consumed it were more tender and tasted better; no this spice is also strange since the term ‘oregano’ refers more to a flavour than to a specific plant species. The most common commercially used species’, however, are Origanum vulgare (the Mediterranean version) and Lippia gradeoleus (the Mexican version, which is used to make chilli powder). One of the many products of Origanum vulgare, other than as the oregano herb, is ‘Oil of Oregano’.
My first introduction to oil of oregano was when one of my roommates suggested that myself and my other roommate (a striving student nurse who was often getting sick) try using her oil of oregano to combat a cold that was going around. So we all put about five drops of oil of oregano under our tongues, held it there for as long as we could (which was only a few seconds for me), and chugged a glass of water. My roommate warned us that it tasted bad, but the stuff was so vile (burning my mouth with a nasty tingling feeling) that I chugged another entire glass of water before brushing my tongue with toothpaste (which I wasn’t technically supposed to do, but I just couldn’t handle the taste)...and, after all of that, I could still taste it! It didn’t help that taking oil of oregano to fight colds means that it should be taken immediately before bed without eating anything afterwards, so I had to deal with that awful, persistent flavour in my mouth the entire night (a flavour that is nothing like the wonderful spice in the meals I enjoy). Needless to say, rather than suffering through the experience again, I decided to live with the possibility that I might get sick.
I was successfully able to avoid oil of oregano for about a year and a half, but then my family decided that it would be a good idea to do a cleanse after Christmas. This “cleanse” (which is actually a “gut bacteria rebalance/elimination diet”) consisted of: a week with oil of oregano before breakfast and lunch, and a probiotic pill before dinner; prior to a second week of taking only probiotics before meals. Throughout this time we were not allowed to eat: sugar (except honey), gluten, yeast (alcohol), fungus (mushrooms), dairy, and vinegar. We were also limited to eating only chicken, turkey, and fish for meats; as well as being required to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.
For this cleanse we only needed to take two drops of oil of oregano under our tongues, which was much easier to handle than the five drops I had taken to try to ward off sickness (and it didn’t taste nearly as horrid). An extra bonus was that the taste was washed away with the ingestion of food! My father still complained loudly about the oil’s revolting flavour, but I suspect this might be because he didn’t swallow it properly (I held my breath throughout the whole ‘swallowing and chugging a glass of water’ procedure). My mother, on the other hand, had suffered through using oil of oregano before this cleanse experience; she had used it to overcome an awful and persistent razor-blades-running-down-the-oesophagus-type cough. She considers oil of oregano to be a foul tasting but effective healer, at least in the instance of colds/coughs/flus.
Oregano has been an important herb and medicine since ancient times – utilized by Hippocrates and Paracelsus, as well as being used in the dark ages and by post-Silk Road doctors in China. During these periods of time it was employed to treat stomach pains, respiratory diseases, diarrhea, psoriasis, vomiting, jaundice, fungal diseases, rheumatism, toothaches, indigestion, coughs, fevers, itchy skin, aching muscles, sores, scorpion bites, and spider bites, as well as being used as an antiseptic. Recent research is discovering just how useful oregano is and can be – especially its oil. It is now thought that oregano oil may:
· inhibit microorganism and fungal growth,
· protect body cells from oxidation damage,
· relieve and prevent spasms,
· promote secretion/expulsion of phlegm from the respiratory tract,
· inhibit mutagens,
· reduce the occurrence of cancer,
· relieve malaria symptoms,
· inhibit cytotoxins, and
· relieve flatulence.
In addition, today oil of oregano is commonly used for treating colds, flus, digestive disorders, and menstrual problems. There are many testimonials from people who have tried using oil of oregano for various ailments – in conjunction with, or in addition to, the uses already listed – such as providing a sense of well being by relieving psychological stress; which may explain why the ancient Greeks thought that the herb made people happy and that anointing a person with it would cause them to dream of their future spouse.
Oil of oregano may be good for an amazing number of things and is quite safe to use, however due to its concentrated and potent nature it is advised that it should not be taken every day for more than 2 weeks at a time. It is also necessary to take a probiotic (either in pill form or through foods containing probiotics) when taking oil of oregano as without this it can cause negative side effects such as yeast infections, skin irritation, and allergic reactions. Not only should it be used internally with discretion, but for many of its topical applications it must be diluted.
Obviously oregano cannot be used to heal every illness, disease, or ailment that is out there, but there is a lot of scientific research that has been done which shows some of the potential benefits of using oregano and its oil. So the next time you’re sick, will you go out to the drug store to buy tablets containing who knows what kind of synthesized chemicals that have who knows what kind of negative effects on your body, or will you decide to try an organic, herbal remedy? It’s a choice. You have to decide if it is worth braving the disgusting taste of oil of oregano to use this natural proven healer.
Interesting read!!
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