Bay Leaves for calming nerves

Bay leaves or tej patta as we call it in Hindi was considered the most glorious herb in ancient times.  Legend is that Apollo, Greek God of medicine, loved the beautiful nymph, Daphne but she hated him.  When Daphne begged the gods to protect her from amorous Apollo, they transformed her into the bay laurel.  Lovelorn Apollo declared the tree as sacred.  He bestowed bay laurels wreaths on poets and warriors of distinction.  At the first Olympics in 776 B.C., winners were crowned with laurel wreaths.

The Roman physician Galen considered bay leaves as a therapeutic herb for many ailments particularly arthritis.  In the 17 century England herbalist Nicholas Culpeper recommended bay for joint pains, menstruation, cough, itching, shortness of breath, and infectious diseases.  In the Middle East, tincture of bay leaf in brandy was rubbed on sore joints.  American Indians used bay to treat arthritis, headache, stomach ache, urinary problems, insect bites and skin wounds.

 

Modern herbalists continue to recommend bay oil for arthritic joints.  Like most aromatic spices, bay leaf oil kills fungi and bacteria.  For minor household cuts and scrapes bay leaf can be used externally.  Talking of its household uses, bay is also very effective as cockroach repellent as bay leaves have a chemical compound called cineole which repels these pesky insects.  Crush some bay leaves and spread them around the kitchen cupboards to deal with the cockroaches.

For a relaxing aromatic infusion with a good taste, use one to two teaspoons of crushed bay leaves in a cup of boiling water, strain it, put some music on and have this tea to calm your nerves.

Bay belongs to the Lauraceae family; other members of this family are cinnamon and nutmeg.  Its botanical name is Laurus nobilis and it is also known as laurel, sweet bay, green bay and Roman laurel.  Its leaves are used as an herb.