Awesomely flavourful and healing for digestion (killing bugs, worms, and viruses), with flavonoids that help protect cell structure and function. High in vitamin K, which strengthens bones.

Delicious in pesto, salads, soups (especially tomato), stir-fries, or as basil tea (delicious, honestly). The oils are volatile, so add to food at the end of the cooking process.

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It reduces blood sugar levels; when eaten with sweet foods it helps stabilise sugar spikes. It’s also anti-inflammatory, kills bacteria and fungi so is fantastic for the gut, and is cholesterol-reducing.

Try adding it to sweet foods — desserts, cakes, breads, smoothies — or eat with fruit to minimise sugar rushes.

Cumin aids detoxification as well as stimulate the production of pancreatic enzymes. And it’s thought to protect against cancer.

Buy as seeds or ground spice and use it liberally in soups and rice, grain, and bean dishes. Sprinkle in homemade nut cheese. Good in breads, mixed-seed crackers, smoothies, and carrot cake.

Studies have found ginger helpful with osteoarthritis, aching muscles, and musculoskeletal disorders and also in halting tumour growth.

It’s super versatile in sweet or savory foods and in smoothies. Great as a tea. Use root or ground ginger.

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An anti-aging multitasker containing powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, which also works as a gentle liver detoxer. This herb also stimulates the immune system and helps to improve the digestion.

Goes with roasted vegetables, meat, and fish, as well as delish in breads, crackers, and salads. Drink as tea or use to flavor nut milk.

A great antioxidant that helps brain function and boosts immunity in the gut. One study showed it even slowed the effects of ageing in animals.

Its essential oil — thymol — is one of the main ingredients of commercial mouthwashes because of its antiseptic qualities.

Thyme is delicious in soups, broths, casseroles, fish, meat, and egg dishes.

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Whoppingly high in chlorophyll, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and other minerals, with anti-inflammatory flavonoids that act as free-radical scavengers, this herb also has anti-cancer properties and blood-sugar-reducing effects.

Parsley can be used as you would salad greens, in smoothies, and tabbouleh, or add it to soups, pesto, casseroles, or stir-fries. Add the leaves near the end of cooking, to retain the nutritional value.

A mood and sleep enhancer used to help with anxiety and depression and soothe the nervous system. It can ease headaches, too. The essential oil found in the flowers is what you need and you can dry the buds. Some people inhale the essential oil or use a lavender pillow, but I like to eat it, too.

You can add dried lavender to meat dishes instead of oregano, sage, or thyme and use it to flavour cakes and baked goods, too. Drink lavender tea before bedtime.

Turmeric is one of nature’s most effective anti-inflammatories, making it adept at fighting age-related diseases from arthritis to Alzheimer’s disease.

Curcumin, turmeric’s active ingredient, inhibits the growth of cancer cells in laboratory studies and slows the spread of some cancers in animal studies, according to the American Cancer Society. Studies also suggest curcumin may improve heart health. In a study conducted at Ohio State University, researchers found curcumin helped reduce levels of triglycerides (circulating fats linked with heart disease) and increased levels of nitric oxide, which can help lower blood pressure.

Along with its ability to fight age-related diseases, turmeric also may help us look younger. In Asia, turmeric is used as a beauty treatment to tighten skin and reduce inflammation. To try it, mix turmeric with flour and milk or water to make a paste, scrub it all over the body, then rinse off in the shower.

Whether you’re drinking a few cups of this tea daily or using it as an ingredient in your face mask, it’s going to benefit your skin. Being high in antioxidants, it helps to improve the tone of your skin and improves elasticity too. Plus it also flushes out toxins, reduces inflammation and heals scars. It’s also especially good for the skin around your eyes as it shrinks blood vessels under the area around your eyes, thus reducing dark circles and puffy eyes.

READ MORE: 5 Amazing Health Benefits Of Green Tea

Text: Bauer/ Good Health/ Additional Reporting: Shenielle Aloysis