More home remedies

Yesterday I wrote about the value of home remedies. I forgot to mention my all time favourite. It's what I turn to for just about any ailment.
Peppermint tea! It's great for upset stomachs, colds, cramps and just general malaise. Ever wondered what to do with those left-over candy canes from Christmas? Put them in the freezer or the back of the fridge. Whenever a case of the sneezes or nausea creeps up on you, fix a cup of tea and melt one of those candy canes in it.
Just about everyone laughs at me when I suggest this little cure-all. Until they ease a severe cold with it, that is.
Mint, in one form or another, has long been used medicinally. In medieval times, it was a staple of every herb garden. The tea was prescribed to calm the nerves and stave off scurvy. The leaves, eaten whole, were good for the stomach and definitely improved the breath. In an age before toothpaste, anything was a help.
I don't recall the name of the movie, but it involved a family of witches. For the most part, they kept their practices to themselves, but when illness struck, they would put together "potions" from their herb garden. Witchcraft, it seems to me, has never really been more than a mix of spiritualism and herbology. The persecution of witches by the religious community I think was misguided. Spiritual use of herbs and Christianity are not mutually exclusive. Only when the lore of witchcraft is used for harmful purposes does it become an evil.
I think my favourite fictional herbalist is Brother Cadfael, created by Ellis Peters. He is a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shrewsbury, England. Before coming to the cowl, he travelled the world and learned all about medicinal herbs, many of which he brought back with him, and cultivates in the gardens of the Abbey. A better example of natural medicine cannot be found.
I highly recommend that everyone learn about the healing plants that grow in their area. Remember, keep an aloe plant in your kitchen window, lavender by your garden gate and mint by your path.