17 Kitchen Herbs for Pain Relief

What options are there for pain relief when regular pain killers don't work for your pain? That is the question I have been contemplating recently. The question was sparked after talking to a couple of people who found that sometimes the pain killers just don't work.

Because I have found herbs to be very useful for all kinds of ailments in the past I thought it would be interesting to see how many culinary herbs and spices might have a pain relieving component.
There are other herbs that are not used in the kitchen that also have pain relieving function but I wanted to stick to those herbs and spices that people could reasonably find either already in their kitchen or easily buy in the supermarket.

All of the herbs in this list are known to have an analgesic factor. According to Wikipedia the word analgesic means without pain. Of course just because a herb has an analgesic factor does not mean that a cup of herbal tea for example will necessarily ease a particular pain. However, it can be useful to have some idea of the wide variety of herbs that do have this function.

Each of these herbs also has many other functions as well. Many of them are also antibacterial, anti spasmodic, anti viral, anti fungal or anti inflammatory.

The List

• Allspice
• Bay Laurel
• Caraway Seeds
• Cardamon
• Chamomile
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Coriander
• Fennel
• Ginger
• Marjoram
• Nutmeg
• Peppermint
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme
• Turmeric

I found a great web site that has loads of information about different herbs and spices. It includes common uses and information on how to use them. This page will take you to the list of analgesic herbs for natural pain relief.

The only ones in the list that I have personally tried are rosemary, sage and peppermint although I used mint instead. I did find that they helped me. All I did was use 1 teaspoon of dried herb in a cup of boiling water and let it steep for a while. Use a tea pot or an infuser in a cup.

To a pain free, healthy life

Jocelyn