Oregano – The Flu Shot of the Future

Ever wondered why so many recipes for soups, stews, and sauces call for oregano. If you ever found yourself short, and omitted the oregano, no doubt you didn’t miss it in the final product. Oregano probably wasn’t added to recipes for the flavor value, but instead was added for the medicinal qualities it possesses.

Oregano has long been valued in natural health communities for its antibacterial, antiparasitic, antiseptic, antiviral and immune stimulating properties. Building research in mainstream medicine is also re-discovering the many benefits of oregano. Test-tube studies have found that oregano and its components show promise in protecting against viruses. Two compounds, carvacrol and thymol, have demonstrated antiviral properties. Norovirus, a viral infection that causes diarrhea, nausea and stomach pain, was rendered inactive within one hour of treatment with carvacrol and another study found that thymol and carvacrol together, inactivated 90% of the herpes simplex virus in just one hour.

Oregano is easy to grow on a kitchen windowsill and contains high amounts of healthy Omega-3 fats, iron, manganese, and antioxidants.  Cuttings can be dried and stored for later use. Like the fresh herb, oregano oil has very high amounts of antioxidants and folk remedy uses it internally during illness, and externally for skin infections (including yeast) though it should be diluted before use. Due to potency, it is important to check with a qualified specialist or practitioner before using this or any other herb, especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding.