(NaturalNews) Its rich scent, prominent historical presence, and deeply-symbolic significance throughout the ages has earned the rosemary herb quite an honorable status in many cultures around the world. And a significant portion of rosemary's legacy involves the incredible soothing, nourishing, and healing properties possessed by this amazing herb, including its ability to improve memory and protect the body against cancer, among other benefits.
Rosemary has long been appreciated as a symbol of friendship, commitment, loyalty, and remembrance, as it was often used in both weddings and funerals of old to bring to mind each of these important facets of civilized humanity. The herb has also long been used medicinally to relieve and even cure chronic health conditions like gout, for instance, or rheumatoid arthritis.
Long before humans were able to identify scientifically how rosemary works to improve health, civilizations of old were using the herb as an antiseptic to kill harmful germs, and as a mechanism by which to improve blood flow to the brain, which aids in boosting memory. There are so many medicinal uses for rosemary, in fact, that even Biblical accounts of this precious herb refer to it as a cleansing agent of choice for purifying the body.
"Rosemary is a much-cherished symbolic and medicinal herb with a history that goes back for thousands of years," says a Body Ecology piece on rosemary. "Since ancient times it was a symbol of friendship, loyalty, and remembrance. Brides wore rosemary wreathes as a symbol of their love and fidelity, believing that this beautiful herb was a gift from the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite."
Protect your DNA with rosemary
One of rosemary's most powerful medicinal functions is its ability to prevent malignant mutations of human DNA, particularly in the liver and bronchial cells, which in turn helps to prevent the development of cancer cells and tumors. Because it is also rich in free radical-fighting antioxidants, rosemary can effectively protect cell membranes from being damaged, as well as protect brain cells from destruction.
As far as brain function and memory are concerned, rosemary has a stimulating effect on the mind in that it promotes healthy blood flow to brain tissue, and cleanses blood all along the way. Rosemary also prevents the degradation of acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter that is responsible for maintaining proper memory and cognitive acuity.
Fight candida with rosemary
Beyond its antioxidant and memory-boosting capacities, rosemary can also help improve circulation; relieve muscle, nerve, and sciatic pain; help clear up eczema and other skin conditions, relieve rheumatism, boost liver function, eliminate bad breath, boost immune function, cure adrenal fatigue, improve digestion, and kill harmful bacteria.
Rosemary is also said to possess unique anti-fungal properties that make it a powerful tool in fighting the debilitating yeast overgrowth condition known as candida, or candida albicans, from which thousands of people now suffer. Because of its unique ability to fight harmful bacteria and fungi while preserving that which is beneficial, rosemary is also a great, natural alternative to antibacterial drugs, which tend to disrupt proper bacterial balance by killing off all living organisms within the body.