Rosemary likes this garden: a few hundred rosemary plants have found a happy home here. Along with other aromatic plants such as lavender, helichrysum, laurel, myrtle. In short, an itinerary through the structure between flowers and plants, a beautiful walk in the name of scents and aromas. Our love for rosemary, so generous and intrusive, has made us make an interesting discovery:
The properties of rosemary*
Rosemary, an evergreen shrub, is the best travel companion, because it rejuvenates the body and gives energy to the mind; let's see how:
It is a simple, spontaneous shrub, widespread in vegetable gardens, hills and plains, with a unique ability to withstand the cold and bad weather. It is the symbol of resistance and rebirth. The Egyptians, for example, used a sprig of rosemary to put in the hands of the deceased because it had special properties for the psyche and soul, the most volatile part of man.
Similarly, rosemary also offers an excellent defense to get into the middle of autumn and combat the psychophysical fatigue, stress and sadness that inevitably bring the humidity, darkness and cold of November. The secret is to put 15 grams of fresh leaves in a litre of water, let them heat gently without reaching boiling point: 2 cups of the infusion in the morning and 2 before bedtime. Also, before going to bed, it is recommended to immerse yourself in a warm rosemary bath: put a dozen twigs in the tub, let them rest in hot water and immerse yourself for about ten minutes, then massage the scalp, after washing your hair with 2-3 drops of essential oil of rosemary, and you will feel a regenerating feeling of well-being that spreads from the skin to the nervous system.
According to a study carried out at an important research centre, rosemary essence helps to preserve memory. Scholars arrived at these considerations with a unique experiment: they let 160 people over 65 enter and stay for a few hours in an environment without any aroma and in another room with a dense aroma of rosemary were made to accommodate an equal number of people. At the end of the experiment all were subjected to intellectual tests.
The result was amazing: all those who had inhaled rosemary aromas had a much higher intellectual lucidity than those who had not inhaled any aroma. . . Try to . . . believe. . .
Aromatics that must not be missing in the kitchen
Slow and difficult digestion is a very common disorder, especially when you exceed in too many meals. Eating fast makes things worse. Plants also help, in particular curcuma and ginger, but also aromatic plants used in the kitchen, which, as Vitalia Murgia, an expert in phytotherapy and lecturer at the Master in phytotherapy at the University of Rome La Sapienza, explains, "have the task of facilitating digestion, sometimes accelerating gastric emptying a little. The board? Rosemary, sage, thyme and mint, just to name a few, can be eaten to flavour food or added directly to salads. Finally, remember to drink in abundance and follow a low-fat diet, limiting the consumption of over-exposed foods.
Science has shown that:
Research by the University of Pisa has revealed the anticancer properties of rosemary. The study, funded within the framework of the research projects of Ateneo Pra 2015 and conducted by researchers from the Department of Pharmacy, in particular by the biochemical group of Professor Claudia Martini in collaboration with that of Professor Alessandra Braca's phytochemistry, has just been published in the scientific journal "The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology";.
Rosemary is one of the most used aromatic plants in the kitchen, but also in medicine for its therapeutic properties - explained Dr. Chiara Giacomelli of the University of Pisa, first author of the study - in particular some of its components can be used as adjuvants in traditional anticancer therapies, such as carnosol.
<< Carnosol, a diterpene present in various spices of the Mediterranean diet, such as rosemary and sage, acts in fact by reactivating the protein p53, a tumor suppressor considered one of the most important factors for the control of the development and progression of the disease that is inactive in 50% of human cancers.
Currently, research pays more and more attention to compounds of natural origin that can stop the development of tumors - said Chiara Giacomelli - and some studies have already shown the beneficial activities of rosemary and its components, however, to date, we were the first to verify the effects of these compounds on cancer cells in the culture of glioblastoma multiforme, among the most aggressive brain tumors and with an average survival among the lowest. It is therefore a discovery that can open the way to the study of molecules with an important and concrete impact at nutraceutical and pharmaceutical level.
But watch out, though.
<<The beneficial effects of rosemary and its ability to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, is already known for several years, although there was not yet sufficient scientific basis to confirm this theory. Today, research shows the beneficial properties of rosemary, with the hope that it can be used for the preparation of drugs aimed at combating cancer cells. This clarification is necessary to avoid giving false hopes to those who suffer.
And finally a little anecdote:
I discovered the beauty of rosemary hedges at 13, I was fascinated by the scent and color of flowers when I took my first school trip. We were in Sirmione visiting Catullus'; villa. I was not struck so much by the olive trees, although beautiful, but those hedges so neatly placed at the entrance. This is to testify how unconsciously the children learn and put in the drawers of their memory.
*This collection is only intended to collect and select useful information and find out how many natural resources are good travel companions.
To learn more about the properties I invite you to read "The medicine of the simple"; by Alessandro Formenti and
Treasuring Steve Jobs'; mantra: Concentration and Simplicity.