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Category: Herbal Therapy

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12 Sep 2016
0 Comments By admin Articles, Edible Landscape, Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy, Well-being Landscape

More than just a flower, Roselle

Living in Malaysia, it is easy to grow Roselle (scientific name: Hibiscus sabdariffa L., Malay name: Asam Belanda)  plants which are from the Hibiscus family.  Given the right care, it produces flowers lavishly.  The beautiful flowers have delicate petals of light pink incisor with a dark red centre.  As part of your flowering edible landscape, it is a great choice.  It can grow tall, reaching over 2m in height.  The growth can be controlled by regular pruning which not only shapes the plant but at the same time encourage new growth which leads to more flowers.

Roselle is interesting in that it is what I call a flower fruit or the correct term is calyx (plural form: calyces).  It is unique in shape and texture with a dark red color which turns almost black-red when dry.  However, when you turn it into a juice, it become a blood red color.  As part of a daily diet designed to promote good health, the juice is rich in vitamin C and other nutrients including anti-oxidants.  For me, it is the drink of choice as opposed to processed fruit juices that contains all kinds of additives and artificial colouring.

Based on a study by Purdue University, it is high in calcium, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin C and iron.  It is also caffeine-free hence it can be made as an after-dinner tea for those who cannot consume caffeine after late afternoon or they have a hard time sleeping.

It is easy to make the drink.  Just peel-off the petals from the seed pod, chop it into small pieces, place it in a claypot and bring it to boil.  A dark red liquid can be produced.  The resulting liquid is very sour.  Do not discard the chopped petals as it can be consumed either by adding it to the drink or turned into a jam.  When it is drank warm, it is often referred to as Roselle tea but when it is drank cold, it is referred to as Roselle juice.  The drink can be sweetened with honey, raw sugar or brown sugar.  I do not recommend white sugar as it adds unhealthy benefits to the drink.

You can also use it in your cooking to add the sour flavour as well as red color to your dish.

I am not a proponent of artificially and chemically produced supplements or supplements that undergo chemical process and later have all kinds of additives and preservatives hence the drink is one of my choice of drinks for vitamin C.

It also has anti-hypertensive properties and studies have been done and found that it produces a positive effect in lowering blood pressure – another plus for me as being from a family of history of high blood pressure, I see this drink as a preventive as well as a curative measure.  With our hot climate, it is a cooling drink to help quench thirst.

I am recovering from a cold so this is my daily drink now with its high natural ascorbic acid content (vitamin C) as well as the anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties to aid in natural healing.

The Roselle can also be made into a probiotic drink by undergoing a fermentation process.  The benefit of doing this is apart from the probiotics, you can store the fermented concentrate for a long period without the need for refrigeration.

All in all, why I love it as a daily drink or regular drink : I get my vitamins and minerals which help me boost my immune system, reduces hypertension (my blood pressure will rise after a hot day working outdoors), quench my thirst, increase my metabolism and reduce the hydrolysation of starch to sugar), cancer prevention, decreases bronchoconstriction so I can breathe better and helps keep my bones and teeth healthy.  What more can I ask from a drink?  All these goodness also makes it the juice I choose for my 3 year-old – to me it is much better than a lot of the processed fruit juices out there – and he loves it.

As with many natural ways, it takes regular consumption to get the best benefits – it is not a miracle cure nor does it give immediate effects like pharmaceutical drugs.  However, it is a way of enjoying healthy food for long term benefits without the many negative side effects. So, let us maximise one of nature’s bounty.

10 Jul 2016
0 Comments By admin Articles, Edible Landscape, Herbal Therapy, Well-being Landscape

The beauty of temulawak

 I got so many queries on this plant after I posted the picture of its beautiful flower so I hope this short article may help answer most of the questions.

The temulawak (curcuma zanthorrhiza) or known as Javanese ginger is a “cousin” of the turmeric (curcuma long) hence the similar shaped flowers.  Whilst the turmeric flower is of the same shape and is light green in color with yellow inner “buds”, the temulawak has a striking purple/pink flower with yellow inner buds.   The flower is long lasting, from the initial flower to final bloom taking lasting over 1 month.  The initial flower is pink with purple tips which turns into a lighter pink as it progresses through the blooming stage.

Being similar to turmeric, it has rhizomes from which it can be propagated.  Although it is in the ginger family, the rhizomes are closer in appearance to the turmeric than ginger.

As with many rhizome-based plants, soil drainage is important to prevent the rhizomes from rotting due to water-logged soil.  The soil composition should contain some sand as well as lots of organic matter.  It doesn’t do well in heavy clay soil.

To differentiate the rhizomes from others of the same family, the inner rhizome is off-white in color and has a texture similar to the ginger but less fibrous.  IT has a brown rim around the edges.  The rhizomes form a similar cluster to the turmeric rhizomes.

The rhizomes is used mainly in traditional therapy for treatment of certain illness as well as in skin care.  It can also be used as a spice.  It has a smell that is like a cross between ginger and turmeric.  In traditional therapy, it has been used for overcoming kidney diseases, heartburn, lowering cholesterol and other types of illness.  Being of the curcuma family, it has the similar benefits as turmeric.

This plant is easy to care for and can be grown either in a polybag or container, or in the ground.  If it is grown in a polybag, water when the soil has dried.  It doesn’t need much fertiliser but a soil with phosphorous and calcium will encourage it to flower.  It grows in full sun or semi-shade.

The leaves are more similar to turmeric with a single leave per stalk from the main “stem” with the difference being a reddish-brown strip in the middle.  It can grown to about 1m tall.  As the plant grows, the rhizomes will multiply creating a cluster.  The rhizome can be harvested when needed without affecting the overall health of the plant.  You do not need to pull out the whole plant for harvesting.

This plant makes a lovely addition to your home garden providing beauty and benefits.  Since it is easy to grow and maintain, you might want to consider planting this even if you are a beginner gardener.  Happy planting.

25 May 2016
0 Comments By admin Edible Landscape, Herbal Therapy

Bunga Tasbih – striking flower with benefits

Bunga Tasbih (scientific name: canna indica linn) grows easily in our tropical climate and has a low maintenance.  It can be planted either in containers or in the ground and will flower in either method. However, when planting in a container, it needs to be planted in a big container of at least 30cm in diameter to ensure good growth.  There are many varieties of this plant and the one that we have at the farm has red flowers.  The leaves have a red rim along the outer edges.

This plant is a perennial and a healthy plant will flourish and produce baby plants.  These plants can be separated and re-planted.  You can also propagate them from the tuber.  It is a hardy plant that loves lover but soil with good drainage.  It can grow to about 2m tall and a healthy plant will produce big leaves.  It can be grown in full sun or semi-shade.  It requires little fertilisation.  On plants that I grow in the ground, my chickens provide the fertiliser.  On plants that I grown in containers, I start with a rich organic soil and top wth a mixture of mulch and chicken manure once every3-4 months.

For home landscape, I suggest that it is planted in containers or in a bordered planting bed to control the spread of growth.

In traditional medicine, the tuber is used for treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure, haemorrhoid,  inflamed liver as well as for high fever.  The root tuber is sliced and boiled and consumed as a drink.  The tuber is also turned into a paste and used in skin care for reducing or treating acne and general skin care.

As the flower matures and die off, it produces seeds which when fully matured, can be dried out and used to create a rosary or tasbih, a reflection of the Malay name: Bunga Tasbih which translated to English is Rosary Flower.

27 Mar 2016
0 Comments By admin Eating Well, Edible Landscape, Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy

Nature’s health treasure trove – Ketumpang Air

The Ketumpang Air or Sireh Cina (Botanical Name : Peperomia pellucida)  is easy to find as well as

easy to grow especially in damp and shady areas.  They only need a bit of sunlight (after all they need to manufacture their food through photosynthesis).  As such, it is quite often found by the roadsides, along drains and streets as well as in shady corners of a garden.  It can be planted in a container or in the ground – whatever the manner, it is good to ensure that the soil is able to retain moisture and is moist and not water-clogged.

At a glance, they look like miniature betel (sireh) leaves, heart-shaped leaves which are light green when young and turn to darker green.  The stems which are easy to break are succulent-like and light green in color.  The plants require a moist soil to flourish as being almost succulent in nature, the plant itself contains a lot of water, within the stem as well as the leaves.  The stem and leaves are crunchy due to this.  On the other hand, due to the amount of water it retains, it is important to ensure that the plants are grown in good soil, free of contaminants and it is watered with clean water.  Otherwise you will end up with all the contaminants being part of the plant and affecting the taste of the leaves and stems – the parts that you consume.

The leaves and stems have many therapeutic benefits as documented in the herbal world.  It is alkaloid in nature.  Amongst its therapeutic benefits are as :

  • Analgesic
  • Antiinflammatory
  • Anticancer
  • Antiarthritic
  • Antidiarrheal
  • Antioxidant
  • Antirheumatic
  • Antifungal
  • Antibacterial

With all these therapeutic benefits, it is popular with herbalists in various types of therapy.    Amongst the therapy it is used in is for gout, high blood pressure, sore throat and cough, and a whole list of other health issues.

It is because of all these benefits, that I consume this although as with any herbs, one should not consume it excessively.  I consume it raw as I want to get maximum benefits.  Due to its high water content, it is also often juiced.  It can also be cooked as a “soupy” vegetable dish or boiled and drank as a tea.  It has a subtle peppery taste and absorbs other flavours.  A note to remember, if the plant is planted in contaminated soil or in mouldy areas, the taste will be affected and no amount of washing or rinsing will remove it as it will be present at the “cellular” level.

With its fresh, subtle peppery taste and crunchiness, this is nature’s pharmacy at its best 🙂

20 Aug 2015
0 Comments By admin Eating Well, Edible Landscape, Herbal Therapy

How the Super 5 salad came about

Over the years, I have continued my research on the various herbs and plants that I have planted at the farm.  I read up research articles, talked to alternative medicine practitioners as well as tried them out myself.  It is born out of my love for healing, gardening and keeping our tradition alive.  So this article is based on what I have learnt and experienced.  

We live in a country rich in natural resources that we have only just begun to document with many of the information passed over the generations by word of mouth.  Whilst pharmaceuticals tend to address corrective measures, our ancestors had a diet full of preventive measures and my aim is to focus more on preventive measures but at the same time look for curative measures.  

In our fast-paced life, I find that salads are one of the best mechanisms for eating food that is nutritious and full of preventive measures – all of it being organic since introducing chemical pesticides and herbicides only adds toxins and cancer-causing elements to out diet.  In selecting the Super 5 salad elements, I focussed on our main major illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, gout to name a few.  So in my research, I looked at what were the major causes and how to control them within our bodies.  Another important factor was the ease of growing and caring for these plants so people can succeed in growing them in their home gardens.
My Super 5 consists of ulam raja (cosmos caudantus), ruku or selasih hitam (holy basil), kemangi (lemon basil), tujuh bilah or bintang tujuh (pereskia sacharosa) and selasih putih (white basil).  
  1. Ulam raja is rich in vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.  With this herb, it is addressing almost all our major organs as well as our bones.  It is easily propagated from seeds.
  2. Ruku, with its anise-like flavour, adds the respiratory health elements as well antioxidants and anti bacteria.  With this herb, we are focussing on the respiratory system.  It is easily propagated from seeds.
  3. Kemangi, with its citrus aroma has blood cleanser, antioxidant, anti bacteria as well as heart strengthening element.  With this herb, the focus is our blood system.  It is easily propagated from seeds.
  4. Tujuh bilah is known in the herbal world as being an anti-cancer agent and antioxidants.  It is easily propagated from stem cuttings.
  5. Selasih putih has antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-bacterial properties and helps in the digestion process.  With this herb, we are focussing on the digestion system.  It is easily propagated from seeds.
All these plants grow in full sun or semi-shade and are easy to care for.  Regular pruning will encourage new growth and maintain a healthy plant.  It can all be planted in pots or polybags so not having any ground to plant is not an issue.  With the exception of tujuh bilah, all are annuals although the life expectancy can be increased with regular pruning.
To further enhance the value of the salad, a serai or lemongrass infused olive oil dressing can be prepared by placing chopped, cleaned lemongrass stalk and leaves at least overnight in the olive oil to allow the flavours and essence to infuse into the olive oil and adding salt and pepper as well as a dash of lemon juice to taste.  This will further add cleansing and anti-cancer properties to your salad as well as nutrients.  So, next time you want to have a salad, try this and taste the flavour of these leaves and reap the benefits.
20 Aug 2015
0 Comments By admin Armchair journal, Edible Landscape, Herbal Therapy

Why the Super 5 in a tea?

I enjoy blending herbs to create a refreshing tea that I would want to drink any time without thinking of it as a health food or “medicinal”.  Somehow we tend to equate healthy drinks to bitter, awful tasting drink but in this instance, it tastes great and not medicinal.  I wanted to create a tea with lots of preventive properties as well as curative properties while maintaining the taste.

The criteria for the tea was that the source of the leaves had to be able to be grown on the farm (read: local and organic) as well as easy to care and maintain.  And of course, had to result in a good tasting tea that can easily be stored and transported (read: either a concentrate or dried tea leaves blend).

I started out with the first leaf selected: the durian belanda or soursop (graviola) mature, dark green leaves.  Many studies have been conducted including by Purdue University, Catholic University of South Korea, Virginia Tech to name a few, have found the the phytochemicals in the leaves and fruits are effective as a cancer prevention (since they kill off cancer cells and we all have them, just whether they are active or not) and also as a curative for cancer with its cancer cell killing properties.  In traditional or herbal medicine, it is also use for hypertension, kidney stones, gall bladder stones, diabetes and other major illnesses.  From my research, 5-7 leaves per day are used.  It should be noted, that to date, there has been no known adverse effect from the leaves.
Misai kucing or cat’s whiskers has long been used as an aid to control the blood sugar, treatment of gout, high blood pressure and as a blood cleanser in traditional or herbal medicine.  The flowers are also used in the blend for a subtle floral undertone flavour.  The care and maintenance of this shrub is easy and it is easily propagated from stem cuttings.  From my research a range of 1-2 gm per day is used.
Kemangi or lemon basil is often used in cooking as it emits a citrus herbal flavour.  In traditional or herbal therapy, it is often used for diabetes, high blood pressure , cholesterol, blood cleanser as well as to strengthen the heart.  This plant is easy to care for and propagated by seeds.  From my research about 5-7 leaves per day is used.
Serai or lemongrass has only recently surfaced as being used in cancer therapy.  At the Ben Gurion University, a study conducted found that citral, a phytochemical in lemongrass “causes cancer cells to commit suicide”.  A local favourite herb for many of our local dishes, it is also used to create refreshing drinks.  Easily propagated from stem bulbs, it grows with hardly any care required apart from periodic cleaning of old and dried stalks to maintain plant health.  From my research, 1 gm of fresh leaves are use.
Belalai gajah or snake grass is also known for its usage in cancer therapy and high blood pressure in alternative, traditional and herbal treatments.  It is easily propagated from stem cuttings and grows well in sunny to semi-shady areas.  An average of 7-10 leaves per day is used but sometimes more, depending on the purpose of the tea.
Ultimately, I wanted a tea blend that would allow me to eliminate toxins as well as having illness preventive characteristics but yet be palatable.  Amongst the major illnesses that I hope to address in myself are cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, gout, stroke, hypertension, kidney and gall bladder stones to name a few.  To my knowledge, we all have cancer cells and it is just a matter of whether they are active or not.  Thus, as a preventive measure, I hope to kill off as many of these cancer cells. Our modern day diet also introduces a lot sugar, uric acid and fats to our food consumption as we enjoy crustaceans, desserts, steaks, and many other wonderful tasting food.  My aim is by consuming the tea, it will help my body eliminate all the unhealthy by-products from my body such as excess sugar, bad cholesterol, uric acid and the like.  I wanted my blood system to be cleansed of all the undesirables regularly or keep them in check so as not to make me fall victim to these illnesses.

I do not advocate dismissing physician’s visit and advise but merely share what has been used for years over the generations.  I periodically go for a medical check-up as a form of motoring my health.  Unfortunately, not much is documented as the traditional practitioners do not carry out documented studies.  I am constantly on the lookout for studies conducted by research centres and universities to further add  my knowledge so if anyone else has information, please share.

I belief that a healthy blood is one of the keys to a healthy body so the blood cleansing properties is also high on the list of the characteristics of the tea blend.  In preparing the tea, I will chop up the leaves to facilitate the release of the nutrients from the leaves.  I tend to prepare a concentrate which I store in my fridge and I have tested storing it for 3 weeks in the fridge.  When I want to drink it, I will add either hot or cold water, depending on my preference at that time.  Personally, I drink it twice a week, mainly for preventive and maintenance purposes as I have other blends that I drink.  So, why not create an organic “tea” garden where you can enjoy the beauty of the plants as well as the health benefits 🙂

Updated: Aug. 20, 2015
Updates: Aug. 21, 2015

01 Apr 2015
5 Comments By admin Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy, SHL Products

Alternative beverage: Calamansi, Misai Kucing and Soursop Leaves

I always find it fascinating when you can blend different leaves and fruits and obtain a delicious beverage whilst being able to reap lots of health benefits.  I always try to go local, what we have had traditionally and rediscovering what our ancestors knew but didn’t have the science to back it up.  My latest concoction is the mix of fresh calamansi juice with tea  from a blend of misai kucing (cat’s whiskers) leaves and flower and soursop leaves.  I add a little bit of sugar – sometimes pure cane sugar, sometimes rock sugar and sometimes just regular sugar and serve chilled.  The end result is a delicious refreshing drink that quenches my thirst whilst providing me with lots of good stuff – definitely not medicine-tasting.

So, what plants do you need in your garden: calamansi (lima kasturi), cat’s whiskers (misai kucing) and soursop (durian belanda) – all three grow well in our weather and flourishes when grown organically.  The soursop fruit is also prized so you can get double benefit by planting this in your garden.  The soursop tree can get to be tall but growth can be controlled with pruning.  The misai kucing is a shrub with beautiful lavender flowers (another colour is white flowers) so can be located almost anywhere and can be used as a border shrub.  Pruning it to shape it also encourages new growth and more flowers.  The calamansi tree grows to about 3-4m tall and regular pruning would encourage new shoots and flowers as well as allow you to shape the tree.

To start with, harvest the leaves and flowers and chop them up and dry.  Get soursop leaves, preferably from the fourth leave from the end of the branch which are mature and a dark green in colour.  This contains the most nutrients.  Chop them up and dry them.  You can then mix the two to provide a blended tea, the proportions of it depends of taste you desire.  If you are making your own, it is great to experiment the ratio mix to your taste.

Why do I like the this beverage so much? From my research I found that amongst the benefits are :  from the misai kucing, I get the blood cleansing, sugar regulator, high blood pressure therapy, acids like uric acid cleansing; from soursop leaves, the main thing I look for is the cancer preventive properties and from calamansi, all those great vitamins.  By growing this at the farm in an all organic environment, I do not have to worry about the introduction of toxins to a delicious, healthy drink.  For a low-cost, power-packed drink, this is a great option for me.  This is simple enough to make that I think it can go on everyone’s drink list.  I hope you will be inspired to try it 🙂

18 May 2014
2 Comments By admin Healthy Options, Herbal Therapy

SHL Herbs – Joys of Misai Kucing and Kemangi

Over the last several years, I have regularly consumed teas which we produce at the farm.  Whilst I have the fresh produce readily available to make infusions, I needed a mechanism so that I can have it easily stored and readily available hence the move to produce teas.  We have several plants and herbs that traditionally have been consumed as tea.  Topping my list is the Misai Kucing tea or infusion.  In alternative therapy, this tea has been used for diabetes, high blood pressure, gout, kidney, rheumatoid athritis and blood cleansing to name a few.

I love food, and have a sweet tooth so this means that I enjoy having rich desserts, Malaysian traditional kuih, and a good steak.  As a preventive measure, I will have a mug of warm Misai Kucing tea as an after meal drink to help regulate my blood sugar and cleanse my system.  On days, when I have had a hard day working out at the farm, I will cool off with a nice, cold glass of this tea to help my body get rid of all the acids produced.  In short, I drink this tea as a normal course of my diet and not view it as a “medicine” which almost always brings a negative connotation to mind.

Being part of my normal drinks selection list, I will drink it at least 3 times a week for maintenance and have additional drinks depending on how rich my meal was.  Being fortunate to be able to produce my own tea, I only use the leaves and the flowers with its soft stalks.  All this enables me to produce a flowery tasting tea without the bitterness and I do not mix it with “fillers” but prefer to have the all-natural taste.

There are basically 2 ways to prepare the tea:

  1. Steeping 1 flat teaspoon of tea mixture in just-boiled water for about 5 minutes.  After straining the tea, more hot water can be added as long as the leaves can still produce the golden-brown tea.  
  2. After bringing the water to a boil, add the tea mixture and reduce the heat to allow a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and allow it to cool to chosen drinking temperature.  I use this method to prepare a concentrate by simmering 10gm of the mixture in 1 litre of water.  I will leave it to cool, strain it and store it in the refrigerator.  This way, when I would like to have some, I will pour some of the concentrate into a mug and add hot water if I want a hot tea or add cold water with or without ice if I want to have it cold.

I most often prepare a concentrate as this enables me to have it handy whenever I want some.  I normally store the concentrate for no more than 1 week.

I also bought a teapot with the strainer in it so that I can prepare the fresh, hot tea without hassle and then just keep adding hot water to it.  I will store it overnight in the fridge and add more very hot water into the teapot the next morning.  I call my Misai Kucing tea as my “Rebalancing Tea”.

I have also produce a “flavored” Misai Kucing tea by combining the Misai Kucing with Kemangi (Lemon Basil).  This produces a tea with a hint of citrus.  In traditional therapy, the Kemangi has minerals and elements that are beneficial for the heart as well as rich in nutrients so by adding this to the tea mixture, it boosts
the therapeutic value of the tea.  I also find that Kemangi helps to alleviate bloating as well as water retention.  The method I use for preparing the tea is the same as for the Misai Kucing tea.  It can also be consumed either hot or cold.  For me, this tea is my “Inner Cleansing Tea”.

We also produce pure Kemangi which is also prepare and consumed similar to the other tea mixture.  With its purported heart therapeutic value, I call this my “Heart Love Tea”.  With its anti-inflammatory properties, I drink this tea when I have over-worked my muscles and joints.  This is my alternative preventive and natural healing for my muscles and joints.

The key principle for these teas is to produce teas that can be incorporated into my daily diet and be treated as normal drinks.  My aim for my health measures is to prevent or to reduce the impact of my eating and life style on my overall health without feeling forced.  I hope others will be inspired to review their approach and will have a new normal. 🙂