Spinach, in all its varieties, is one of the most nutritious “regular” foods in existence. One only needs to look at its bright, vibrant leaves to understand that this annual flowering plant, which is native to central and southwestern Asia, is brimming with all the essential nutrients that our bodies need for maintenance and growth. This article takes a closer look at the health benefits of spinach. Most of these benefits relate to cooked spinach,…
The aromatic and flavorful onion has a long and productive history with mankind. The ancient Indians, Sumerians and Chinese, for instance, valued onions for their ease of growth and hardy constitutions, which made them less perishable (and more transportable) than other vegetables grown at the time. The ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, worshiped onions as symbols of eternity due to their circle-within-a-circle structure. And then there were the ancient Romans, who loved onions for…
Few plants have been as revered throughout recorded history as hemp. This green herbaceous plant, which is a high-growing variety of Cannabis sativa, has been cultivated for centuries to make durable clothing fibers, nutritious oils, building material, and even paper. Traditional medicine, particularly ancient Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, also prized the plant for its significant medicinal properties. Since hemp does not contain large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the mind-altering ingredient found in regular marijuana, hemp…
The common green pea, which is the seed of the Pisum sativum plant, has been a staple food across the world for centuries. Indeed, archaeologists have found that peas were regularly consumed as far back as the late neolithic era of modern Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and Greece. Immature peas were also a popular food in medieval Europe, whose inhabitants often incorporated them into soups and gruel. Due to their small size, sweet taste, and starchy…
The robust and abundant cabbage, which is closely related to other leafy green vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, has a long history as both a food and medicine. For example, the Ancient Greeks would routinely prescribe cabbage or cabbage juice to treat constipation or mushroom poisoning, while the Ancient Egyptians consumed cabbage before meals to lower the intoxicating effects of wine. The British even brought cabbage to the trenches of World War I, since its…
