If you've never heard about this, keep reading and you will begin to understand. It's not as complicated as it may seem. Let's see what some of the possibilities are.

-In addition to adding extra flavor in recipes, herbs and food-grade essential oils can stimulate your immune system

-Make healthful herbal teas (more correctly called tisanes, as they don't contain actual tea plant leaves) that can calm your digestive system, or help detoxify your system

- A lot of store bought cleaning supplies, cold remedies, digestion supplements, etc can contain chemicals that can cause toxicity to the body. You can avoid this with herbs and therapeutic grade essential oils.

Herbs and essential oils are not some new discovery. We find them written about since history has been recorded. The Bible talks about oils and herbs - frankincense, myrrh, bitterherbs, etc. The Romans knew about them as well. Pliny, a Roman soldier, wrote about the uses of many plants. Many additional uses and improvements to these things have been made over the years.

Fast forward to today: modern medicine would not be the same if scientists never studied plants and their properties. A great example of this is heart medicine. The common garden perennial, foxglove, is used to make pills for people with heart problems. The plant itself is poisonous, but ironically, it is made into life-saving medicines.

Given that we have perfected agricultural methods, and ways of extracting the best out of the herbs and flowers that give us essential oils, we are endowed with purer, more potent, and more consistent results. Therapeutic-grade oils are an example of such horticultural, engineering, and scientific achievements.

You should be aware, as you learn about using herbs and essential oils, that not all essential oils are the same. Many are not to be ingested; if you want to use oils for recipes, you must seek out food-grade oils. And if you plan on using oils for aromatherapy, purchase only those labeled "therapeutic-grade." Not all natural food stores or health food stores carry therapeutic-grade oils. They are different because they are more potent and effective than the every day store-bought variety. Since they are extracted and refined using the best methods available, you can expect much better results with therapeutic-grade oils than if you purchase inferior oils.

So, if you feel that you can be doing more for your family's health and well-being, you can start with herbal supplements and therapeutic-grade essential oils. You just might notice that your kids are getting sick less often, you have more energy later into the evening, and that's all of the proof you need that thousands of years of history can't be wrong.