Interview with medicinal plant expert and bestselling author Barbara Simonsohn

"For my top ten green all-rounders, I have selected ten well-known kitchen herbs whose astonishing healing powers have been sufficiently scientifically researched and proven. Surprisingly, studies often demonstrated effects that 'normal consumers' are not yet aware of. By specifically using kitchen herbs, we can heed what Hippocrates already advised: 'Let food be thy medicine!'" Bestselling author Barbara Simonsohn ("Artemisia annua") aims to revive valuable health knowledge about the healing power and uses of parsley, rosemary, thyme, and co. with her compact guide "Healing Kitchen Herbs."

Most people regard kitchen herbs as tasty spices that enhance the flavor of dishes. But they can do much more than that. What do herbs contribute to health and well-being?

Simonsohn: Our ancestors did not regard our familiar kitchen herbs as a culinary ingredient, but as a valuable means to get healthy or stay healthy. In ancient Greece and Rome, oregano, rosemary, and sage were considered remedies. The same applies to the Middle Ages, from Hildegard von Bingen to Theophrastus von Hohenheim or Paracelsus, as well as the herbal priest Kneipp, from whom we know the saying: "For every illness, a herb has grown." Unfortunately, much knowledge about the healing power specifically of our well-known kitchen herbs has been lost. Among other things, they contain a lot of chlorophyll, which supports cellular respiration, important minerals and trace elements such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, plus plenty of bioactive substances such as fiber, bitter compounds, and especially polyphenols. These act as antioxidants, preventing cancer, fighting viruses, fungi, and bacteria, strengthening our immune system, inhibiting inflammation, regulating blood sugar levels and blood pressure, and much more.

For your new compact guide, you have selected ten of the most popular and healthiest kitchen herbs. Which ones are they, and what were the criteria for your selection?

Simonsohn: I come from a scientific background. Therefore, I am only interested in medicinal plants for which there are a sufficient number of scientific studies. Experience in folk medicine and user reports alone are not enough for me. So I didn't go by taste – for example, I love basil – but by the study situation. Wild garlic, for example, is very well researched. It is the "garlic of the Germans" and much more medicinal than its domesticated, cultivated relative, garlic. Coriander – seeds and herb – effectively detoxifies heavy metals and helps when other antibiotics no longer work. I chose lavender because this kitchen herb relieves anxiety, has antidepressant effects, and promotes healthy sleep. Lavender oil can certainly compete with the effects of psychotropic drugs, as studies show. Lemon balm leaves demonstrably improve memory, oregano protects against pathogens, even against the notorious hospital germs MRSA; parsley strengthens the heart and promotes blood circulation, peppermint is mainly antiviral and a diabetes preventative, rosemary also strengthens the heart, and promotes sleep and digestion. Sage – which, by the way, was the medicinal plant of the year 2023 – works against viruses of all kinds and is cytotoxic to cancer cells. Thyme frees the lungs and also the soul and is the remedy of choice for menstrual complaints; here thyme oil is more effective than ibuprofen, and without side effects.

Wild garlic pesto – tastes excellent and is super healthy. The wild brother of garlic surpasses its relative in terms of ingredients and healing effects. No wonder, as it is a wild plant, while only the cultivated form of garlic, which originally comes from China, remains.

For a long time, herbs in folk medicine were only used for healing purposes before they were discovered for the kitchen. Is a renaissance of herbal medicine now observable, and how can the prophylactic and therapeutic benefits be prevented from being forgotten?

Simonsohn: Yes, I observe a renaissance. First, our wild herbs became en vogue, such as nettle and dandelion, but also lesser-known ones like meadowsweet, samphire, and purslane. Now, in my perception, kitchen herbs are increasingly coming into the focus of health-interested people. Kitchen herbs are not wild plants, but they are generally little or not at all bred and accordingly vital. More and more books are appearing on the subject, and my small book is also intended to help make valuable health knowledge present again. Numerous interviews with me on the topic of the healing power of kitchen herbs are planned, which will be published on YouTube to bring this important topic closer to young people as well.

Some kitchen herbs are best used fresh, others dried. What is crucial for the best effect, and what other forms of application are there?

Simonsohn: I was a raw foodist for several years and used to believe that raw food was fundamentally the best and most valuable. But I have learned differently in the meantime. The health-promoting polyphenols in plants only become optimally available to the human organism through heating, similar to what is known about lycopene in tomatoes. Therefore, I advocate for a "both-and" approach. This means, kitchen herbs like parsley are good raw over mashed potatoes, but also occasionally heated as a tea. Pizza herb oregano unfolds its healing powers even after being in the oven. Fresh is always better than dried, but many kitchen herbs retain most of their ingredients even with careful drying or freezing.

The healing power of herbs has been passed down for a long time and is increasingly confirmed by scientific studies. What insights are there now, and which effects are particularly remarkable?

Simonsohn: Surprisingly, science has often been able to prove completely new effects that "normal consumers" are not yet aware of. Just a few examples: wild garlic not only strengthens the immune system but also detoxifies the liver and acts as a phytobiotic, i.e., as a natural, gut-flora-friendly antibiotic. Coriander is not only tasty but also helps with rheumatism. I was not previously aware that lavender, in addition to its calming effect, also strengthens memory and relieves anxiety as effectively as psychotropic drugs. Peppermint not only makes you feel fresh and alert but also improves cognitive and physical or athletic performance. Sage not only helps with colds but also alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms and menopausal complaints. In short: our kitchen herbs possess astonishing healing powers.

You don't necessarily need a famous "green thumb" to grow herbs in your home garden or on your balcony. What should you absolutely keep in mind?

Simonsohn: When planting, you should consider that plants grow and need corresponding space. If you don't want your garden to be dominated by wild garlic, peppermint, and lemon balm, plant them in pots. Spices generally need a sunny location. Only wild garlic and peppermint like partial shade. Kitchen herbs do not have high demands on soil conditions and water supply. You don't need a "green thumb" to have success with their cultivation. When sowing, you have to be patient with umbellifers and mints before they sprout. Parsley has the "longest lead time" and sometimes needs four weeks until a seedling is visible. As an alternative, ready-made plants from the nursery are an option. Please always repot supermarket plants into larger pots with good soil so that you can enjoy them for a long time. Perennial Mediterranean herbs like sage, lavender, rosemary, oregano, or thyme can be easily propagated by cuttings when they become woody over time.

Lemon balm has a balancing, calming, and strengthening effect on body and soul. Because of its harmonizing and calming effect, it is recommended for nervous heart complaints, sleep disorders, irritability, and restlessness. It also alleviates digestive problems, gastrointestinal cramps, headaches, menstrual and menopausal complaints.

In the ten plant portraits, you present not only the history and botany but also the most important ingredients and positive effects of kitchen herbs on health. Which ailments can be particularly well treated with them?

Simonsohn: There are at least a hundred complaints or diseases for which one (or more) of the ten kitchen herbs presented in my book has a positive effect. That's why I included an A-Z section "What helps with what?" at the end of the book. The indications range from abscesses and lack of appetite to bladder infections and heart problems, as well as cancer, sleep disorders, and digestive problems. The respective preparation methods – tea, steam bath, essential oil, fresh leaves, tincture, compresses, or even finished products – are listed next to the recommended herbs. For depressive moods, for example – also prophylactically – the essential oils of clary sage, lemon balm, thyme, and lavender help. With kitchen herbs, we heed what Hippocrates, perhaps the most significant physician of antiquity, postulated about two and a half millennia ago: "Let your food be your medicine."

Book Tip: Barbara Simonsohn: Healing Kitchen Herbs. 10 Herbs for Body and Soul. With numerous applications for health and kitchen. Mankau Verlag, 1st ed. February 2025, paperback, 11.5 x 16.5 cm, 159 pages, 12.00 Euro (D) / 12.40 Euro (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-758-9

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