Top 12 Types of Herbs to Include in Your Daily Meals

Lovage is a fragrant herb, belonging to the same family as mint, so they look very similar. The best way to distinguish them is to crush the leaves and feel the aroma. Mint leaves have a stronger, cooler taste than lovage. Lovage is rich in limonene, dihydrocarvone, and cineol, which stimulate saliva production and digestive enzymes, making the digestive system more efficient. Moreover, lovage can slow the growth of bacteria and fungi, so it is used for oral hygiene, treating sinusitis, and respiratory diseases.

Recent studies in American chemical journals have also shown that lovage can help prevent cancer because it contains a compound called perillyl, which can disrupt the concentration of cancer cells in the intestines, lungs, skin, etc. Due to its high content of vitamins, antioxidants, and antibacterial properties, you can use lovage juice to cleanse your face effectively.

Lettuce is a popular herb, but not everyone knows the health benefits it offers. Lettuce contains carbohydrates, fiber, and many vitamins and minerals, which help cool the body, purify the blood, stimulate digestion, etc. With its high magnesium content, lettuce helps restore muscle tissue and enhance brain function. Similar to some other vegetables, lettuce contains a considerable amount of beta-carotene, which helps prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, lettuce is recommended in the diet of patients at risk of cardiovascular diseases and arthritis.

In addition, lettuce contains a lot of iron, folic acid, and vitamin B9, which are especially good and necessary for pregnant women and infants. Not only does it have medicinal properties, but lettuce is also a vegetable chosen by women for beauty purposes, helping the skin stay firm, smooth, and fresh, making users not feel hungry and suitable for weight loss.

Ginseng is a small plant with smooth, thornless stems, usually 0.8-1.5m tall. It is grown for ornamental purposes or as medicine in traditional medicine. The leaves are triply pinnate, 20-40cm long, without clear stipules. The leaflets are irregularly serrated, with a fragrant smell. The short, 7-18mm long inflorescences bear many small flowers with 5 petals, 5 stamens with thin filaments, and a 2-celled ovary with a pale white style. The flat, 3-4mm long, 1mm thick fruit has a persistent beak.

Usually, we know ginseng mainly for its roots, which are dried for medicinal purposes or soaked in alcohol, which is very beneficial for health. However, ginseng leaves also have many other wonderful uses. The leaves are used to prevent seizures in children, and young and old leaves are dried and used to line pillows or spread on beds for children to lie on. Young ginseng leaves are also used raw in salads or pickled fish,... and are also a good tonic for the body.

Fish mint has long been known as a popular raw vegetable in the daily diet of Vietnamese people. It has a distinctive smell that only those accustomed to eating it find appealing. Fish mint is also an herb with many wonderful uses such as cooling the body, diuretic, treating acne, itching, hemorrhoids...

Fish mint has been widely used as a daily herb to stimulate digestion, enhance the flavor of food, and create a delicious taste. According to Oriental medicine, fish mint has a spicy, slightly acrid taste, slightly cold nature, helps cool the body, detoxify, diuretic, and has antiseptic properties. Many people may be wary of its acrid taste, but it has many benefits in treating fever in children, acne, skin beautification, irregular menstruation, bronchitis,...

Essential oil of Vietnamese balm stimulates digestion. Adding Vietnamese balm to daily meals helps digestion, is a source of iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin C and K, fiber, reduces cholesterol and fatty acids in the blood, helps improve insulin sensitivity and regulate blood glucose levels, cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease and hypertension). Research has shown that using Vietnamese balm essential oil inhibits the growth of many bacteria such as staphylococcus, enterococcus, and bacillus bacteria without the need for any antibiotics.

Studies have shown that Vietnamese balm essential oil contains a powerful antioxidant that can prevent premature aging, even prevent cancer, good for treating colds, flu, cough, bronchitis, and sinusitis. In addition, Vietnamese balm helps increase breast milk production, so it is very useful for mothers with low milk supply, especially inhibits the proliferation of white blood cells. In terms of beauty, Vietnamese balm also has great effects such as: treating tooth decay and bad breath, treating acne, reducing headaches, and anti-depression.

Coriander is a familiar herb in daily meals such as soup, sauce, and food decoration. It is not only a simple herb but also a remedy for many diseases such as pain relief, bad breath treatment, flu treatment... Coriander contains a lot of ascorbic acid and is considered to have very good blood filtering function. Drinking coriander water regularly will help reduce cholesterol in the blood, detoxify substances such as lead or mercury.

Juice from coriander also helps supplement the body with a large amount of vitamins such as A, C, B1, B2, and iron. Coriander leaves stimulate digestion and are a tonic, anti-flatulence, stomach strengthening, the essential oil in coriander (leaves and seeds) has the effect of stimulating sexual excitement, used to treat in cases of sexual weakness, increase urine secretion and reduce fever. Besides, other benefits of coriander include regulating insulin concentration, reducing cholesterol levels in the blood, and reducing headaches, improving memory. Coriander works best when added to dishes before eating, avoiding boiling for too long which reduces the effectiveness of this fragrant herb.

Perilla is a widely used herb because it is easy to grow and has many uses in both healing, cooking, and beauty. The leaves of the perilla plant are not only a green vegetable added to daily meals but also a medicinal herb that brings many health benefits. With fairly high nutritional value, rich in vitamin A, C, rich in Ca, Fe, and P. From stem, leaves, branches to seeds of perilla can all be used as medicine.

Many studies have shown that perilla seems to have healing abilities in treating food poisoning, flu and respiratory viruses, asthma, diabetes and heart disease, cardiovascular protection properties, nerve protection and anti-depressant.

Perilla is a medicinal herb classified by Eastern Medicine as a sweating herb (causing sweating) in the cold-induced disease group that needs to be treated by causing sweating, curing fever, preventing disease. Perilla has warm properties, spicy taste. In addition, when the young perilla leaves are crushed and applied to rice grain acne several times, the rice grain acne will disappear. When the main rice grains fly, the small rice grains will also disappear on their own.

Spring onion leaves are one of the most common herbs. This herb can be easily found in most dishes. Spring onion leaves are used for decoration and to enhance the flavor of dishes. Spring onion leaves are a type of food that is rich in nutrients beneficial to health. Especially allicin compound, which has the ability to prevent and slow down the development of cancer.

The main component of spring onion leaves is water. A cup of spring onion leaves contains only 32 calories, low in fat and cholesterol-free. It also contains less sugar and fewer carbs than other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and corn. This herb has the effect of treating coughs, clearing phlegm, and has very effective antiseptic properties. Moreover, spring onion leaves are also considered a remedy for inflammation, acne.

Culantro originates from tropical countries in America. In our country, culantro grows wild, common in moist places in the northern midland and mountainous areas. Culantro is also often grown in many families' gardens as a spice. Culantro is also known as sawtooth herb. This is a very familiar herb that helps enhance the flavor of many dishes. In addition, culantro has the effect of supporting treatment and bringing many health benefits.

According to Eastern Medicine, culantro is warm, bitter taste, dark fragrance, has the effect of pain relief, gas relief, detoxification, heat dissipation, stimulates digestion, effectively eliminates bad breath. Culantro provides many proteins, carbohydrates, cellulose, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B1, and vitamin C. Drinking culantro water regularly will help reduce cholesterol in the blood, very good for health.

Vietnamese coriander is also known by other names such as water pepper, Daun Kesum, Daun Laksa,... Vietnamese coriander has a slightly spicy and strong taste, dark fragrance, warm nature, and essential oils. This is a popular herb, used in many Vietnamese dishes such as eel porridge, chicken salad, balut egg, clam porridge, rolled cakes,... contributing to the special flavor of the dish.

The most common use of Vietnamese coriander is to remove fishy smells in seafood dishes and is also extremely famous to eat with rib porridge or balut eggs. Vietnamese coriander has a spicy taste, warm nature, if used as medicine is often freshly picked in the garden or bought at early markets without processing. Cold abdominal pain, hemorrhoids, poor digestion, snake bites,... can be effectively treated with Vietnamese coriander.

Water Spinach (also known as Water Morning Glory, Ong Choy, Water Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, Water Convolvulus), scientifically known as Limmophila chinensis, belongs to the Scrophulariaceae family. Water spinach is a herbaceous plant, about 20 cm tall, with a soft stem and many hairs. The leaves are smooth, usually symmetrical, without petioles, slightly embracing the stem.

Water spinach has two types: 2-leaf water spinach (growing opposite) and 3-leaf water spinach (growing in a circle), either type can be used. The stem and leaves of water spinach have a fragrant smell, and sometimes a light lemony scent. The edible part of water spinach is the entire plant, young leaves are harvested for raw consumption, eaten with pho or cooked in sour soup. To make medicinal remedies, people harvest water spinach, wash it thoroughly, cut it short for fresh use, or dry it for later use.

According to Eastern Medicine, water spinach has a slightly spicy taste, a fragrant smell, a slightly bitter taste, and a cool nature. For its medicinal properties, water spinach has the effect of cooling, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, reducing swelling and pain, detoxifying, diuretic, treating kidney stones, reducing fever, treating edema, treating conjunctivitis, relieving colds, preventing aging, and supporting cancer treatment...

Vietnamese balm is the name for the leaves of the balm plant. This is a type of plant with a square stem, an average height of about 30 - 50cm, easy to grow and develop. Vietnamese balm grows symmetrically, with serrated edges, about 2 - 5 cm long.

Vietnamese balm, scientifically known as Elsholtzia ciliate, is also known as false balm or tinh gioi. Vietnamese balm has a spicy taste and a pleasant fragrance due to its essential oils. Many people confuse Vietnamese balm with basil because of their similar appearance, but these are two different types of herbs. The leaves of Vietnamese balm are smaller than basil and the upper surface of the leaves is bright green. In contrast, basil has more purple, usually concentrated on the underside of the leaves or both sides.

In traditional medicine, Vietnamese balm has long been seen as a medicine because of its many uses, including: Acne reduction, skin whitening, Cold and cough treatment, Allergy treatment, Bleeding control, Diaper rash treatment in infants.