{"id":1924,"date":"2020-07-15T11:15:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T10:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/84.18.216.250\/~herbalreality\/?post_type=herb&p=1924"},"modified":"2025-10-27T15:52:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T15:52:58","slug":"rosemary","status":"publish","type":"herb","link":"https:\/\/www.herbalreality.com\/herb\/rosemary\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosemary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1346,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"1","beyondwords_project_id":"47224","beyondwords_content_id":"b4da73dc-5ada-4618-af3d-8f0b82fb0c5a","beyondwords_preview_token":"b45771d3-329e-47e7-94e7-bf022e6c61e2","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_code":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"tags":[120,84,108,42,48,43,127],"conditions":[685,699],"sustainability":[1576],"sense":[17,18],"western_action":[1008,997,1014],"chinese_action":[],"ayurvedic_action":[],"energetics_action":[1498,1487,1497,1495,1492,1380],"region":[1893],"class_list":["post-1924","herb","type-herb","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ageing","tag-bloating","tag-depression","tag-digestion","tag-fatigue","tag-indigestion","tag-rosemary","conditions-digestive-system","conditions-musculoskeletal-system","sustainability-green-sustainability-status","sense-aromatic","sense-bitter","western_action-diuretic","western_action-antispasmodic","western_action-hepatoprotective","energetics_action-bitter","energetics_action-dry","energetics_action-pungent","energetics_action-salty","energetics_action-toning","energetics_action-warm","region-western-herbs"],"acf":{"last_reviewed":"20200715","herb_author":2020,"banner_text":"Rosemary is an excellent tonic to raise spirits","latin_name":"Salvia rosmarinus<\/em>","pseudonym_name":"","family_name":"Lamiaceae","herb_summary":"Rosemary is a powerful family remedy available in any garden or window box, with traditional benefits on circulation, digestion and nerve functions reinforced by modern research.","key_benefits":"Fatigue\r\nLow mood\r\nBloating indigestion\r\nProblems of ageing","how_does_it_feel":"Pick a rosemary leaf and nose it: the aroma is instantly familiar, intense, aromatic with a strong camphor-like quality. When you chew it the taste is surprisingly slow to develop, starting with the aromatic flavour and again the camphor comes through and increasingly dominates, with a bitterness building behind it. Both the camphor and bitter linger long on the palate.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s the camphorous quality that distinguishes rosemary in its food and medical uses. There is something inherently stimulating about the smell and taste \u2013 it seems to go straight to the brain. This impression is probably correct!","hdif_image_1":1346,"hdif_image_2":5369,"hdif_image_3":11711,"hdif_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/4UcWclyv4Fc","sense":[17,18],"what_can_i_use_it_for":"\"\"Rosemary is an excellent tonic to boost recovery after illness or periods of low energy. Even inhaling the fresh leaf from a garden or window box will stimulate mental energy and the tea taken internally will much extend this effect.\r\n\r\nRosemary is likely to promote internal antioxidant (Nrf2) activity and is increasingly favoured for helping with low grade but chronic inflammatory problems. These are likely to include the \u2018neuroinflammatory\u2019 factors behind chronic fatigue conditions, including fibromyalgia, post-viral syndromes (including post-Lyme and COVID), ME, Epstein-Barre syndrome, as well as cases of clinical depression and the onset of dementia. Regular rosemary tea intake is to be recommended in the management of any of these.\r\n\r\nThe traditional European use of rosemary was for digestive problems, including with bloating, flatulence and particularly with liver and bile involvement. Rosemary is a traditional remedy to take to counter the effects of a heavy fat meal.","into_the_heart_of":"\"\"Toning and clarifying for the mind, digestion and joints. Breathing new life and energy into the body through its pungent aromatic essential oils.\r\n\r\nRosemary is pungent, aromatic and stimulating. It will improve blood supply to the brain, digestive, nervous and musculoskeletal systems, removing stuck inflammation and congestion whilst also strengthening their integrity. The volatile oil, rosmarinic acid, calms digestive irritation whilst stimulating digestive metabolism. Interestingly, one of the reasons why this herb is often added to roasting meats is because it helps the digestive system to digest the fat content of the meat.\r\n\r\nThe rosmarinic acid is a strong antioxidant making rosemary a strong protective agent throughout the body systems within which it is affiliated. Within the cerebral and nervous systems, it improves circulation whilst also toning the nerves, making rosemary a good choice where there may be psychological tension or where cognitive processes such as memory and concentration need support.","tradtional_uses":"In folklore rosemary was used for a wide range of applications. European traditions were in digestive problems with flatulence and bloating, as a tonic to raise the spirits and help recover from illness. It was seen to stimulate circulation, especially to the head, and in eastern Europe was favoured as a heart tonic.\r\n\r\nOne of the most accurate descriptions of rosemary was by the Roman physician Dioscorides, who wrote: \u201cthe eating of its \ufb02ower in a preserve comforts the brain, the heart and the stomach; sharpens understanding, restores lost memory, awakens the mind, and in sum is a healthy remedy for various cold ailments of the head and the stomach<\/em>.\u201d\r\n\r\nExternally rosemary was included in salves and ointments for muscle and joint pain and as a hair rinse for scalp problems.","what_practioners_say":"\"\"<\/strong>\r\n

Cerebral<\/h3>\r\nRosemary improves cerebral circulation and reduces neuroinflammation, enhancing cognitive processes such as learning, memory and concentration and being a strong candidate in managing neurological problems, psychological conditions and dementia. It can be thought of as having similar properties here to ginkgo.\r\n

Digestive<\/h3>\r\nRosemary stimulates the digestive metabolism, improving digestive efficiency and acts as an intestinal anti-spasmodic, relieving indigestion, dyspepsia, bloating and cramping.\r\n

Respiratory<\/h3>\r\nThe pungency of rosemary\u2019s essential oils makes it an effective expectorant, shifting stubborn mucus and catarrh.\r\n

Musculoskeletal<\/h3>\r\nRosemary is often used externally where there is musculoskeletal pain or inflammation as it improves circulation to the affected area, thereby reducing any inflammation or fluid retention.\r\n

Other external uses<\/h3>\r\nOil massage for respiratory problems, catarrhal congestion; diluted oil for cuts, wounds, sores, chilblains, scalds and burns, wrinkles, scabies, headlice, hair loss, eczema, bruises, wounds; applied to temples for tension, headaches, drowsiness, poor memory\/concentration; infusion as douche for vaginal infections and discharge.","research":"\"\"Among students 500 mg rosemary taken twice daily for one month improved memory performance, depression, anxiety and sleep quality compared with placebo (4).\r\n\r\nThere is the interesting possibility that even low doses of rosemary may have benefit. In a study looking at the short term effects of rosemary on cognitive performance in an elderly population, 750mg of rosemary per day significantly improved memory speed compared with placebo, whereas 6000mg actually impaired it (5).\r\n\r\nInhalation of rosemary and lavender oils enhanced cognitive functions in a randomized study of 140 subjects using a standardised test battery. The rosemary group reported feeling more alert compared to the lavender and control groups, and the rosemary and lavender groups felt more content than did the controls (6). The aroma of rosemary oil increased performance in exam students (7), increased free radical scavenging activity and reduced cortisol in human subjects (8).\r\n\r\nThere is\u00a0in-vitro<\/em> evidence of acetylcholinesterase inhibition in rosemary, considered as a promising strategy for the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease, senile dementia, ataxia and myasthenia gravis (9,10).\u00a0<\/sup>A protective effect on dopaminergic neural cells has been observed (11).","did_you_know":"As Shakespeare reminded us in Hamlet, rosemary was known as the herb of remembrance, and was placed at burial sites to ensure that the memory of the departed would not be lost by their loved one.","additional_information_right":{"illustration":113808},"additional_information_left":{"botany":"Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean, growing naturally in dry scrub land. It is an evergreen perennial shrub, with characteristic needle-like dark green leaves that produce a pungent, aromatic scent when rubbed. <\/span>\r\n\r\nThe flowers are a pale purple or white with two long protruding stamens. The fruits appear as four dry nut-like shells. Rosemary is now widely cultivated for its culinary use and as an essential oil.<\/span>","common_names":"