Basil

Did you know that there are quite a few different types of basil? That was actually news to me. Today we look mostly at the sweet basil, and learn what basil does for your body!

Lots of goodness - but enough?

This little leaf wants to help you so bad. It contains calcium, manganese, Vitamin A… all that good stuff - but we don’t normally use enough of it to have any big effect! Apart from, that is, the Vitamin K levels it has to offer, which are very high. Just like a lot of leafy greens and herbs, basil contains a high amount of Vitamin K, which is fantastic news for your health. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting (the good kind!) and the building of bones.

However, if you do use larger amounts of it, it seems to have some fantastic benefits. Just like its cousin mint, it contains antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory effects on the body. Some types of basil are used heavily in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, and in essential oils.

Sweet basil, the most common one in the Western world and the one we are familiar with from Italian-style cooking, has really great benefits to your body (or so we think!), if you just consume enough of it. Some tests on animals indicate that basil can help your memory stay strong as you age, help you recover faster after a stroke, prevent certain types of cancer, and protect your body in some other awesome ways (like work against Aspirin’s damaging affect on your gut or combat antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria!).

And isn’t the flavour - and smell - of basil just heavenly? Just a few leaves raw with your pasta is enough to make it a meal to celebrate, not to mention a gorgeous homemade pesto, or loads chopped up in a tomato sauce.

The good news is that just like mint, they are super easy to grow! In the photo above, you’ll see my pot that grew indoors in my flat during the winter months - I used it tons of times and it grew out again and again, so it is definitely possible to do!

Oh and if you can’t be bothered to keep fresh basil (or, grown your own), some good news: dried basil is more concentrated in nutrients (as it has shrunk when drying, but all the great nutrients are still in there!), so a cheap glass of dried basil from the supermarket is definitely worth getting for your kitchen cupboard. It might not be as fragrant and fresh, but hey, it’s still tasty and healthy!

How do you use basil? Have you ever tried growing your own? Message me on Instagram @TheFromScratchBody!