The Healing Power of Culinary Herbs By Susan Smith Jones, PhD For thousands of years, humankind has relied entirely on plants, herbs, and spices to treat illnesses both minor and serious. On every continent, stretching back centuries, native cultures turned to indigenous plants to develop healing remedies. Over 4,500 years ago, Chinese and Native Americans began to organize bodies of knowledge about the medicinal properties of herbs and spices. In this article, I will feature some of my favorite culinary herbs and suggest ways to use them in food. While I have been a vegan for most of my adult life, I will suggest some common food uses for spices using animal products, as well as plant-based dishes, for those you who don’t embrace a vegan or vegetarian diet. As a culinary instructor and recipe developer for over 35 years (and a former natural-foods caterer and private chef for some entertainment celebrities), I always look for the freshest, best spices available, and also ones that ar...