I have a memory like an elephant, enabling me to dredge up the most mundane details of seemingly unremarkable events that took place years and years back, right down to what everybody was wearing and what song was playing on the radio. So it would seem that I’d have no use for ginkgo biloba, the supplement that’s usually touted as some kind of memory-boosting miracle herb. But turns out that ginkgo’s not just for keeping your memory sharp: The herb helps maintain the health of your blood vessels, which in turn increases blood flow to the brain. It’s also a powerful antioxidant, and benefits the nervous system by delivering oxygen and blood sugar to nerve cells. And a recent study from the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that taking ginkgo may protect against some of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

ThisNexter ExLibris includes the supplement in her Writers Survival Kit list, recommending that we writerly types “keep ginkgo biloba around for when you’re low on brain cells. It’s better than coffee (though it doesn’t taste as good).”

...continued: The thinking man's herb

Probiotics - the beneficial bacteria that help keep your gut healthy and your immune system strong - can be hard to come by unless you’re taking supplements or getting lots of yogurt in your diet. But thanks to products like Carpe Diem carbonated teas, now you can drink your good bugs - which is a lot more yummy than it sounds. According to ThisNexter Liz Oakes, Carpe Diem serves up “totally refreshing carbonated teas and waters which are a treat,” with the most probiotic-rich products found in the Kombucha and Kefir teas. Although they’re not exactly short on sugar (delivering at least 25 mg per bottle), both drinks are loaded with healing herbs, cultures, and probiotics that could boost your body’s natural defenses and keep you from getting sick this season.

I still go all cringey and gaggy-feeling upon remembering that wretched Chloraseptic stuff my mom used to give me to treat sore throats when I was still wee. Luckily I grew into a somewhat health-obsessed adult with slightly hippie tendencies, thus enabling me to discover remedies such as Traditional Medicinals’ Throat Coat tea. A must-have for the winter season, the soreness-easing, scratch-soothing blend includes licorice, slippery elm, and marshmallow root. Says shopcaster missbloom:

“I’m a singer and after tons of rehearsals and performances my voice gets pretty tired. Anytime my throat starts feeling irritated I reach for a big, well-steeped cup of this tea. The slippery elm root is very soothing for scratchy, tired throats and the taste is sweet and mellow (though it takes a little getting used to at first). Almost every other vocalist I know also swears by the stuff.”

One of my favorite product discoveries of the past year is the Get Gorgeous tea from Republic of Tea’s Be Well line. Ever since I started drinking the herb-infused red tea, my skin’s become much clearer, which probably has lots to do with the hormone-balancing red clover and de-stressing chamomile. I haven’t gone a day without a cup of Get Gorgeous in forever, and I’m seriously considering ordering the 250-bag package next from Republic of Tea. ThisNexter evastars, on the other hand, recommends the Be Well line’s Get Lost tea, which blends appetite-suppressing cinnamon and sweet-tooth-taming carob to help curb cravings and promote weight loss. “I don’t know if it will help you lose weight,” says evastars, “but it’s warming and delicious!” And over at the blog Quiet Yoga, Lee recently tested out Republic of Tea’s Get Clean, a detoxing tea featuring liver-stimulating herbs like milk thistle and dandelion root. “I was feeling kind of bloated and heavy and I drank this for 2 days and I think I felt better,” says Lee, giving me hope that my post-Thanksgiving food hangover won’t be as grueling as usual this year.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always gotten sick less frequently than my family members or anyone else around me – apparently, I’ve been blessed with some sort of superhuman immune system, for which I always feel extra-grateful during fall and winter. But there are those times, especially in the midst of the approaching cold and flu season, when something breaks down and I dissolve into a sniffling, sneezing, hacking mess whose only comfort can be found in veggie pho from the nearest Vietnamese restaurant and back-to-back episodes of Freaks and Geeks and/or Sex & The City.

When such dreadful moments arise, I head to Whole Foods and reach for Nature’s Way’s Umcka Coldcare, a cherry-flavored syrup containing some traditional Zulu medicine remedy that helps shorten the duration and severity of colds. I first discovered it during last year’s cold and flu season, and it totally works - without bringing on that spaced-out, crazy feeling you get from downing DayQuil.

...continued: Natural cold and flu fighters

Hatred usually divides, but it can also unite. Take, for example, cilantro. You pretty much love it or hate it, and if you hate it, then IHateCilantro.com is your new home away from home. Hundreds of members from around the globe convene to vent about the noxious flavor of, to share heart-breaking stories about and to shop for apparel to further express their extreme distaste for this herb. And if you happen to be visiting from somewhere other than the good old U. S. of A., you can also access it via IHateCoriander.com.

At Herbs 411 - The Herbal Hotline, Summerwolf shares some solutions for all-natural headache relief. Since we don’t seem to have any dried primrose flowers or stinking iris lying around, we’re more likely to soothe our pain with easier-to-come-by chamomile. The recipe:

Use 1 heaping teaspoon of dried chamomile flowers for each cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey. It’s a good relaxer. Caution: Do not use if you suffer from ragweed allergies, as chamomile is in the same family.

Self-described as “just another Perl-hacking, meditating, music-making, ecovillage-building, Vancouver-living guy,” Keith Grennan blogs about living with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at Keith vs. The Pineapple. Always illuminating, Keith details his experiences with chemo, posts photos from his latest trip to Magic Cuts, keeps us updated on projects like creating a Hodgkin’s blog aggregator, and shares recipes such as his very own Magic Tea. Made with herbs selected from Gaia Garden, the healing blend contains immune-boosting astralagus, mineral-rich nettles, and other herbs sure to enrich your health.