Medicinal Benefits of Common Culinary Herbs: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Why growing your own only makes sense
You know the saying, and I’ve used it here many times: You are what you eat. Which also means you cannot be what you don’t eat.
What if the key ingredient you are missing for your health has to do with authentic flavor?
Modern food manufacturers work very hard to create a stable and consistent flavor for their foods. This is believed to be critical for brand loyalty, which makes sense. Would you buy a product that is never the same taste twice? Probably not.
That means manufacturers pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into research for things like the “bliss point” of food to ensure that you keep coming back for more.
But step back in time - let’s go to pre-WWII before the advent of chain grocery stores - and most households were still preparing meals at home, from mostly local or regional food sources. And that included adding herbs and spices to make authentic, culturally-specific, flavorful meals.
Those garden-grown culinary herbs that made food taste authentic did more than just spice up our plates. It turns out that culinary herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are powerful sources of botanical medicines. And once upon a time they were part of every day life in our homes and gardens, and at the farmer’s market.
[If you can’t get the lyrics out of your head - here’s the link for Simon and Garfunkel. You are welcome!]
Let’s dive in a little deeper into the health benefits of these culinary herbs, and why you should grow some at home, and cook with them daily.
4 Medicinally-Powerful Culinary Herbs
Parsley
Parsley plants are botanically named Petroselinum crispum and are members of the carrot family. In their first year, they form low growing mounds of pungent leaves. In their second year, they send up long stems with tiny white flowers from which seeds will form.
Leaves are snipped off from the plant and used fresh or dried for later use in savory dishes like soups and stews, or sprinkled on everything from eggs to seafood to potatoes, or stirred into butter for added flavor.
Besides being a rich source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and iron, parsley contains several important plant compounds that have strong medicinal properties. A 2025 review of the “nutraceutical” potential of parsley in the Italian Journal of Food Science found evidence for parsley showing:
anti-oxidant effects,
anti-inflammatory effects,
important components for diabetes management,
strongly supportive of kidney and urinary systems, and
having anti-cancer potential.
That’s not bad for a leafy plant that somehow became relegated to plate garnish in restaurants instead of being a foundational herb in both the kitchen and the medicine cabinet.
Some of the important medicinal compounds are more active when extracted into an oil, such as the ester “apiol” which comes from parsley seed. Others are highest in the fresh herb, such as the flavonoid “myricetin” (which is structurally similar to quercetin) that has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer properties.
As a cut-and-come-again plant, parsley is very easy to grow in volume. Just 2-4 plants is all I need to produce summer fresh leaves and a winter’s supply of dried parsley.
Sage
Known botanically as Salvia officinalis, common sage is a small shrub with grey-green leaves and woody stems (it’s also called garden sage or culinary sage). Native North American cultures traditionally burned sage as a way to cleanse from illness and stress, and to bring calm and restore energy.
Sage is rich in Vitamin K, Iron, Vitamin B6, and a source of trace minerals like manganese, zinc and copper when used in food or drinks. Sage has powerful anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.
A randomized clinical trial (2015) showed that sage-based mouthwash can effectively kill the bacteria (Streptococcus mutans) known to cause cavities.
Furthermore, a 2025 study published in the journal Foods demonstrated that mice given a traditionally prepared sage drink had significantly lower blood sugar after 10 days compared to the control group of mice. The sage-treated mice also showed significant increases in antioxidant enzymes in their blood. While human studies are needed, these results are highly promising.
Sage is easy to grow, and can be a long-lived perennial plant in the garden. I planted sage 13 years ago when I moved into this farm, and it has produced reliably every year. Some varieties are cold hardy to USDA Zone 2a, while others do better in Zones 4-10
Sage can be used as a food seasoning, dried for long storage, burned for smudging, made into tea, or extracted in alcohol or oil for tinctures.
Rosemary
The earliest known mention of rosemary dates back to 5000 BCE, carved into stone tablets in ancient Mesopotamia. But the plant itself has a much longer association with human cultures and communities. The botanical name for rosemary is Rosmarinus officinalis L. (which has been changed now to Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) Rosemary is in the same family as sage and other well known Mediterranean culinary herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and mint.
Rosemary is well known in cultural medicine for its ability to reduce bronchial and airway inflammation. A 2020 review in the journal Frontiers of Pharmacology summarizes the research on rosemary for inflammatory diseases including asthma, arthritis, allergic rhinitis, periodontal disease and several more. The wide range of medicinal effects noted for rosemary include:
anti-oxidative (preventing cell damage caused by free radicals),
anti-apoptotic (preventing cell death),
anti-tumorigenic (preventing the growth of tumors), and
anti-inflammatory (reducing inflammation in the body).
Rosmary can also be applied topically to aid in wound healing and anti-inflammatory skin treatments (2020-in the journal Plants).
Rosemary grows as a long-lived ever-green perennial in USDA zones 8-10. In colder climates, it can be grown in pots and moved inside for the winter.
With rosemary, a little goes a long way. Just a few of its narrow leaves is all it takes to flavor a savory meal. One plant is probably enough for most culinary uses.
Thyme
The botanical name for thyme is Thymus vulgaris. It’s a low growing, creeping, woody perennial which is cold hardy down to USDA Zone 2, making it one of the easiest herbs to include in your garden.
Thyme has powerful anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-septic properties, especially when used as an essential oil. Thyme is active against a wide range of bacteria, including various drug-resistant strains (2011). It is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent being explored for conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). You can read about these studies in a 2024 review found in Frontiers of Nutrition.
Thyme is not just good for people, however. Readers who raise chickens may be interested to know that thyme essential oil is a powerful tool for combating diseases. In fact, 10 of the 12 main poultry pathogens are treatable with thyme essential oil. You can read the details in my Rose Hill Farm blog post: Essential Oils for Chickens: The (Science-Backed) Natural Approach For Flock Health and Productivity which includes links for the oils that I buy and a downloadable chart of essential oils for poultry pathogens.
Used fresh or dried for cooking, and made into teas, tinctures and oils for medicinal use, thyme is an absolute must-grow in my garden. I use it everywhere as a cold-hardy ground cover. AND it is a huge boost for pollinating insects when it blooms. Aside from common thyme, I also grow lemon and orange varieties as well.
A little pinch of danger?
Are these culinary herbs dangerous to use daily? Not in their natural home-grown garden form (unless you are specifically allergic to these plants - use your common sense there!).
The main danger of culinary herbs known today is coming from their modern incarnations in manufactured foods.
A 2025 article in the journal Food Control reviews the main food safety concerns raised for commercially available herbs and spices. These concerns include:
food additives (e.g. emulsifiers, stabilizers, sweeteners, etc.),
microorganisms contamination (e.g. bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa),
inclusion of heavy metals and other pollutants, and
fraud (e.g. cutting the herb or spice with a cheaper product)
So as with many things these days, this is a case of buyer beware. And this is even more reason to grow your own herbs, and prepare your meals yourself.
Grow your own
All of these herbs - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (as well as many others) - are easy to grow in your garden, in pots on your patio, or even as windowsill plants. You need well draining soil and strong sunlight of 6-8 hours to produce quality culinary herbs. That makes these herbs ideal for hot sunny patios!
A dash of protection
Historically all of our herbs and spices came from freshly grown and/or dried plants right out of the garden. Along with improved flavor came our daily dose of medicine, delivered in small amounts, but consistently over time.
We’ve lost more than just flavor by not practicing the skills of our ancestors to use herbs to enhance our lives.
I hope this little review of just four key culinary herbs makes you think further about what medicines are available at your fingertips when these plants grace your garden.
Do you use herbs in your landscape? Which ones work best for you?
The Naturalized Human brings together the science and human experience of the mind-body-food connection. I write about growing food, and how this affects every aspect of our mental and physical health and wellness. If you enjoy and benefit from this work, then consider becoming a paid subscriber. For just $5 US/month (a cup of coffee), you can show your support and access all the features of this newsletter.
My focus this year in my veggie garden is herbs this year. Rosemary, Thyme, Sage and Parsley are all in the garden and I'm so excited for the benefits for both me and the pollinators/insects.
Thank you for this! I grow lots of herbs and add new perennial herbs every year. Explaining the medicinal uses of these was very helpful.