Cilantro Spring

The nights aren't warm enough yet here for me to put out my container cilantro plants, even in my mini-greenhouse. I'm hoping for a warm-up soon because they need to be repotted into larger containers that won't fit on a window sill.

Have You Eaten Your Chinese Parsley Today?

One of the things I enjoy about trying to grow something new each year is that win, lose or draw; I always learn something. I knew that coriander was also known as cilantro(its Spanish name). I knew it was used in salsa and other dishes common to Mexico. But I had no idea of the health benefits attributed to this plant.

It contains antioxidants that can help slow aging. And it also contains chemicals that have been found to act as antibacterial agents against Salmonella. Clinical trials with mice have shown that it has both insulin-releasing and insulin-like activity; which explains its use as a traditional treatment for diabetes. And Persian culture has used it for centuries for the treatment of anxiety.

No wonder the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates once said, "Let food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food."