Before modern medicine, generations relied on the healing properties found in plants. Peoples all around the world understood the flora around them, which ones were healing and which ones were harmful and passed down that knowledge for millennia.
While many cultures used knowledge of plants for dark mystical purposes, their error does not change the truth that from the beginning God created plants to nutritious and restore our bodies (Genesis 1:29). When the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of God’s Kingdom on earth, he spoke the following about the trees “and its fruit shall be food, and its leaf shall be for medicine” (Ezekiel 47:12).
Let’s explore the healing properties of plants and herbs.
Antimicrobial herbs
Before the age of antibiotics, many cultures used herbs for their antimicrobial properties. As we return to this ancient wisdom, we may not have to reach for an antibiotic. Instead, we could grab some herbs or essential oils made from them.
Antimicrobial herbs include:
Thyme
Sage
Oregano
Rosemary
Chamomile
When our bodies are fighting an infection, we can sip teas made from these herbs. If we have a minor skin infection, we can add a few drops of essential oils to olive oil and apply to our skin. We could also crush fresh herbs into olive oil, making a pumice to apply to our skin.
However, if these remedies do not help or the infection worsens, we should still use wisdom and seek medical attention. God uses the innovations of modern medicine to save many lives from life threatening infections with the judicious use of antibiotics.
Plants and cancer
Are you concerned about cancer?
Does cancer run in your family?
Are you concerned about the CDC reports about skyrocketing incidence of cancer?
Turn your concern into action by committing yourself to a whole food diet. Whole foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds are full of health promoting phytochemicals that remain unstudied by modern medicine.
In addition to whole foods, there are certain herbs and vegetables with powerful anti-cancer properties. These foods contain substances that disrupt the ability for potentially precancerous cells to get a foothold, allowing the body to eliminate any wayward cells before they become malignant[1].
Anti-cancer herbs include:
Basil
Thyme
Parsley
Rosemary
Oregano
Feverfew
Anti-cancer veggies include:
Broccoli sprouts
Lemon
Garlic
Turmeric
Berries
If we want to lower our risk of cancer, we should aim to incorporate these plants into our diets every day. In addition to cancer suppression, a diet full of fruit and vegetables promotes healthy weight. Gaining weight is associated with an increased risk of cancer because excess fat cells cause chronic inflammation, promoting the development and growth of cancer cells[2].
Plants and weight management
America is facing a metabolic epidemic: sixty percent of Americans have metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome, which can lead to hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, is diagnosed if a person has three out of five of the following conditions:
1. High blood sugar (too much sugar in the blood)
2. Low HDL (too little good cholesterol in the blood)
3. High triglycerides (too much fat in the blood)
4. Large waist circumference (excess abdominal fat tissue)
5. High blood pressure (blood pressure above 130/80)
Losing weight is the most important way to reverse metabolic syndrome.
By His Grace, God has provided plants and herbs that can also help improve our metabolism, curing metabolic syndrome, and reversing hypertension and diabetes.
These herbal powerhouses include:
Garlic
Berries
Hibiscus
Parsley
Oregano
Basil
Incorporating colorful fruits and vegetables into our diet help us achieve a healthy weight by reducing our calorie intake, increasing anti-inflammatory substances in our bodies, and promoting thriving microbiome. Those with obesity have fewer beneficial microbes in their gut such as Bifidobacterium[3]. Bifidobacterium, which have been shown improve metabolism, are contained in fermented foods such as sauerkraut and yogurt. If we want to improve our metabolism, we must incorporate fermented food into our whole food lifestyle.
God’s way of healing
God is a Healer and the Bible is full of stories of miraculous healing. While His healing can come from a miracle, He created plants that provide the substances that our bodies need to beat back the toxicity filling our world. Let’s avoid toxic artificial ultra-processed foods and turn back to God’s way: a whole food diet filled with the healing plants He created for us.
[1] Khan T, Ali M, Khan A, Nisar P, Jan SA, Afridi S, Shinwari ZK. Anticancer Plants: A Review of the Active Phytochemicals, Applications in Animal Models, and Regulatory Aspects. Biomolecules. 2019 Dec 27;10(1):47. doi: 10.3390/biom10010047. PMID: 31892257; PMCID: PMC7022400.
[2] Iyengar NM, Gucalp A, Dannenberg AJ, Hudis CA. Obesity and Cancer Mechanisms: Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation. J Clin Oncol. 2016 Dec 10;34(35):4270-4276. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2016.67.4283. Epub 2016 Nov 7. PMID: 27903155; PMCID: PMC5562428.
[3] Díaz Perdigones CM, Hinojosa Nogueira D, Rodríguez Muñoz A, Subiri Verdugo A, Vilches-Pérez A, Mela V, Tinahones FJ, Moreno Indias I. Taxonomic and functional characteristics of the gut microbiota in obesity: A systematic review. Endocrinol Diabetes Nutr (Engl Ed). 2025 Nov;72(9):501624. doi: 10.1016/j.endien.2025.501624. PMID: 41173568.