The ‘new’ parsley

Fresh coriander, locally KNOWN as dhunia or dhania, is fast becoming a substitute for parsley as a garnish and herb and is just as readily available. It has a spicy, decidedly Oriental/Mexican taste. Coriander is used in Thai, Indian and Malay cuisine.
Historically, seasonings were a method to preserve foods, add nutrients and make food safer to store and eat. They also enhance flavours and researchers continue to discover that some exhibit unusual healing properties.
Coriander has recently drawn attention as a heavy metal “chelator” – when eaten regularly, certain molecules in the fresh leaves naturally attach themselves to toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead and aluminium stubbornly lodged in our bodies, and accelerate their excretion. Dr Yoshiaki Omura from Japan discovered this almost by accident. He had been treating several patients for a common but serious eye infection called trachoma. Following the standard treatment with antibiotics, patients’ symptoms would clear up initially, but then recur within a few months. 
Dr Omura found the microbes were hiding and flourishing in areas of the body where heavy metals were concentrated. Somehow the organisms were able to use the toxic metals to protect themselves from the antibiotics.
While testing for those metals, he noticed the mercury level in one of his patients decreased after he ate a healthy serving of Vietnamese soup, containing coriander. Further testing revealed that eating the herb also increased urinary excretion of lead and aluminium.
When using coriander concurrently with antibiotics or natural anti-viral agents and/or fatty acids like fish oil, the prognosis for healing infections while ridding the body of toxic metals looks promising. The beauty of Dr Omura’s discovery is that it’s an inexpensive, easy way to remove toxic metals from the nervous system and body tissue, which anybody can use cheaply and safely. The algae chlorella, not spirulina, is another natural chelator, but it’s expensive and scarce. – Johanita Louw     |fw