The health benefits of thyme and how to use it
I’m teaming up with Ricola® Herb & Throat drops, as part of a campaign with Socialstars, to bring you this sponsored post all about thyme.
The question is not … “What does thyme do?”. The question is …”What does thyme not do?”. As an ambassador for Ricola Herb & Throat drops, I was recently given the challenge to incorporate thyme into my life, and I found that thyme is one amazing natural herb (in addition to being a great pun, when you have enough thyme to come up with one). Projects like these are such fun learning experiences for me, and one of the million reasons why I love what I do.
What is thyme and what are the benefits of it
Here’s an overview of what I found out about thyme with some quick Internet research:
- Thyme is an herb from the mint family and has several hundred subspecies
- It’s a staple in the kitchen and can be included in tons of recipes for extra flavor
- Thyme has medicinal qualities and is known to lower blood pressure
- Essential oils from thyme leaves can naturally reduce coughing
- Thyme is a good source of vitamins C and A, as well as fiber, iron and magnesium
- Essential oils from thyme have been known to have mood-boosting properties
- Essential oils from thyme have antimicrobial properties for cleaning, and thyme can help preserve the shelf-life of food
- Some of the most popular varieties of thyme are lemon and French
You can purchase fresh sprigs of thyme leaves at the grocery store in the produce department, and I picked up a little bundle for less than $2 this week. You can also buy dried thyme in the spice aisle, which works well too. As a general rule, use more fresh thyme (sprigs) than you do dried thyme (tablespoons) when it comes to recipes, but remember that thyme is pretty fragrant, and it’s totally up to your flavor preference how much and which you choose.
Ways to incorporate thyme into your life
If you want to add extra flavor to your food and get the benefits of thyme, here are a few easy ways to incorporate it in your kitchen …
- Add fresh or dried thyme to pasta sauce, to soups, to stews, as well as to any marinade for extra flavor. I threw some into my pasta last night, and it was particularly delish.
- Coat and season veggies and meat with thyme before cooking. I recently prepared some roasted veggies, topped with a combination of coconut oil, dried thyme and salt and pepper, and they were divine.
- Add fresh or dried thyme to omelets, casseroles or even salads for additional flavoring without increasing the salt. (I happen to love the use of thyme in this salmon dish as well as these salmon burgers.)
- Sprinkle fresh or dried thyme on top of pizza to fancy it up.
And for you and your home …
- Mix thyme leaves, filtered water and kosher salt to make an all-natural mouthwash.
- Use thyme leaves in place of tea-bags for an all-natural soothing hot beverage, paired with lemon or honey when you’re feeling a sore throat coming on.
- Make your own at-home incense by burning thyme leaves.
- Place a sprig of fresh thyme, or a sachet of dried thyme under your pillow to ward off nightmares. (Okay, now this one I need to try??)
I did read that you shouldn’t use thyme for medicinal purposes when pregnant, but there aren’t a lot of other health hazards associated. It’s just a safe and fragrant herb, ready to be used in many ways.
The natural healing powers of herbs is a real thing
With all its medicinal benefits, it’s no wonder that thyme is one of the ingredients used in my beloved Ricola Revitalizing Herb Drops, which are produced by the family-run Ricola company from natural herbs grown in the Swiss alps. These drops give you a little boost of energy, help to support your immunity and are a whole lot of fun to pop in your mouth, with their fizzy effervescent centers.
And by the way, I just found out that you can visit one of six Ricola herb gardens in Switzerland and take a tour of the luscious greens, which sounds just amazing. These aromatic areas are open from May to September, so there’s still thyme to visit this year. (If you want to sponsor my trip so I can share Instagram photos and pick you up a souvenir, just let me know.)
There you have it. I think that’s enough talk about herbs today. Moral of the story? When in doubt, add some thyme. I hope you learned something new, as I did when writing this post. Have a lovely day!
*Disclaimer: As part of a Socialstars campaign, this post in sponsored by Ricola. I’ve really enjoyed learning about this family-owned Swiss company, its rich history and the product line available throughout this campaign. So thanks Ricola. However, please know that all the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own. For more information on Ricola, you can visit Ricola on Facebook or on Twitter.
Questions of the day
Do you ever incorporate thyme into your life?
What’s your favorite at-home remedy?
(If you have a recipe using thyme that you’d like to share, please do so below.)
Thyme is fabulous and frequently underappreciated. i’m glad you gave it it’s due! And yes, I’m going to avoid a silly thyme pun. For now.
Hi Susie! I had no idea there were so many uses for thyme! I’m totally adding it to everything now. Happy Thursday, lady! 🙂
Thanks so much for linking to my recipe! 🙂
You are so welcome, Kaila! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. I’d love to try those burgers one day! 🙂
This is great! I actually have a jar of dried thyme sitting there that I didn’t know what to do with. definitely going to incorporate some of your tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Gretchen! You are so welcome! I had some thyme sitting around too, which I’ve been putting to use. Happy Thursday, lady! 🙂
I had always argued with my mom about the healing properties of herbs and oils. My mother is a firm believer in Eastern/homeopathic medicine where I am all for Western medicine. In my first didactic year in graduate school we started talking about pharmacology/drug metabolism and human physiology. What I wish we explored more was the nutritional aspect. So because I’m a curious individual I started researching “natural” enhancers (I don’t want to use the term remedy) and was so surprised at all the wonderful health benefits herbs and spices have. I still take Western medicines when I’m sick, but now incorporate many spices into my daily eats to help with inflammation, immune efficiency, and energy.
Hi Jamie! Oh wow, I LOVE to hear that. Especially from someone who did all the research. Yes, I believe in Western medicine, but also like to have the backing of some natural support for the body. 🙂 Thanks for sharing that with me. Have a great day!
Mmm I will try sprinkling thyme over my roasted veggies next time! It’s definitely a spice that I haven’t paid very much attention to, but I did notice that thyme oil is used as an anti-bacterial in one of the all natural cleaners that I have. I love how plant essences/oils can be so powerful!
Hi Jill! Yes, I know! I’ve never used too many all-natural cleaners, but learning about thyme essential oil makes me want to look into them! 🙂 Happy Thursday, lady!
I love thyme in food and as a natural remedy. It’s great for coughs/colds and upper respiratory conditions. It contains carvacrol which has some promising research.
The seal of approval from you Doc, well that means a lot!! 🙂 YAY!
I’m a total herb girl and have never really worked with Thyme before, so I’ll definitely need to try this. I never realized it was so powerful! What’s your favorite dish to use it in? Just want to see what dish I should try it in first 🙂
Hi Mackenzie, I’d start by adding thyme to things you already cook, like roasted veggies, pasta sauce, etc. I started adding it to veggies, and have now added it to a bunch of things. Start with dried thyme. Good luck!! 🙂
Hi Ashley! I add thyme to my eggs. It gives them a very subtle extra something. I love herbs and just planted some thyme to my addition. Let’s see if they grow now. I don’t have the best green thumb, hence why I live in the desert. You can’t kill a cactus. Lol
Hi Megan! ahahha! Yes, you desert girl, you. No need for plants! I’m not particularly into growing things either. And yes, thyme in eggs sounds yummy! 🙂
I love thyme baked with chicken! Herbs have such an amazing way of spicing up the plainest dishes- and they have so many health benefits as well!
My favorite home remedy for practically anything is ginger tea! It cures any stomach issue in an instant.
Hi Niki! Yes, I’ve heard great things about ginger as well. Do you use fresh ginger in it?? 🙂
Great post! I didn’t know a lot of these things.. I love the flavor of thyme, now I have even more of a reason to use it 🙂
Hi Liz! Thanks! Glad you learned something new:) Happy Thursday to you!
You know, I hadn’t thought of thyme having health benefits; I don’t know why. Herbs are chock full of good stuff! I have always read about the “cleansing” properties of parsley, so it makes sense that thyme would also be beneficial. Thanks for the info!
And as far as home remedies are concerned, we are big fans of raw, local honey for coughs and colds.
Hi Heather! Yes! I’ve heard the local honey is good for getting rid of allergies, or at least alleviating them as well. 🙂 Have a great night!
Thyme & Time… Love them both 😉
Thyme on chicken and turkey ROCKS…
And Time… Well, we all need more of it, right?!
You got it, GiGi. More time and more thyme. Well said! 🙂
“…there’s still THYME to visit this year.” You kill me! I love it and totally wish I could sponsor your trip to Switzerland for a sneak peek at all the beauty! I love Thyme AND Ricola (I went through 3 bags last week!) I’ll have to try the herb drops next time I am sick. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen for some time!
Very cool! I love to use fresh thyme in recipes and I do have the essential oil as well. I had no idea it helped with nightmares?! I may have to put a sprig of it under my son’s pillow, he has been having a lot of nightmares lately!