Bay Laurel

First off a warning: Bay can (and almost certainly will) make your heart beat faster. People with minor heart problems can therefore have problems taking it. Even if you haven't been diagnosed with a heart problem of any kind bear in mind that sometimes these thingsd aren't discovered until it is too late.

Even in cooking you should be wary of Bay - remember to remove the leaves from any dishes.

Use only small doses of Bay to begin with, monitor your body's reaction to the dose and increase it (by a small ammount) if you are absolutely sure it is OK for you to do so. If you don't know whether you're sure or how to tell if it is safe to increase your dose *don't* increase it. It should also be avoided if your pregnant, it has been known to bring on 'natural' abortions.

Ok. Sorry about that everybody, just needed to make that point and absolve myself of any responbsibility for anything that might go wrong.

Anyway an infusion can help digestion, settling stomach pains (start with 10-15grams of fresh leaves per litre of boiling water, infused for 5 minutes, consuming 1 cup a day; increase to a maximum of 40g/l infused for 10 minutes, consuming 2-3 cups a day).

A similar infusion may also aid recovery from influenza.

Bay can also be used as a preventitive against illnesses, particularly those where you are feverish.