Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region.
It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin for "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea". Rosemary has a fibrous root system.
Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub that has leaves similar to hemlock needles. The leaves are used as a flavoring in foods such as stuffings and roast lamb, pork, chicken and turkey.
Eating walnuts, sardines, and spinach to improve memory is old hat - but there’s a new ingredient you may want to add to your memory-boosting diet: Rosemary.
Scientists in the UK say the herb is linked to better memory, and that simply being in a room diffused with the smell of rosemary improved memory test scores by 15 percent.
That might not seem like that much, but researchers at Northumbria University say it could mean the difference between remembering whether or not to take your pills.
Translation: It could technically be life or death.
To test rosemary’s effects on memory in older people, scientists split up a group of 150 adults and placed them in rooms scented with rosemary, lavender, or no aroma.
They then asked the participants to play, essentially, a giant game of telephone, passing on a message and swapping tasks at specific times.
Rosemary oil is also used for purposes of fragrant bodily perfumes or to emit an aroma into a room. It is also burnt as incense, and used in shampoos and cleaning products.
Researchers found those in the rosemary room performed much better on the memory tests than the other two.
Scientists admit more studies must be conducted, but it’s the first time rosemary has been linked to improving brain function in healthy people over 65.
It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin for "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea". Rosemary has a fibrous root system.
Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub that has leaves similar to hemlock needles. The leaves are used as a flavoring in foods such as stuffings and roast lamb, pork, chicken and turkey.
Eating walnuts, sardines, and spinach to improve memory is old hat - but there’s a new ingredient you may want to add to your memory-boosting diet: Rosemary.
Scientists in the UK say the herb is linked to better memory, and that simply being in a room diffused with the smell of rosemary improved memory test scores by 15 percent.
That might not seem like that much, but researchers at Northumbria University say it could mean the difference between remembering whether or not to take your pills.
Translation: It could technically be life or death.
To test rosemary’s effects on memory in older people, scientists split up a group of 150 adults and placed them in rooms scented with rosemary, lavender, or no aroma.
They then asked the participants to play, essentially, a giant game of telephone, passing on a message and swapping tasks at specific times.
Rosemary oil is also used for purposes of fragrant bodily perfumes or to emit an aroma into a room. It is also burnt as incense, and used in shampoos and cleaning products.
Researchers found those in the rosemary room performed much better on the memory tests than the other two.
Scientists admit more studies must be conducted, but it’s the first time rosemary has been linked to improving brain function in healthy people over 65.