Feel Amazing With Rosemary

From soothing your muscles to safeguarding your summer food, this remarkable herb can (almost!) do it all.

Move over, chamomile. Rosemary is the hot new herbal tea in town. Drinking it may help beat bloat by reducing water retention.

Got a dry, itchy scalp? Try relieving it with rosemary, suggests Ranella Hirsch, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the Boston University School of Medicine. Its oils may increase circulation, which can ease dryness.

Whip up this moisturizing scalp (and hair) mask from the spa at the Lodge at Woodloch in the Poconos in Pennsylvania: Mix 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 3 drops of rosemary essential oil; warm on stove top using a double boiler (not too hot!). Massage into damp hair and scalp; wrap hair in towel, leave on for 30 minutes, then shampoo.

Using rosemary to prep your burgers and steaks could make them safer to eat. Why? Grilling meat causes potentially carcinogenic chemicals to form, and rosemary’s natural antioxidants may reduce the levels of these compounds by up to 92%, suggests a study in the Journal of Food Science.

Try adding fresh, chopped rosemary to your own marinade or mixing the chopped herb into your hamburger patties, says J. Scott Smith, PhD, the study’s senior author and professor of food chemistry at Kansas State University. It’ll perk up the flavor, too!

Need to memorize a speech? Smelling rosemary beforehand may help new info sink in better, reports a study in the International Journal of Neuroscience. "Rosemary’s aroma contains compounds that appear to act on the neurotransmitter systems involved with memory," explains the study’s lead author, Mark Moss, PhD, head of the department of psychology at Northumbria University, United Kingdom.

Pour some essential oil into a diffuser the next time you’re in learning mode.

Think of rosemary as your natural Icy Hot. "The herb contains many therapeutic oils that can help muscles loosen up," says Trisha Shirey, director of flora and fauna at Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, Texas.

To ease soreness, make Shirey’s rejuvenating rosemary body scrub: Combine 1/4 cup sea salt and ground or finely chopped fresh rosemary from the leaves of 1 (4-inch) sprig; mix with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and 3 drops each of rosemary and peppermint essential oils. Scrub skin lightly with the mixture; shower off. Your muscles will relax, and so will you.