Sage has been used for a variety of culinary and medicinal purposes for thousands of years.  With over 500 species, from colored varieties to dwarfs to non -lowering varieties, sage is grown throughout the world mainly for it's medicinal, culinary and healing properties.

The whole sage plant is aromatic, especially when rubbed, and is rendered conspicuous by its long spike of purplish-blue flowers, first dense, afterwards becoming rather lax.  The whorls of the spike are sixflowered, and at the base of each flower are two heart-shaped, fringed, pointed bracts. The calyx is much larger than the corolla.

The plant is in bloom from June to August. The seeds are smooth, and like the Garden Clary, produce a great quantity of soft, tasteless mucilage, when moistened. If put under the eyelids for a few moments the tears dissolve this mucilage, which envelops any dust and brings it out safely. Old writers called this plant 'Oculus Christi,' or 'Christ's Eye.

Spice up your food and your memory with sage. If your grandmother spiked your tea with sage and told you to drink up, she probably knew this secret that was first discovered some 400 years ago by herbalists. They wrote in 1597 that sage quickens the nerves and memory.

Now researchers from the northern English universities of Newcastle and Northumbria have confirmed it scientifically: Healthy, young adults who took sage oil extract in capsule form in the medically-controlled study experienced a marked improvement in their memory capabilities and performed significantly better on a word recall test than those who took a placebo.  And that's not all.

Researchers at the Universities' Medicinal Plant Research Center concluded that sage can possibly help Alzheimer's patients by protecting a key chemical that the disease destroys. "This research does have serious implications for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, as it will inform drug research and development," lead researcher Nicola Tildesley said in a statement.

This proves how valuable the work by old herbalists is, and they shouldn't just be ignored because they were writing centuries ago. Best of all, sage has no side effects. The next step: Researchers will try to figure out how sage actually boosts the memory, especially in Alzheimer's patients. The findings were published in the British journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior.

Steep 4 oz. of sage leaves in 1 quart of dry red or white wine. Let it sit for one week at room temperature; then strain out the leaves.

Take 2 tbsp. daily after your main meal. This stimulates cardiac and circulatory function and corrects the tendency toward increased perspiration that occurs in many people who suffer from fatigue.

sage salvia officinalis.