How can we eat locally so early in the spring season? Aside from foods stored and preserved from last year's harvest season and delicious early spring greens, local herb season is in full swing as early as March and continues into the summer.

Fresh herbs have a lot of taste and nutrition to offer us after our winter season of eating little fresh, local produce. Parsley, chives, sage and sorrel are among the many seasonal gifts available to us now.

The least potent members of the onion family, chives are easy to grow and delicious to eat. While regular chives do not live up to full-grown onions in terms of nutrition and disease-fighting power, Rebecca Wood, author of The New Whole

Foods Encyclopedia (Penguin, 1999) writes that garlic chives do have potent medicinal properties. She says, "Garlic chives are a traditional remedy for urinary continence, male impotence due to kidney weakness, or low back pain." They taste, of course, like garlic, but are sweet and will add a health boost when cut fresh to top any dish, cold or hot.

Cilantro, the deliciously earthy leaf most often used in Mexican dishes and in Indian curry, is a very good source of fibre as well as vitamins A and C. According to US and Mexican researchers (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2004), a compound found in cilantro, as well as in its seed coriander, is effective at fighting food poisoning. In laboratory tests, the compound, dodecenal, was twice as potent as a commonly used medicinal antibiotic at killing salmonella. Cilantro is also traditionally used to aid digestion, relieve intestinal gas and nausea, and soothe inflammation.

Fennel is also thought to help ease mild digestive disorders. Cooking the sweet and spicy fennel leaf will soften its unique licorice flavour. It offers antioxidant protection through its generous amount of vitamin C and phytonutrients such as rutin and quercetin. Fennel leaf is also high in fibre and many minerals. If you're unfamiliar with fennel, look at some Italian or Greek recipe books for some ideas on how to use it.

The world's most popular herb is parsley, and not just because it makes a great plate decoration. The tradition of using parsley as a garnish goes back to Roman times, probably because they recognized its ability to ease digestion, freshen the breath and act as a mild, natural laxative.

Today, modern research shows that this fresh-tasting and versatile herb contains many essential oils including luteolin, which is thought to help prevent disease through its antioxidant properties. The folic acid content of parsley, along with disease-fighting vitamins A, E and C, also make it a good choice for disease prevention.

Raw sorrel has an anti-parasitic action according to Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods (North Atlantic Books, 2002). Its flavour is mildest in spring. Add it to a salad or sandwich for a refreshing taste and boost of vitamins A and C and minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium.

Nutrition and disease-fighting properties aside, fresh spring herbs add the flair and taste of fresh local eating to our spring diets.

Spring Season Herbs:
garlic chives, cilantro, fennel leaf, parsley, sorrel (bay leaf, chervil,
rosemary, sage, thyme and winter savory are available year-round)

[Sandra Tonn is a registered holistic nutritionist, freelance writer and yoga instructor living in Powell River, BC. sandra_tonn@telus.net]

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