SPICE it up! Why herbs and spices are beneficial for your health.
No meal or snack should be naked: Herbs and spices make food tastier while boosting your health.
Herbs like garlic are parts of a plant, while spices like cinnamon are usually made from the seeds, berries, bark, or roots of a plant. Both are used to flavor food, but research shows they’re chock-full of healthy compounds and may help prevent illness and disease.
Adding herbs and spices to your diet has another benefit. Because they are so full of flavour, food tastes better and it is easier to cut back on some of the less desirable ingredients like table salt, processed sugar and dressings.
If you’re new to cooking with herbs and spices, try a pinch at a time to figure out which ingredients and flavor combinations you like. It has been shown that even small amounts can offer real health benefits.
Here are some of our favourites to try adding to your next meal or bake up:
Chili peppers: Fresh, dried, or powdered, chilies will give your food a kick. They also may boost your metabolism and help keep blood vessels healthy. One possible reason is capsaicin — the compound that makes them spicy.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon is great because it’s sweet but sugar-free – so adding cinnamon will sweeten your food, without adding in the sugar! You can add it to almost anything, from baking & smoothies to curries, slow cooked dishes and roasted vegetables – even your coffee and tea. Research has shown that cinnamon may also help reduce inflammation, fend off free radicals that can damage your cells, fight off bacteria, and even protect against conditions that affect your brain or nervous system, like Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been shown in some studies to help stabilise blood sugar levels.
Cacao: You may think of cacao as the key ingredient in chocolate (which it is!), but it’s also a spice with many health perks. The cacao bean is loaded with flavonoids, which are antioxidants that have been shown to boost heart health. Flavonoids do this by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and helping keep your coronary (heart) arteries healthy, among other things. We use daily in bliss balls, smoothies, baking and hot “chocolates”.
Cumin: Used worldwide and known as a key ingredient in many Indian dishes, cumin is naturally rich in iron.
Garlic: This plant has a powerful compound called allicin. Lab studies have shown that it may lower your chances of getting heart disease, and it may even help stop the growth of cancer cells. Garlic is regularly used for immune support. And other research shows that eating garlic regularly may help with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Garlic can be eaten raw, roasted, and cooked through any dish. If you have trouble digesting garlic (i.e. it repeats on you after the meal), there are some garlic-infused olive oils (like Cobram Estate) which offer the benefits of garlic, without the side unwanted effects.
Ginger: Yes, ginger really can help with an upset stomach – as it has a calming effect on the lining of your digestive system, and can ease nausea, too. Lab studies also show that ginger has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and may play a role in preventing diseases like cancer. We add ginger to lots of things but love it in smoothies, in our baking, in any Asian inspired dish, salad dressings, or grated into a glass of room temp with some fresh garlic, when we need a serious immune boost.
Rosemary: An ultra- fragrant herb, rosemary is rich in antioxidants that prevent cell damage. Even inhaling its scent, may be good for you. One study found that people who got a whiff of rosemary performed better on memory tests and other mental tasks, compared with those who didn’t. Researchers think one of its compounds in rosemary, may even boost brain activity.
Turmeric. This yellow spice gets a lot of hype, and for good reason. It’s a good source of curcumin, an antioxidant that eases inflammation. Research suggests that curcumin may help ease pain and lower the chances of heart attacks, too. And other research shows that eating even small amounts of turmeric regularly may help prevent or slow down Alzheimer’s disease, possibly by helping prevent the brain plaques that lead to dementia. Combining with pepper helps its absorption. Obviously used widely in curries but also delicious in smoothies, teas, salad dressings and sprinkled over veggies, prior to roasting.
And of course, if you know us at all, you know we all about coriander, basil, parsley and mint… but you are most likely more familiar with these!
Let us know how you go and what you want more of.
Anna & Em xo
