6 Super Beneficial Herbs & Spices

By ThenThere'sTheTruth.

Image: SPICY Heart.

These 6 spices can be beneficial in reducing inflammation, reducing risk of cancer and heart disease, controlling blood sugar, boosting your metabolism and helping to lose weight.

Did you know that some herbs and spices rank even better in antioxidants than some fruits and vegetables, with spices such as cloves, turmeric, and cinnamon having as much as 50x more antioxidants measured by ORAC compared to blueberries. (ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It's a lab test that attempts to quantify the "total antioxidant capacity" of a food).

The benefits of the antioxidants in spices can provide some pretty awesome protection against many serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and even benefit the ageing of your body and mind.

Besides the extra flavour, when combined with the nutrition in other foods, they actually boost your meals natural antioxidants, anti-inflammatory power and phytonutrients (natural compounds found in plant foods they have beneficial effects working with other essential nutrients)

6 Beneficial Superfood Herbs and Spices

1. Basil - Very effective anti-inflammatory with remarkable healing benefits for arthritis, allergies, and inflammatory bowel conditions. It is also a great source of iron, manganese, vitamin C and potassium. Basil helps kill harmful bacteria related to food poisoning! (including: Listeria, Staph, and E. coli ) Fabulous source of vitamin K, calcium and magnesium, which is beneficial for your bones.

Also a great source of iron, manganese, vitamin C and potassium.

You can use both fresh basil and dried basil

Source of beta carotene, an antioxidant that prevents free radical damage. Free radicals cause heart disease, cancer, and many other serious health conditions, as well as ageing.

2. Cinnamon - This ancient spice has one of the highest antioxidant levels!

Cinnamon is highly effective at helping to stabilize blood sugar levels, making it very effective for people with diabetes. (In one study of people with type 2 diabetes, just two teaspoons a day reduced blood sugar as much as 20-30%).

Cinnamon has brilliant anti-inflammatory benefits, and can help relieve pain and stiffness in muscles and joints. Cinnamon also has a positive effect on brain function. It has also been helpful in reducing inflammation of blood vessels which can lead to serious issues. Cinnamon also has antifungal and antibacterial properties.

Before changing to a healthier lifestyle i admit i never really bothered with cinnamon, these days i add it to smoothies, yogurt, recipes etc , or you can add it to your coffee or tea.

(that last one is definitely not my thing!)

3. Cayenne - If you like HOT then this spice is for you! It actually heats up your body and raises your metabolism which by default helps you burn fat faster. Cayenne pepper stimulates digestive enzymes, and helps prevention of stomach ulcers. Cayenne reduces LDL (bad or low density) blood cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and decreases harmful blood clots, all of which help in the prevention of heart attacks and strokes. Furthermore, cayenne is effective as anti-inflammatory and pain remedy, nasal congestion and helps the immune system.

4. Cloves - These guys have strong antiseptic and germicidal properties to assist in the fight against infections, digestive problems, and arthritic pain. Of course cloves’ best known trait is its ability to relieve tooth pain. Clove actually has the highest antioxidant level of all herbs and spices!

The oil in cloves can also be applied to cuts, fungal infections, itchy rashes, bites, burns etc. Cloves benefit digestive problems like gas, indigestion, nausea and vomiting, and eliminate harmful parasites, bacteria and fungus in the digestive system.

According to nutrition data, one teaspoon of ground cloves contains 30% of the RDI of mineral manganese, 4% of the RDI of vitamin K, 3% of the RDI of vitamin C, and trace amounts of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin E. It is also a good source of fibre!

Lastly a fun fact for those of you interested in aromatherapy, apparently the smell of cloves helps to encourage mental creativity!

5. Cumin -Is quite high in antioxidants especially great for digestion. It stimulates the gallbladder and pancreas. Cumin, much like cinnamon, aids in keeping blood sugar levels stable and has has been proven to work as well as some common diabetic drugs at regulating glycogen and insulin. Which also means less chance of weight gain and excess body fat by default!

Cumin is also a very good source of vitamin C and A for a healthy immune system. Cumin also helps detoxify the body and is effective for respiratory conditions.

Cumin goes great in chilli! Here's another article fully about the benefits of cumin , including blood sugar, cancer protection, digestion, and lots more.

6. Turmeric -Curcumin is the main active ingredient in Turmeric and its amazing anti-inflammatory benefits are actually comparable to drugs like hydrocortisone, Advil and Motrin. Although curcumin is not toxic like drugs.

Curcumin is quite effective in slowing down the development of Alzheimer’s disease due to its ability to decreases oxidation and inflammation in the brain.

Curcumin can help speed up recovery from strokes.

Diseases like irritable bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, and arthritis can benefit from turmeric along with improving liver function and helping prevent heart disease.

Most importantly, turmeric is one of the most potent anti-cancer spices! There is evidence that curcumin, the substance in turmeric, can kill cancer cells in certain cancers.

Turmeric and it's derivatives are also currently being studied in alternative cancer treatments.

I put turmeric in my smoothies because because to be honest i really don't like the taste much but this way I really can't taste it!

Try using black pepper along with turmeric ) to help to increase the absorption of turmeric's curcumin in the body.

If you're interested in spices for weight loss you might find this article particular spice that beats abdominal fat useful.

Happy flavouring? :)

Then There's The Truth.

Note: Always check with your physician to be sure certain herbs and spices don’t interfere with medications you may be taking—and also check with your doctor before you quit any current medications.

(Disclaimer: Some of these links may be affiliate links meaning if you purchase somewhere, I may receive a small commission. I don't link to things I wouldn't want myself).

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