Spice up your diet by eating these six herbs and spices and reap their amazing health benefits!
Spice up your diet by eating these six herbs and spices and reap their amazing health benefits!
Throughout history many herbs and spices have been celebrated, not only for the flavours they bring to culinary practice, but also for their healing and medicinal purposes. Herbs and spices have both antibacterial and antiviral properties and most are high in B-vitamins and trace minerals. It has even been said that some hold more antioxidants than most fruits and vegetables.
So here are 8 health packed herbs and spices to start integrating into your diet to maximise your wellbeing:
Chamomile
Best known for its assistant with sleep, chamomile is great for health and wellbeing and for hundreds of years has been used to aid the treatment of many conditions including inflammation, skin problems, sleep disorders and anxiety. The most popular way to take chamomile is the herbal tea. As an aromatic oil, chamomile has low toxicity and holds anti-cancer properties which are good for human cells. Not only this but chamomile is also used to alleviate pain, in the form of a cream, it has been known to be highly useful for reducing pain in women who have given birth for the first time.
Sage
Sage is great both fresh and dried. It has a lovely aroma and is also extremely simple to grow at home. Did you know that just two grams of sage can provide you with 43% of the daily recommendation of vitamin K? Sage improves cholesterol levels, treats symptoms of menopause and is particularly helpful for those with diabetes as it can help improve blood sugar. It’s most interesting benefit however is the improvements it makes to the brain. It can be used to enhance cognition as well as to aid memory recall and retention. Sage has also been linked to research into degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as a preventative food.
Peppermint
As a hybrid mint, a mix of spearmint and watermint, peppermint has a history of being used for both medicine and aromatherapy. Individuals suffering from IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome) can benefit greatly from using peppermint as many studies have proven its pain relieving qualities as well as its ability to reduce abdominal bloating. When used in aroma therapy it has been seen to decrease nausea in a study of women in labour. As an added bonus it has also been known to relieve headache and migraine symptoms – drinking it as a herbal tea is the most popular way to use it.
Turmeric
Best known for adding delicious flavours to curries, turmeric is now being used in many different ways and it’s so easy to incorporate into your diet – meaning it’s also easier to obtain the brilliant health benefits. Due to one of its components, curcumin, once consumed turmeric has many biological interactions. One healing power turmeric holds is its amazing anti-inflammation properties, it has the ability to contribute to the slowing of inflammation-related ageing processes and diseases.
Ginger
Ginger is another very versatile spice. Ginger is also an anti-inflammatory like turmeric so is very popular when trying to soothe a poorly stomach or reduce pain. Additionally ginger can help to protect against stomach ulcers and can be used to treat menstrual cramps. Whether it is fresh, ground or even in an essential oil – using ginger will be very beneficial to your health. Consistent studies have depicted that 1 gram or more of ginger can productively treat nausea – of all different types whether morning sickness or chemotherapy.
Chilli
Do you like your food with a little extra spice? Great, because many spicy foods have lots of distinctive health benefits. Oranges may be high in vitamin C but did you know that peppers have an even higher level! So chillies are definitely something to consider when in need of an immune system boost, they also contain vitamin A and E. Found in peppers, capsaicin is very beneficial, it is the active ingredient that makes them hot and is extremely useful for joint/muscle pain as well as being used a tool for decongestion. It’s safe to say the spicier the chilli the more advantages it brings – if you can handle the heat – definitely get stuck in!
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