8 Spices That Are Good For Your Health

By Rachel Grumman Bender for YouBeauty.com

Ever add a pinch of cinnamon to your coffee or a spring of rosemary to your famous baked chicken? You may think you're merely making your favorite drinks and dishes more flavorful, but spicing up your meals doesn’t just up the tastiness factor -- it can also be a boon to your health and your beauty.

"The benefits spices offer you in terms of your diet and health are endless," says Elisa Zied, R.D., author of "Nutrition at Your Fingertips." "They can help control blood sugar, protect against inflammation that can contribute to chronic diseases such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes and may play a role -- directly or indirectly -- in weight management. Spices literally add spice to your life and diet but can also be a simple way to enhance meals and optimize your overall health, inside and out."

Find out which health benefits are hiding in your spice rack and test-drive the top disease-fighting spices with our easy-breezy recipes.

Comments

[butchcliff]

07:31 AM on 11/12/2011

Excellent informative info.

[Carol the Great]

08:38 PM on 11/11/2011

The thyme I grow looks nothing like that. It is so scraggly. Dang!

[Waterlooboy]

01:11 PM on 11/11/2011

The thing I like (and hate) about Oregano is that if you plant it you always have a fresh supply because it grows and grows without hardly any care. If you don't watch it, Oregano can pretty much take over your garden.

[Dr Mark Rosenberg]

10:51 AM on 11/11/2011

Don't forget about garlic! These little bulbs contain more than 100 different sulfur compounds that deliver powerful benefits to your body.

Heart: Sulfur in garlic helps lower blood pressure. It can also help to prevent the build-up of plaque on the artery walls, which can lower your risk of heart attack.

Diabetes: Garlic helps to counter the effects of metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease.Researchers have found that supplementing with garlic for four weeks helped people with metabolic syndrome lower triglyceride levels and achieve better insulin sensitivity.

Immune System: Sulfur boosts the immune system by attacking bacteria and helping prevent illness. They also help stop infection from forming within the body.

Cancer: Sulfur works as powerful antioxidants. Researchers found that garlic intake helped lower the risk for a number of cancers including oral, esophageal, colorectal, breast, prostate and renal cancers.

Read more medical and health articles, written by my colleagues and I at www.healthyanswers.com

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[jk1865]

10:52 PM on 11/12/2011

Garlic isn't a spice. it's an aromatic.

[DM477]

11:37 AM on 12/11/2011

Does minced garlic without the addition of salt work the same way? Or is it just fresh garlic.

[shirleycox]

06:15 AM on 11/11/2011

I have read somewhere that 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol and have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with 2 type 2 diabetes.

[Stephvick]

09:04 PM on 11/10/2011

I thought that there was eight, I see four spices three herbs and a fruit (the chilli is a fruit) Capsaicin is a volatile oil not a spice where are the other four spices!!!

[Karl Wilder]

01:05 PM on 11/11/2011

Being as they are all found in the spice section of a store there is no reason to define them all differently. While the usage is not correct many people would refer to rosemary as a spice. It sounds like you missed the point of the article in order to be a critic.

[madcityy]

01:41 PM on 11/10/2011

EAT THESE AND LIVE LONGER?????????????..MAYBE

[kimahely]

12:23 PM on 11/10/2011

Would be nice if all this infromation was on 1 or 2 printable pages.

[CAELadyJane50]

12:01 PM on 11/10/2011

Sorry about my spelling error, I meant "cantaloupe".

[CAELadyJane50]

11:58 AM on 11/10/2011

I found tumeric to be good in reducing stiffness pain in my knees.

A bowl of chili with chili powder, oregano, sweet basil, red pepper and a little tabasco sauce is very good in clearing the sinus during the cold winter months.

I like using allspice in making a catalope smoothie: whip 1 cup milk, 1/2 c. frozen cantalope chunks, stevia and allspice in a blender until smooth.

[Kevin Chung Lin]

11:46 AM on 11/10/2011

all very good spices for your health, especially cinnamon and turmeric

[CTMaloney]

09:34 AM on 11/10/2011

There is no such thing as "chili peppers". We are talking either about chilies (red or green) or pepper (black seed from S India and SE Asia). When the Spanish came to S America they didn't have a word for pungent things but they knew about pepper, which had been imported from S India as far back as Roman time, and brought by Arab traders etc. So please don't combine the terms. Also, "bell peppers" don't have anything to do with pepper, call then capsicum.

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

09:24 AM on 11/10/2011

" a bacteria linked with stomach ulcers"

capsaicin kills the same bacteria which can evolve resistance to man made antibiotics. So yeah the old advice to not eat spicy foods while suffering from ulcers is run. You want to eat spicy foods to kill the ulcers.

[tiredofthesameoldstuff]

09:20 AM on 11/10/2011

", capsaicin is useful in reducing pain."

It also clears the sinuses. Eating hot peppers clears you up better then a lot of over the counter stuff. Even if you have bronchitis you will feel a lot better and not be as ragged. Still need prescription antibiotics but you will be a lot better off then if you took over the counter stuff before going to the doctor.

Also eating a hot pepper will make migraines go away and you will be less likely to have attacks in the future.

[Jerry Bozeman]

11:00 AM on 11/11/2011

If you are interested in clearing your sinuses, try Xlear Nasal Wash, on of those over the counter items. Voted the best new health product in 2004 by the health food stores in the U.S. Check it out! Pronounced "Clear".

[lynniemiller]

10:51 PM on 11/19/2011

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