The nutritional benefits of spices are beginning to be so well known that many spices are popping up in the vitamin aisles in larger stores and can be found in capsule form. Doctors recommend taking a multi vitamin, as maintaining a balanced diet is becoming increasingly difficult. Organically grown fruits and vegetables, while healthier, are out of the price range for many consumers. These consumers are left with a product which has been over processed and chemically treated for a variety of reasons. How can we improve our odds in the war of eating healthy?
One way would be to enlist the aid of your common household spices. Not only do they make your food taste better, but ounce for ounce some spices are worth their weight in gold.
Cinnamon
Take cinnamon for instance. What would pumpkin or apple pie be without cinnamon? Cinnamon can be used in the treatment of athlete's foot, body odor, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, fever, heart burn, diarrhea, and nausea. Cinnamon is now found in capsule form and can be taken as a daily supplement.
There are a number of herbs, teas, and spices containing fungicides including cinnamon, fennel, basil, black currant, dill, lemon, orange, sage, thyme, tarragon, spearmint, and red clover.
Brewing up any combination of these can provide an anti-fungal boost to your every day consumption because each of these listed contain ten or more anti-fungal properties a piece. If preferred a cotton ball soaked in the tea could be applied directly to the skin.
Cinnamon is not the only spice known to help the body use insulin more efficiently. According to research bay leaves, cloves and turmeric can also be beneficial. A pinch or two of these steeped in black tea (camellia sinensis) for ten minutes provides a blood-sugar-lowering drink.
Cinnamon, an aphrodisiac? In studies performed on medical students measurement devices were attached to the student's penises to test their reactions to a variety of aromas. Maybe there is some truth to the saying “The way to a man's heart is through his stomach” in that the aroma of pumpkin pie, and even more so hot cinnamon buns was shown to improve the blood flow and increase erections in the participants. The best results were achieved with nutmeg, cinnamon, and lavender aromas.
Sprinkling some cinnamon or cardamom on toast can aid in treatment of acid indigestion and heartburn. This spice has a strong anti-microbial action which can settle the stomach.
Anti-microbial properties are those which are capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms or bacteria, fungi and viruses. This also makes cinnamon a good choice in the treatment of some fevers. A drop of cinnamon oil on an insect bite helps to relieve the itch.
Basil
Another common spice found in thousands of kitchens would be basil. Basil is a wonderful addition to many of our favorite Italian dishes, but it is also an excellent choice as an insect repellent, and for the treatment of bad breath, warts, emphysema, head aches, and high blood pressure.
Rubbing basil leaves directly on the skin wards off mosquitoes. In the country of India this is quite common practice. If you do not have the luxury of planting outside, this plant will grow quite nicely in a sunny window planter.
There are six compounds found in basil that are useful as expectorants, which make basil beneficial in ridding the body of mucus and congestion. Basil and black pepper each contain six compounds known to lower blood pressure.
Fresh crushed basil leaves can be applied directly to a wart and covered over with a bandage, as basil carries many antiviral compounds. Fresh leaves should be applied and the bandaging changed daily for five to seven days.
Black Pepper
Black pepper, in addition to improving blood pressure contains four compounds known to impede osteoporosis. The addition of black pepper to food also aids in digestion, probably due to the manner in which it stimulates the taste buds thereby notifying the stomach to increase secretion of hydrochloric acid. Insufficient production of hydrochloric acid leads to heart burn, indigestion and other stomach problems such as intestinal gas. Black pepper is also known to have significant antioxidant and antibacterial properties, aiding in overall good health and disease resistance.
Sage
Sage, a common ingredient in our Thanksgiving turkey stuffing has a long list of medical uses including Alzheimer's, asthma, bad breath, baldness, body odor, canker sores, carpal tunnel, gingivitis, tonsillitis, wrinkles, and yeast infections. Like its sister herb, Rosemary, it contains a number of volatile oils, flavonoids and phenolic acids. Sage contains agents which are anti-inflammatory providing relief for rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and atherosclerosis. It has been used in testing for memory enhancement and treatment of Alzheimer's. It is good to remember that sage should be used in moderation though as large amounts contain thujone which in high doses can cause convulsions.
