Spices are essential to any cooking recipe, and their flavors are great. There are many health benefits of using spices in your cooking, from adding extra nutrition and flavor to the dish to preventing diseases. In other words, we all have an herbal medicine cabinet in our own kitchen! Here are the benefits of five kitchen spices you should use daily for health benefits and flavor:
Garlic to Boost Heart Health
Adding garlic to your diet can help prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering bad cholesterol levels. Garlic helps keep the blood vessels flexible for easy blood circulation to different body organs. When cholesterol builds in the arteries, it worsens the chances of a heart attack because the arteries narrow.
Ginger to Relieve Nausea
Ginger improves digestion and helps with symptoms of motion sickness. The active ingredient in ginger, gingerol, acts as an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, which may help to decrease nausea, vomiting, and pain caused by inflammation. It also reduces stomach upset and diarrhea. Studies have shown that it reduces chemotherapy-induced nausea and pregnancy-related nausea.
Turmeric to Fight Inflammation
Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory qualities. It contains curcumin, a natural compound that fights inflammation, heart disease, and skin conditions. Curcumin also reduces swelling and pain in people with arthritis.
Turmeric may help fight osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Turmeric is also being studied as a possible treatment for diabetes because it helps lower blood glucose levels by increasing insulin sensitivity and balancing blood sugar levels. It has also been shown to slow down the development of nerve cell damage when the body lacks oxygen. Turmeric can also be used to heal burns and wounds because of its amazing healing properties.
Cinnamon to Lower Blood Sugar
Studies have shown that cinnamon may help lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Cinnamon helps to increase receptors on the cells of the body that respond to insulin, a key hormone in processing sugars in the blood. This can help keep blood glucose under control.
Cinnamon’s antioxidant properties act as a blood sugar regulator. It is believed that its antioxidant compounds reduce the breakdown of sugar in the blood and regulate enzyme systems involved in the breakdown of food. When overactive, these enzymes lead to hyperglycemia. Cinnamon helps to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and maintain HDL cholesterol levels by preventing fats from oxidizing.
Cayenne to Ease Pain
Cayenne is a type of chili pepper that comes from the capsicum plant’s fruit. It has a spicy taste and contains high amounts of capsaicin. The chemical gives a hot, spicy taste and also helps to reduce pain. Cayenne peppers help to treat pain and inflammation in the body by dilating blood vessels, which increases blood flow throughout the body. The capsaicin chemical also helps in preventing the growth of the H. pylori bacteria that causes ulcers.
These five spices can help the body in many ways by improving the health and well-being of their users. They can be added to foods or used as seasonings on their own.