Tip #15: Spice it up

Today, a super simple and easy tip. Just by spicing your meals a bit, you add amazing health properties to them. Most spices are powerful antioxidants, that is, they help protect and repair cells from the damages caused by free radicals. The damaged cells can cause chronic diseases, including cancer. Antioxidants also help your immune system become stronger, so you can avoid other, milder things like colds.

But most spices also have other benefits as well. Some of them help lower blood sugar (cinnamon and parsley, for example). Others help with inflammation (curry, ginger, garlic). They can also inhibit a protein complex called Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB), which contributes to the growth of cancer cells (rosemary, turmeric). Even saffron has been shown to help mild cases of Alzheimer's as much as the leading drug.

Here's a compelling video (and just 3.21 minutes long) from Dr. Greger's Nutritionfacts.org (one of my favorites places to look for reliable information about food), in which he explains how, just a pinch of certain spices can change the antioxidant value of any common dish.

I definitely have been using much more cinnamon, rosemary and turmeric than before, and I have to say, spices do make our foods taste better, so, again, easy and nutritious and full of flavor. My kind of tip.

Do you have any suggestions for using more spices? Let us know!