the world's healthiest herbs and spices

the world's healthiest herbs and spices

the world's healthiest herbs and spices 

 

the world's healthiest herbs and spices have always been used for culinary and medicinal purposes but just how many of us truly appreciate and understand the life-giving properties that are hiding in our pantries their nutritional benefits are exceptional in these herbs and spices elevate the flavor of foods in so many different ways that people are constantly coming up with new mixes and blends truth is we really can't imagine our food not having the flavors that herbs and spices provide the use of herbs and spices has been incredibly important throughout history many were celebrated for their medicinal properties well before culinary use modern science has now shown that many of them do indeed carry remarkable health benefits.

blood sugar levels cinnamon

let me know what you think one cinnamon lowers blood sugar levels and has a powerful anti-diabetic effect cinnamon is a popular spice found in all sorts of recipes and baked goods it contains a compound called cinnamaldehyde .which is responsible for cinnamons medicinal properties .cinnamon has potent antioxidant activity helps fight inflammation and has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood but where cinnamon really shines is in .

its effects on blood sugar levels cinnamon can lower blood sugar by several mechanisms including by slowing the breakdown of carbs in the digestive tract and improving insulin sensitivity studies have shown that cinnamon can lower fasting blood sugars.

by 10 to 29 percent in diabetic patients which is a significant amount the effective dose is typically one to two teaspoons of cinnamon per day or 1 to 6 grams – sage. sage can improve brain function and memory sage gets its name from the Latin word saw vera which means to save it had a strong reputation for its healing properties during, the Middle Ages and was even used to help prevent the plague current research indicates that sage may be able to improve brain function and memory, especially in people with Alzheimer's disease .

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by a drop in the level of acetylcholine a chemical messenger in the brain sage inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine in a four-month study of 42 individuals with mild to moderate.Alzheimer's disease sage extract was shown to produce significant improvements in brain function other studies have also shown that sage can improve memory function.

peppermint oil

 healthy people both young and old three peppermints. peppermint relieves IBS pain and may reduce nausea peppermint has a long history of Hewson folk medicine in aromatherapy as is the case with many herbs it is the only component that contains the agents responsible for the health effects many studies have shown that peppermint oil can improve pain management in irritable bowel syndrome or IBS it appears to work by relaxing the smooth muscles in the colon which relieves pain experienced during bowel movements it also helps to reduce abdominal bloating which is a common de Geste of symptom .

There are also some studies showing that peppermint and around a therapy can help fight nausea in a study of over 1100 women in labor peppermint aromatherapy caused significant reductions in nausea it has also been shown to reduce nausea after surgery and c-section births for turmeric .turmeric contains curcumin a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

turmeric is the spice that gives curry its yellow color it contains several compounds with medicinal properties the most important of which is curcumin.

curcumin is a remarkably powerful

curcumin is a remarkably powerful antioxidant helping to fight oxidative damage and boosting the body's own antioxidant enzymes this is important because oxidative damage is believed to be one of the key mechanisms behind Aging in many diseases curcumin is also strongly anti-inflammatory to the point where it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs given that long-term low level .inflammation plays a major role in almost every chronic Western disease it is not surprising to see that curcumin is linked to a variety of health benefits studies suggest , it can improve brain function fight Alzheimer's reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer

holy basil

holy basil helps fight infections and boosts immunity not to be confused with regular basil or Thai basil holy basil is considered a sacred herb in India studies show that holy basil can inhibit the growth of a range of bacteria yeasts and molds one small study also found that can boost function of the immune system by increasing certain immune cells in the blood holy basil is also linked to reduce blood sugar levels before and after meals ,as well as treating anxiety and anxiety related depression however these studies were quite small .

cayenne pepper

more research is needed before any recommendations can be made six cayenne pepper .cayenne pepper contains capsaicin which helps reduce appetite and may have anti-cancer properties cayenne pepper is a type of chili pepper used to prepare spicy dishes the active ingredient in it is called capsaicin ,which has been shown to reduce appetite and increase fat burning in many studies for this reason it is a common ingredient .

in many commercial weight loss supplements one study found that adding one gram of red pepper to meals reduced appetite and increased fat burning in people who did not regularly eat peppers however there was no effect in people who were accustomed to eating spicy food indicating that a tolerance to the effects can build up some animal studies have also found capsaicin to combat certain forms of cancer including lung liver and prostate cancer of course these observed anti-cancer effects are far from being proven in humans.

ginger

ginger can treat nausea and has anti-inflammatory properties ginger is a popular spice used in several forms of alternative medicine .studies have consistently shown that one gram or more of ginger can successfully treat nausea this includes nausea caused by morning sickness chemotherapy and seasickness.

 ginger also appears to have strong anti-inflammatory properties and can help with pain management one study in subjects at risk for colon cancer found that 2 grams of ginger extract per day decreased markers for colon inflammation in the same way as aspirin other research found , a mixture of ginger cinnamon mastic and sesame oil decreased pain and stiffness experienced by those with osteoarthritis it had a similar effectiveness as treatment with aspirin or ibuprofen