Health Benefits of using Spices & Herbs in our Recipes Part 1

Every time we flavor our meals with herbs or spices we are supercharging our food without adding a single calorie. We can transform something ordinary and bland into something truly extraordinary tasting and good for our body, just by generously adding herbs and spices to our meals.

Certain herbs and spices contain a wide variety of some of the most potent antioxidants of any food? In fact, many herbs and spices rank even higher in antioxidant activity than many fruits and vegetables, with some spices such as cloves, turmeric, and cinnamon having as much as 10-50x more antioxidants measured by ORAC value (on a weight to weight comparison) compared to blueberries.

The benefits of the antioxidants in spices include some very powerful protection against many serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, mascular degeneration, Alzheimer’s, and overall aging.

Herbs and spices add tons of extra flavor, and when combined with the nutrition in other foods, they actually exponentially boost the natural antioxidants, phytonutrients, and anti-inflammatory power of the food.

Besides the super antioxidants, herbs and spices can also:

• Aid Fat Burning and Boost Metabolism - many herbs and spices are thermogenic, which means they naturally help to increase metabolism, partly because they are so nutrient-dense.
• Help Stabilize Blood Sugar - Some spices are also good at regulating blood sugar and controlling insulin--even as good as some diabetic drugs! When your blood sugar is well controlled, you are more likely to burn fat and not store calories as excess weight.
• Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Properties –Scientific studies show that herbs and spices can actually work as well or better than some medications at calming inflammation without the negative side effects of isolated drugs.
• Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal - Many herbs and spices contain properties that effectively kill dangerous pathogens like viruses, bacteria and stubborn fungi. The natural properties in these foods work against many microbes that are resistant to conventional medications.