If you love to cook, then you’re probably more than familiar with all kinds of spices. Whether you use parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, garlic or any number of other options, spices can take your food over the top.
Think about your absolute favorite dishes to cook or your absolute favorite things to order when you go to restaurants. When you eat them, what stands out? Is it the taste of meat or perhaps the creaminess of a side dish? Or when you pop a bite of your mouth is the first thing you notice the tremendous amount of flavor that you’re tasting?
Spices not only add tremendous amount of flavor, but they can also add a lot of color to dishes as well. By reading food labels—something that nearly two-thirds of Americans do—and different spice packages, you’re likely going to find spices actually have a surprising amount of health benefits. Some of those spices and their benefits include:
- Peppermint: You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love the taste or the smell of peppermint and it’s best to have some peppermint spice packages on hand. It can be used for pain management with IBS and it can also be used to smooth stomach pain and is a popular choice for folks who love essential oils.
- Holy basil: You’ve like seen spice packages and resealable pouches for regular basil, but holy basil is a little different in good ways. It’s used to reduce blood sugar levels and can also help treat depression and anxiety. It’s also a great boost for the immune system.0
- Cinnamon: This is another staple in a lot of kitchens because it goes well with just about anything. But did you know it’s also a great antioxidant? It can help lower cholesterol too and it’s great for fighting inflammation as well. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s great for the digestive system and can also help with blood sugar issues.
- Cayenne pepper: You may not know, but there’s plenty of benefit in adding spice to your meals. So if you need to burn some fat or fight a cold, pick up some spice packages with capsaicin (what makes hot stuff hot) like cayenne pepper.
- Sage: This has lots of healing properties and has been shown to improve memory and overall brain function. This is great for older folks, battling things like Alzheimer’s disease.
- Ginger: When it comes to spices and spice packages, ginger ranks as one of the most popular. It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, it can be used for pain management and it can help treat nausea. That’s saying nothing of its popularity in cooking.
- Fenugreek: In older times, this was sought after for its supposed help in raising testosterone levels and enhancing libido. In present day, it’s sought after to positively affect the body’s blood sugar by improving the function of insulin with a person’s body.
- Turmeric: Turmeric is common ingredient in curry, but it’s prized because it contains curcumin. What is curcumin? It’s a very powerful antioxidant and fights oxidative damage, thought to be one of the key factors involved in ageing and diseases. Curcumin is strongly anti-inflammatory and can also improve brain function, relieve arthritis pain and reduce the risk of disease.
- Rosemary: This is packed full of rosmarinic acid, which is noted for its ability to suppress allergies and prevent nasal congestion.
- Garlic: If you’re a regular in your kitchen, garlic is more than likely one of your staples. True, it’s very odorous and can leave you with strong breath, but it’s got plenty of benefits. It can help combat common colds, help reduce blood pressure and have positive effects on a person’s heart health.
If you take just a few minutes to read food packaging and spice packaging and seasoning packaging the next time you go to the grocery store, you’ll more than likely be able to find plenty of spices and herbs (either packaged or fresh in bulk) that will liven up your food and positively impact your health. Adding garlic or thyme or rosemary to your dishes will impart plenty of flavor and give your health a needed boost.