Healing Spices have been used for centuries. Herbs and spices are plants or parts of plants used for medicine, cooking, and pleasure all over the world. The health benefits of spices are innumerable ranging from aiding weight loss, controlling diabetes to improving brain function, reducing nausea, boosting immunity and much more. Here are 10 beneficial herbs and healing species whose components and benefits should not be underestimated. These are so good, you should deliberately include them to your diet if you do not already do so
- Bay Leaf
This is a very popular spice used in cooking. It is praised for its ability to prevent cancer, boost immunity, reduce neural tube defects, protect oral health, skin care, and hair care. It also helps improve nervous system function, regulate body metabolism, and prevent blood-related conditions like anemia.
- Cinnamon
Cinnamon helps to reduce inflammation, eliminate pain, manage diabetes, eliminate infections, reduce excess gas, and improve heart health. It also helps in increasing cognitive function, building strong bones, preventing cancer, and improving the health of the eyes and skin!
- Garlic
This is a great spice used to add a unique flavor to the food. It helps fight heart disorders, high blood pressure, cold and cough.
- Nutmeg
Nutmeg is a great source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals necessary for human health. It can fight fungal infections, work as an aphrodisiac, improve digestion, reduce excess gas, improve hair and skin health. It also helps prevent macular degeneration (medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field), and reduce the chances of developing cancer.
- Cayenne Pepper
It has the ability to clear the sinuses, increase urination, eliminate toxins from the body, help manage diabetes, prevent cancer, and lower blood pressure. Use of cayenne pepper helps speed up weight loss, optimize the metabolism, regulate hormonal activity, and fight toxins and potential infections, due to its powerful antioxidant properties.
- Black Pepper
Black pepper is one of the most common spices in the world packed with many health benefits. It has an ability to reduce inflammation and excess gas, optimize gastrointestinal action, and regulate enzymatic reactions. Black pepper helps control heart rate and blood pressure and prevent cancer due to its antioxidant properties.
- Mustard Seeds
Also on our list of healing spices are mustard seeds. These are packed with organic compounds and volatile oils that can boost overall health. They are also a wonderful source of B-complex vitamins, which are essential for the normal functioning of your organs.
8. Cloves
Cloves contain an anti-inflammatory chemical called eugenol. Recent studies show that this chemical inhibits COX-2, a protein that spurs inflammation. Cloves also ranked very high in antioxidant properties in one study. The combination of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties make them high on the healing spices list… From increasing protection from heart disease to helping stave off cancer, slowing the cartilage and bone damage caused by arthritis, cloves are champions in healing. Compounds in cloves, like those found in cinnamon, also appear to improve insulin function.
9. Ginger
This amazing root primary used as a digestive aid, has played a major role in Asian and Indian medicine for centuries. Researchers have also seen the ability of ginger to combat inflammation. Several studies have found that ginger (and turmeric) reduces pain and swelling in people with arthritis. It may also work against migraines by blocking inflammatory substances called prostaglandins. And because it reduces inflammation, it may also play a role in preventing and slowing the growth of cancer. This healing spice works in the digestive tract, boosting digestive juices and neutralizing acids as well as reducing intestinal contractions. It’s proven quite effective against nausea.
10. Sage
This herb is a known memory enhancer and has been shown in some lab studies to protect the brain against certain processes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, little wonder it a wise person is called a ‘sage’. In a British study, healthy young adults performed better on word recall tests after taking sage-oil capsules. Like so many other herbs and spices, sage has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties as well as anticancer actions. Today, sage shows potential as a diabetes treatment. It appears to boost the action of insulin and reduce blood sugar. As a result, sage is sometimes called nature’s metformin since it performs like the common antidiabetes drug. Some researchers have already suggested that sage supplements may help prevent type 2 diabetes.