Spices: A Wealth of Health Benefits that Make Food Taste Great

 cinnamon, coriander, garlic, ginger, oregano, parsley, sage, turmeric, turmeric (curcuma)  No Responses »
Oct 232008
 

There are many ways of improving your health the natural way, and a lot of very helpful books have been written on the subject, such as The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook: A Home Manual.  Spices have always been a part of Grandma’s Old-Time Remedies, so this article might repeat remedies you have already heard of, but I am sure it will also offer some new insight even if you are a well versed home remedy user already :)

Via: NaturalNews

Spices do more than make food taste great. Recent research is showing that spices can promote health and well being through a series of actions that are anti-aging and inhibiting of degenerative disease. The vegetarian diet so often associated with good health and lack of disease relies heavily on the use of spice. But you don’t have to be a vegetarian to gain the amazing health benefits these inexpensive flavor enhancers have to offer.

The addition of spices can turn up the taste of almost any food. Add some chili pepper, cumin or turmeric to mashed potatoes or rice. Sprinkle marjoram or rosemary on your salads, and dress up cottage cheese with whatever spicy flavor appeals to you. Add spice to vegetable dishes and sprinkle it on meats, poultry or fish before cooking. Spice up your veggie juices and smoothies. Any way you do it, adding spice means adding a wealth of health benefits.

Recent research continues to show the power of these natural medicines

Spices have more antioxidant power, measure for measure, than fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants help prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and premature aging. In a study reported in the British Journal of Nutrition, fifteen aromatic herbs and spices consumed in Central Italy as part of the Mediterranean diet were studied to reveal total phenolic, flavonoid and flavanol content as well as their antioxidant potential as measured by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). Comparison was made between salads to which aromatic herbs had been added. The addition of lemon balm and marjoram increased by 150% and 200% respectively the antioxidant capacity of a salad portion, corresponding to an intake of 200 mg. of phenolics and 4000 ORAC units. Among other spices tested, cumin and fresh ginger made the most significant contribution to antioxidant capacity.

Full Story and a list of Spices that stand out for their health benefits

Fatigue 5 – Tomato Fettucini

 parsley, rosemary, sage, tomato  No Responses »
Apr 072008
 

Ingredients:

  • 7 oz (about 3/4 cup) Fettucini
  • 6 tbsp chopped shallot bulbs, raw
  • 8 slices of dried tomato
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • 4 tbsp white wine
  • 10 olives
  • basil, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and parsley to taste
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil pasta al dente. Drain, add 1 tbsp butter and Parmesan cheese, mix well.

Sautee shallots in the other tbsp butter and the oil, add dried tomato slices, olives and white wine. Reduce heat slightly, then add herbs to taste. Toss with pasta.

Eye Problems

 basil, catnip, chervil, parsley  No Responses »
Mar 242008
 

basil, catnip, chervil, parsley

  • Cold basil tea is good for all kinds of eye problems, both as internal tea and as eye wash. To make the tea, use fresh basil leaves and unground seed: Bring 2 pints of water to a boil, add 15 basil seeds. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer slowly for 45 minutes. Remove from head and add 1-1/2 handfuls of fresh or half-dried basil, steep for another 25 minutes. Drink 2 cups per day as needed, and gargle with this tea too. When lukewarm and strained, the tea can also be used to bathe the eyes.
  • A strong catnip tea can be used as eyewash as it relieves inflammation and swelling. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add 5 tsp. of cut fresh catnip leaves. Reduce to low heat and let simmer for 3 minutes, then remove from heat. Let steep for 50 more minutes. Strain and refrigerate for example in a clean fruit jar. Use as eye wash several times a day. An eye cup would come in handy to do this.
    You can also soak a clean towel in a warm solution of the tea, then cover the eyes with it for 30 minutes.
  • Or steep equal parts of chopped chervil and parsley leaves in boiling water, let them cool to body temperature, and then apply the liquid to the eye with an eye cup to fight conjunctivitis. It acts as an eye disinfectant and reduces the burning sensation. While boiling the chervil, stay in the room as the steam from the boiling herb water will already give relive.

Edema

 corncob, parsley, pumpkin, squash, turmeric  No Responses »
Mar 232008
 

corncob, parsley, pumpkin or squash, turmeric (curcuma)

  • Corncob tea can be used to treat abdominal swelling, gout in general and edema in wrists and ankles. After removing (or eating) the corn from 2-3 fresh cobs, cover with enough water to cover the cobs by 2 inches. On low heat, cook for an hour, strain, cool. Drink 2-3 cups a day until the problems subside, then reduce to only one cup per day. Keep refrigerated what you do not use right away.
  • Parsley tea is a well know remedy for edema, but also treats kidney inflammation and kidney stones as well as issues with urination, be it painful urination or even the inability to urinate at all. In 1 qt. of boiling water, removed from heat, steep one cup of freshly and corasely chopped parsley for 40 minutes. Strain before drinking, and drink a cup of the warm tea four times a day with meals.
  • The seeds of pumpkin and squash can be used to treat edema and gout, kidneystones and issues with urination. Crush a handful of seeds and add them to a quart of boiling water, turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for an additional half hour, then strain. Until the desired relief is obtained, drink several cups of the tea each day, as needed.
  • Turmeric, one of the main ingredients of curry, has anti-inflammatory properties. Half a tsp in juice taken both morning and night inhibits edema and can relief arthritic pains too.

Conjunctivitis

 basil, catnip, chervil, parsley  2 Responses »
Feb 032008
 

basil, catnip, chervil, parsley

  • Cold basil tea is good for all kinds of eye problems, both as eye wash and internal tea. To make the tea, it is best to use fresh basil leaves and unground seed: Bring 2 pints of water to a boil, add 15 basil seeds. Cover and reduce heat, simmer the seeds slowly for 45 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1-1/2 handfuls of fresh or half-dried basil leaves and steep for another 25 minutes or so. Drink or gargle with this tea, 2 cups per day as needed. When lukewarm and strained, the tea can be used to bathe the eyes.
  • A strong catnip tea can also be used as an eyewash to relieve inflammation and swelling. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add 5 tsp. of cut fresh catnip leaves. Reduce to low heat, let simmer for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and let steep for 50 more minutes. Strain and refrigerate, for example in a clean fruit jar. Use as eye wash with an eye cup several times a day. You can also soak a clean towel in a warm solution of the tea and cover the eyes with it for half an hour.
  • Equal parts of chopped chervil and parsley leaves steeped in boiling water, cooled to body temperature and applied to the eye with an eye cup also helps to fight conjunctivitis. It acts as an eye disinfectant and reduces the burning sensation. The person with the eye infection should be in the room where the chervil is steeped since the medicinal qualities of chervil are closely connected to its smell and quickly lost after subjecting it to heat.