Powerful Antioxidants in Herbs and Spices

Adding spices and herbs to your meals is a great way to amplify the antioxidants and other nutrients in your dishes.

You can transform your meals from ordinary and bland to extraordinary with the addition of a few herbs and spices. What’s more, many herbs and spices contain some of the most powerful antioxidants of all! Plenty of scientific studies show that herbs and spices can actually work as well or better than some medications for certain health issues.

Many herbs and spices have even more antioxidants than many vegetables and fruit, and combining specific herbs and spices with specific foods actually magnifies the nutrient value exponentially!

Here are just some of the ways that herbs and spices can boost the nutrition in your favorite recipes:

Fat Burning

– Herbs and spices are thermogenic, meaning they naturally increase metabolism and fat burning, partly because they are so nutrient-dense. For example, eating hot peppers will actually speed up your metabolism and help your body burn fat. And they can decrease your appetite as well. Research shows that that when someone eats an appetizer with just half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes before each meal, they eat 15% less food at their meal.

Regulate blood sugar and control insulin

– When blood sugar is well controlled, you burn fat better, and store fewer calories as excess weight. For example, cinnamon significantly reduces blood sugar levels. It also improves cholesterol and triglyceride levels. One study of people with type 2 diabetes showed that as little as two teaspoons of cinnamon reduced blood sugar similar to diabetic medication.

Protects the brain

– Researchers found that curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is more effective in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s than some medications for this condition.

Herbs and spices can also increase your feelings of satisfaction and fullness after a meal, so you eat less.

Here are more health benefits of some popular herbs and spices:

• Rosemary and basil–anti-inflammatory.
• Cumin, turmeric and sage–fight dementia.
• Cayenne, coriander and cinnamon–burn fat and help regulate insulin.
• Lemon grass, nutmeg, bay leaves and saffron–have a calming effect.
• Turmeric—fights cancer.
• Oregano—antifungal and antibacterial.
• Garlic, mustard seed and chicory–excellent for the heart.
• Basil and thyme–help skin become soft and smooth.
• Turmeric, basil, cinnamon, thyme, saffron, garlic and ginger–boost the
immune system.
• Coriander, rosemary, cayenne, allspice and black pepper–banish depression.
• Garlic, cumin, fennel, coriander and mint have been used traditionally to help treat digestive disorders.

So you see, healthy food does not have to bland and boring, so spice it up, and boost your health as well! Add your favorite herbs and spices to this delicious vegetable soup!

Amazing Vegetable Soup

Vegetable soup doesn’t have to be that hard. Simply start with a base of onions, garlic, carrots and celery, and then you can add vegetables, ad-lib! Mushrooms are always a delicious addition, as are beans if you’d like to add.

Soup, especially when using fresh vegetables is a great way to capture their garden fresh antioxidants and massive nutrients. And if you are lucky enough to have grown an garden, making vegetable soup is a delicious way to put those vegetables to use.

Add your choice of meat for a hearty, filling, healthy and satisfying meal. And, it’s even better the next day or so!

Ingredients

1 lb or so chopped up boneless chicken thighs
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3-4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, chopped
Green beans, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
Several leaves dinosaur kale
1 carton chicken bone broth or vegetable broth
1-2 cans garbanzos
1 cup white wine
3-4 bay leaves
Fresh or dried rosemary
1 tsp of basil
1 tsp of smoked paprika
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Juice of one lemon
2-4 cups water
Extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter

Directions

In a large pot, add olive oil and butter, turn pan on medium high. Chop up chicken in chunky pieces. Add garlic, mushrooms, and onion, and cook until chicken is done. Add other vegetables, and saute for a few minutes. Add the seasonings. Add broth, wine, lemon juice, garbanzos, and water. Bring to a boil, add lid and cook for an hour or more over low to medium heat with lid on. Serves a crowd, or makes great leftovers!

Enjoy!

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The post Healthy Vegetable Soup Loaded with Antioxidants, Herbs and Spices appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

I just returned from an amazing trip to Nepal, where I ate spicy Nepali food every day. Nepali cuisine is very similar to Indian food with lots of spices and curry flavorings in almost every dish. One of the primary spices in curry powder along with the super-spice, turmeric, is cumin or cumin seeds. I just love the earthy, pungent flavor of cumin and cumin seeds! Not only does it taste great in Indian and Asian dishes, but it’s also delicious in Mexican food as well. No chili recipe is complete without a generous dose of cumin!

Cumin has been in use for hundreds of years to not only spice up and preserve food, but also as a medicinal herb. Cuminum cyminum comes from a plant which grows readily in the Middle East, China, Syria, Chile, Turkey, and all over the Mediterranean. It comes from the same family as carrots and parsley and its delicious seeds are used either whole or ground up. It also comes as black cumin as well as the typical greenish-brown seeds.

Cumin is loaded with powerful nutrients.

Cumin seeds are a excellent source of iron, manganese, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, B1, C and E.

Want to burn fat more efficiently? Research shows that cumin powder can help control blood sugar after a meal, decrease body fat and lower unhealthy cholesterol levels naturally. In a study done at Iran’s Shahid Sadoughi University, of two groups on a calorie-controlled diet, the group receiving a teaspoon of cumin a day, lost three more pounds in the three month study, but most importantly, they nearly tripled the amount of fat % lost. In addition, their triglycerides dropped by 23 points, over the control group’s 5 points. It is thought that cumin’s antioxidants, combined with its metabolism-revving and blood sugar lowering power help to bring out this amazing result!

Cumin is helpful to the digestive process, helps burn fat, is anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, helps to control/lower blood sugar, detoxes the liver, boosts the immune system, and even helps to settle the stomach.

It has long been used in Ayurvedic Hindu medicine as a digestive aid.

Cumin can stimulate appetite before a meal, and stimulate digestive enzymes after a meal. Cumin has been appreciated for its ability to stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes, especially pancreatic enzymes, which help to break down carbohydrates, fats and protein for the body to utilize. Because they increase pancreatic enzymes, they not only aid digestion, but help the body assimilate nutrients as they are digested and broken down into usable form. In many countries, cumin seeds are chewed after meals for healthy digestion and to freshen the breath. Cumin is also well known as a way to treat gas and bloating from certain foods. For example, sprinkle some on cabbage or beans to help reduce their ‘combustion’ effects in your belly.

Cumin is helpful when fighting off a cold, especially when you have a cough and the accompanying sore, scratchy throat.

Toast some seeds carefully over low heat, and then add to a cup of boiling water and steep. Add lemon juice and honey and even some fresh ginger. Use as a tea or just inhale the steam through your nose. Cumin contains an ingredient, thymol, which is a powerful antibiotic and antimicrobial, which goes after bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the body, which then helps to strengthen the immune system.

Iron deficiency anemia is common in vegetarians and vegans (see our blog here about problems with eating vegetarian or vegan), as well as pregnant women and menstruating women—and children too. Cumin is actually rich in iron and can help other iron-rich foods, such as meat, be more readily absorbed into the body.

Cumin is effective against cancer too.

One study showed it protected from stomach and liver cancer. Cumin has powerful free radical scavengers that protect the body from attacks, and it also helps the liver detox from alcohol, medications, chemicals and environmental pollution.

Thymol, one of the active ingredients in cumin is considered a ‘galctagogue’, a substance that increases breast milk production, and is sometimes combined with fenugreek and fennel in a drink for this reason. Many midwives and natural practitioners will tell you cumin can induce labor, so if you are pregnant, check with your doctor.

Cumin also figures highly in romantic unions and was often carried in pockets at wedding ceremonies to ensure love and fidelity. Cumin has long been considered as an aphrodisiac when combined with pepper and honey. Perhaps cumin’s aphrodisiac qualities were what helped keep lovers from straying? Why not give it a try?

Cumin is delicious in teas, Indian foods, chili, tacos, guacamole, curries, black bean soup, stews and even chocolates!

Here’s another article from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily with more benefits of cumin…

Fight inflammation and detox your liver with cumin

References:

Mateljohn, G., 2016. Cumin. Retrieved from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=91

Johnson, E., 2015. 8 Common uses of cumin seeds and their benefits. BeWell Buzz.com. Retrieved from http://www.bewellbuzz.com/body-buzz/nutrition/8-cumin-health-benefits/

Predario, C. 2016. 1 Teaspoon of this spice could help you lose three times as much body fat. Prevention magazine. Retrieved from http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/cumin-spice-weight-loss

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